Taste of Thai

I regularly have meals here as this is one of my most favorite restaurants in Hillcrest. The food is superb, always consistently well proportioned, delicious, and fresh with great flavors and a nice variety of options and unique items. My top pick for an excellent mid-priced busy Thai restaurant s with fantastic service every time I go!

Excellent Thai noodles dishes also served great appetizers.

Been dining at this establishment for well over 10 years. Absolutely the best thai I've had anywhere including Thailand!! They also have the friendliest staff you could ask for. One of my all time favorites!

What you want from a Thai spot. Relaxing, nice ambiance, good service, and of course tasty drunken noodles. Overall, one of the better in Hillcrest.

Chill atmosphere. The staff is very kind and the food is delicious. Great selection of dishes and drinks.

This is a great place to have a delicious dinner with an authentic taste. My favorite dish is green curry with roasted duck. Nothing beats their delicious sticky mango desserts. This has been one of my families get go Thai dinner places since I was little. Therefore, sometimes when I return from a trip love to order their coconut soup to comfort me.

I lived in this neighborhood for some years and I eat at this restaurant every chance I get. The prices are great, the food is AMAZING, and the service is first rate. If you know my reviews you know I only rate the 5-star places and for me a restaurant can make it to 5-stars if I can count on provide a visiting friend with a memorable meal at a convenient price. This place never disappoints.

It is a vegan restaurant. All meat options are mock (soy) versions. That being said, I still enjoyed the food. I ordered yellow curry with vegetables, rather than mock meat. I asked that the dish be cooked extra spicy. I found it to be a medium level. If you are looking for a very mild spiciness, they can definitely accommodate you. The waitress was friendly, and the atmosphere was nice. I would recommend checking this restaurant out, especially if you are vegan or are trying to limit your meat consumption.

Taste of Thai in Hillcrest, San Diego, is a cozy and inviting restaurant serving flavorful, authentic Thai cuisine. The dishes are beautifully presented, with perfectly balanced spices and fresh ingredients that stand out in every bite. The service is warm and attentive, and the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. A great spot for enjoying classic Thai favorites in the heart of Hillcrest.

Really enjoyed our dinner here! I got the spicy noodle with squid and it was cooked perfectly and had a nice kick without being overpowering. My girlfriend had the egg noodles with shrimp and was all smiles the whole time. We also tried the plum wine, which was sweet and tasty, kind of the perfect finish to the meal. Chill vibe, friendly service, and the food hit the spot. Heads up, my girlfriend thought medium spice was too spicy for her, but I enjoyed medium spice.

I ordered the nice rice & the $17+ dish "Vegetarian Duck", which has mock duck, basil, bamboo shoots, carrots, green peas, green bell pepper, garlic, & chili. I chose 1/10 spice level. It is a little salty to my taste. But I love the basil smell of my dish. The background music is relaxing. The decor of the dining room is authentic Thai. Most of all, the waitresses are pleasant & attentive. The tables, cutlery & white napkins are clean. The Pad Thai dish is good. I ate the coconut ice cream for dessert -- that's perfect for me. A lot of their dishes have the choice to change protein. I will certainly recommend this place to everyone.

Party of 2 hungry people Food: Starter- ordered the garlic wings, delish! Can't go wrong, I think it came with 6-8 pieces so good to share with a group. Chrispy and yummy! Goes great with their array of sauces. Entree- we ordered the fried whole fish. Ginger. The sauce was delicious, and tasted like your traditional Thai flavors. It came with different kinds of veggies and Chinese mushrooms. Underneath the sauce is a nicely scored fish that's fried to a crisp, soooo good! Good to share between 3-4 people depending on how hungry you are. Great with white rice. Dessert: we went with the classic mango sticky rice, we know it's not in season but they had sweet mangoes for some reason, it was a good portion knowing that we ate so much of the entree, and had very little room for dessert. It had a mild to mod lavender? Taste? It was new but not bad! Service: everyone really nice and accommodating! 10/10 love the staff! Highly recommend if you're in hillcrest and craving traditional Thai dishes 😋

This is one of our top spots in town for Thai food. 9/10 times we are happy but they have their off nights. Last night, we got take out since we just got off a flight. It was the best they have ever made for us. The pad Thai was the best we have ever had. The drunken noodles weren’t as great as usual. We tried the Thai asparagus for the first time and it was delicious.

Great Thai restaurant. Located in Hillcrest, this establishment serves delicious Thai food. We ordered the spicy noodles, rahd nar noodles, and the fresh spring rolls -- all flavorful. Their Thai iced tea was appetizing as well. They have a very complete Thai menu. Parking is little tight, so you may have to drive a little bit. But, overall, I recommend this Thai restaurant.

