Bang San Thai Cuisine

This place used to be good but I ordered delivery from them and was extremely disappointed. Our food was CAKED in grease. It had to be the greasiest food I’ve had in ages. Scary thought was that I thought I could eat it the next day and after being refrigerated, there was an inch of fat gelatinized in the top. DISGUSTING! Sorry, never again.

What happened?
Several great take-​out experiences and then eh, sticky, tasteless Drunken Noodles with a paucity of vegetables. Thinking it was an aberration, next take-​out was the red curry coconut with duck that was greasy & arrived with a stingy cup of green curry — and no rice! I thought they’d mixed up my order or hired a new cook. Or both.
The Bang San rolls were still absolutely marvelous — crunchy, full of shrimp & silver noodles & carrots. But they couldn’t save the last 2 take-​out disappointments.
I won’t say «never again» but I’m going to take a break from Bang San and then revisit one more time.

What do we do about closed restaurants? Damn, I miss this place! Loved it from the beginning till the end. Its life on Jones street was so short. I know they have another location a few blocks away with the same cooks, with Big Mama and all… but it’s just not the same. I can’t explain it. This was the spot! Was!

I am guilty of ordering Bang San the night I returned from Thailand.
Had enough noodles? Not quite!
And it was just like it was in the motherland. Plus they deliver and it’s dead cheap. Also, the fact that all the meat is Halal makes me feel like there are no nasty bits. You never get a piece of meat you have to spit out.

When Dotties is too long and Shalimar is too early for the morning, its easy to cross the street and get some Thai. Not to worry if you’re not looking for the vegan halal stuff just skip the back page, everything else is on the menu. #41 Eggplant beef dish was good and can’t beat fried banana and coconut ice cream for dessert!
Waitress was super nice, just soft spoken.

I recently discovered this place. And all I can say since the first time I ate here, I loved it!
I haven’t had a chance to sample several items on their menu, but what I have so far has been awesome! I love te fact that I can see the cook preparing my food.
It’s comfy, it’s not expensive, it’s perfect when you’re eating on your own or a small group of friends. I highly recommend it!

This place is my comfort Thai food. It is the kind of food my mother cooks, if my mother cooked Thai food. The recipes here seem to be home style — tasty, warm and delicious.
The food here is simple, warm, not greasy, inexpensive and served with love. My favorite dishes are the drunken noodle, the whole fish specials, the papaya salad.
I have had plenty of mediocre thai food in SF. This place is real and the food is satisfying like no other!

I wish I had more time in SF so I could try more of their dishes. I got the beef drunken noodles and Thai iced tea to go, as I finished up a walking tour of SF. I ripped into it two hours later and the food was fantastic even though it was cold. The beef was flavorful and the noodles held up well.
The best part is of course that it is Halal!!! :)

This place has my heart! Yes, it is tiny, the neighborhood is not great, but so what? The food is one of the best Thai foods I have ever tried… In fact, I am so spoiled by Bang San’s dishes that every time i eat Thai elsewhere I always compare, and it’s rarely as good. Friendly staff. One of the women-​cooks is the owner i think, for she’s been there for a long time, and she’s super sweet too. Pricing is right as well…
I’ve eaten almost everything on the menu, but my favorite there are Pad Woon Sen and Pad Ke Mao, delicious! Duck and beef noodle soups are yummy too!

So what if parking can suck? So what if it’s in the Tenderloin? So what if the space is cramped? Two words make it all better: BBQ Lamb! Awesome dish. Tender, juicy meat cooked to its pinnacle of flavor…*drool* I want some right now. Not a big fan of lamb? Try their BBQ duck. Also, an excellent choice.
Did I mention that their meat has no hormones and that the animals were humanely raised? Always a big plus in my book.

