Thai House Express Restaurant

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been to Thai House Express. I’ve missed going there so we decided to have a quick dinner. I ordered chicken curry and boy was their serving hefty! Even the rice was a huge bowl and I truly appreciated it. It’s fresh, medium spicy just like I ordered it. My good friend had noodle soup which he was equally happy to have. Really attentive service which which means 4/5 stars! I’m glad they’re still thriving.

I ordered chicken panang curry and jasmine rice and Thai iced tea. Using Door Dash there is no way to make special requests especially in regards to heat of food. Your manager or restaurant owner needs to fix this on Door Dash app particularly. Also there were different prices for each app, from Uber Eats, GrubHub and Door Dash. 🤔. Whoever filled the order for me did NOT include silverware 🍴 🥄 napkins nor chopsticks as requested so it is difficult to eat curry and rice at work without silverware!!! I am extremely dissatisfied using Door Dash and this restaurant in particular and also with the the fact that none of my requests such as basic silverware and napkins AND wanting MILD instead of Extra spicy panang curry. Whoever packaged my food did not follow any of the order notes and I was unable to eat the curry without a spoon or rice without a spoon or chopsticks. Can you please contact me here as I would love to give your restaurant another chance to redeem yourself. The prices were the only reason I ordered with door dash. Last time I use them. Normally I use Uber Eats.

Lots of choices and mostly good, the stand out dishes are the chicken satay which was juicy and tasty, and the pad see ew was delicious, highly recommend these. I do not recommend moo krob, it's my favorite dish but this place deep fried the pork so much it was just hard crisps. Overall, the venue was clean and servers were really friendly.

I really enjoyed the flavors and portions of their shrimp pineapple curry, coconut mushroom soup, and sleeping shrimp appetizer. The lunch combo menu is a wonderful size and price, and you get to try many flavors. Service was kind and attentive. We’ll be coming back!

This was really nice, it appeared upscale but the prices were very reasonable and I felt very comfortable in causal wear. I didnt have to wait to be seated on a Friday night. I had the chicken Kao soy. It was a chicken noodle curry with friend egg noodles on top. The curry wasnt too spicey and was very good. It was almost sweet but very savory and seasoned. The portion was very healthy I was very hungry and left very full. The service was friendly.

Good food, fresh and prepared with fresh ingredients. Took the green curry with chicken - I'd suggest to reduce the bamboo shoots inside this dish, that's the only thing I found too excessive in a green curry dish.

Everything was tasty but wayyy tooo spicy at Medium! I'll recommend the garden rolls, panang curry and pad thai.

Ordered thru Uber eats. This was by far the best Thia food I've ever had. Egg rolls- best, Tom-ka fnawesome

A nice reliable standard in the Castro. Perfect for a last minute drop in when the other restaurants nearby have a wait. It's not the best Thai or even destination-worthy, but it does the trick. Money Bags: Such a fun appetizers. Looks like those gold bags in 8-bit video games. Tastes great too with crunchy exterior and lots of savory ground meat. Chicken Larb: My kind of salad... since it's mostly meat! Though a nice bit of herbs, onions and spices too. Tom Yum w/ Tofu: Broth was good, but kinda felt like too many veggies. Kinda wish there was more of that slightly sour broth. Pad Thai Shrimp: A classic. Sweet chewy noodles. A decent amount of shrimp. Real comfort food. Red Curry w/ Beef: Really enjoyed how this was such a soupy dish. Like even a higher liquid-to-solids ratio than the tom yum soup. The beef was tender. The curry packed a nice kick, even at mild (ordered by my table mates). Sauteed Eggplant w/ Pork: I'm normally not a big eggplant fan, but these are delish. So tender and soaks up all the nice sauce. The pork was thin sliced and kinda reminded me of the beef. Pineapple Fried Rice w/ Chinese Sausage: Didn't want to order a bunch of white rice sides, so we got this. An interesting mix of flavors. The Chinese sausage rounds really was a dominate flavor. Thai Iced Tea: Creamy with a nice jolt of sugar and caffiene.

This is probably the 20th time I've been here over the years. However this was first time to call ahead and pick it up. The lady on phone was friendly and helpful. They got my order done correctly and my group enjoyed our selections. It was a pleasant and efficient way to enjoy this restaurant. Will definitely continue to be a customer here!