This is an institution that’s been here for at least 20 years. They always play classical music. The food is top notch (and excellent lunch specials). Service is fantastic. Great quiet atmosphere. Top notch. Edit: They no longer have the lunch specials, but an entree with rice is around $13-$16 and is more than I can eat at one setting. Their iced tea is heavenly…appears to be fresh brewed and my glass never ran dry with frequent refills.

Really tasty food and a very nice atmosphere. Waitress didn’t constantly check in which we appreciate but was easily reachable when we needed her. We split one appetizer and entree and felt fulfilled

FANTASTIC FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE . AUTHENTIC MENU . GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATION . AMAZING AND CLASSIC DISHES .

Absolutely sublime! Clean dining, kitchen, and bathroom areas! Staff was so friendly, fast, and masked ready. Ordered Pad Thai noodles with Tofu, steamed rice, and Yellow Curry with Tofu. Also added a Thai Tea with Coconut Cream! Everything was proportional and absolutely delicious!!! Brought to the table with beautiful plates, I will be back for more! Delicious good and thank you!!

First-time here and I really enjoyed it. Everything about this place was excellent. The food it's truly delicious, I had the Duck roasted noodle soup. It was a new taste for me, so bold but balanced at the same time, so new and fresh with a slightly taste of mint or might be anothe spice that it makes it so welcoming. If I could eat this broth everyday I'd do it. The noodles, (the type, egg noodles, recommended by our waiter) where the right amount of flavour and thickness. I also tried the plum wine they have and I really liked it, you can taste the plum flavour there, is kind of sweet but not awfully, good sweet. The place is clean and the decorations lead you to a really Thai ambient. About the service, it was over and extremely good, excellent, outstanding. This is the kind of service all restaurants should have. Waitress and waiters are really doing their work, without overstepping when you don't need. To the contrary they're really taking care of you, making the service very effective. When you need to refill your drink they we'll ask you before and you don't even have to ask for it. When you are done they know and they go and take away what you don't need. They ask, recommend, treat you as it should be. That with a lot of tables to attend and from I can tell that food service is wide to all customers. It's their timing, kindness, and efficiency along with the true Thai flavours that makes this place so unique. It's just perfect. I give 5 stars because I cannot give 6, but this it's an outstanding place. It'll be my place for Thai food. Definitely come here and live this experience. I highly recommend it

Ambience was cool, ordered red curry - flavorful and tasty

Chris Francisco

It is a vegan restaurant. All meat options are mock (soy) versions. That being said, I still enjoyed the food. I ordered yellow curry with vegetables, rather than mock meat. I asked that the dish be cooked extra spicy. I found it to be a medium level. If you are looking for a very mild spiciness, they can definitely accommodate you. The waitress was friendly, and the atmosphere was nice. I would recommend checking this restaurant out, especially if you are vegan or are trying to limit your meat consumption.

Manikandan

Taste of Thai in Hillcrest, San Diego, is a cozy and inviting restaurant serving flavorful, authentic Thai cuisine. The dishes are beautifully presented, with perfectly balanced spices and fresh ingredients that stand out in every bite. The service is warm and attentive, and the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. A great spot for enjoying classic Thai favorites in the heart of Hillcrest.

Drew Bushnell

Really enjoyed our dinner here! I got the spicy noodle with squid and it was cooked perfectly and had a nice kick without being overpowering. My girlfriend had the egg noodles with shrimp and was all smiles the whole time. We also tried the plum wine, which was sweet and tasty, kind of the perfect finish to the meal. Chill vibe, friendly service, and the food hit the spot. Heads up, my girlfriend thought medium spice was too spicy for her, but I enjoyed medium spice.

Mama Shrek

I ordered the nice rice & the $17+ dish "Vegetarian Duck", which has mock duck, basil, bamboo shoots, carrots, green peas, green bell pepper, garlic, & chili. I chose 1/10 spice level. It is a little salty to my taste. But I love the basil smell of my dish. The background music is relaxing. The decor of the dining room is authentic Thai. Most of all, the waitresses are pleasant & attentive. The tables, cutlery & white napkins are clean. The Pad Thai dish is good. I ate the coconut ice cream for dessert -- that's perfect for me. A lot of their dishes have the choice to change protein. I will certainly recommend this place to everyone.

