Zabb Thai Cuisine

Came in on a rainy Sunday afternoon and the whole inside was very empty. We were seated quickly and had our order taken and the food was coming out quickly. Chicken satay is nice, the shrimp in sleeping bag app was also really yummy. I ordered the house noodles and this was a great quantity and came out nice and hot. We sat there for a while just chilling and they cleaned our table and would fill our water. Their food tastes great overall and I would come back here. Parking can be tough though (as it usually is in the mission). Thanks!

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE!!! We used to come here all the time! But sadly it looks like the place has new owners and is now TRASH . Not only the food but the new lady giving service too. When we complained that the food was horrible and just wanted our money back (after literally only tasting it) she was rude enough to LAUGH in my mother’s face. Would leave ZERO stars if I could. Will miss the old owners because they knew how to cook & give good service.

I had the green curry with pork and Thai iced tea, and they were delicious!!! The curry had wonderful flavor. And the owner is so kind, helpful, and welcoming! I definitely recommend eating here! 🙂

The food is decent and not too pricy, however the satay chicken and green curry had way too much turmeric making them bitter. Good for a quick bite in a pinch

Delicious food at reasonable prices, and friendly service! Dropped by and tried their basil tofu entree, which was superb. Very tasty, just the right amount of spice, and tofu was nice and crisp. Would come back just for this dish!

Saying it was good would be generous. My second time eating here and what a disappointment. Low quality and expensive. It boggles my mind how this place survives. I never see people eating inside. My Pad Thai was bland. My Thai ice tea was watery. My friends coconut soup was sad. One star for not getting food poisoning

Delicious food! Great prices! Recommend: chicken pad Thai.

We stopped in for Saturday night, not very crowded. We both ordered Pad see yew with shrimp. Cooked to order, hot fresh and very good. This was a nice surprise.

This is my favorite work lunch place. It's a wonderful husband and wife team that are warm and welcoming.

Before COVID-19 hit, I probably wouldn't have thought about coming here only because the Excelsior felt further away from me than it actually is. I became aware of it only when I ordered a tea leaf salad for takeout at the popular Yamo in the Mission (review: https://bit.ly/38t2i89). Well, it turned out that the same family runs this place, so I took a walk and thought I'd give it a try. I thought it would be a closet operation like Yamo, but no, Zabb was reasonably spacious with plenty of tables and chairs. I have to admit I was kinda hoping they served Yano's Tea Leaf Salad, but no, it's truly a Thai spot, not Burmese. They offered a $11.95 Lunch Combination menu where no matter what you order, you get salad, rice (jasmine or brown), and a choice between a spring roll or crispy tofu. Scanning over a dozen entree choices, I decided on the BBQ Chicken, which was somewhat disappointing as it was described as "grilled marinated" (photo: https://bit.ly/39ou7Pc). Instead the BBQ sauce was spooned on top of the chicken pieces. It was presented like an economy class airline meal in separate compartments, and it just sorta depersonalized the meal. On the upside, the server was a lot more courteous than the two ladies at Yamo. FOOD - 3 stars...a bit disappointing even though it was decent enough Thai eats AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...they have an actual dining area here SERVICE - 4 stars...friendlier than Yamo TOTAL - 3 stars...perhaps I should try one of the curries next time RELATED - Exploring the Outer Mission? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/37B1acE

Delicious Thai food & amazing small business owners Ben & his wife who have run the business for 16 years. Stop by!

The Food is very tasty. The Service is friendly and fast. The portions are generous. I usually get takeout.

...excellent delicious fresh food...friendly & efficient owner / staff...i walk in and tell them, "2 appetizers, 2 entrees, you choose" and i walk out with a wonderful bag of goodies...never disappoints...

You know this is bomb food when the group goes silent once the food arrives & all you hear are food noises goin' downn #DELICIOUS. Such a family owned and prideful restaurant. 10/10 Recommend.

Just a great place and super kind people! I enjoyed the meal. Thank you. Wish you and your business all the best

The yellow curry was a little sweet. I got the thai samosas and a side of jasmine rice which was very good. The curry could have been a little more rich and less sweet.