We ordered last minute delivery from DoorDash and it cost $180 total for 4 entrees (below), two chicken satays, and two servings of rice. Plenty to feed 4 adults and 4 toddlers. * Pad Thai - 4 stars, good, thinner noodles, chicken fairly moist. * Pad See Ew - 4 stars, good. * Pork Belly - 3.5 stars (pork got soggy in the broth). * Green Curry - 4 stars, legit spicy! * Chicken Satay - I didn't have any but the kids were practically fighting over these!

I've only been to the restaurant that was my Annie's burgers. There hours were hit & miss. The food is excellent. I have yet to try the one in town.

Saw the sign that they have been open for 36 years so I had to give it a try. Boy am I happy I trusted my instinct. This place is so homey, employees so kind, environment is picturesque and overall an amazing place. Spring rolls phenomenal, packed with ingridents, incredibly fresh and generous potion! The peanut sauce was also homemade and amazing. I got their egg noodle with yellow curry, this was the best curry I've ever had in my life. The balance between sweetness and heat was perfect. It was thick and combined amazing with the fried crackly noodles and the soft egg noddles. Highly recommend this place.

Some of the best Panang ever. Weirdly does not come with rice. Slightly pricey but this dish was worth it.

It took me twenty years to review Thai House Express. I'm not exaggerating. I couldn't review it because I hadn't ever eaten here before, but this place had long occupied an important place in my imagination of my then still newish home of San Francisco. I'll start in spring 2023, because why not? I had finally found a new place to live after my flat burned down, and when I would go to my brother's house in the Inner Sunset, my GPS would either route me around Twin Peaks or through the Castro more directly. When I drove by Thai House Express that first time, I saw the "THANK YOU CASTRO" sign on its exterior, and I worried that it was closing. It isn't, but it was late at night, and I didn't understand why a restaurant would put up a thank-you sign unless it were closing. In short, I needed to get on my giddyap and eat here and review it before it closed! Now, let's go back in time to 2004. I had been living in San Francisco for a little over a year. I was still getting to know my adopted city, but I had a good general geographical sense of the city and its neighborhoods and how they connected, although I would get much better. My parents were in town because my dad had a business meeting. They were being put up in a hotel in Emeryville, and I was driving my dad to City College of San Francisco. The plan was to drop him off; he had three or four hours of meetings to attend, and my mom and I would explore the city or just drive around. On the way to City College, my mom needed to use the restroom. We were already running behind schedule, and it wouldn't be a quick stop, so I was trying to think of safe places to drop her off. I headed for the Castro, and I argued with my dad, who can be extremely protective of my mom, that it was totally safe to leave her here. Over his very strong protestations, I dropped her off at Thai House Express, and my dad and I continued on to City College. The entire drive, I had to ensure him that she was totally safe in the Castro. He obviously knew that it was a predominantly gay neighborhood, but he didn't understand that is was also completely safe and that she would have a swell time. When I returned to pick her up, my mom was excited to tell her story. Thai House Express had let her use the bathroom, and she got something to drink at the bar as she waited for me to return. The employees were kind and chatty with her. She also walked around the neighborhood a little and liked all the cute shops. She had no idea she was in a gay neighborhood until I pointed it out to her, and then she said she had found it unusual that she saw so many good-looking men walking around and almost no women. In 2024 I finally tried Thai House Express with my niece and--who else?--my parents. They both really enjoyed the food, and my dad liked the interior. My mom said it was very different inside now, but it brought back great memories of the time she was "abandoned" by her husband and son in the Castro twenty years ago. After dinner, we perused the expensive offerings at Buffalo Whole Food Market, and I took possibly the greatest photograph of San Francisco I've ever taken ( https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=CQinR3Y2AU-OocvULWLiLw&userid=Zl1fJNTzNULZiqBRShxUYA ). Thanks, Thai House Express, for "protecting" my mom all those years ago, and thanks for remaining a Castro fixture for all these years. I should have come sooner.

Quaint little Thai restaurant. Servers were friendly and noodles were good. It's a good place to grab a bite if you are alone. I had pad kee mao and it was the perfect level of spice

I ordered the pad thai from Uber Eats and it was good pad thai. When they list "Thai spicy", it actually is Thai spicy and not mild downed. I usually have the issue that it's not spicy enough but this was a little too spicy for me! It was a good portion too.

This restaurant is an institution and has been around for 3 decades! It's a testament to their wonderful hospitality and authentic Thai food. It's flavorful, but not too spicy (unless requested). The variety of options make it my go to Thai spot.

Finally stopped by this castro staple for lunch and I can't believe it's taken me this long. This cute corner restaurant is absolutely delicious. I asked for medium spicy and it was pretty hot! Loved the eggplant which soaked up the amazing sauce. Pad Thai was fresh with large shrimp and plenty of crunchy peanuts. Will definitely be back to try the weekday lunch specials.

