Bay Thai Cuisine

This place is one of those undiscovered culinary gems, that'll be big-time once they get the recognition they deserve. Having lived in Thailand for four years--mainly in Central Thailand and the Issaan--I can certify that the food here is superb, and better than 90% of the Thai restaurants in the Bay Area. It's better partly because they go easy on the sugar that pretty much every other Thai eatery goes overboard on, allowing you to enjoy your meal without fear of getting fat from all those extra carbs! They also get the mix of spices just right, with no MSG. Don't know how they do it; but it's just superb. If you like Issaan food, they've got great Larb and Som Tum.

Best Pad Thai ever! I've been going here since the mid 90's The quality and freshness of their food has remained consistently the best in Marin! Their prices are affordable and the lunch menu has large portions that could be enough to share (if you don't gobble it up in one sitting). Bay Thai is the best!

Small Thai restaurant on 4th Street, downtown San Rafael. There are about 13-15 seats in there so most people get food for takeaway. I ate there many times and have never been disappointed. I'm Thai and I know what Thai food is supposed to taste like. The prices are also affordable.

food is EXCELLENT, and so is the price, very reasonable for lunch (until 3pm). service is top-notch, very humble and sweet lady who does not speak English too well but is very nice.

My favorite Thai dive in Marin and possibly the SF Bay. Cash only. 5 tables. Food is excellent, fresh, and the tastes/flavors are crisp. It’s priced so you’ll want to try more. Been there about 9x, one of the best in the area!

Little hole in the wall place, it's best to order takeout as the seating is very limited inside. It's cash only, which is a little annoying but just remember to bring cash. The prices are great, probably the best value in town for takeout pad thai as the serving size is huge.

Delicious food, generous portions & friendly atmosphere. 10/10 recommend Bay Thai on 4th St. Don’t forget to bring cash, no card payment!

I have enjoyed regular meals at this small downtown San Rafael restaurant for more than a decade. It's my favorite Thai place of all. Fresh ingredients, fast service, great flavors. Highly recommended. P.S. cash-only.

Whenever I'm in or passing through San Rafael I stop here for their Shrimp Fried Rice. Large succulent shrimp in the tastiest rice you've ever had, it's like crack. The food is tasty and portions are nice.

Very small, so not an elegant dining experience, but service is always good and some of the best Thai Food in Marin. Excellent prices, too. Great for take-out, or a casual meal at the restaurant.

This place had been my favorite for over 15 years. I don't even live in the Bay Area any more, but I still come every chance I have. Get the red curry duck with pineapple and the Tom Yum Gai soup. You won't be disappointed!

This place is tiny but they make some great Thai food. I recommend the egg plant and the papaya salad. The portions are generous so that feeds two. They only take cash so come prepared.

Decided to give this place another try after reading reviews, and it was really good! A lot of places don't seem to be trying with all the restaurant apps, but Bay Thai doesn't use any apps and is cash only.

I literally live for Bay Thai Pad Thai. I get it almost every week and there has never been any better Pad Thai. It’s so delicious and has a generous amount of protein and veggies for a fair price. I also appreciate how this is a local spot that is run by a couple and friends. They always serve us. However, they only take cash. My family comes here and in addition to the Pad Thai enjoys the Pad See Ew, Green Curry, and Papaya Salad. Those are just a few of an our favorites. I highly recommend you to come and try this San Rafael gem!

This place is tiny so I can see how easily they can run out of spots. Not a romantic dinner site as everyone is quite crammed in. We were lucky to find a seating right when we came in. The food though was soooooo good and plentiful. The two of us shared a small soup, one serving of rice and one entree each and we still left being barely able to move and with leftovers. Everything tasted rich and flavorful. I am not based in the area but when I visit I will come back!

Very yammy Thai food, so we came back when stopping by San Rafael. Recommend angel wings (stuffed with meat and vermicelli, and the skin is really crispy), green curry and elephant tofu. :P

It was an amazing experience! Great service, very attentive staff and amazing dishes 🌶️🥒🍋‍🟩☀️!! We will return back ! Thank you for all deliciousness 😃😊❤️!!

I highly recommend this fried rice, especially if you ask for it to be made spicy. It's incredibly delicious.

Delicious food and generous portions at extremely affordable prices! Ordered the pad thai, gai ka praw and fried bananas with honey. Everything tasted great! Will definitely come back again

Pretty tasty combo fried rice and big portions.

Randomly stopped in, truly a mom and pop place. Food was prepared by the wife, I presume, and it was like a home cooked meal. Great portions.

Great Family owned Thai restaurant. One of the best flavored Thai in the Bay Area is located in San Rafael. Generous portions is a plus in my book.

Tiny Thai dining, yummy, good portions and clean plus lunch prices for dinner+++

The best Southeast Asain food in the bay area!!! Their Lao papaya salad is the bomb!!! We'll definitely be back.