We ordered delivery from here and had a positive experience. Good food, smooth online ordering via Yelp, and on-time delivery. Their prices and fees, however, were higher than our usual go-to spot for Thai delivery. Our family of 3 ordered the following and had plenty of leftovers: 1) Green curry with chicken - very good 2) Pad see ew with chicken - good 3) Spicy eggplant - flavorful, though not particularly spicy 4) Spicy green beans - good, though not particularly spicy 5) Mixed vegetable - on the bland side I ordered online via Yelp and the food arrived when promised. I was disappointed by the multiple fees - service charge, delivery fee, and driver subsidy, which we are not charged by Chili Cha Cha, our go-to Thai spot (where we also order via the Yelp app). Overall, we had a good meal here and would return.

I went here on a Weds night because I'd heard it was good from folks in the area. I was not disappointed. The Chicken Satay was really tasty, had a lot more flavor than most of the places I've been to, could've used more peanut sauce but all in all it was a win. I had the Tom Yum with Chicken because I'd been feeling like soup. Was pretty good, not too spicy and the flavors were perfect. My dining companion had the Coconut fried rice which was good but wasn't super flavorful. A splash of fish sauce or some spice would've been a perfect addition. The location had easy parking which was nice as well. I can't say much about the interior, it was fairly sparse and a bit dark but it was clean.

Nice spot for a quick Thai dish ... I come to get take out once a week or so ... always fast and hot

I wanted to try this Thai place on Mission street by my old neighborhood during High School. I got delivery since it was available through a delivery app. I got the Thai fried rice and was delicious. I also got the Yellow chicken curry and it had a different taste but it was yummy. The Pad See Ew noodles were fresh . I will have to have another Thai affair with Zabb.

Damn dude, Zabb is comfort food. My review is biased as I was sick (pneumonia) when I first ordered and this was the best ever recovery meal I ever had. So yeah, I like them. I ordered the Chicken Pumpkin Curry with rice and a Coconut Milk soup. The soup was a coconut milk soup with pork, mushroom, galangal, carrot, cilantro, lime leaves, cabbage and lemongrass. I fell in LOVE with all of it.

This was decent Thai for the area. Like most restaurants in the Excelsior, a fine option if you're here and craving Thai, but not something to go out of your way for. THE WAIT None on a Monday (early March 2020) around noon. We were the only customers there. One person came in for pick-up. THE COST $34.61 before tips for 2 entrees and 2 ice teas. Overpriced for the quality. THE FOOD * Thai iced tea, Green Thai iced tea, $3.50 each - 3.5 stars Can't go too wrong with Thai iced tea. The Matcha flavor was barely noticeable. * Clay pot w beef ($11.95+$1) - 3 stars This was fine, satisfied my craving for glass noodles. The noodles were a bit soggy, but the beef was surprisingly tender. There was too much mushroom/carrot for my taste. * Pad Kee Mao ($10.95) - 3 stars Tried a few bites of this. I found the flavor to be too sour, but my partner liked it. Like my clay pot, the beef was pretty tender, but I thought there was too much carrot.

To be fair, this was my first time trying this place. Maybe they were having an off night. However, the flavor profiles on the noodles and green curry were so horribly off. I am not being picky here. You know when you're craving certain food, however the food you receive tastes nothing, not even close, to what you expected? That's how this was! The drunken noodles tasted like they were coated in sauce used for Chinese sweet and sour. The curry looked right but the taste was super off. We tried rescuing these dishes by adding stuff at home. Impossible to salvage. Again, hopefully one bad night. If they have a new cook, that person needs to learn to cook Thai flavors. On plus side, no issues ordering and noodle, veg fineness/textures ok.

After my second time eating here, I'm happy to deem this place my neighborhood Thai joint. There aren't a lot of Thai food options in the area but thankfully Zabb does a solid job and I'm looking forward to trying more of their dishes. Ambiance is a little lacking. The restaurant is always on the empty end when I come by but they do seem to do a fair amount of takeout business and have regular customers. The workers here are really friendly, exceedingly so which makes me want to keep coming back. Pad See Ew is a perennial favorite of mine and although the one here isn't the best I've had, it hits the spot and takes well to eating as leftovers the next day. Get the Lucky Bag appetizer! It was perfectly done. Although it's fried it wasn't one bit oily and had a lovely crunch to it and the filling was delicious.