Food was great I only ordered an appetizer the beef jerky and it was on point . Great service nice quiet location in the castro district of sf .

Probably the most flavorless Thai food I have ever had. Which wouldn't be as bad if it wasn't so expensive compared to other better Thai restaurants. The chicken fried rice is BLEAK. So pale and lacking any taste.

This is a really cute restaurant and the food was great! I ordered the pad kee mao and it tasted great, but didn't have any major stand-out qualities. I think it could have also been a bit spicier to add to the flavor. The service was great and the food came out super quickly. Would recommend if you're in the Castro and are craving Thai food!

Pros Amazing food!! Very Friendly service. Clean kitchen and restrooms Great menu selection Quick turnaround on food items Cons Music loud / unbalanced speaker Playlist could be different

Still really love this restaurant, but it's unfortunately gonna have to be more of a special occasion place for me than a regular go-to now as the prices are way above market. I just paid $25.15 for a very tiny container of red curry - with NO rice or anything else with that order. I know San Francisco is a very expensive place and it's so understandable that they need to pull a profit. It's so hard for restaurants these days, I totally understand, But unfortunately, the curry was over-spiced too so I didn't really enjoy it. I will be back for the peanut sauce tofu which is always perfect and a little bit more substantial for the price.

Fair disclosure, the Yelp algo suggested I review this place, even though I stopped coming long before the pandemic. Probably more than 10 years ago. The reason I patronized THE is because it is conveniently located and the food is usually pretty good (some dishes better than others). We usually came here before going out drinking. I always ate in, never pick up or delivery. My go-to dishes are Gai Gra Pow, Pad Prig King, and Tom Yum Khai. The reason I stopped going is because of the service. The staff had a consistent attitude of being bothered when you asked for water, or a spoon, or whatever. It was a blend of snobbish and indifference to the fact that I was a customer. I wasn't rude, pushy, or demanding. To the 4- or 5-star reviewers: I'm glad you enjoyed it; perhaps something has changed. For myself, there are many other independently-owned places in the neighborhood I'd prefer to keep in business for a long time, and given that we eat out more seldom due to higher prices, this place easily fell off my list.

I ordered 3 entrees from this place on postmates and found 2 pieces of hair in my pad see ew.. there is probably hair in the other 2 entrees as well... threw away everything because I lost my appetite.

This place serves up some amazingly delicious, generously portioned, authentic tastiness (based on several trips to Thailand and confirmatory opinions of my Thai friends), and reasonably priced yumminess. Particularly love the SAUCES. Beef jerky, panang curry (chicken), and minced pork. Everything was good, and it was hot and ready in 15 minutes (a feast for two, which will last us several meals, given the very generous portions). I really don't get why they are coming in at just 3 1/2 stars. I ate here literally 20 years ago and also loved it then. I've been scared to return recently, given the relatively low Yelp reviews. But I'm so glad I did. Will definitely be adding this one back into the rotation!

Food is great, servers are nice, and vibes are chill. I love having this right in the Castro. I mean look at this Beef Pra-Ram!

Very clean place. I got exactly what I wanted, guys did outmost to serve me a soup with seafood, which was not on the menu. But they did it!

Insanely overpriced. Always was, but now it's nuts - we dropped $95 before tip for two - with no beers! Food is consistently under-seasoned. Staff is friendly, though.

Regular who's realized this place has gone downhill. It's the attitude at the high cost. It's disappointing to have a local business that is exclusionary and demands a certain respect but often fails to give it to their customers. Save your money and hot up the mission thai places.

I ordered pad see ew It was great I loved it . Employees are nice and friendly and resturant is very clean . They are over priced though. Compare their prices to any their Thai restaurants, they are way more expensive

Being from San Diego and an avid fan of Thai food, I was reluctant to come here. I was pleasantly surprised by this place. The dining room reminded me of my favorite place in San Diego and the fact that they were LGBT friendly was even more amazing. The food was delicious, the prices were reasonable and the service was amazing. Definitely recommend. Come for lunch with their lunch specials. It's a great bargain.

Food was delicious. Arrived at home quickly and very hot. Nice surprise. Prices were/are too high. $90 for three dishes. Ouch.

To go order: Pork leg stew - really good flavor, pork meat is really tender; the flavor reminds me of home Corn fritters - good flavor also, though it was not as crispy by the time I got home since it was covered in the packaging Good food overall, slightly pricey but I guess most restaurants have increased their prices since pandemic

Consistently good food! I recommend the chicken saté, the money bags, and the corn fritters. Their peanut sauce is the best! They are fast and friendly. But even though the hours say they close at 9pm, beware! They stop seating at 8:30.