BANG, son. Bang on my door with that hot little baggie in hand.
The delivery was prompt, but I went into sugar-​shock about halfway through my meal. I know Thai food is typically sweet, but these dishes were almost too sugary. I ordered the chicken satay appetizer and tofu pad thai, but my total was below the minimum delivery cost (a steep $ 20), so I also ordered cucumber salad and a thai iced tea.
The slivered cukes and cabbage were good, though I couldn’t tell if they were warmed intentionally or accidentally. The satay was flavorful and perfectly cooked, just moist enough and still hot because they wrapped it in foil (genius!).
Thai is one of my favorite cuisines and I love pasta, being Italian. So I was sorely disappointed when the pad thai was gooey and bland. Bang San gets a point for including a lime wedge and bean sprouts, but loses five for lacking spice, flavor, fresh vegetables, and crisp tofu. The broccoli was sad, the dish uninspired.
I’d order the satay again, but next time I’ll pass on the noodles and request chili.

Simply fabulous. A must eat for Thai fans.
A completely unassuming place but the food was stellar. A pumpkin curry dish with prawns and grilled lamb were just out of site. I am not usually so easily impressed and am not overly nuts for Thai but if you’re in San Francisco, you’ve got to hit up Bang San.

This hole-​in-​the-​wall spot has serious RESPECT for food of the Siam! My folks mostly came from Thailand and I know whether it’s good or not. This place is definitely it, well one of many. Look, the establishment may not be in the nicest hood, but I’m willing to schlep my way there whenever :)
Ordered: Pad Gra Pow (minced lean beef with basil) so tasty, not overspiced or anything… appropriate balance of everything like the lemon, spices, and fragrant herbs. Yums.
I also ordered Pad Kee Mao (which is almost like the noodle version of the first dish above) however with tofu. I just kept swirling and twirling on it until the whole plate is licked squeaky white.
Larb Gai (chicken) is strongly recommended. once again, they put a pizzazz of spices and herbs on it… along with sticky rice, talk about foodgasm. No, I wasn’t stoned that time :)
Note: all their meat is HALAL meaning that it is prepared according the Islamic law (albeit the controversial issues abt Islam, they still treat their meat a whole lot better ethic-​wise than the Westerners) I suspect the Bang San staff came from southern Thailand near Malaysia (love love Malay food as well)
Reasonable prices. Worth the trip. Give ‘em your biz, they’re super friendly and will wok-​up your food at the kitch right in front of you.

(See pics)
This neighborhood is filled with Pakistani/​Indian eateries that stand out with their canopy shades that make all other cuisines less visible. Bang San is one of those nestled among them.
But mingling among them are also plenty of Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai food. Asian food always makes me feel calm but not bland.
I had Pad Kra Teim (beef) that was in big portion. Taste was good and simple, something that is good on a weeknight when you just want something basic. The Thai iced coffee was good and simple too.
Not sure if I would give it more than 3 stars until I try more dishes there in the future.
I was kinda surprised that at 9-​ish this place was empty sprinkling with a handful of deliveries.
There is a cute bar seating area that faces the cooking area. Not sure if I would be a big fan of it since I don’t want to face the cooking sensation or smell…

I dream about this place. If I had to choose a last meal for death row, it would be the drunken noodles with chicken.
The first time I ate here was two years ago, and I was smitten. Unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near Jones and O’Farrel. The lucky stars smiled upon me today and I ended up here for lunch. It was every bit as good as I remembered, and maybe even a little better.
Don’t be afraid of the neighborhood or the sparse décor. This is the best Thai food i’ve ever had, anywhere. Everything is fresh and cooked right in front of you. It is completely worth the journey.

After a long weekend of too much fun, the tofu noodle soup and a wok-​fried mess of silver noodles (delivered right to the door!) was just what the doctor ordered. And also fed four of us.
Prices are a touch more expensive than your average neighborhood Thai joint, but worth it – the ingredients are clearly better quality than the average hole-​in-​the-​wall. Tasty, quality food and delivery until 10pm every day of the week have made this my new top lazy-​night Thai spot.