Made a call in order last night & service was prompt and on point. During pick-up i realize everything was covered up from the ceiling wall sealed down to the table or floor. Transaction is done thru a contactless small slot to just push my credit card in for payment. The packed food came out in another slot. I felt safe ordering from them since it appears that they have very very minimal contact with customers & limited to small staff which I believe is just husband & wife from the same household. Their space is also very large with high ceilings, so more well ventilated & less risk. The food is amazing as usual. Pad Thai w/ shrimp & Pad see Ew w/ chicken were both delicious. Portion was generous today!! I was so happy that I was triggered to write this review. My parents love this place and used to come here regularly pre-pandemic. I miss eating here.

Ordered a Pad Kee Mao on a delivery app tonight, figured I'd try out a new Thai place for once. Got to me super hot (yay) but tasted sickly sweet. Nothing like a proper drunken noodle- no spice, little basil or savory flavor, and just deeply disappointing. Wish I could find a silver lining on the meal, but I can't.

Food- ordered curry and pad Thai delivery. Both tasted as if cooked with ketchup and chili powder. Not good.

Just picked up dinner. They made a super effort to protect their customers and themselves. Besides the clear wall with sealed openings for food and payment, they even wear masks and gloves. My Pad Thai was excellent as always. Support your local restaurants!

I hadn't gone back to this restaurant since before COVID. It was really nice to come back in 2023. I had their yellow curry. I tried some of my partner's noodles and they were amazing as well! I enjoyed both entrees. I've never had a bad experience there. The workers are also really friendly. Not to mention, you get your food pretty fast! :) And if you want a good Thai tea this is definitely the place to go!

Cute small intimate restaurant located in the mission. Its family owned and I immediately felt like I was trying food from a friend's kitchen. The staff was attentive but gave us space to talk and enjoy our food. I ordered the red curry. My party had eggplant and pad thai. Simple dishes but very tasty and descent shareable portions. I was most amazed by the price. A dinner for 3 adults who ordered 3 dishes totaled $30ish dollars. Overall great restaurant, can't wait to go back and try more dishes.

Shared an order of spicy green beans with chicken and veggie pad see ew And Thai iced tea Everything was very good. The beans had a spicy kick! The pad see ew might be the best I've had. Even the tofu was good, it wasn't that weird spongey kind The server was super nice and brought to go containers The 49 stops right in front of their door so an easy hop to bart

5 stars for taste. For takeout, it's really good. I was coming over to pick up something from my cousin's and he ordered three dishes to share with him, his girlfriend, and me. Got: A duck red curry dish (there wasn't enough duck in my opinion however), we got some crispy chicken dish which was bomb. And the pad thai wasn't bad. And we got thai tea and it wasn't bad, not too bitter, and not pungently sweet.

Amazing and consistently delicious Thai food. I've been ordering take out from Zabb Thai for 4 years and have never had a bad experience. Spicy eggplant, yellow curry, pad kee mao, and the Thai samosas are just a few of my favorite dishes. This is a true gem of the excelsior district. This restaurant is run by two very sweet and hard working people. Please support this amazing restaurant you will not regret it.

Friendly owners, fast service, delicious food. In my opinion the best Thai restaurant in SF.

