Tiny Thai Restaurant

Sadly, this restaurant has closed this past week. I’m sorry to see it go — it was a great place for well-​made, inexpensive take-​out. A sign in the papered-​up windows indicates a sushi place is on the way.
Thanks Tiny Thai for lots of delicious meals. We’ll miss your green papaya salad.

This place was just ok, not a place I would go out of my way to revisit. Its a casual spot that is probably better for lunch than dinner. The food was a bit on the bland side and overall experience wasn’t memorable.

I am a sucker for Pad Thai. Driving home with cranky toddler, i stopped at Berkeley Natural Grocery (which is not my favorite place by far) to pick up juice and milk and spotted Tiny Thai. I was a fan of Mama Lans when it was in the same spot… and I was in no mood to cook dinner. So, I quickly ducked in to order Pad Thai and a few other dishes. My simplified report:
DRIEST Pad Thai I have ever had. Low on flavor, lacked sauce, lacked seasoning.
Shrimp dish– incredible amount of pepper. Totally ruined the dish.
Vegetable curry– again– DRY. I like sauce… I like sauce to get soaked up in rice, I like sauce to lick off my fingers… I like flavor. This place has neither.
One star for very nice service and a willingness to bring food out to my car so that I could leave said now SLEEPING toddler in her seat.
I want very much to say nice things about small and local businesses and so I will revisit and hopefully move stars to the right to the right.

Since changing hands from «Mama Lan’s» to TINY THAI, I have tasted their food 3 or 4 times and it was all very delicious, fresh and fair priced. Good location and courteous service, professional staff makes it an easy and popular neighborhood place to dine real good food… THAI style.
Today, feeling very hungry after missing breakfast and lunch, I ordered a pair of their tasty egg rolls (YUMMY!) for starters; the soup was tasty with cilantro;. And for lunch, brown rice, chicken-​coconut-​veggie curry in a cute pot with a creatively twisted slice of orange on the plate. IT WAS EXCELLENT and hit the spot !
Manager PAT was very friendly and professional; she took the time to find out what I am in a mood for and offered couple of good choices. Chef KHEUANG took the time to stop at my table and smile while telling me he hadn’t seen me in a while !
I bought a gift card for a friend and walked out very content with the taste of coconut and cilantro lingering in my mouth. I look forward to my next big dinner in April.

On a Saturday night, you’de think there would be more people out, even in this quiet area of Berkeley. I was surprised to walk in here and no one else was around… I guess it was a good thing because the wait staff was friendly and decently attentive.
I got the duck curry, to try something new, and the flavor was nice, but I really wasn’t diggin’ the amount of fat on the duck. About half of the duck in the curry was fat, some of the skin even had like, feather ends sticking out. Not exactly appetizing. My friend’s pad thai smelled really good, but was kind of dry.
Maybe we ordered wrong? Anyway… probably won’t go across town for this again. Maybe just stick to our usual favorite, Tuk Tuk Thai

Love this place and the wonderful family that owns it. My family eats here once a week at least. There are other Thai restaurants that are closer, but this is our spot.
I wanted to write this review to alert people to their new Cambodian menu, which they just started serving as of the first of the year, 2012. Pat, one half of the young couple who owns the restaurant, uses her Cambodian mother’s very popular recipes. cooking them to her very strict specifications! And we are lucky she does! I have so far tried the lemongrass beef sticks and the sauteed veggie/​chicken dish over rice — both absolutely delicious! I visited twice in one day I was so excited about this food.
Give the Cambodian dishes a try!

Hell yes.
I love this place.
my sweetheart and I are so stoked to have stumbled upon it.
Intimate little spot with super friendly service and delectable food.
In three visits so far, we’ve had:
satay calamari $ 6.95 ~ grilled calamari strips marinated w/​coconut milk and served w/​peanut sauce
impressive. extremely tasty and succulent — luscious, even. not at all rubbery or dried out. a little char on the outside lent a nice smoky tinge and we could have easily eaten a table full of these
sampler combo $ 9.95 ~ satay chicken, veggie eggrolls, tod tofu (deep fried tofu served w/​peanut sauce), and tod mun (deep fried sliced sweet potato in coconut batter served w/​peanut sauce)
this is a really cool way to be able to try out a bunch of appetizers. the classic and hearty satay and the tofu were comforting and the sweet potato was awesome. the coconut batter puts a nice crunch on the outside leading to a dreamy soft center. eggrolls are smallish but packed with veggies and flavor
fish cake $ 5.95 ~ fish cake w/​green beans, marinated in herbs and deep fried served w/​peanut and cucumber sauce
I cannot resist fish cake. it’s usually an oily little decadence for me and I rather guiltily indulge in them. not oily, these were above and beyond the best fish cakes I’ve ever had. and instead of being the usual dense little odd pucks, these were moist and the herbs added a tier of complexity and elevated them to a new level of pleasing
gang jud $ 7.50 ~ lightly flavored veggie broth soup w/​fresh tofu, veggies, and clear noodles topped w/​green onion
delicate and soothing
tom kha gai $ 7.50 ~ Thai coconut milk chicken soup w/​lime juice, lemon grass, galanga, and bamboo shoots
this is a sort of litmus test for Thai restaurants for me. this particular version is beautiful. well balanced and extremely satisfying

