Malai Thai Restaurant
3189 16th St
(at Albion St)
San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 626-8528
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
51 reviews
Neighborhood: Noe Valley
"I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet. It's a national treasure. Not exactly Thai food, but Thai inspired. They have a Thai…" read more »
75 Reviews for Malai Thai Restaurant
It's the portion size that really sells me here. The chicken pad thai, albeit simple with the noodles and sauce splashing, is fucking huge and I usually have to split it into half to save for later. Plus, I am a huge sucker for Thai iced team, and Malai makes a good creamy one.
The service is decent, but in proximity to my house and to the area, it works. Additionally, if you get a chance to sit in a window, the people watching opportunity is excellent.
Delicious! Good portions and decent service....sitting at the window was a plus!
My boyfriend and I shared the coconut, lemongrass, mushroom and shrimp soup. The broth was fatastic.
For our entree's we ordered the chicken, yam and curry dish, along with the beef with bamboo shoots.
I really liked the chicken, yam and curry, I love all 3 ingredients from the get go so you can't really mess it up. Beef and bamboo was surprisingly good as well. Not a dish I would of picked but I am glad I got to try it.
We also shared a Thai Iced Tea....yum!
I will definitely come back, it was reasonably priced. With rice and tip, we spent $36.00.
Three of us ate here on a Sunday night and ordered individual dishes. The service was unremarkable, but fine. The food, however, wasn't good enough to finish. The pad thai was clearly made from a canned sauce, the peanut dipping sauce for the satay was also clearly from a can (perhaps with the addition of some crushed peanuts), and the tea had been in a pot for a long, long time.
The duck curry was OK, and the chicken satay was rather tasty (aside from the canned sauce).
The kitchen prepared the wrong dish for my friend, took it back and made the correct dish a few minutes later.
Overall, unremarkable and not a place I'd revisit unless the place kitty-corner was closed, and I was having a severe craving for Thai iced tea.
I called this place because I'm Potrero Hill, and it's tough to find Thai delivery here - especially since Osha stopped coming this way.
First shot out the gate I'm impressed. Super fast, and awfully cheap!!!
I ordered TomKha (not as creamy as I'm used to, but still good), PraRam, and rice - it came to $16. Good Deal! Same dinner at Osha = $25.
Awesome place! Found it just walking by and saw the "people love us on YELP" sticker and knew it couldn't be bad. I was totally amazed by the perfect size portions and delicious food. There were 3 of us, and the bill came to around $26 for lunch! Can't be the price or the good food. Would certainly revisit! yum!
Tried this place on a whim and was pretty happy. I was with a vegan friend so kept my dish vegan so we could share - tofu pad thai, no egg. It was pretty tasty and monstrous portions. I asked for it "spicy" and, while I can handle my spice, this one had me sweating....in a good sort of way, but I might get spice on the side next time. The "heat" mellowed out when I had the remaining noodles for leftovers the next day. It might deserve more stars but I'll wait until I've experienced a few more dishes.
My co-workers and I ate here today and I was pleasantly surprised. I've been avoiding this place for years due to the cheesy faux-temple exterior and cliche Thai decorations inside, but the food was totally decent (we ordered family style w/ soup, rice, curry, and a few classic dishes). The one dish I ordered 'Thai spicy' was actually pretty spicy. Best of all, the food doesn't have that cloying sweetness that you find in most Americanized Thai places.
Perhaps it's because my expectations for a Thai restaurant in the mission are so low, but I was pleasanty surprised and will probably go back here again.
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i agree that the portions are huge, but it's a huge plate of bland, unimpressive food. the sauce on my pad sa ew was unevenly distributed; some parts tasted like pure soy sauce, which was not so fun. but hey, it's usually not crowded, and it's a decent $8 lunch that you can split into 2 meals (as long as you don't forget your take-home bag on the table when you leave, like i usually do).
3.5 stars
Wonderful mango and sticky rice and great veggie crispy rolls.
Otherwise, fairly run of the mill Thai food. But I really like that it's close to my house and they have take-out orders ready quickly. And the prices are super-reasonable.
The green curry tofu is actually pretty tasty too.
If I want Thai Food this is where I would go. I tried a-many Thai Restaurants but this one gives you the "authentic" feel.
The Gang Ped is my favorite which is "Curried Peking Duck". Wait staff are friendly and will keep asking you if everything is okay or if you still need someting which for me is excellent customer service.
I like that they use plates and other dining stuff from Thailand.
Oh and the salad is great too.
