Thai Food in San Francisco (2025)
Pim Techamuanvivit’s elegant Japantown restaurant channels Thai flavors through California produce with family-style dishes and refined curries. Recognized with a Michelin star and frequently cited by Eater SF, it remains a destination for celebratory dinners and serious flavor seekers.
An independent Union Square fixture where bold, layered flavors meet Northern California ingredients—think rabbit green curry and mushroom hor mok. Michelin-starred and often highlighted by local critics, it’s the rare hotel-adjacent spot that’s truly for locals, not just visitors.
Siblings Tanya and Jim Suwanpanya deliver hand-pounded curry pastes, lotus stem salads, and a memorable candle-smoked coconut ice cream. Listed by the Michelin Guide and previously lauded by The New York Times, it’s intimate, focused, and proudly neighborhood-driven.
Chef-owner Tom Silargorn’s flagship pulls Thai food lovers for uncompromising spice and a sprawling menu—frog legs, quail, boar, and stellar classics. Praised by Eater SF and long respected by local critics, it’s a true cook’s favorite with deep neighborhood roots.
A Tenderloin mainstay known for fiery, homestyle cooking—most famously the barbecue pork shoulder, noted by the San Francisco Chronicle and featured on Eater SF’s Thai list. Family-run vibes, real heat, and dishes locals return for again and again.
This Thai legend in the Sunset has been going strong since the World Wide Web was a thing (1986, to get technical). The slanted bamboo roof and walls covered in old photographs and art create a warm, home-like atmosphere that draws you in. That’s where most of the charm of this spot lies—the menu is a roundup of usual suspects that generally lack flavor, like the red curry and tom yum soup. Sure, there are some well-executed highlights, like the coconutty homemade hotcakes that are scooped out of a griddle tableside, and the avocado and green mango salad that has the right levels of sweet and spice. Ultimately, you can find better versions of most of these Thai standards at other spots in the city. Though, if you’re in the neighborhood and need a quick and casual dinner, this place gets the job done.
West Portal’s breakout Thai spot from chef Wipada Rattanapun swings from beef tallow fried rice to pandan kaya toast and seafood hotpots. Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle and noted by local editors for energizing the area’s dining scene.
Eating at Muukata6395 in San Francisco’s Richmond district involves getting hands-on with your food: mu kratha is served on a domed metal pan set over charcoal so diners grill marinated rib-eye, pork shoulder, or chicken on the slatted dome while pork broth bubbles in a surrounding trench and vegetables simmer and become more flavorful as marinades drip into the soup. Debuting on Geary Boulevard in March 2023 and staying open until midnight, the restaurant—launched by Phornthip Korkiatnun and Ittriuj Niamchan (who also own Ginza Sushi and Naya Dessert Cafe)—imported special pans, installed charcoal grills, and developed veggie and pork bone broths and dipping sauces (chef Niamchan is a Le Cordon Bleu graduate). Diners choose a small or large mu kratha set (for one or two) that arrives as a chef’s-choice assortment of marinated pork shoulder or ribeye, shrimp, scallops, fish balls, bok choy, and napa cabbage, with rice or noodles and a pork or vegetarian broth (gluten-free on request); servers explain the cooking, refill the broth, and customers can add more meat or vegetables or order other dishes like crispy wings, larb, papaya salad, tom yum fried rice, udon pad kee mao, or chim chum (jim jum). The house sauces—one green seafood sauce made with green chiles, garlic, cilantro roots, and fish sauce, and a tamarind-based nam jim jaew that is spicy, sour, and sweet—are popular, and staff say the place attracts Thai expats longing for home as well as newcomers (“This is exactly the same taste in Thailand,” says manager Karaked Kungseng); Kungseng adds that mu kratha is “healing” and that the restaurant aims to show what Thais eat beyond green curry.
Chef Kobe’s spot focuses on regional Thai street foods—nam khao tod, shrimp paste fried rice, grilled catfish—served in a spirited room decked with Thai film posters. Featured on Eater SF’s Thai list, it’s a flavorful detour from the predictable.
House of Thai in Lower Nob Hill is another casual spot focusing on moderately priced Thai curries, fried rice, salads, and noodles. But in this house, the funk and spice are dialed up for maximum flavor. You’ll see pad see ew with minced pork charred to the point of caramelization, BBQ pork tossed in a chili lime dressing so perfect we want to rename it Bring On The Funk, and a tom kha ga that’s anything but bland or overly creamy. Think of it as a jolt to your palate—even a side of peanut sauce has a rich depth to it. The space is huge, with high walls and plenty of seating. So gather your closest friends, bask in the loud echo, and get here.
A contemporary tasting-menu exploration of regional Thai cuisines by chef Piriya “Saint” Boonprasarn. Recognized by the Michelin Guide and highlighted by Eater SF, it brings an elevated, creative lens to Thai flavors while collaborating with local producers.