Best flavor in the general marin area. My favorites are the green curry, yellow curry, & pad thai (pictured)

Amazing!!! Tried the spicy basil fried rice and the Thai curry noodles

Connor Jensen

Best flavor in the general marin area. My favorites are the green curry, yellow curry, & pad thai (pictured)

Elle La

I literally live for Bay Thai Pad Thai. I get it almost every week and there has never been any better Pad Thai. It’s so delicious and has a generous amount of protein and veggies for a fair price. I also appreciate how this is a local spot that is run by a couple and friends. They always serve us. However, they only take cash. My family comes here and in addition to the Pad Thai enjoys the Pad See Ew, Green Curry, and Papaya Salad. Those are just a few of an our favorites. I highly recommend you to come and try this San Rafael gem!

Kasia Klaczynska

This place is tiny so I can see how easily they can run out of spots. Not a romantic dinner site as everyone is quite crammed in. We were lucky to find a seating right when we came in. The food though was soooooo good and plentiful. The two of us shared a small soup, one serving of rice and one entree each and we still left being barely able to move and with leftovers. Everything tasted rich and flavorful. I am not based in the area but when I visit I will come back!

Mengyuan Gu

Very yammy Thai food, so we came back when stopping by San Rafael. Recommend angel wings (stuffed with meat and vermicelli, and the skin is really crispy), green curry and elephant tofu. :P

Diana Luna

It was an amazing experience! Great service, very attentive staff and amazing dishes 🌶️🥒🍋‍🟩☀️!! We will return back ! Thank you for all deliciousness 😃😊❤️!!

Gregori Manurung

I highly recommend this fried rice, especially if you ask for it to be made spicy. It's incredibly delicious.

Christine Phang

Delicious food and generous portions at extremely affordable prices! Ordered the pad thai, gai ka praw and fried bananas with honey. Everything tasted great! Will definitely come back again

2 Complex

Pretty tasty combo fried rice and big portions.

Marlon Gayahan

Randomly stopped in, truly a mom and pop place. Food was prepared by the wife, I presume, and it was like a home cooked meal. Great portions.

David

Great Family owned Thai restaurant. One of the best flavored Thai in the Bay Area is located in San Rafael. Generous portions is a plus in my book.

Fatih Dinli

Tiny Thai dining, yummy, good portions and clean plus lunch prices for dinner+++

Annie Lansing

The best Southeast Asain food in the bay area!!! Their Lao papaya salad is the bomb!!! We'll definitely be back.

Mari Diaz

Amazing!!! Tried the spicy basil fried rice and the Thai curry noodles

This little hole in the wall is Marin County's Best Thai Restaurant. You would never know it by walking by and looking at it (unless you saw the food coming out). Everything is 5 star. Some of the best Pad Thai in the Bay Area, and that says a lot. Been eating here 20+ years and the food is always 5star. Everything served here is delicious. Cash only....but great value. Portions are large, and my dining partner takes half of his lunch home and calls it dinner. Seriously....not fancy at all, but The Best Thai Restaurant in Marin County. Best food, best prices, biggest portions. I am a serious eater and I know what I am talking about here.

I didn’t know pad Thai could actually taste….. that good. If you come here please respect the cooks and leave a good review for the best tasting Thai food and if you go for lunch it’s only like $11.50 a meal. Bring cash!

This place has fed me since way way way back and somehow they keep making it better and better. Bring cash and buy two of everything because it's that good. You will thank yourself in the morning. Seafood coconut milk yellow curry pad Thai peanut butter sauce. It's the best place in San Rafael hands down, any food! 😁

Bay Thai is a San Rafael classic that never fails to deliver. Great pad-kee-mow and green curry! They are cash only though so bring some cash.

Perfect in every way. I order the spicy fried rice and added chicken and shrimp. My friend ordered pad phed beef and mixed them together. Amazing. Satay was awesome! The egg rolls were delicious. Goong grab borg was amazing as well. Portions were more than enough to share between us. Everyone was so sweet and I was so happy that we found this gem. Although I don’t live in the neighborhood, it will be our new go to when I visit! <3

My favorite Thai restaurant in the Bay Area. It really feels like eating street food in Thailand

Lady Leggett

My favorite Thai restaurant in the Bay Area. It really feels like eating street food in Thailand

S S

Perfect in every way. I order the spicy fried rice and added chicken and shrimp. My friend ordered pad phed beef and mixed them together. Amazing. Satay was awesome! The egg rolls were delicious. Goong grab borg was amazing as well. Portions were more than enough to share between us. Everyone was so sweet and I was so happy that we found this gem. Although I don’t live in the neighborhood, it will be our new go to when I visit! <3

Corben C

Bay Thai is a San Rafael classic that never fails to deliver. Great pad-kee-mow and green curry! They are cash only though so bring some cash.

mark burleson

I didn’t know pad Thai could actually taste….. that good. If you come here please respect the cooks and leave a good review for the best tasting Thai food and if you go for lunch it’s only like $11.50 a meal. Bring cash!

