Thai Chef

4133 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94114, United States

Thai Chef
About Us

Thai spot popular for takeout that serves up traditional appetizers, pan-fried noodles & veggies.

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Customer Reviews
Diner Review №1

Good food, okay prices. Delicious Thai food.

Diner Review №2

Diner Review №3

Best duck soup I've ever had ❤️

Diner Review №4

came in around 6:30pm on a wednesday evening and got seated immediately.

ordered the chicken salad, which is sometimes called larb on the menu in other thai restaurants. flavor was good though i wish it was spicier. none of the entrees or salads come with rice. decent food for the price.

Diner Review №5

Diner Review №6

Great place foe delicious foiod, friendly and fast service at a reasonable price. Best Tom Yum soup I've ever had.

Servings are generous and flavorful. They are willing to swap ingredients if you wish to customize your rider.

Diner Review №7

อาหารอร่อย รสไทย บริการดี แนะนำถ้าคิดถึง อาหารไทยต้องที่นี่นะคะ

Diner Review №8

Nice Thai spot in the heart of the Castro. Great food, I had the crispy chicken friend rice while the rest of my party had Pad Thai, roasted duck curry, fried wonton and shrimp rolls.

Highly recommend for a family/friend meal or even a solo trip.

Diner Review №9

I've been eating here for years and they are consistently excellent! You will NOT be disappointed by any dish they serve. They're always friendly and accommodating. The owner is a humble, hard working man who's eager to make your dining experience a pleasure. His wife heads the kitchen and is exacting in providing the best possible quality!

I especially appreciate the little efforts they make to improve. Recently, they've changed the way they serve a simple bowl of plain rice. It used to come in a mound in the bowl like every other place. But now, they use a heart shaped mold. Clearly they don't need to do that, but it shows that they make that little extra effort. I really love that they care enough to do that.

I've had nearly everything on their menu and have NEVER been dissatisfied!

I HIGHLY recommend this place!!!

Diner Review №10

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Diner Review №14

Authentic and best tasting Thai I’ve ever had. Definitely coming back for more spicy seafood!

Diner Review №15

Best Thai Food in San Francisco! Team who works here is so nice and the food is phenomenal.

Diner Review №16

The Food was amazing! Very nice staff and more than interesting ambiance.

Diner Review №17

Amazing authentic Thai restaurant. So delicious. I love their Drunken Noodles and soups.

Diner Review №18

Diner Review №19

My friends and I come to this place weekly and Manee always remembers us and makes us laugh. Great food too, they have decent vegan options. My favorite is the eggplant tofu. And the brown rice comes in the shape of a heart! So cute. It's a bit pricey ($29 for eggplant tofu and brown rice including tax and tip) but worth it for the experience.

Diner Review №20

Amazing food and service! Curry was so flavorful, tasty, and soothing. Staff was friendly and super helpful with giving me recommendations and their personal favorites. Service was fast too. Great experience and highly recommend!

Diner Review №21

Diner Review №22

Delicious local Thai restaurant in SF Mission

Diner Review №23

The food was great. I got the pad Thai, and it was good. I recommend it!

Diner Review №24

The food was delicious, I don't think I've ever scarfed down so much eggplant in one sitting, I will definitely be making another trip sometime. This was my first time trying thai food btw. Don't forget to follow my account for more great ideas on an eventful day in the bay area!

Diner Review №25

The service was super slow (only one server for the entire restaurant). Food took a while to arrive and they messed up a couple things. The food itself was also fairly average / bland.

Diner Review №26

Ordered soup with fish balls that were obviously just frozen - they were still cold in the center. Friendly service.

Diner Review №27

Get the pad Thai.

Diner Review №28

BEST pad Thai! Super tasty.

Diner Review №29

This place slaps

Diner Review №30

Diner Review №31

Their Thai food is very authentic! The fried rice is very tasty and very much like the Thailand. The noodle dishes are very good too especially Lad Na, thick noodle with gravy. I had it with Tofu and it was wonderful. Pad see ew, stirred fried noodle with pork is also good. Last but not least, the beef noodle is very Thai style and yummy. Chicken satay and Curry puff are a must for appetizer. We had mango sticky rice as dessert (depending on mango availability). The owners are very kind and service are super great. We could not be more happier to be at that place.