I keep trying again because of its proximity to my apt when I'm craving take out noodles in a hurry, but its just not that good. Most mediocre pad thai and pad see ew I've ever had. Shrimp was "old" tasting and scared me. Cucumber salad is spicy and good though. Next time I'll just walk the 4 blocks to Thai Corner or Suriya.
Cheap Thai food + free delivery!
Best dish I've tried, the vegetables and tofu with peanut sauce over brown rice. Delicious!
Best inexpensive thai in the hood. There are sooo many options, and Malai wins every time. Yum!!
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I'll get right to the food and then details below:
I ordered pickup of Red Chicken Curry, Seafood combo Pad Thai, and Pad Mark Kur.
The Red Chicken Curry was okay but more watery than I'm used to.
The Seafood combo Pad Thai was tasty but a bit more oily than I'm used to, I like it a bit lighter.
The Pad Mark Kur was very tasty and would have been perfect had the eggplant been fully cooked, the bigger slices had some hard/undercooked areas in them.
I wasn't asked about the spiciness of the dishes when I ordered which is fine because I like spicy food and can add my own if it's not hot enough - so be sure to mention that if you order on the phone and prefer mild.
Overall the food was okay but I usually have better, and for less money.
the background.... I've passed by this place for 4 years but never tried it. Sometimes they are busy and people are dining in the restaurant, but more often than not... it's empty. I do see the delivery guy going in and out all the time when I do walk by though.
So tonight I wanted Thai without paying a ton of money for small portions. The choice was between Osha on Valencia, Bankok16 (which I ate at before the change in ownership) and Malai Thai. Based on recent reviews here at Yelp I chose to give Malai Thai a shot (didn't wan't to walk 4 blocks or pay for Osha).
I ordered pickup of Red Chicken Curry, Seafood combo Pad Thai, and Pad Mark Kur. Nice on the phone, almost as if calling friends. When I got there the place had no customers, this was about 815p on a Sunday night. There was the waiter/host behind the counter who acknowledged me right away and confirmed my order, a guy sitting at a table just in front of the counter on his computer, who seemed to be part of the family or something, figuring out delivery locations, and a girl who was taking an order out for delivery.
Would I go back ??
I think I would give some other restaurant a try before going back to Malai Thai.
I wasn't sure of what to make of this place when we walked by since there wasn't a single Asian patron at this Thai food place, and since there's so many Asian people in SF, I was a little wary. (It was like seeing a Chinese person eating at Panda Express or at a tractor pull, kinda odd to me. Or comparatively, a white person at a chopstick factory that ain't the boss or an 'investor')
But the menu did look enticing so we decided to try it out. The food was surprisingly tasty! And Cheap to boot. Had the Pad Thai and ordered it a 7/10 spicy. Had some kick to it, but not quite burning sphincter hot. The Tom Kha soup was good too, but the hot and sour taste were really balanced and the flavor was a bit overwhelming.
Funny thing was that during dinner, there were these kids (children of the operator?) periodically walking out the door with to go bags... Odd... I guess its some real Thai food if they still using that child labor!! Throw in some ladyboys and we'd be in Bangkok.
Also, it was a bit weird having those kids in the corner watching Michael Jackson music videos in the corner and bickering while I ate the (well portioned) food.
Its a solid place and for me, there will be a next time if I'm in the area. I might even try the diarrhea guaranteed level 8 or 9 spicy. Not 10 though, I like my ass too much.
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I'm giving Malai Thai such a high rating because of their food and service. In my opinion, Hands Down the best Thai Food in San Francisco. been here a couple of times and all times i have been satisfied. They give you ample amount of food, the flavors are outstanding, the service is great, and the setting is authentic. the only thing that throws me off is that the little office/living room space they take up in the back of the restaurant with their family and friends just hanging out in a couple of tables, that seems a little odd to me, but it gives me that "family run place" feeling lol. Overall, if you're in the Mission and want to have outstanding Thai food, come through Malai Thai and try it for yourself.
So far of all the Thai Restaurants I've eaten at, its the best that delivers. I am pretty picky with my thai food, but this one is defintiely one that I eat at. Yum yum yum. Waiting right now for my next delivery.
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Malai's an unassuming but excellent place for take-out orders.
Their Par Ram Pak (tofu and spinach in peanut sauce) hands down is the best pak I've ever eaten. The peanut sauce is rich and savory while spinach is fresh and moist. The food is plentiful and the meals are abundant for the reasonable price. Rice is extra but they offer the heavenly option of sticky rice unlike other nearby Thai restaurants.
