Favorite Thai restaurant in San Diego! These beef and duck dishes are absolutely delicious! Seasoned to perfection. Their green curry chicken is done right too. Highly recommended.

Not worth it. Ordered to go . $13.99 Thai omelet with ground pork barely has less than 1/2 a spoonful of ground pork. $21 spicy basil with crispy pork belly has less than 20 pieces of tiny fried pork belly. The boat noodle is good and has plentiful of meats except they forgot to include the noodle. Rice is just ok, other Thai places have better rice. Payment systems require you to leave a tip even when you order takeout.

Why do they charge $2 for rice when you order curry???
People don't eat curry by itself. I've eaten in restaurants in North, Central, and South Thailand, and in Thai restaurants up and down the US East and West coasts, and all included rice in their curry entrees. This seems unnecessarily greedy. Our Thai friends find it weird and unacceptable. Otherwise, the food is authentic and delicious. Our friends got Red Curry Beef and Green Curry Chicken. We got Crispy Rice Salad and Beef Boat Noodles Soup. They all were very good and authentic. The atmosphere is great, making you feel like you stepped into a local restaurant in Northern Eastern Thailand. Minus one star for charging $2 for rice that should be included with curries.

This week we visited Zab Linda because we were craving Thai food and boy it didn’t disappoint 😍

We started with Tofu Spring Rolls and had Tom Ka Soup, Drunken Noodles, and Cashew Nut for our mains with a Thai Iced Tea and Chang Beer to drink. We left SO full and raving about the Tom Ka! It was so fresh and the mushrooms were perfect (I usually don’t like mushrooms but the mushrooms they use are cute as a button and not slimy.) Everything was so tasty and they have a pretty large menu so it was hard for us to decide on what to eat. The decor inside was so fun and helped make our little lunch date so cute and fun.

There’s plenty of parking and the employees are super helpful and kind. It is a busy place for lunch, be prepped for that.

Best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to. The food is extremely flavorful with great portions and the interior is stunning. 10/10

I stopped coming here because the portions are ridiculously small. This to-go container was 1/4 full. How cheap can they get? I feel robbed. This was the crispy pork belly basil dish with an egg. Got the full egg. Haha- took up the main bulk of what we got.

Better than I expect
3 of them were good
I ordered Boat noodle, pork neck fried, rau muống

This place is easily one of the best places to eat Thai food ever! The restaurant is not very big, so the service is always fast, and friendly. They accept cash and card. The Thai tea is incredible. I love the Panang curry, and all the fried rice. The Spicy salmon fried rice, and the crab fried rice are my favorites. They also make the best soup. The people there run one of my favorite restaurants in the world!

Blatantly disrespectful service!
Despite being the one ordering, the female server repeatedly ignored me and focused entirely on my female Vietnamese friend. It felt as if I wasn’t even there. Whether it was discrimination or simply poor service, it was insulting and ruined the experience. If you’re African American, don’t expect to be treated with basic respect here. I won’t be returning and cannot recommend this place to anyone who values being acknowledged and respected.

Best Thai restaurant I’ve ever been to. The food is extremely flavorful with great portions and the interior is stunning. 10/10

Not worth it. Ordered to go . $13.99 Thai omelet with ground pork barely has less than 1/2 a spoonful of ground pork. $21 spicy basil with crispy pork belly has less than 20 pieces of tiny fried pork belly. The boat noodle is good and has plentiful of meats except they forgot to include the noodle. Rice is just ok, other Thai places have better rice. Payment systems require you to leave a tip even when you order takeout.

Better than I expect
3 of them were good
I ordered Boat noodle, pork neck fried, rau muống

Wonderful!

Fantastic all around! Would recommend crispy pork belly dishes! Good portion sizes - fried rice is enough for two people.

