Local Restaurant Review: Thai Time II Restaurant in Pt. Loma, San Diego, California

Thai Time is a family-owned group of Thai restaurants in San Diego city area (I think there are 4 of them). This location in Pt. Loma is located in a strip mall with plenty of parking. It is a traditionally decorated place with 2 floors of dining facility; both dimly lit and dominated by Thai carved wood works. A good place to have a big birthday party (can easily accommodate party of 40 while staying open to other diners).

It is a real restaurant with real heavy wood furnishings, real tables and chairs that are stable and wide enough to hold all the dinner dishes you ordered and still leave enough room for you to maneuver or rest your limbs on (unlike some other Thai places in downtown area where you could only fit 2 plates on the table and have to spend the rest of the time making sure that they don't fall off). The place is always kept very clean (including the unisex restroom in the back).

The menu is quite large with all the usual suspects Thai dishes with choices of beef, chicken, or tofu. I think this is a Bangkok-style generalist place that doesn't really specialize on food from specific region of the country. Though their Isaan dishes (larb, yum neau, yum woon sen, som tom) are impressive - more authentic and spicy than what I find at most other Thai restaurants in the area. And they usually have Thai sticky rice available (if you order an Isaan dish, you've got to have it with Thai sticky rice rather than the usual steamed rice - which is not included in the entree price anyway. It makes all the difference in the world!).

The other dishes I've tried range from moderately good to very good. The Pad Thai isn't all that special, but the curries are wonderful - especially the Jungle Curry Soup AKA Gang Pah, a southern curry with enough chili and spices to keep Hades well heated for the next few centuries.... and no coconut milk to round the searing hotness of it off. This is a die-hard Thai eater's dish! A brutally delicious thing that burns you while making you beg for more.

The portion here is very generous. Most dishes range from $6.50 (vegetarian) to $14 (seafood), and are large enough so that you'll end up with a lot of left-over if you ordered more than one entree per person. During the winter months I'd just order a pot of one of their soups (the Tom Kha Gai and Tom Yum Gai are wonderful!) and steamed rice for $9. That is a hot and hearty meal all by itself. Between 11AM to 3PM on Monday through Saturday is their lunch special hours with a good selections from the entrees served with either soup or house salad with vegetable rolls, fried wontons and steamed rice (add $1 if you want to substitute with fried rice or steamed brown rice) for only $5 - $9, depending on what sort of meat you wanted.

Service is very good. All the staff are Thai, know the dishes well, and are willing to help you customize your order. The place can get pretty busy during dinner rush hours, but you won't usually have to wait for longer than 15 minutes for your food. There is no delivery service, though they will cater.

So, if you are roaming around near the San Diego Sport Arena or Old Town area and crave a good Southeastern lunch or dinner, stop by at Thai Time II on Midway Dr. It is one of the best tasting and affordable Thai restaurants in town!

Thai Time II: 3545 Midway Drive #M (at Kemper), San Diego, CA 92110. Tel. (619) 224-3245. Opens: Mon-Sat: 11AM - 10PM, Sun: 3 - 10PM. Website: www.thaitime2.com