Beullah Escalante

Party of 2 hungry people Food: Starter- ordered the garlic wings, delish! Can't go wrong, I think it came with 6-8 pieces so good to share with a group. Chrispy and yummy! Goes great with their array of sauces. Entree- we ordered the fried whole fish. Ginger. The sauce was delicious, and tasted like your traditional Thai flavors. It came with different kinds of veggies and Chinese mushrooms. Underneath the sauce is a nicely scored fish that's fried to a crisp, soooo good! Good to share between 3-4 people depending on how hungry you are. Great with white rice. Dessert: we went with the classic mango sticky rice, we know it's not in season but they had sweet mangoes for some reason, it was a good portion knowing that we ate so much of the entree, and had very little room for dessert. It had a mild to mod lavender? Taste? It was new but not bad! Service: everyone really nice and accommodating! 10/10 love the staff! Highly recommend if you're in hillcrest and craving traditional Thai dishes 😋

Breana McGowan

This is one of our top spots in town for Thai food. 9/10 times we are happy but they have their off nights. Last night, we got take out since we just got off a flight. It was the best they have ever made for us. The pad Thai was the best we have ever had. The drunken noodles weren’t as great as usual. We tried the Thai asparagus for the first time and it was delicious.

John Bathke

Great Thai restaurant. Located in Hillcrest, this establishment serves delicious Thai food. We ordered the spicy noodles, rahd nar noodles, and the fresh spring rolls -- all flavorful. Their Thai iced tea was appetizing as well. They have a very complete Thai menu. Parking is little tight, so you may have to drive a little bit. But, overall, I recommend this Thai restaurant.

Jonathan Mathews

FANTASTIC FRIENDLY EXPERIENCE . AUTHENTIC MENU . GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD LOCATION . AMAZING AND CLASSIC DISHES .

ERIC TAYLOR

This is an institution that’s been here for at least 20 years. They always play classical music. The food is top notch (and excellent lunch specials). Service is fantastic. Great quiet atmosphere. Top notch. Edit: They no longer have the lunch specials, but an entree with rice is around $13-$16 and is more than I can eat at one setting. Their iced tea is heavenly…appears to be fresh brewed and my glass never ran dry with frequent refills.

Thomas Meagher

Really tasty food and a very nice atmosphere. Waitress didn’t constantly check in which we appreciate but was easily reachable when we needed her. We split one appetizer and entree and felt fulfilled

Soochi M

Ambience was cool, ordered red curry - flavorful and tasty

Romina Hogue

Absolutely sublime! Clean dining, kitchen, and bathroom areas! Staff was so friendly, fast, and masked ready. Ordered Pad Thai noodles with Tofu, steamed rice, and Yellow Curry with Tofu. Also added a Thai Tea with Coconut Cream! Everything was proportional and absolutely delicious!!! Brought to the table with beautiful plates, I will be back for more! Delicious good and thank you!!

Chelsea

I always pass this place whenever I’m in Hillcrest. I went to get my toes done and walked over for dinner. The service was really good, our waiter checked in on us a lot and gave us water without us having to flag her down. The food was also amazing. I usually get Tom yum soup but they have a sukiyaki version of it and it was phenomenal! Highly recommend this place if your looking for good Thai food. I’ll be coming back again soon 😊

Monica L Cholico

First-time here and I really enjoyed it. Everything about this place was excellent. The food it's truly delicious, I had the Duck roasted noodle soup. It was a new taste for me, so bold but balanced at the same time, so new and fresh with a slightly taste of mint or might be anothe spice that it makes it so welcoming. If I could eat this broth everyday I'd do it. The noodles, (the type, egg noodles, recommended by our waiter) where the right amount of flavour and thickness. I also tried the plum wine they have and I really liked it, you can taste the plum flavour there, is kind of sweet but not awfully, good sweet. The place is clean and the decorations lead you to a really Thai ambient. About the service, it was over and extremely good, excellent, outstanding. This is the kind of service all restaurants should have. Waitress and waiters are really doing their work, without overstepping when you don't need. To the contrary they're really taking care of you, making the service very effective. When you need to refill your drink they we'll ask you before and you don't even have to ask for it. When you are done they know and they go and take away what you don't need. They ask, recommend, treat you as it should be. That with a lot of tables to attend and from I can tell that food service is wide to all customers. It's their timing, kindness, and efficiency along with the true Thai flavours that makes this place so unique. It's just perfect. I give 5 stars because I cannot give 6, but this it's an outstanding place. It'll be my place for Thai food. Definitely come here and live this experience. I highly recommend it

Teresa Tran

Every dish was infused with heaps of flavor. Love how spicy everything was. One of the best pad thai’s I’ve had

We loved our dinner, the service was great and the food was delicious. We had spring rolls to start and got the yellow curry and the pad see-iw and they were really good. We will definitely be back!

