Donovan H.
Yelp
Interestingly enough and much to my surprise, San Francisco is not really known for their Siamese/Thai food. In fact, when I go onto the Yelp app and search for an above average Thai restaurant in the city, very few places actually show up. Reason being is simply because this city is heavily saturated with some amazing Dim Sum, Japanese, Vietnamese, and dozens upon dozens of award-winning Chinese restaurants. However, paying a visit to "Marnee Thai" just might change my perspective of how amazing this place was.
Located in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco, this restaurant is situated directly on Irving St. and tucked in between 23rd & 24th Ave while only being a couple blocks away from Golden Gate Park. This is actually their original location as they also have a 2nd location (also in the Inner Sunset) that is on 9th Ave and close to Lincoln Way. Parking can be a challenge with the vast amount of businesses and boutiques surrounding this area. My lady and I came during the evening of Friday 11/29/2024 at around 5:25pm.
The hours of operation are Wednesday through Monday from 11:30am-8:30pm while being closed on Tuesday. As soon as my lady and I walked in, it was very warm, cozy, and inviting. The interior layout showcases a distinctive A-frame roof design complete with wood paneling throughout. In fact, this place has a very strong Thailand presence to it as the artwork and walls looked as if we were dining out in Bangkok and not San Francisco. And even though we came during dinnertime on a Friday evening, there was no wait as we were seated by the hostess immediately.
Since I already knew what I wanted, I settled with their "Pad Kee Mao"; this consisted of roasted duck, wide rice noodles, chili, garlic, tomatoes, and string beans. My lady went with the "Pad Se-Ew" which is one of the more popular Thai dishes; she chose chicken as her protein of choice. Her dish had a blend of pan-fried wide rice noodles, soy beans, broccoli, and scrambled eggs. And as a trademark of every Thai restaurant I visit, I went with their "Thai Iced Tea". Both of our meals arrived in around 8 minutes; very quick turnaround time. And best of all, our dishes were piping hot.
I absolutely loved the seasoned, tender, and flavorful bits of my roasted duck as they were very generous with the meat portion. Since I do not like spicy, they were able to make it with a more milder chili flavor. It hit the spot in every way possible. All of the ingredient with the wide noodles had the perfect balance of sweet and salty. I also tried some of her Pad Se-Ew and that too was top notch. Even my Thai iced tea had the perfect amount of tea without being overbearingly sweet. Again, the service and quality of food was excellent while not being too expensive. All in all, I loved "Marnee Thai" as this will be a future staple restaurant for my lady and I. My rating, a unanimous five stars.