The staff is very kind. They're all family members. The children do their homework at the table nearest to the counter during the week. The staff will call you if you're more than five minutes late on picking up your to-go orders because they don't want your food to go cold. No other restaurant I've encountered would do this.
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At first glance this place seems risky because there is hardly ever anyone in there: not a good sign for a restaurant on 16th st. However, their food is above par. A lot of times, when you get a curry with chicken, the chicken is all dry and overcooked. Well not here! Their panang curry was the perfect amount of spiciness. The thing that really got me though was that they provided me with not just one, not only two, but THREE lime wedges with my pad thai. amazing.
Food: Came here just for dessert and had the coconut ice cream with fried banana and nuts and honey. Dessert was not bad and was nice and sweet. Wouldn't mind returning for dinner sometime if I was ever in this area again.
Price: Overall prices here seemed pretty cheap.
Service: This place was pretty empty when we got here but service was okay.
Location: Not in the best area, located in the Mission across from Andalu.
Atmosphere: Nice atmosphere and setting. Good for dinner for two.
Closest to home so this is our standard Thai take-out joint. There is nothing about it that I constantly CRAVE like with our neighborhood Thai place down in SD but it is solid, it doesn't disappoint. Between my hubby and I we've probably tried almost everything on the menu.
One of my favorite things here is very simple but has outstanding flavors... the #41 Oak Gai Ka Tiem: BBQ white meat chicken marinated in herb and vegetable served with spicy lime sauce ($7.95). Great healthy option if you can't decide what to order.
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Well, maybe make that 2 1/2 stars. But certainly nothing to write home about. Very mediocre thai food. Which I feel like is the new trend. Since I guess thai food is the new chinese food, there are bound to be lots of restaurants that serve edible but not particularly interesting food. Actually, the silver noodles were pretty good - except when I got to the shrimp. Some were totally fine, but about half of them were disgustingly mushy, which kind of ruined the whole thing, since after I ate one, I spent the remainder of the meal wondering if I had just eaten shrimp poop. My friend who I went with assured me not, but I'm not convinced.
Also, the grapefruit-soju cocktail tasted kind of like motor oil.
This used to be my go-to Thai place when I lived around the corner, and when we ended up in the old hood after Critical Mass on Friday, we decided to stop in, for old time's sake.
It is so flippin' good!! And it's super cheap -- I thought Regent Thai and Dusit Thai and Pad Thai were cheap, but this was like, 30% cheaper.
The food is always good, and in my opinion, better than the 29th/Mission crew of cheap Thai restaurants. I've never had anything close to a bad meal any of the times I've eaten here. One thing I really like is that their tofu is never deep fried -- it's always steamed or sauteed. I mean, obviously, deep fried tofu is delicious, but it's one of those things you should probably save for special occasions, you know?
Anyway, the atmosphere is chill and not pretentious, the staff is really nice, the price is right, and the food is delish. Definitely worth a stop.
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Beats the pants, socks and shoes off of its neighbor, Bangkok 16.
I was a little skeptical, after being burned by the afore mentioned competition. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The yellow veggie curry and mix pak were fantastic.
I'm now greatly anticipating my next hankering for Thai take-out!
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Fast. Inexpensive. Yummy. Bring to my door. Thank you Malai Thai.
I love Malai Thai. Definitely my top place for delivery when I want something other than pizza. They always say it's going to be around 35 - 40 minutes, and show up in about 25 minutes. Their Pad Thai is delicous - thick noodles and juicy, in a good way. My other favorite is the Gang Pac, a yummy curried vegetable dish. When I'm craving something fried, I order the Goong Ka Borg, which is shrimp wrapped in rice paper fried. Very reasonable and 2 dishes will usually feed 2 of us for 2 meals. Can't beat that.
I agree with the reviewer below me- "Typical inexpensive Thai restaurant".
This place is decent, quiet, and offer timely service. It's easy to get dragged in here when looking for an alternative to Blue Plate across the street and Jasmine Tea House down the street. How could you not want to follow the advice from the review posted outside, asking you to "ignore the decor". All in all, it's worth it if you feel like some simple, cheap Thai food.
I got: Tofu + Mixed Seafood + Veggies = 3/5 stars (bland)
boyfriend got: Wide noodles + Prawn = 4/5 stars (noodles poorly prepared)
We shared: spring rolls= 2/5 stars (greasy, gross!)
jasmine rice= 5/5 (can't go wrong, right?)
Average= 3.75 stars
A great place to go if you've fainted and are in need of food. Forreal. (See my "Body Manipulations" review for a bit of backstory.)