I'm sad to give this review, but the Chicken Pad Thai we got here was not good at all. The noodles were extremely overcooked and all clumped together so you couldn't even mix in the bean sprouts. It would have been better to cut it with a knife if that gives you any indication. I got mild, that was very bland and had no spice or taste. My boyfriend got medium and it was really spicy. Not sure if they were having an off day or what. The spring rolls are fresh and tasty thought! But I won't be going back unfortunately. My star rating: 5 - you have to go!!! 4 - you won't be disappointed 3 - it was okay 2 - I probably won't go back 1 - turnaround and run

AMAZING FOOD! I wanted to order something healthy and quick on my lunch break. The food got here in a timely manner and it could not be more delicious! It's also full of flavor. I don't understand some of these comments. They deserve way more credit and I highly recommend!!!

Needed carbs for dinner before a half marathon and glad we went here! The chicken pad see ew was flavorful and not too greasy. The service was really quick - they truly live up to the "Express" in the name! Seems like it is more of a takeout place but there were still quite a number of people sitting in for a casual dinner.

This is a great Thai restaurant in the Castro. The food was excellent. I had lemongrass soup and panang curry while my date had garden rolls and salmon curry, all very good. The service was quick and attentive. The seating area is not very big but it's a good ambience.

Today was my 3rd time going here. The first time was back in July. I got the Pineapple Fried rice with shrimp and chicken and loved it so much I went the very next day for the same thing (first pic is of 2nd trip). Today I got it with shrimp, chicken and Chinese sausage. I was disappointed that that the shrimp looked pretty much raw and was very taste-less (2nd pic). I may go back, but whenever I do I will not add shrimp again. The add ons are too expensive to be messing up. Had I noticed the shrimp befit I got home I definitely would have taken it back. And I was gonna give y'all 5 stars!!! Smh

Got the pad thai with medium spiciness level and though it was addicting and a good amount of food, it had quite a kick so I had trouble eating it just by itself. Another thing to note was the noodles were thin and circular, not the flat ones typical in pad thai.

I had the Thai house steak with rice & it was SO GOOD! I definitely feel like it was well worth the $20, it was super quiet in the restaurant which was nice. The waiters were super friendly

Their garden rolls & moneybags are my absolute favorite! I work in the area and when I have the time I stop by to get my usual, also their Thai Ice Tea is always my go to drink !

Average. I ordered the yellow chicken curry, side order of jasmine white rice, and the pad see ew through Grubhub. Yellow chicken curry was eh. The potatoes were huge, 3 big chunks just thrown in there. The chicken was a mix of shredded chicken and medium sized pieces. The actual curry was okay, nothing too special. I asked for medium spicy and there was a slight kick. Pad see ew was okay. There were like 6 pieces of chicken all together, what seemed to have been just thrown in there. Of which, you have to pay $1 extra for any meat unless you just want tofu and veggies. Egg pieces looked burnt. Flavor overall was fine, nothing special. Definitely some good portion sizes. Food was still really warm when it arrived which was nice. Overall, this meal didn't fully satisfy my Thai food craving which was a little upsetting, but it wasn't a horrible meal either.

Great service, and received huge portions. Really liked the Pad See Ew, and the pad krapao pork was good and had also immense portions. Unfortunately we weren't the biggest fans of the Tom Yum noodle as it didn't taste quite like the broth we were used to from Thailand. But overall a good experience and the restaurant had clean aesthetic appearance.

Crab Pad thai and money bags is the best of the best. I have been eating here for 8 years. Everything is the same friendly service , very delicious food. recommended everyone.

This is a solid Thai restaurant in the Castro district. Not the greatest, but not the worst. I've been here over a dozen times over the last few years, and it's relatively a hit or miss, but it has always consistently satisfied my Thai food cravings. My go-to orders are Pad Thai and Pad Se Ew. Similar to other Yelpers, I've had hit or miss with the Pad Thai. The pan fried rice stick noodles are tossed with a generous amount of tofu, eggs, bean sprouts, green onions and ground peanuts. I've had a variety of experiences, ranging from dry or clumped up noodles to incredibly well-cooked, perfect Pad Thai noodles. The consistently, unfortunately, isn't there. As for the Pad Se Ew, well, it's definitely delicious and has all the right seasonings. There's a generous portion of pan-fried wide noodles, eggs and meat. You can for sure taste the char and flames from the wok in each bite. My biggest gripe would be the Chinese broccoli, which has sometimes arrived only gently cooked, and a tad bit raw. Overall, if you're in the neighborhood, or see Thai House Express on a delivery app, don't hesitate to support this local restaurant. It's not bad for the price and generous portion sizes. You can always re-heat the food and add your own hot sauce or chili flakes to spice things up.

