T H P.
Yelp
In the beginning, shortly after the creation of heaven and earth, there was an Asian restaurant (Chinese?) that I don't recall the name of, in the Linda Vista Rd. shopping center near Ulrich Street, that was terrible. It was eventually and thankfully replaced by Ba Le (also spelled Bale), a great little Vietnamese place with good bahn mi and several wonderfully delicious, hard-to-find things. Alas, they moved to Mira Mesa, and I missed it, but the good news was that Ba Le was in turn replaced with Sab E Lee, a terrific Thai restaurant that had previously been housed in a tiny, tiny little place nearby. (A spinoff, called Thai Papaya Pok Pok opened in the tiny spot vacated by Sab E Lee, with really great, unusual things, but it didn't last very long.) Alas again, after a long run Sab E Lee moved out. The hopeful news was that it was going to reopen as Zab Linda, under different ownership but also Thai, in the same place.
Which brings us up to a couple of years ago.
The rumor at the time was that they were going to retain much of the kitchen staff from the Sab E Lee days. I don't know if that was actually true or not, but at first, it hardly seemed to be the case. Dishes that had been on the menu when it was Sab E Lee just didn't seem to be the same. Nevertheless, I went to Zab Linda periodically to check in, hoping it would improve.
The good news is that, with time, they did indeed bring themself up in both food quality and service, and for some time now it's been a place I regularly frequent. Hopefully, there won't be any more turnovers for years to come.
The restaurant has a more pleasing character now, but it's still pretty plain. Even so, in its current manifestation it shines by comparison to the original Asian restaurant, or when it was Ba Le, or even Sab E Lee. Service is friendly, although it's often a little slow and not terribly attentive.
They have a fairly large menu, like many Thai restaurants. Really the only things that I've had and didn't personally care for were dishes listed under the heading of "Noodle Soup" (but not those under the heading "Soup"). The noodles themselves, in two dishes I've tried from that group were unappealing. I'll hasten to add, though, that other noodle dishes I've had here have been very good and quite enjoyable. I especially like their drunken noodles and the very hearty curry noodle soup.
In addition to these, the tom yum, tom ca, wonton, and egg drop soups are all excellent. Curry dishes, especially the red curry, are good choices here. The thai sausage fried rice is a favorite of mine. The pad see ewe is fine, if unexceptional. And the larb, which comes as a fairly small serving for some reason, is nicely done. It's a good choice for a "meat salad" in a shared meal.
Finally, I'll mention a house special that I've had only at Zab Linda Vista that's really delicious: Nahm tok with grilled beef. This is essentially a "salad" with beef slices. Sounds plain, but it's really great. The only problem with this dish is that the slices are a bit large and so difficult to manage, but that's a nit pick. It's wonderful nevertheless.
As at other Thai restaurants, I think it really is a good idea to try to order things here at the maximum comfortable, enjoyable level of spiciness. Like other spicy cuisines, the chilis in Thai food add not only heat, but also essential flavor to the food. They'll offer little carry-out containers of chilis after you're served if you ask (no "lazy Susan" of them like in many Thai restaurants), but somehow these dishes always taste much better when the chef has added the appropriate chilis or chili paste or oil in the kitchen.