This week we visited Zab Linda because we were craving Thai food and boy it didn’t disappoint 😍

We started with Tofu Spring Rolls and had Tom Ka Soup, Drunken Noodles, and Cashew Nut for our mains with a Thai Iced Tea and Chang Beer to drink. We left SO full and raving about the Tom Ka! It was so fresh and the mushrooms were perfect (I usually don’t like mushrooms but the mushrooms they use are cute as a button and not slimy.) Everything was so tasty and they have a pretty large menu so it was hard for us to decide on what to eat. The decor inside was so fun and helped make our little lunch date so cute and fun.

There’s plenty of parking and the employees are super helpful and kind. It is a busy place for lunch, be prepped for that.

Good food.

I stopped coming here because the portions are ridiculously small. This to-go container was 1/4 full. How cheap can they get? I feel robbed. This was the crispy pork belly basil dish with an egg. Got the full egg. Haha- took up the main bulk of what we got.

The food was expertly prepared, vegetables were perfect and plentiful. The server asked what heat level we wanted on a scale of 1 to 10, and said 3 was average. I ordered 3 and it came out much hotter than my party and I liked, even though they were spice lovers. The chilis were finely cut making them difficult to remove or eat around. In the future, I will order a 1!

Favorite Thai restaurant in San Diego! These beef and duck dishes are absolutely delicious! Seasoned to perfection. Their green curry chicken is done right too. Highly recommended.

The best Thai food in San Diego!

Had a great lunch. Wasn't too crowded on a Friday.

Why do they charge $2 for rice when you order curry???
People don't eat curry by itself. I've eaten in restaurants in North, Central, and South Thailand, and in Thai restaurants up and down the US East and West coasts, and all included rice in their curry entrees. This seems unnecessarily greedy. Our Thai friends find it weird and unacceptable. Otherwise, the food is authentic and delicious. Our friends got Red Curry Beef and Green Curry Chicken. We got Crispy Rice Salad and Beef Boat Noodles Soup. They all were very good and authentic. The atmosphere is great, making you feel like you stepped into a local restaurant in Northern Eastern Thailand. Minus one star for charging $2 for rice that should be included with curries.

Edit: unfortunately I have to bring it down to 1 star after the staff decided to add a $5 tip to my credit card even though we left a cash tip…
After looking at reviews on Yelp, seems like this is a common occurrence

Food was really good, but I second that charging $2 for rice for dishes that should automatically come with rice is really annoying.

Never in my life have I ordered curry and not received rice. The curry was $15 and a side of rice was an extra charge. In the end I paid for the rice because who can eat curry without rice. The curry had good flavor but I honestly wasn’t blown away. I was just shocked by them not including rice in the price.

Best fried rice I’ve ever had. Had the salmon fried rice and it was incredible. Highly recommend!

Tasty food, we enjoyed our crab fried rice and drunken noodles. Be sure to have water or milk tea nearby. Mild heat is about a 5/10. We are not able to share it with our toddler.

Best Thai food around, every dish is done to perfection.

I’ve been coming here for the longest time even before their rebrand, and still so good. I don’t have all the photos I’ve ever taken while eating here so here’s just from the most recent time. Had the Khao soi and it was great.

Favorite Thai spot in SD. Very flavorful & the spice levels are up there so don’t order too high unless you really like spicy !
My go to is Pad see ew Thai salad & beef jerky always 10/10 !

Love this place with the spices are just right; very authentic thai food and the price is very reasonable.

Updating my review,

I have been here many times since. Everything I have tried is very good. I really like the panang curry. Their Pad Thai is also good.

I have always been served quickly. Sometimes we order pickup or delivery and the wait is very reasonable.

Full disclosure, I have only been here once with a couple of friends. We each tried something different. I was a little disappointed that all of the soups came full size. I got Tom Yum and while the soup tasted pretty good, I would have preferred it as a side with something else. I also didn’t find the vegetables added cooked as well as I would have liked. One friend tried a baked fish that she said was very good. We also shared some egg rolls that had a good flavor. I felt it was a bit overpriced, but overall not bad. I really enjoyed the mango sticky rice.