Delicious meal, and a phenomenal find! I'd go back in a minute. My only regret was portion size, being on the smaller side, and that's the only reason for four stars. Otherwise, excellent. Let me start with the fact that this visit was totally random. We just drove up north to escape the heat in the valley, and ended up in the city of SF. Driving up north on Mission St., I've noticed an available parking spot - right across the street from Zabb - and our choice has been made. Zabb looks very much inviting as you step in, it's well lit and spacious. We were the only dining party and it felt good. Our server was courteous. We ordered coconut milk soup Tom Kha Kai $8.99 with beef $1 and Red curry $8.99 with beef $1, plus two brown rice $2 each. Both Tom Kha Kai and Red curry arrived freshly cooked and just right. What I mean by that is neither dish seemed to have been pre cooked or simply heated up, nor were they overly salty, as is often the case. Everything has been freshly made. Tom Kha arrived in authentic ceramic bowl with plenty of fresh veggies (not your usual canned mini corn), including uncommon and tasty kinds, like sautéed eggplant and cabbage. Very flavorful broth and not overwhelming its individual ingredients. Red curry arrived in refreshing sauce with coconut milk, eggplant, carrots, bell paper, topped with bamboo shoots and sprinkled with fresh basil, served in contemporary white ceramic bowl. Brown rice individually portioned in metallic bowls with lids. Clean white plates and cups were also set out for us, and two glasses of water. The service was good and attentive. We enjoyed our meal, and after it had been finished, we've spent some time just relaxing and chatting. I bookmarked Zabb for future visits. Delectable Thai cuisine, my favorite!

We ordered the Pad Thai, pumpkin curry and chicken satay. The good parts: the food was made quickly and delivered promptly. It arrived hot. There was plenty of chicken in the Pad Thai and Curry dish. The rice was fresh. However, the flavors were not authentic and the textures were off. The consistency of the curry showed that a little too much thickener has been used.

We live in the neighborhood. We were lazy. And so we found ourselves here for the first time. I still remember when this used to be a pretty good Vietnamese place many years ago. Zabb unfortunately offers a disappointing representation of what Thai food should taste like. We had the curry egg noodle dish and the spicy basil crispy chicken, plus a Thai Green Iced Tea. There is like, no heat or any unique Thai flavor to their food whatsoever. I've loved Khao Soi ever since having it in Thailand - this was not even close. The chicken dish was a bit on the oily side and not very crispy. The drink was beyond bland. Can we please get more decent restaurants out here? Until then, I guess I'll continue heading further down Mission for a burrito or some Hawaiian drive-in next time I want a quick meal.

Lovely place ate there with my friend last night and it was nice and quiet perfect for a chilly evening, delicious yellow curry was fantastic. Yummy

I know that there are many who love the food here. There are several things going for the restaurant--they deliver the food quickly inexpensively, the flavors are approachable. However, the meals churned out here taste like they have a common pool of sauces drenching pre-cooked meat. The flavors are frontal and basic. Not the complex, punchiness I have come to expect of Thai food. To be fair, I don't think they use much MSG or other additives (if they use it at all). So, I will eat here if it were a convenient option. But there are so many other options nearby that we adore that I will not make a special effort to eat here.

Zabb is not quite as it use to be. We were the only customers there and we paid for the food plus tips (that was not optional by the way). It was 4 dishes that totaled to over $90. I think for the amount we paid, I would have gone elsewhere. We didn't receive great customer service to pay that much in tips. It's quite disappointing because at one point, one of our companion needed to get up to request for silverware, we were short a few.

I don't write a lot of reviews, especially bad reviews... We just ordered via Grubhub and the mango fried rice smelled terrible, literally like sh*t or ass... We could not eat it. I don't know if that's the beef which was rotten or something, but this food should not have made its way out of their kitchen. The pad see ew was ok until I noticed a bit of "pre-chewed" meat in it, which brought the eww in pad see ew. We could not eat it as well. The chicken satay was just ok, no real bad surprise although kind of "dry". We were disgusted from the rest and did not eat it. When contacted via grubhub support, the restaurant refused to reimburse for the order. I will have to dispute the card charge with the bank it seems.

Great food and has an awesome system for shelter-in-place. Totally contact free takeout. Thanks for thinking of the community! Recommend the [chicken] red curry.

I do not recommend for two reasons: 1) The Thai food is prepared differently here - pad khee mao was more sweet & saucy than spicy, samosas had thicker than normal wrapper, etc. I did not like the dish I had. 2) they will not let you try something else if you don't like your dish. I understand they lose money if they remake a dish, but they make money on the dishes I don't ask to remake, and stand to make (a lot) more money if I find something I like. I like trying new things, so I don't visit restaurants that don't have any flexibility when things go wrong. Fortunately, they are rare, but this is one of them. Too bad, because manager seemed nice - it's just their policy.