Jay Tee

This place has fed me since way way way back and somehow they keep making it better and better. Bring cash and buy two of everything because it's that good. You will thank yourself in the morning. Seafood coconut milk yellow curry pad Thai peanut butter sauce. It's the best place in San Rafael hands down, any food! 😁

John G Fischer

This little hole in the wall is Marin County's Best Thai Restaurant. You would never know it by walking by and looking at it (unless you saw the food coming out). Everything is 5 star. Some of the best Pad Thai in the Bay Area, and that says a lot. Been eating here 20+ years and the food is always 5star. Everything served here is delicious. Cash only....but great value. Portions are large, and my dining partner takes half of his lunch home and calls it dinner. Seriously....not fancy at all, but The Best Thai Restaurant in Marin County. Best food, best prices, biggest portions. I am a serious eater and I know what I am talking about here.

Very good but warning - the mild is EXTREMELY spicy. I eat Thai food often and from all sorts of different places and I’m shocked how spicy this is. Lots of places I can order medium and be fine, but this mild is almost inedible to me. Just want to warn people who can’t handle spice, bc I CAN handle some! Still yummy but whew my mouth is on fire!

This is my new go to for take out Thai food. The food is good, simple, and you can ask for no onions and "no spicy" for kids and they actually will follow through on the requests. This is not a high end Thai. the menu is large but basic. It also is not "bargain basement" the prices are only a dollar cheaper per dish than other local Thai restaurants ( of which there are many) The restaurant itself is TINY. With the pandemic the inside is just for pickup. But there are at least 6 tables outside on a platform to enjoy on warm days & evenings. In the summer time the city often closes off the street to cars, people stroll the street and bands play in the distance. Finally, and most importantly. They only take CASH. (No credit card). The menu is online. Parking is limited to street parking (meters)

The angel wings were not good. Parts of them were still cool. The yellow curry noodles were good. The fried rice was awful. I killed 2 roaches crawling across the table. We had to ask for more water and it was room temperature when our waitress finally brought it. Very small place. Only room for about 10 customers. CASH ONLY

Gave this place a couple of tries....total fail both times. Some say this is the best Thai food in Marin County. I feel bad for Marin since this is some of the worst Thai food me and my girl have had. Might not even be good food by Kansas small town standards. Pad Thai tasted like ketchup. Even Reno has better tasting Thai. If you like your spaghetti with ketchup, then this may be your place to eat. Service was not particularly friendly, good or service oriented either. Cramped and dingy inside the restaurant. Best thing I can say about this place is that they offer take out. Worth mentioning, cash only here so, be prepared with cash or be prepared to walk to an ATM if your really want to add a bad Thai Restaurant experience to your life.

2 stars for the food, minus a star for the price. The food wasn’t necessarily bad, but every Thai place I’ve ever been to was better, and it was $45 for two people with a side of rice (which was extra).

The food is great. My mom and I loved the food here and used to order all the time. The last time my mom picked up our order, the owner stopped my mom from leaving. They forced her to give them $5 stating she owed her from the last order. My mom, an immigrant, can't speak English well tried to explain to the owner she does not know what he was talking about. They did not care and would not let her leave until she gave them $5. The owners claimed they tried calling to tell us we underpaid, but that never happened. I think they confused my mom for someone else and would not even try to listen. I am never going her again.

Definitely not fresh food. Beef was tough as jerky and stringy with fat. Tofu was dry. Salad was a joke and shrimp gave me and my wife diarrhea within an hour of consumption. Rice was old for sure. Peanut sauce is more like oil and sugar...probably made with Jif. Atmosphere was dingy, dirty and stuffy, hadn't been cleaned in a long while. I made a very bad decision choosing this place... never ever again.....oh yeah, it's cash only so nothing can be tracked.

We couldn't eat here since it's cash only. But one big thing we noticed is that there is no ventilation in the restaurant. It is a small family run place that only has 3 or 4 tables. As a result, you are breathing in all the kitchen smoke that is accumulating. I would love to eat here but only if the ventilation is improved. Hence, I would strongly advise the owners to improve the ventilation. Giving 1 star so that they actually do something about it.

Akshay G

We couldn't eat here since it's cash only. But one big thing we noticed is that there is no ventilation in the restaurant. It is a small family run place that only has 3 or 4 tables. As a result, you are breathing in all the kitchen smoke that is accumulating. I would love to eat here but only if the ventilation is improved. Hence, I would strongly advise the owners to improve the ventilation. Giving 1 star so that they actually do something about it.