Diner Review №32

Had the best duck pad Thai 👌🏽. The customer service was amazing as well! Definitely recommend this place!!!

Diner Review №33

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Diner Review №35

Great place for Thai food. Panang curry and pad Thai are 👍

Diner Review №36

Best curry I’ve ever had (panang). Highly recommend. Grandma is just the sweetest. Can’t wait to be back in town to eat there again.

Diner Review №37

Best curry I’ve ever had, amazing service!!!

Diner Review №38

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Diner Review №40

Had an excellent experience here. Food was great. Service was excellent. Atmosphere was very nice. All in the heart of the Castro. Highly recommend!

Diner Review №41

Diner Review №42

$27 for Pad Thai, not including tip! Rip off

Diner Review №43

We ordered a variety of dishes and they were all delicious and were ready in 25 minutes. We'll be back.

Diner Review №44

Yellow curry with chicken reminds me of the curry I grew up with. So delicious!

Diner Review №45

Diner Review №46

Excellent service and food was delicioso.

Diner Review №47

非常好吃!强烈推荐泰式奶茶和冬阴功汤!

Diner Review №48

Was looking for good Tom-Yom soup & found the most authentic Thai place I have come across since Thailand. The food is delicious, the staff is super attentive and friendly & the prices are ok. Dine in, take out, deliver however u get this, just do it. Thank them later 😋😍

Diner Review №49

We’ve decided to pop in for a quick snack - staff are every nice and attentive. Food 4/5 - Tom kha soup was very lemony and it could do with more coconut to add to the flavour. Pad Thai was a little bit too sweet. Jaskinw tea was great. Prices are decent and portions are ok. Place is a little bit too dark and too quiet (there was no music in the background at all).

Diner Review №50

😉AMAZING👍🏼‼️

Diner Review №51

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Diner Review №53

A little pricey for Thai food but really yummy! I enjoyed the yellow curry.

Diner Review №54

One of our favourite Thai restaurants in San Francisco. Great service and a wide range of choices on the menu

Diner Review №55

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Diner Review №57

Wide variety of dishes, well prepared.

Diner Review №58

The food is very good but the best part of this restaurant is the supernice server who works there on the weekends. Extremely friendly.

Diner Review №59

Although it was pride weekend, the team tried their best to ensure everyone was served as orderly and promptly as possible. Kudos!

Diner Review №60

Wow, this place has really gone downhill. What used to be a pretty good Thai place has slid into somewhere between mediocre and pretty bad. Part of the problem seems to be a staffing issue. Two people were running around like crazy trying to serve everyone. The service was subsequently slow, and when the food finally came it was cold. And the quality of the food is poorer than it used to be as well. Even the menus, which used to be a multi page affair bound in leatherette was now a curled-up laminated list. I don’t know what happened to this place but it’s pretty bad even for a neighborhood noted for its mediocre food. I would definitely avoid.

Diner Review №61

Ughh

Diner Review №62

Ingredients were not that nice, lots of inexpensive filler root vegetables. Curry had very little chicken in it, basil/beef was overloaded with fish sauce. Can't recommend it.

Diner Review №63

Diner Review №64

I ordered takeout: vegetable pad see ew, red curry with chicken, and string beans with beef. Medium spice level for all.

The red curry with chicken and the string beans with beef were to die for. Everything was so savory, so warming. The meat was perfectly tender. I’ve been sampling Thai places for months, looking for a replacement after my former favorite Thai place closed (Me & Tasty), and I’ve finally found it. This absolutely hit the spot. This is my favorite Thai food in the city.

With that said, the pad see ew wasn’t my favorite. The noodles were tasty, and the tofu was delicious, but it was a bit bland.

My order was, at most, 2 minutes late, which I did not mind; they threw in some sticky rice as an apology. It was also amazing.

I will absolutely be back.

Diner Review №65

Delicious food and great service.

Diner Review №66

Every time I've been here, they never disappoint! Excellent customer service, perfect portions... Took two friends here for their first time and they were delighted! Can't wait to come back!