Passing through area and just needed a quick lunch. Found this Thai location on Yelp and decided to try it out. Tasty! We tried their chicken Pad See Ew & the daily special, roast duck over rice. Both dishes had plenty of flavor. The noodles for the Pad See Ew had a nice, what chinese ppl call, "wok" flavor to it. Basically, a nice Smokey sautéed flavor. If in area again, would def come back to try other items on the menu.

Came in because it was nearby. Food is really good. We got the veggie spring rolls, coconut milk soup, garlic noodles, and spicy basil crispy tofu. All of it was really good. They were accommodating of my vegan diet. The service was ok, took awhile to get our order in and to get our food. Would come back. The chef was great our server was ok. I noticed there weren't many pics of the menu online so I took some pics

Second response to owner. It seems that you are missing the point. I can absolutely understand what it would be like to have to wait for several people to shout out orders, but that was not the case with us. We did not have to ask people for their orders. We actually one person with our entire list of orders already written down. Even if we weren't fully prepared, do you honestly think that it's the appropriate manner in which we were spoken to? You are over generalizing us with issues you have had with customers in the past. Would you return to an establishment that spoke to you with such disrespect? I would certainly won't. _______ 1st response to owner below _______ In response to the owner. I have run small and large businesses for several years. I absolutely understand what's it's like to have to work several jobs within a store/restaurant. In my years of customer service/experience, I have never spoken to a customer in that manner regardless of how busy I am because it's not the customer's problem, it's yours. If customers don't feel appreciated or that they don't matter why would they give you their business. And because I have run small businesses I know that every single customer/sale matters. To think I almost called into the restaurant to speak to the owner about the incident rather than taking to Yelp. I have a feeling that call would have been even worse than the service my sister received (you know cause it would've lasted at least 3 whole minutes rather than seconds). I know that 3 second laugh really set you back. So here's a free tip.. If it's so busy that you can't be bothered to take a call in order then tell your customer to place their order online.. rather than yelling at your customers. ________________Original review below __________________ Skip it! My sister and I tried to place a take out order and the man was incredibly rude. My sister was reading out my pre-planned order. After she said the first dish, something made her laugh for a second. Then the call hung up. She called again saying that she was in the middle of placing an order. The guy was super rude and asked if she was ready to place an order now. That he doesn't have time to lounge around waiting for her to order and that he was really busy. Needless to say we will never be returning to this establishment. It is NEVER okay to speak to your customer with that tone or in that manner.

Not Kosher, unclean, gave us both the runs--yes, diarrhea. If you think you have an ironclad metabolism and still want to try Zabb's, then let's talk about quality. Taste is a matter of opinion of course, but after sampling a broad spectrum of Thai cuisine in the Bay Area, USA and around the world, the taste is IMHO heavy handed and lacking any particular nuance. In addition, of the curries we tried--Pork Massamun Curry, Seafood Yellow Curry--lacked substantial ingredients. Hardly any seafood in the $17.69 seafood curry, for example. Even for the Bay Area, it's really outrageous to be presented 90% sauce and 10% actual substance/ sustenance for a price like this. The $11.99 Prawn in Sleeping Bag appetizer was essentially bread with a tiny prawn stretched out inside--wholly unsatisfying. To be fair, the $17.99 Choo Chee Curry contained an entire slice/ filet of fish, and probably our favorite of the bunch. That said, we'd never go back to Zabb.

Last night me and two friends ate dinner at Zabb and All of us got diarrhea. We contacted the manager to complain about the food positioning and asked for at least a refund for our meal, which was about $40. At first, he was apologetic and later when we called to ask when we could get our refund since most of it was paid in cash, he refused. He argued that he would only refund us a third of it. Then he started to interrogate us as if we were trying to hustle him. He said how do I know that you that you won't put a bad review in yelp? I told him that he would need to trust us just like we trusted him to provide us with sanitary food when we ate at his restaurant. We made a complaint to the city of SF

We bought fried rice and pad see ew. The taste is good. We were happy our meal but we found out this one from Pad See Ew. It's soo gross. Make me soooo disappointed.