tom yum goong $ 8.50 ~ sour and spicy prawn soup w/​mushroom, baby corn, lime leaf, and lemongrass
our favorite of the three. the broth alone is ridiculously tantalizing. add the killer ingredients and this is a must order for sure
pad king $ 7.50 ~ tofu sauteed with fresh sliced ginger, black mushrooms, and onions topped w/​green onions
gingery good goddamn tastiness
basil eggplant (mak-​khuer) $ 7.50 ~ eggplant sauteed w/​garlic, black bean sauce, fresh chili, and sweet basil
luxurious morsels. perfection
masamun beef $ 7.95 ~ cubes of beef stewed in Masamun curry and coconut milk, bell peppers, onions, potatoes, and topped w/​sweet basil
delectable meat in a homey curry. my only gripe (which is not even a gripe) with this dish was that we would have welcomed more potato. it was nice that they didn’t use potato as filler but the little bit that was in there complemented the beef so perfectly
stir fry green beans $ 5.95 ~ fresh green beans sauteed with garlic and black bean sauce
tiny thai does veggies so right. they are cooked so spot on ~ with just a hint of snap. so many places just cook all the beauty out of their green bits.
every meal we’ve had here we’ve been floored by their technique.
being able to choose from chicken, beef, pork, tofu, or wheat gluten for most of the dishes means that we can switch the proteins around and enjoy the same dishes over and over again.
we relish getting a bottle of wine and eating royally without breaking the bank.
SO GOOD!

Really friendly. Totally delicious dishes you’d expect. Great don’t-feel-like-cooking place in the hood!

For the price thus place can’t be beat!!! Delicious! We ordered the coconut chicken soup, pad thai (veggie), spring rolls, rice, a red curry, and everything was really good.

Great new neighborhood Thai joint!
Great food, great service, kid friendly too!
Super flavor and totally NOT greasy!
See you there!

Called and ordered some food to go from here and let me tell you… anything with the chili sauce go for it. As long as you like spicy you are going to LOVE it.
Yum!

Since moving to the Bay last year, I’ve tried 15 or so Thai places in SF and Berkeley. Not only is this some of the best Thai I’ve had here, but it is also the most affordable. Tiny Thai had definitely earned a long-​term repeat customer.
Oh, and the green curry is fantastic.

I’m so glad I finally got to try this place. The raving reviews are right on the mark! Onto the menu:
Great:
1. Pad Kee Mao — think extremely flavorful & spicy and you’ve got this winner. Not recommended for the faint of spice, because it will knock your socks off. This is definitely on our order menu every single time.
2. Tom Yum Goong — while I’ve had more flavorful versions elsewhere, Tiny Thai does a beautiful rendition, chockfull of veggies and shrimp. I could probably drink this soup every day!
Good:
1. Duck Curry — Now just because I’ve rated it «good» instead of «great» doesn’t really dock points for the tastiness. The Pad Kee Mao was so amazing, that this dish didn’t shine as brightly. However, still a delicious choice for curry lovers, with tons of pineapple and pumpkin. Furthermore, it had nice lean pieces of duck, without all the extraneous disgusting fat that some other places have.
2. Thai Iced Tea — Great taste, complementing sweetness to the spiciness of a good Thai meal.
I’ve only been here once so far, but my tummy is craving more already! Can’t wait to try their Tom Kha Gai & Papaya Salad & more!

LOVE this place! I moved into the neighborhood recently, and was so happy to discovery Tiny Thai. I’ve eaten there 3 times in the last month, and the food has been fabulous every time. Favorites so far are the green curry (with tofu), the fried eggrolls, and fresh spring rolls. The vegetables are so fresh, just cooked right so they’re still a little crunchy, not mushy. Flavors are fabulous! Both the jasmine and brown rice are very nice. Will have to try the noodles next.
The staff are wonderfully friendly and helpful, prices are reasonable, and the location is very nice.