Diner Review №67

Diner Review №68

Fantastic and very nice service. Great local spot for takeout and dine in!

Diner Review №69

good food always

Diner Review №70

Pad see ew was meh. Noodles themselves were fine but the veggies and shrimp had absolutely 0 flavor like they were literally cooked in water and not even tossed in salt or butter and just added on top.

Diner Review №71

I ordered duck and instead got vegetable curry. It was probably the worst curry I’ve ever had in my life. It’s literally a tomato sauce with giant chunks of tomato. It’s inedible and threw the whole thing away

Diner Review №72

Excellent food and service!

Diner Review №73

Diner Review №74

Excellent Thai food for a good price. I've only had takeout from here but really enjoyed the Veggie Pra Ram which is vegetables and tofu in a peanut sauce. The peanut sauce is the best I've had in SF so far. They have a separate menu for vegetarian items for all parts of their menu (soups, salads, appetizers, entrees) with lots of good items to choose from. Looking forward to ordering again!

Diner Review №75

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Diner Review №77

Our favorite place for Thai food in the Castro. Great service and food. We usually have an appetizer platter that has a good combination of plates.

Diner Review №78

Diner Review №79

Nice servers. Food is mediocre but good enough for me!

Diner Review №80

Tiny portion, decent food

Diner Review №81

Had lunch with a friend, really good service. We both had curry chicken, yellow and red. Both were great flavor with lots of chicken, one with eggplant and the other with potato. $12.95 a good price.

Diner Review №82

Yummy.

Diner Review №83

Diner Review №84

Coming back to life after pandemic. No fun waiters back to work yet

Diner Review №85

Diner Review №86

I got the Thai chef fried rice with shrimp and my boyfriend got the pad see ew with chicken. The fried rice was flavorless and so was the shrimp. They were cooked well though. My boyfriends dish had more flavor but he complained that the meat portions were too small.

Diner Review №87

Friendly service, great food, great for takeout or dining in. The coconut pumpkin curry actually comes inside an actual pumpkin, it's my favorite thing on the menu. A great place to bring friends, the staff are happy to arrange the tables for a bigger party.

Diner Review №88

Excellent every time!! And you really get a full meal for the price.

Diner Review №89

Chicken Soup like water, no broth!! Tiny portions of meat in pad see eew, unbelievable share sauces through tables!

Diner Review №90

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Diner Review №92

The food is just ok.

Diner Review №93

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Diner Review №95

Great service and great food, one of my favorite neighborhood spots!

Diner Review №96

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Diner Review №98

Excellent take out

Diner Review №99

Ordered takeout only. The veggie panang curry (thai spicy) was very satisfying: balance of flavors is on point, lots of different veg, and large portion (for 2-3 ppl). I found price to be good value for price ($14), which I consider to average for San Francisco. I would highly recommend if your in the area.

Diner Review №100

Great neighborhood Thai spot with friendly staff and delicious Thai food!

Diner Review №101

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Diner Review №103

In Castro , wonderful staff. They always help me pick the right dish. The Thai tea 👌

Diner Review №104

Diner Review №105

Esta bien rica

Diner Review №106

Delicious Thai. Friendly staff. Good portions!

Diner Review №107

Diner Review №108

Fairly over price for the food quality. I ordered special pineapple curry and the pineapple is canned fruit. Tasted good for average.

Diner Review №109

Always a great place to eat in the Castro!

Diner Review №110

Love this place! Food was delicious, staff were very friendly and attentive, and I loved the candles and ambience of the venue. Tried their pork Pad Thai and absolutely loved it - full of flavor, and the pork was extremely tender. Would come back just for this!

Diner Review №111

Great

Diner Review №112

Diner Review №113

Very friendly, attentive staff in this small neighborhood restaurant. The mango rice with prawns was really delicious.

Diner Review №114

Great

Diner Review №115

The good was average at best. The pad Thai wasn't flavorful at all. I asked for vegetarian soup and got one with shrimp and meat in it. I ate a few spoons unknowingly and fell sick with a stomach virus the next day. Would not recommend this place.