I would avoid at costs. I ordered the yellow curry with chicken as take out, I get home and the chicken is undercooked. The only way I even discovered this is that I was cutting up the large pieces of potato and chicken, and the chicken was absolutely raw inside but covered up by the curry sauce. They wanted to give me a credit, and I said "I'm never coming here again". Update: I called them about the issue and they said I could return for a fully cooked dish. So I get back in my car, drive back to the restaurant with the understanding that I'm bringing back the undercooked dish for a fully cooked dish as discussed on the phone. When I get there, they bring out the "manager" who literally has no customer skills and proceeds to tell me that they don't accept returns, don't provide replacements, and don't provide refunds. Wow, three reasons not to go here and I only started off with one. DON'T GO HERE!

THE WORST YELLOW CURRY I'VE EVER TASTED. I ordered through DoorDash. No carrots as I'm told is traditional--mine only came with weird chicken parts & just a peeled russet cut in half length-wise, not cut into chunks to absorb the flavor. But the real problem is with the weird, possibly underdone chicken. It had a piece from a part of the bird I wasn't familiar with, & it had flaccid pink skin on it. Some of the chicken looked pink & undercooked. I ate a few bits, & my stomach felt weird, so I decided to call it quits. I called the restaurant & probably got the same waitress Duane B. got. Unapologetic, she cheerfully told me to call DoorDash. They were great & gave me a full refund, even though I told them I drank the Thai ice tea & would pay for it. Like many others here, I used to go to this place for years. Not anymore.

Amazing beef jerky and beef noodles. Very flavorful. Good for groups as well. The beef jerky is freshly made and the sauce is perfect!

We just ordered and received pork stew legs and items heavenly! The park stew texture it just perfect. They are flavorful, moist ,tender, juicy and mouthwatering pork belly fat. You have to eat it with rice. Even though it's not for the person who want to lose the weight but is worth every bite. I am happily run for one hour more to burn my calories ,just to be able eat it again! Please try it!!!

My favorite Thai food in SF. Great place in the Castro, quick for picking up if you want to enjoy at home. Or great to eat in the restaurant. I have been coming here for years and really enjoy their Money Bags, Crispy Tofu, Pad Thai, Pad See Ew, all of their curries and the Tom Kha Soup (coconut chicken). Thanks for always being a great spot to grab Thai food in the Castro.

The most bland Thai food I've had. They must have a new chef for it was once quite good.

Would normally give the 5 stars but don't offer things to your customers and not fulfill it. According to their online orders buy 1 beer get 1 free but this is all I got in the bag. What a disappointment, don't offer if you don't actually plan to satisfy. I actually wouldn't haven't ordered a warm beer if I hadn't seen this

Quite possibly the worst Thai food we've ever eaten so far. The 5 star reviews on here are baffling. Bland, indistinguishable food (pad thai, pad see-ew, curry, larb) but also possibly a food safety concern with the fried calamari, which we're pretty sure was old freezer burned and then still fried and served. My husband, who is with minimal exaggeration a culinary garbage disposal, actually requested we never order from here again.

Everything tasted so great! And that starts with the appetizer. We had the money bags which are a little bit like fried wanton bags filled with minced chicken and companioned by a sweet n sour sauce, some cucumber and onions. The veggie egg rolls (fried) are good two and we also had the corn fritter. Which are like little pancakes with corn, also come with a sweet n sour sauce and it was as delicious as the two other treats. We then had some silver glas noodles with crispy tofu, our friend had another set of regular fried noodles with a dark sauce and chicken - delicious. And I had a green curry with chicken. First I have to say that they serve very generous portions. You will not leave hungry, I skipped the rice and had some seared vegetables instead but it would not need that. If I'll have to criticize a point it would be that the very fast and friendly waiter did not asked about a spice level and do we think we ended up with a medium spice level, while all three of us would have been gone with mild on our own (yes we are chicken lol). But it still tastes amazing and my green curry also had a lot of chicken in it so you get something for your money. And being here in the Castro at the dore alley weekend dinner time you have a lot of things to watch bedsides the dishes. It was a fun dinner and we will be back for sure.