Best Thai food in the neighborhood!!

Update 5/2024: recipes seem to have returned to normal. At least for the pad see ew. Delicious to the last bite. Suggest ordering a Thai iced tea - skip the milk and get it with a lime wedge. Delicious and the authentic Thai way.

Something about the recipes have changed since this was sabelee. It’s good but not the same. Beef salad used to be my fave dish but again the recipe has changed since the sale/renaming of this restaurant. Servers are friendly.
Pad see ew it’s good here but didn’t travel well so best if dining in.

Best Thai fried rice in the city!

This is my go-to spot for Thai food. I have tried so many in San Diego but this is the one that has me coming back for more. The food is consistently delicious. Lots of flavor and perfect texture. I think what makes this place stand out is the atmosphere and the cozy interior, as well as all the natural light coming through the windows. Their Tom Kha is on point too, probably my favorite on the menu in addition to the Panang Curry and of course the Pad Thai.

Oh and if youre not comfortable with spice don’t go above level 3!!! It gets hot 😜

Just found a new favorite Thai food restaurant. LOVE IT

The food was absolutely delicious!!! We ordered the Tom Yum, Yellow Curry, and Pad Thai and they were all so good! We will 1000% be going back and probably going to place the exact same order. Zabadabadooooo!

The food was amazing!!

Zab is great. While I do miss Sab-e-Lee, Zab’s food and service is excellent.

We really love Zah Linda Vista. We will visit again and again.

Authentic!!!!

Officially my favorite Thai restaurant in San Diego! It has been a struggle finding a spot with pad thai not too sweet or too dry. This place had the best balance and I'm so happy I finally found a good spot I'll come to frequently. The khao soi is my favorite noodle soup!! The portions are huge and the value stretches so far. Coming back soon!

We got fresh shrimp spring rolls, khao soi, nam khao tod, sticky rice/peanut sauce. Everything was fantastic. Hands down, my favorite Thai spot in San Diego- this is what I have been looking for! Not the cheapest Thai place but well worth.

Excellent food. Spicy levels are consistent. Be careful ordering anything over a 5 unless you love spicy. Highlight is the green curry and pad Thai.

I used to love this place but ever since they got new owners it changed. The mock duck laab, garlic wings and pad thai was disappointing. First, the way they chopped the mock duck was chunky and un-uniform. The texture was more like tofu but it would be better if fried. The flavor was bland. I asked for medium spiced pad thai. They gave me pad thai that only tasted like sour tamarind flavored noodles. The wings were the most tiny pieces for any restaurant. The value for money and flavors were disappointing.

Even though we came in during a busy day, the service was great and fast. We ordered Thai sausages, fish cakes, and pad thai and all were tasty! We’d come here multiple times and will continue coming back in the future

Really good. They kinda got less flavorful since the re brand but they're our neighborhood favorites

I've only ever ordered takeout. But their pad thai & panang curry are on point!

I have only ordered take out or delivery, but this is hands down my favorite Thai place in SD.

Delicious food enjoyed in a cozy atmosphere.

This review is only for service. Today while having lunch. I was getting ready to pay when the server approached my table and said I needed to clean the floor. I looked down and it was only a little bit of rice. My kids, 6 and 8 ordered Chinese sausage fried rice. I have never been asked to clean the floor ever at a restaurant. I can understand if it was a huge mess. It was not. She said if I refused to clean the floor she would have to charge me a cleaning fee. I hope management is able to get rid of this policy. Very disappointed 1/13/2024 12:20pm

Best, cleanest Thai food ever! Go to lunch spot with colleagues!

I love this place. Authentic Thai cuisine.

Food is okay and the service is fine. The service doesn’t come around for any orders.

Excellent flavors! Kind staff. Easy parking.

Love the food! Great staff! Affordable prices and huge portions. We get food here once a week or so.

They do a great panang curry! And the curry puffs are delicious.