Diner Review №116

The chicken yellow curry noodles are really good

Diner Review №117

Diner Review №118

Diner Review №119

Ordered take out.
Good quality and delicious 😋
You won't be disappointed.

Diner Review №120

Ok... So as I am prone to do when eating at a new Thai place, I looked though the menu to see if anything caught my eye. This place was visited out of necessity, hadn't eaten for most of the day. In their menu and low and behold there was not just 1 or 2 but they had 3 roast duck items. The other 2 play no part in this review. What I ordered was the roast duck curry and rice to go with it. I've had this dish before in many different places. The Thai Chef has done it well. Other places might give you a small portion of duck. Still others may be lacking on heat. This place made me smile. Just enough duck, just spicy enough and the right amount of pineapple and coconut milk. My only issue was the tomatoes. Don't think I like them curried. The waitress upon finding this out because they were still in my bowl while everything else was gone, said to me... "Next time you can ask for no tomatoes and have them add more pineapple." I nodded in acceptance of her suggestion. This not knowing when I'd be back see as I live in Sacramento and this place was in the heart of the Castro in San Francisco. Soo much has changed there this restaurant may be gone by the time I make it back there.

Diner Review №121

The food is great and the people who work there are really nice... makes not want to leave

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Diner Review №127

친절하고 맛있어요. 꼭 가세요

Diner Review №128

Diner Review №129

Staff is always so friendly

Diner Review №130

Diner Review №131

Great Thai Food!!

Diner Review №132

This place has great food and a very professional staff. I like the angel wings and their duck dishes. Great place to meet friends a d enjoy good food.

Diner Review №133

Always friendly. The food is to die for, everytime we visit San Francisco we go here.

Diner Review №134

Really great service amazing food and great sharing portions.

Diner Review №135

Great staff, excellent food and reasonably priced. Try the fried wontons, chicken sate and Tom Kum Gai

Diner Review №136

Excelent food and friendly service. Highly recommend.

Diner Review №137

Good Thai food at a good price. Friendly service.

Diner Review №138

Delicious. Good seasoning. Very friendly staff. Good came fast. Large portion. Definitely a treat.

Diner Review №139

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Diner Review №145

Good

Diner Review №146

My favorite Thai place in the area. Good service and good food. The Tom ka soup is so good here. Drinks always full and happy friendly service.

Diner Review №147

Good food, good staff and reasonable place to eat if you are in Castro. Yay...

Diner Review №148

Diner Review №149

Always consistent good food and friendly service at reasonable prices. My go-to for easy dining in Castro.

Diner Review №150

Food was really good and our waitress was friendly and fun!

Diner Review №151

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Diner Review №153

Food was above average and the service was excellent. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

Diner Review №154

Good Thai food with excellent service.

Diner Review №155

Diner Review №156

Excellent service and decent Thai food. Not to mention the friendliest owner who is always present to take care of the customers. If you're in town, give it a try! 🍜🍹🌈

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Diner Review №164

Consistent typical Thai (American) fare with never-changing Daily Special of Asparagus-something. Economical. Rice is extra. Good service. Longtime Castro eatery.

Diner Review №165

Diner Review №166

The food is fantastic and the service is excellent!!

Diner Review №167

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Diner Review №169

I love this place. delicious food and awesome staff. One of the best Thai places in town, and I have tried many in my 20 years here.

Diner Review №170

Food was goid and the service was great but the portions were a bit on the small side. We had a noodle dish and we chose shrimp as the protein. It came with 4 shrimp, 4! It's lame to be cutting a 2 shrimp (2 for me, 2 for my hubby) into 6 small pieces to make it last through the plate of noodles.

Diner Review №171

Quiet place, authentic and good Thai food.

Diner Review №172

Was really good. Never seen to have the same staff but good is pretty consistently yummy. Everybody had their off days

Diner Review №173

Delivery: Delivery was 30min late. Food was mediocre. There are better Thai places for delivery or dining in.

Diner Review №174

Good Thai food in the Castro District of San Francisco. A short walk from the cinema. Everything is expensive in SF.