You know what I love about this restaurant? Service!!! I always like it when the chef comes out and ask us how the food was. It really adds an element to the whole dining experience especially from a hole in a wall. Water was always refilled. Checked up on us frequently but not overbearing. They even do delivery.
We ordered:
fish cake… had one had them all
fried spicy trout …something unique and not on the menu.
spicy chicken chow mein… love their noodles here and not on their menu.
mixed vegetables… it’s decent
1 Thai iced tea
41.00 dollars… a real deal.
After the meal… they thanked us for the business and hoped we would come back. Might just have to do that.

I read a review in the Chronicle and decided to check this place out in the tenderloin. What an adventure! After leaving Union Square past the Hilton, it gets sketchy really quick. People passed out on every corner, feces on the sidewalk, pimps, ho’s, crack addicts, drug dealers and this is all within 1 – 2 blocks. I finally found this little hole in the wall next to the anti-​league saloon and decided I had better try it out after that adventure.
This is a very modest 19 seat little place with counter seating and I got my food to go. I ordered the drunken noodles which my co-​worker ate and she gave it a 3 stars and I had the Pad ma Kuer #41 which is chicken with eggplant with bell pepper, garlic, and sweet basil. While waiting for the food, I could see that the chefs are thai and felt like I was in a foreign country eating street food. The food was ok, but nothing I would risk my life for or to see all the crazy shit I saw. If you get it delivered like some people have said they had done, then you don’t have to see all the homelessness and drug abusers.

Pools of urine… screams in the night…“GIMME A QUARTER! GIMME A QUARTER!!”
…Welcome to the Tenderloin where no one is a stranger, just a friend waiting to be met… with your arms held up.
Am I reinforcing an unfair rep on this area? Hmmm, when was the last time you were strolling in this area in the evening? Maybe that’s why I now use
to get the food from this modest Thai place in the heart of the ‘hood because let’s face it… the ‘Loin is booming with great ethnic eateries. Oh man, am I becoming a paranoid shut-​in or what?
So the food came pretty quickly, and I am happy to report that it didn’t suck. Actually far from it. I tried their house specialty, the $ 6.95 Bang San Rolls, which was a hefty, deep-​fried appetizer similar to imperial rolls. A bit greasier than I like, it was stuffed with shrimp, silver noodles, ginger, julienned carrots and chopped green onion. It came with a little cup of sweet and sour. Then I tried the $ 5.95 Duck Noodle Soup, a good-​size portion full of roast duck slices, spinach and bean sprouts. The broth was on the salty side, but it was not indigestible.
The capper was the $ 7.95 BarBQ Lamb, which definitely was the best of the bunch due to whatever Thai-​style spices they used for the marinade. It came with a lot of lamb pieces over a scoop of rice and with a small side salad of iceberg lettuce and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. Don’t worry… I didn’t eat it all my self. I am feeding a small family of Filipino immigrants. OK, I did eat it myself but not all of it, for Chrissakes. Much of it is still in the fridge. Better?
FOOD — 4 stars barely… solid, journeyman Thai food… not a Basil but not a chumbucket either
AMBIANCE — n/a…from the comfort of my home, hey, it was great!
SERVICE — 4 stars… darn fast and no compliants climbing those stairs… and he looked about fifty and a lot healthier than me (probably doesn’t eat those Bang San Rolls!)
TOTAL — 4 stars… I may even have to stop by in person… with a bulletproof vest, of course

3* for food
+1* for charm
Tiny tiny place. 3 tables. A small counter. A small open kitchen.
Had some comforting Pad Thai before getting my drink on at b&b next door. It served me well. The noodles had great texture and flavor.
I had meant to get something else. Something with meat. I heart places that serve Halal poultry.
It is good to have the connection to the people cooking your food. To watch it get made. And for person making it to know who they are feeding. When the cook asked me how it was, and I said, «great» I could see her pleasure.
I also got to watch her fry 3 cups of minced garlic. That was awesome.