Thai Thai Restaurant in San Francisco, CA: A Review

I can't count the number of times I walked by Thai Thai when I was hungry at night and thought "Eh, I don't really like Thai food, and anyway how good could a place open until 9 p.m. in a remote part of the Financial District be anyway? Better play it safe and go to Subway." And little did I know I was short-changing myself. In this oddball border area (which I call The Confluence) between North Beach, the Financial District and Chinatown, it's tough to find any restaurant open past 5 p.m., let alone a good one. I'm happy to say Thai Thai Restaurant really is pretty good, definitely better than a boring old Subway sandwich anyway.

The one knock against it is that even when there's only one or two other customers, the food preparation seems to be fairly slow. It does come out good though, and the sweet and attentive staff makes it easy to forgive them.

Lunch is probably the best time to visit, but also the only time they are busy. Basically, they have a daily/weekly rotating set of lunch specials that you can pick from, where the first entree (with rice) is about $6, then it's an extra dollar or two to add on other items from various chicken and fish dishes to veggies. Another nice touch is that if you dine in, you can get Thai iced tea or coffee for only a buck extra (2 bucks if you take it to go.) If you plan on doing take-out, it's advisable to call ahead at any time of day due to most dishes taking fifteen minutes or so to prepare, but especially during lunchtime on weekdays when the Financial District lunch break swarm is on. As far as food goes, I recommend whatever on the menu catches your eye - everything I've tried here has been well above average and satisfying. If you don't do the lunch special, expect regular prices to be in the area of $8-10 per meal.

The interior is a bit small but very nice and well-kept. It's a family-owned and run joint so there's a warm vibe and usually the service is just the right level of friendly and attentive. Though it initially looks like there's not much seating, they have an upstairs area that's kind of hidden away, so don't let a crowd necessarily scare you out the door.

Good place for a reasonably priced lunch, good place for a good-quality dinner and to kick back with a beer and some chums in a pleasant environment without having to worry about swarms of foodies or hipsters. In fact I'm almost loathe to submit this review, but foodies and hipsters hate my reviews anyway, so it should be fine. Consider this one a little inside tip for the loyal readers, and if you live in the neighborhood don't get sucked into Subway on your next late-night munchie run, wander a little bit down Clay to check this one out instead. Apparently this location also delivers as well.