Teresa Zavala

We loved our dinner, the service was great and the food was delicious. We had spring rolls to start and got the yellow curry and the pad see-iw and they were really good. We will definitely be back!

This is one of the first this restaurant I had ever been to. The food and the service are excellent and definitely worth a try. I normally get the hot basil chicken or spicy noodles with chicken and pork.

Taste of Thai always offers a consistently nice meal with great service. Everything I've had has been solid. No real standouts, but I appreciate the consistency of the dishes from visit to visit. There's validated parking in a lot around the corner.

Small seating space inside. Clean and beautiful looking venue however. Good for a date spot. Food is well priced. Waiters were friendly.

Food : 4/5 for food . We ordered chicken satay, Golden triangles, green & red curry, Basil fried rice. Few dishes were less on salt. Service: Good Ambience : Little clearance but overall satisfactory.

+1

This establishment has been a local institution for at least 20 years, consistently playing classical music. The food is of the highest quality, especially with their excellent lunch specials. The service is fantastic, and the ambiance is perfect for a quiet meal. It's truly top-notch. Please note that they no longer offer lunch specials, but their entrees with rice are priced around $13-$16, providing generous portions that exceed a single setting. Their iced tea is heavenly—appearing to be freshly brewed—and my glass never ran dry thanks to frequent refills.

The best Thai food we've had in years! Everything was delicious! The choochi curry was my fav! And they gave us coconut ice cream! Sooo yummy! And the service was spot on and so nice! Wished we lived closer... it would be a regular for us!

Lunch on a Friday. Very quiet. The place is a little run down from many years ago when we went frequently.

Was expecting a lot better experience then it was, flavor was quite not there compared to other Thai restaurants i’ve been before, seemed a bit too dry, meat quality wasn’t great, when i ordered the most popular dish i was expecting more i guess. Altho it looked good.

Ordered Pad See Ew and Panang Curry at a 4/10 spice level. The curry had nice flavor and was just spicy enough to tickle the tastebuds. The Pad See Ew looked really tasty but was a little bland. Both portion sizes were generous and we ended up having leftovers which were boxed up very nicely by our waitress! We arrived around 6:15pm on a Wednesday and the restaurant was mostly empty which was a little surprising but the service was fast.

We have always loved this place for takeout because the food is good, they have good size portions, they make it quick, run specials on the Uber app and it’s right down the street from us. It seems like they have recently changed chefs, for the better. We always order seafood pad Thai and chicken pad prik king and this last time they were more flavorful and seemed to include more protein which was great. They only reason I give them 4/5 stars is because the inside of the restaurant is outdated, that’s why we always get takeout.

Zakhar Smirnov

Was expecting a lot better experience then it was, flavor was quite not there compared to other Thai restaurants i’ve been before, seemed a bit too dry, meat quality wasn’t great, when i ordered the most popular dish i was expecting more i guess. Altho it looked good.

Melia

Ordered Pad See Ew and Panang Curry at a 4/10 spice level. The curry had nice flavor and was just spicy enough to tickle the tastebuds. The Pad See Ew looked really tasty but was a little bland. Both portion sizes were generous and we ended up having leftovers which were boxed up very nicely by our waitress! We arrived around 6:15pm on a Wednesday and the restaurant was mostly empty which was a little surprising but the service was fast.

Tiffany Moseley

We have always loved this place for takeout because the food is good, they have good size portions, they make it quick, run specials on the Uber app and it’s right down the street from us. It seems like they have recently changed chefs, for the better. We always order seafood pad Thai and chicken pad prik king and this last time they were more flavorful and seemed to include more protein which was great. They only reason I give them 4/5 stars is because the inside of the restaurant is outdated, that’s why we always get takeout.

Middle of the road thai. Weird that you have to order peanut sauce for a $1 more to go with your fresh rolls Pad thai was ok. I did like that there was a 1-10 spice level choice, but didn’t notice much at 5 so I guess I’ll kick it up next time. Overall it check the box, but nothing special.

Places uses too many frozen ingredients. This is true because spring rolls we ordered were the frozen variety as they came frozen in the middle even with the exterior piping hot. I got the green curry, which honestly tasted nicely with the pork, but the peas and carrots in the curry were definitely the frozen variety as they have that cold-burned flavor.