Why, oh, why, Tiny Thai…
After Mama Lan’s closure, I prayed for the next restaurant to occupy this cozy space to be so much more. I wanted to see a line of people outside clamoring for a taste of Tiny Thai. Too bad. Let me count the ways of its demise (after a spur of the moment take out order):
1) Pad Thai: It’s pretty hard to mess this up. Any reputable Thai restaurant should have this down pat. We were disappointed with the lack of proper yet basic garnishes for this dish; green onions, bean sprouts, eggs and tofu. The sauce underwhelmed, it was quite dry.
2) Red Curry: Let’s just say that the coconut milk and/​or bamboo shoots were questionable. It just didn’t taste right.
3) Chicken Satay: Best out of the three, sadly.
The staff is quite hospitable. I just wished that this place would rock my world. I will be going to that other tiny thai restaurant sitting on stilts over on San Pablo Ave.

I thought the sticky rice was really good but the servers seemed overwhelmed (we went on a Friday night and about half the restaurant was full). The woman who served us didn’t seem to know the menu items and what we originally wanted they were out of (it was early, too, maybe 5 or 5:30 pm).
They had a booster chair instead of any high chairs, so eating required a lot of hands-​on by the parents to make sure our 17-​month old didn’t fall out.
Also, I found the food a little greasy but my husband thought it was good. We both agreed it was nothing special.

Lunch is still percolating in my tummy as I write this.
Very good Thai with all the basic dishes covered as well as a few new items. Large enough lunch special that I might have a second lunch out of it.
Salad was a little too wet.
Service is friendly and accommodating, but if there are more than three tables seated, they get overwhelmed. Allocate a leisurely lunch.
Tip: Order spiciness 3 ways
1. none
2. regular spicy
3. Thai spicy
«Thai spicy» is not incendiary, but still hot enough kill your grandmother and torch your ‘wrinkle star’.

Duck curry with pumpkin in a red sauce, and green curry with chicken, as well as Tom Kaw Gai, were our selections tonight. I am relieved Mama Lan’s is gone, as their portions had gotten so small (and there was never anyone in there), and Tiny Thai should be an attraction for the neighborhood, both for lunch and dinner. I look forward to going back very soon!

The brand new, slightly askew, hand made sign in the window caught my eye. For the 1^st time this year I felt like I could be away from my desk during lunch so I decided to try it.
Ordered an old standby: a Panang curry with chicken. Lunch special opened with a little bowl of Tofu Soup which was a dark, clear broth with a little green on the top and small pieces of tofu. Savory with a definite mushroom flavor. The chicken for the panang was rough cut in nice bite size pieces and cooked just right. The sauce was not as thick or nutty as usual but I liked it — I added dried red chili to make it spicier.
Tiny Thai is brand new, still breaking in the space and perfecting processes (cash only yesterday at lunch), but the service was attentive and the food tasty so I’ll be back.
Ps: this is in the old Mama Lan’s space so while I had lunch I saw a couple people walk in and look around in surprise then try it and like it (much like Lauren S.’ experience)!

My mom and I walked into this place tonight, thinking that it was still Mama Lan’s… I’ve been living down the street from this little spot for over 3 years — so it was a shock to see that it had transformed into Tiny Thai!
We were SO pleased with our experience. Great service, beautiful atmosphere, and DELISH food! It was funny that no one in the place is actually Thai — but after visiting Thailand and grubbing down for a few weeks, I feel comfortable vouching for this as authentic and mindfully-​crafted Thai cuisine… some of the best I’ve had, actually!
We ordered and LOVEd:
* Green curry (#22) w/​Pork: DELIGHTFUL over rice (we ordered Jasmine rice, but they brought white sticky rice instead, perhaps by mistake)
* Pad Kee-​Mao (#17): Mouth-​watering pan-​fried wide rice noodles sauteed in garlic, fresh chili, egg, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, and Thai basil.
*And my favorite: The Ginger Scallops (#46): Sauteed to perfection with ginger (yummy strips of it, so for ginger-​lovers it’s a dream), onions and Thai basil — the flavor is really ‘ramped-​up’ as my mom put it!
* Thai iced tea… sugary perfection.
The lunch specials are served until 3pm — I’m definitely gonna check them out for lunch soon! … And next time, I’m getting their fried banana with Coconut ice cream! We ate there until 9:45pm — so welcoming and accommodating.
Totally affordable, awesome local spot — so glad they joined the North Berkeley ‘hood!!!
NOTE: Their table flower arrangements are provided by Ana’s Flowers, right next door on Gilman — check her out while your in the area (
) !