I spent the summer in Bangkok, living in a not-touristy part of the city, and Malai Thai took me back a bit. Sure, the food was Americanized (read: overly sweetened), but the staff wore "I heart the King!" yellow shirts, which earns them another star. (Hey, I've never seen those in the US.)
Cute interior decorations, too. The big gold candle in the center of the restaurant looks like those made by worshippers at Thai wats, one brass spoonful of wax at a time. More bonus points.
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Cheap standard fare. Will hit the spot if you want average Thai.
Service was ok, but it was a slow night, and they forgot my drink.
Extra bonus because right before we walked in my friend complained about lack of control. " We have no options in our life. Options are limited to food right now. If I can choose what I eat its a good day"
Upon ordering his Pad Thai he was greeted with so many options he decided to write a permutations table for it.
Sometimes it's hard to write a review the day after you eat at a restaurant...but for this place it's easy to remember what I ate since I just finished vomiting all of it up into my girlfriend's kitchen sink. I should clarify...my girlfriend whose kitchen sink does not have a garbage disposer.
I don't know what it was...I had an all vegetarian meal except for one tiny piece of chicken...I noticed one piece of broccoli that tasted rather nasty on the way down. (Much better on the way up. What?) Either way, I have been in perfect health which was briefly interrupted for 3 hours of terror this morning, and it's definitely this restaurant's fault. At the time I thought the food was delicious though! But it's gotta be one star instead of two since they took SO long to serve us anything, even though the place was nearly empty. 15 minutes for a can of Diet Coke, etc. So I will never return, but I also can't really disagree with all the positive reviews, yadadamean?
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Thai Food Restaurant between Guerro & Valencia on 16th St. I ordered a soup for $3 that was tasty. The service was quick I was in and out. They are open until 10pm.
I was hopeful for this place when I walked in and a scooter was parked inside :-) I had the red curry with chicken and it was really good. the veggies were fresh and crisp and the meat was cooked just right. This place was solid, I will be back again for good cheap thai food.
Nothing special but no wait, good food and a great price.
solid, inexpensive, thai food
hardly anyone in there the 2 times i've been, which made me skeptical at first, and the decor's nothing special -- but the food is tasty and service is prompt. however, when you get the bill and see that its $10 incl beverage for your dish......you start to really like the place!
After 12+ years, I have to say this is the best Thai food I've had, at least that from delivery.
I've spent a couple of weeks in Thailand and really loved the food there, especially the street food. Malai is the most authentic, at least as far as restaurants in that "delivery" category. (There used to be a great Thai place on Lombard near Buchanan that was hands-down the most authentic Thai kitchen until it burned down.)
Favorite items: Goong Ka Borg (I like how the rice paper is loosley wrapped around the prawns, which are dusted with just a bit of cumin). The fried egg on the Ga Prow. Most places overcook the egg, but Malai gets it right most of the time.
They are very friendly with takingorders, and the delivery drivers are great too! Did I mention that they were pretty cheap too? What's not to love?
Good, cheap thai food. nelly and i had walked past this place the week before we went, after we'd already eaten. so, we came back for dinner a few days later. the food was very spinach-y. i love spinach. it was a couple weeks ago now that we ate, so i don't remember as well, but i had a pork spinach dish with a side of sticky rice. the sticky rice came in a cute little basket container. nelly had a yummy soup, and then a fish spinach dish with regular rice. we both had thai iced teas. this was much tastier and cheaper than the last thai place we went, and good service too. i even almost ate there again the other night. i'd go back.
The only positive thing about this place is that the food comes out quickly.
I ordered pad thai, pretty standard for thai cuisine. My noodles were more than al dente. I understand it can have a little bite but the noodles were borderline crunchy. Obviously wasn't cooked thoroughly. Service sucked as well. I was only one in the restaurant at 9 pm. Waiter took my order, gave me my food and disappeared. I had to wait 20 minutes for my check because he didn't appear until then. Never once refilled my drink. Never once asked how my meal was. I'll never go back.
Malai Thai is great. Check out the Pad Thai but sub flat noodles. It is amazing. The people that work there are great.
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Its not so bad, its interesting. There are a lot of restaurants like it in the area, but Malai is a good option.
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very yummy and reasonably priced thai food. I love their vegetarian soups and veggie entrees. Another plus, they never give you hassle about getting separate checks if you are with a large group. My only critique is they are closed Saturday : (
Typical inexpensive Thai restaurant.
Most dishes around $7-9.
Food was pretty good. No complaints.
They charge extra for rice.
For the location, surprisingly pleasant interior decoration.
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