You know when you are craving your favorite food from your favorite spot and then you finally put the baby done to sleep and can't wait to get to your food only to find the order messed up. Yes that's what happened today. Actually it was not messed up. They just didn't add egg plant to the green curry. The only reason you order it. So disappointed ☹️

I was really disappointed with my recent visit to Taste of Thai Restaurant. The Tom Yum soup was bland and didn’t have the tangy or spicy flavors it’s supposed to have. It just tasted like plain broth. The Thai Fried Rice wasn’t any better. It was tasteless, plain, and didn’t have much flavor at all. Overall, the food was very disappointing, and I don’t plan on coming back anytime soon.

Food was not very good, but the staff was very friendly

Say it isn't so! Taste of Thai ruined Som Tum. Worse, they deny it. In ordering green papaya salad from Taste of Thai, previous experiences have delivered a masterfully crafted product. The order I received today, unfortunately, was a poor representation. What is advertised, "Fresh green papaya salad, with dried shrimp, a traditional Northeastern Thai salad", was not what I received. Formerly one of the thai restaurants that make traditional thai, my return to Taste of Thai this week was a disappointment. From my first trip to Taste of Thai, I would receive a proper Som Tum. The dish features green papaya shredded then pounded using a mortar and pestle. The pounding is to bruise the shredded papaya while adding fish sauce, lime juice, peanuts, tomato and palm sugar. Some restaurants include green beans, but they do not add to the dish in my opinion. When I placed my order, 2:40 PM, I requested no green beans and Bangkok hot. When I arrived to pick up my order, 2:50 PM, I waited a few minutes, then received my order. As my prior experiences had been good and the rain had stopped, I did not look at my order until I got home. The papaya probably went through a mandolin operated by a rookie as shown in the photos. The tomato was barely ripe, not red all the way through. There was no lime juice evident, but the sugar was quite pronounced. Finally, it seems the reference to Bangkok hot had no meaning, as the salad was bland. On arriving home and experiencing the low-quality product, I called. As it was after lunch ended, I was told I could leave a message after the tone, but there was no tone. The voicemail was informative about hours of service, but I could not request a call back. I tried repeatedly after arriving home, and finally got my call picked up just before 5 PM. On asking if there was someone new in the kitchen I was told the chef had been there for years. My prior experiences being so good, I asked about any changes, and defined the problems with what I received. The person answering the phone told me nothing had changed with the recipe. I asked if they wanted to make the item right before I adjusted my prior 4- star review, but was told that since nothing had changed in the product, there was no concern. It is unfortunate the restaurant is having issues, especially since COVID. However, if the restaurant cannot be consistent about the product offered, I must speak out to let folks know a good restaurant is going bad.

WARNING, our soup TomYum was served in toxic aluminum. No telling what cookware is used in kitchen Teflon, aluminum etc. If you value your health beware.

I ordered Green Curry to go. The taste was not good. Roasted duck was stale and rice was scant and awful. Not even a full container of rice. The woman taking my order was very impatient and impolite. I believe she was bothered that i couldn’t understand her English. She became very combative and another woman approached speaking clearer English and cleared up some miscommunication. I decided to eat my meal there and the woman with the bad attitude glared and stared me down all evening. A terrible experience. I do not recommend this place - bad food, bad service.

The Craic Pirate

I ordered Green Curry to go. The taste was not good. Roasted duck was stale and rice was scant and awful. Not even a full container of rice. The woman taking my order was very impatient and impolite. I believe she was bothered that i couldn’t understand her English. She became very combative and another woman approached speaking clearer English and cleared up some miscommunication. I decided to eat my meal there and the woman with the bad attitude glared and stared me down all evening. A terrible experience. I do not recommend this place - bad food, bad service.

I ordered from Taste of Thai for a business meeting and got food for about 14 people. Since it’s nearby, I figured I’d give it a try. Big mistake. First issue: none of the food was labeled. With multiple people ordering similar dishes, some with different spice levels..it was impossible to tell whose food was whose. For a large order, that’s just careless. My order was vegetable red curry, and I was honestly shocked. I have never had red curry made with what were clearly frozen mixed vegetables. You could tell it came straight from a bag, the typical peas, green beans, and diced carrots. It felt extremely lazy. I expected fresh vegetables, especially carrots, but instead got mushy, waxy green beans and a curry that smelled unpleasant and had a weird aftertaste. I couldn’t get past the smell. It is ironic because on recent picture reviews with this restaurant the veggies looked freshly cut as well as the carrots ( you can tell it was not frozen ) in other reviews it has a crinkle cut. The mango sticky rice was also disappointing. The portion was small and cheap feeling, and it didn’t come close to other versions I’ve had. To be completely honest, I threw the food away. I will not be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Calling this “real Thai food” is a stretch everything we had was a miss.