It's ok. The service was good. The open kitchen layout allowed for the customers to enjoy the cooking flavors. The food was hit and miss. Eggplant with basil has a wonderful sauce. However, they used regular eggplant which was bitter. The curry lacked body from the lack of using enough coconut milk and curry paste. The pad kee mao was good.

I grew up in the neighborhood and with Zabb. My whole family are friends with the owner and his wife who are super sweet and nice people. I always order pick up or eat in the restaurant. The food is always delicious and never disappoints. Zabb is comfort food for me so I love this place. I always go with the Thai basil plate with meat or tofu, eggplant plates are good if you are vegan, and the duck is always good! Also the shrimp in a sleeping bag? (LOL cute name) is bomb! And the Thai tea carriers are so cool. I mean I will always come back here no matter what because it is home to me. This restaurant and the family that works here is what reminds me of old San Francisco (before tech boom). A sense of community, support and love.

Currently take out only. Came to pick up lunch for a small Mother's Day lunch and got a few fried rice pineapple fried rice, mango fried rice) noodle (pad see ew and pad Thai), curry (pumpkin and yellow curry) and appetizer (samosa and veggie spring rolls) options. Everything tasted good. The shrimp we added to one of the dishes didn't seem fresh- it was soft and mushy. Prices are a bit steep for the typical rectangular black bottom/clear lid take out containers. Curries did not come with rice (what?!) so you have to order that separately- definitely minus one star there. Since this is in my neighborhood I'll likely give this place another chance if I have a hankering for Thai food.

Prawn in the Bag was delicious. It would be better if they can peel 1 layer of the fried wonton skin. Pad thai was horrible. How can a Thai restaurant get it wrong! They must have forgotten the spice. It didn't taste like anything. I will come back to try the other dishes.

This place wins for the worse pad Thai i have ever had. It tasted like a sweet sour stir fry with no egg, green onions or peanuts?! They had no fish sauce or chili condiments. They had pepper fakes, soy sauce and chili paste. It's in my hood so I'd want to try it again; but may need to be more desperate. Service was decent.

Came in on a rainy Saturday night just thirty minutes before closing so the restaurant was super empty besides the couple that walked at the same time. Since there were so little people to tend to, customer service was amazing. I was craving Thai food all day so I expected to get my cravings satisfied as this was the nearest Thai restaurant. I ordered the sweet and sour tofu with a side of brown rice. Food came in fairly quickly and I started eating right away. Right off the bat, I could tell it wasn't the mainstream of sweet and sour I was expecting. The dish had lots of veggies to it which I'm fine with but it didn't really have amazing flavors. I was thinking it lacked something but I just don't know what. None the less I finished most of it I'd say but my cravings were definitely not satisfied. If you're looking for the mainstream Thai restaurants, this is not for you.

Having spent two years in Thailand/Peace Corps you know I love great Thai Food. I give ZAAB five stars. From their on line menus it was very easy to order with delivery. I had chicken coconut soup (Thom Kha Kai), with coconut rice! delicious with plenty galang. Cucumber salad, with onion, simple and wonderful with flavor. Pad kee mao chicken. Loved the thick noodles and gravy. Mango fried rice with seafood, sweet with plenty of mango pieces fish, shrimp and squid. Choo chee curry, lovely fried fish with accurate red curry topping. Delivered in thirty minutes. Wow! And very hot. Finished with mango sticky rice for desert. I thought I was back in Rajaburi and Chonburi. In my dreams. Thank you ZAAB for taking me back. Bailey. Thailand '68

I was excited when a new Thai Restaurant opened up in the Neighborhood, the food is good and reasonably priced. My favorite was the "Spicy Crispy Basil Chicken w/ Brown or White rice and the Cucumber salad. I ordered with GrubHub pick up on Yelp and it was quick & Easy along With Prompt order updates!

One would never know it, but this Thai Place has some amazing authentic flavor. We've not been disappointed. Their COVID procedures are down pat. For take-out, it's the place to go. For dine-in (maybe during times past) I would not have been impressed - it certainly doesn't have appeal or ambiance but for take out, if you care about flavor, this place is the bomb. Pad Sew Ew tasty Yellow and Pumpkin curry - amazing