Absolutely delicious! Staff was very friendly and helpful with assisting in best dish choice for myself! Will remember as one of my top best meals when visiting San Diego.

Best Thai food I've had in San Diego. They are not messing around with the spice level and it's amazing.

I came here about a week ago and im still thinking about the green curry and pad see ew. The thai tea is top notch too. Wow.

Best in San Diego!

Had a meeting close by, so I met up with a few friends to grab dinner beforehand. We ordered the Crab Fried Rice, Spring Rolls and Beef Larb. Everything was medium spicy (3 out of 10) as neither one of the friends I was with like their food very spicy. IMO, it wasn't spicy at all...so next time I'll probably order an 8 or so. I love it super spicy!

The food was delicious! I will definitely be back. The spring rolls were very fresh and came with a yummy peanut sauce. Both the crab fried rice and beef larb were extra yummy as well.

Prices are super reasonable, we split the tab evenly between the 3 of us and our share came out to about $14 before tip. It helped that we didn't have any alcohol.

Delicious! I really recommend the yellow curry with white rice (or the sticky rice dipped in curry). Just be warned that their lunch hour is from 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM, so don't show up at that time (like I did haha).

Stale Peanuts on the Som Tom Salad. Gross
Ruins the whole salad. It wasn't just one peanut, it was all of them. For that reason alone I give 1 star.
Ka Pow Gai was ok.
Charging for rice that usually comes with that dish, I don't know how to feel about that.

Best Thai Restaurant in San Diego!
The food was amazing! Very friendly service! Overall a great experience.

More review come later

Ordered papaya salad mild. There’s no chili peppers; just papaya, some green beans, tomatoes and fish sauce. (Didn’t see any eggplant as noted on the menu). Very disappointed since this has always been my go to place for papaya salad and Thai food. Menu may be the same but flavors are not there. And papaya salad went in the trash.

Such good quality food and very friendly service, I’m a vegetarian and my partner is not and we both had fantastic meals. Very vegetarian friendly.

We tried the North-Eastern style Thai food there, and it was wonderfully flavorful. The staff were also friendly and welcoming. Highly recommended for an authentic Thai dining experience.

06-21-23
Had cravings for Thai food. Decided to come here and ordered my favorite dish, Dunken Noodles.

Ordered
-Drunken Noodles w duck $17- the duck was old. Noodles definitely didn’t have flavorful drunken noodles taste I had here many times.
-Tom Ka Chicken $13- only one of the four dishes we ordered that I liked. Tasty!
-Green Curry Shrimp $16- coconut milk over powering the curry. Yearning for that kick, was not there.
-Spicy Raw Beef $14- very blah. And, beef didn’t taste like beef. Lacked lemon and seasoning.
-Steamed rice $2- perfectly cooked!
-Thai Coffee $5- overly sweet.

Liked:
New decor

Ordered Chicken Wings and Crab Fried Rice. Chicken Wings were crunchy on the outside and the meat was moist and tender. Crab Fried Rice was made with an abundance of Crab. Cooked just right. *Recommended*

The food is still as good as Sab-e-Lee was, but they raised prices and lowered their portion sizes. My sibling and I just paid $30 for chicken pad thai and chicken fried rice! And the containers are like half as large as they used to be! We are very disappointed; there are lots of other thai places nearby with that BS pricing level and we will probably be visiting them now instead, since they are closer.

I really hope the new owners see the light and, at the very least, give a full size tray's worth of food. Instead of these ridiculous half-trays that everyone is passing off as a full meal.

Excellent service and delicious thai iced tea.

This place has really gone downhill with the new owners. No rice with the curry? Seriously? That's like ordering a pasta dish and getting charges $2 for the noodles. Portions are small too. Chicken wings weren't hot and no nearly as good as before. We will NOT be coming back here.

I've been eating here since this place was called The Original Sab e Lee. This place has a new name and perhaps new ownership. But, they have the same menu, same recipes, same great taste! This is truly a gem in San Diego. I highly recommend to any Thai food lovers.