Diner Review №175

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Diner Review №177

Awesome food

Diner Review №178

Horrible

Diner Review №179

Diner Review №180

Reliable Thai food in a small and a bit cramped interior. Nothing was bad. But also nothing outstanding. The food is reliable and solid

Diner Review №181

This place has my favorite papaya salad in the whole city.

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Diner Review №186

I struggle to find food that is genuinely gluten free, with a lot of places not understanding the issue. 2nd visit. Both times epic and free from.

Diner Review №187

Great food & location. Soft shell crab curry is amazing.

Diner Review №188

Best Thai food in The Castro. Pumpkin curry is really good. They also have great peanut sauce.

Diner Review №189

Diner Review №190

Fried corn thing delicious. Duck curry, amazing. Other stuff, less great.

Diner Review №191

Diner Review №192

The food was really delicious and fresh, the atmosphere relaxed and the decor stylish and onobtrusive. The prices were reasonable, the menu choices many, and the staff attentive and friendly. Perfect for a dinner out. And I heard that they do take-away deliveries too.

Diner Review №193

Tasty food with good customer service. One of our favorite dinner spots on Friday night after Happy Hour.

Diner Review №194

Silver Noodle Salad is to die for ! Love the friendly and attentive staff. It's my favorite Thai Restaurant EVER !

Diner Review №195

Placed an order online only to find out the restaurant doesn't have a working internet connection. Staff couldn't tell me how to cancle my order and couldn't accept a credit card. Disappointed. Went to thaihouse express instead.

Diner Review №196

Some Thai places have garish lighting and a somewhat sterile atmosphere, but Thai Chef is nice. It's got a diner feel in my opinion but the low lighting and decor create a more charming ambiance. Also at every Thai place, I get yellow curry dishes with tofu so I have a lot of research to compare. This one is right up there. It's fresh and came with lots of extra veggies. Also, we had a very large group, and the server was very accommodating with our requests regarding splitting the check. Some places can make your life miserable at that point, and our server was excellent in that regard. Very nice staff!

Diner Review №197

Diner Review №198

Food was delicious. Atmosphere was pleasant and service was prompt. It was a quite Monday night.

Diner Review №199

Diner Review №200

Have to say the food here is really good. I had the Pad See Iew which was amazeballs! My friend had Soft Shell Crab and rice which was delish. Service was good too. Definately woth while visiting.

Details
  • 12 photos
  • 200 reviews
  • 4.4 Health Rating
  • Contact: +1 415-551-2433
  • Website: http://www.thaichefsanfrancisco.com/
  • Location: 4133 18th St, San Francisco, CA 94114, United States
  • Map: 37.7607456, -122.4357986
Menu Highlights
  • Thai restaurant
Opening Hours
  • Monday: 12–3 PM–5–8:45 PM
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: 12–3 PM–5–8:45 PM
  • Thursday: 5–8:45 PM
  • Friday: 12–8:45 PM
  • Saturday: 12–8:45 PM
  • Sunday: 12–8:45 PM
Service options
  • No-contact delivery: Available
  • Delivery: Available
  • Takeaway: Available
  • Dine-in: Available
Highlights
  • Fast service: Available
  • Great tea selection: Available
Popular for
  • Lunch: Available
  • Dinner: Available
  • Solo dining: Available
Accessibility
  • Wheelchair-accessible entrance: Available
  • Wheelchair-accessible seating: Available
  • Wheelchair-accessible toilet: Available
Offerings
  • Alcohol: Available
  • Beer: Available
  • Coffee: Available
  • Comfort food: Available
  • Healthy options: Available
  • Small plates: Available
  • Vegetarian options: Available
  • Wine: Available
Dining options
  • Lunch: Available
  • Dinner: Available
  • Catering: Available
  • Dessert: Available
  • Seating: Available
Amenities
  • Toilet: Available
Atmosphere
  • Casual: Available
  • Cosy: Available
Crowd
  • Groups: Available
Planning
  • Accepts reservations: Available
Payments
  • Credit cards: Available
  • Debit cards: Available
  • NFC mobile payments: Available
  • Credit cards: Available
Children
  • Good for kids: Available