Wonderful Thai restaurant with a long history in San Diego. New owners are mixing up the menu with interesting specials if you are feeling adventurous

Sorry but this is the worst tom yam I have ever eaten. Where is the sharpness of the chili pepper, where is the chili pepper itself, I have only seen that tom yam pasta. Why didn't they ask me what level of spicy tom yam I want. Why didn't they bring the rice with tom yam ? Why, when my friend asked for a check, they take away a plate with half the broth from me without talking, apparently they understood that I didn’t like it and decided not to ask. Fist-sized tomatoes, I also see for the first time in the soup. Do you want me to write you a delicious tom yum recipe?

Just like home (in Thailand) - very authentic,with excellent service. Much improved over the previous restaurant at this location. Having lived there n Thailand, I can thoroughly recommend Zab Linda...

Green curry was very white and bland. Chow mein was dry and bland. Customer service was ok, I ordered to go.

Food was very good and service was very good. However if you order a curry it does not include a side of rice, and in my opinion that should be standard.

I had duck lard for the first time ever and the explosion of different flavors is phenomenal! It’s my new Thai food go to dish. Our food was out very quickly too!

For next day toilet planning purposes, don’t go higher than a 4 on spice level. You’re welcome.

Just as great as the old Sab-ee lee. Curry puffs 4 life!

Everything is different after they changed ownership. The food is not as good as i remembered. The mild was wayyy to spicy.

Probably wont come back.

It's like home-cooked comfort food. I always order the fried tofu as an appetizer. The wings/fried chicken is so crispy.

As a Thai visiting San Diego, this place taste real Thai. But you can customize the spicy from 1 to 10 (We did 5 and hot already). Really enjoy the food here.

Grilled pork is so tender sauce also authentic, worth the wait.

This place is easily one of the best places to eat Thai food ever! The restaurant is not very big, so the service is always fast, and friendly. They accept cash and card. The Thai tea is incredible. I love the Panang curry, and all the fried rice. The Spicy salmon fried rice, and the crab fried rice are my favorites. They also make the best soup. The people there run one of my favorite restaurants in the world!

The Yellow Curry is amazingly delicious and their Thai teas are yummy too. Service was great. Really enjoyed my experiences here!

Favorite Thai food in town. Lots of good options can't really go wrong with anything on the menu.

New name but the same great tasty Thai food. If you're craving for Thai food in Linda Vista area, check this place out. You won't regret.
Today, we ordered the Pa-nang beef curry, crispy chicken wings, and Tom Yum soup. Every item is delicious to my taste. Love this place.
Plenty of parking spaces, handicap access, friendly staff and prices are reasonable.
Good eats!

Food is great! Boat noodle soup, spicy raw beef, papaya salad …

New name but still so good and a favorite!!

This is my new favorite Thai restaurant in the San Diego area! Loved the location, the service, the food and the prices!

The beef noodles soup- very savory and had lots of meat and other items to pack that bowl. Reminded me and may possibly be better than the ones growing up with in Bangkok, Thailand!

Curry puff- 2 bug puffs that were pretty big in size and crunchy w/ strong taste of curry

Crab fried rice- better than the ones in Pattaya! The flavor was intense and there. Lots of crab meat as well.

Pork neck salad- my favorite dish that I ate there. A must order item here and it's one of their specialties. Juicy and hot pieces of pork and just a little dab of the included sauce.

Plenty of parking and very reasonable prices!

Same great food as Sab E Lee and a takeout staple in Linda Vista! Especially love the green curry and Tom ka!

This place used to be called “The Original Sab-E-Lee”. The business sold to new owners, who named it Zab Linda. The food/recipes/and restaurant layout stayed the same as the Original Sab-E-Lee. If you loved The Original-Sab-E-Lee, you’ll love Zab Linda. It is the same place. 10/10

The curry doesn’t come with rice? Just a soup.

Food is delicious and different from most Thai places. The vegetables are fresh.