Vanida Thai Kitchen

Vanida is delicious and affordable. One time I was in there and they gave me a free bottle of wine!

I used to come here 20 years ago– it was my initial delving into Thai food. Unfortunately, the place has changed over time — probably a rotation in staff — and we won’t be returning. My favorite had always been the corn cakes (Tod Mun J) but they’ve changed the recipe over time and it’s no longer outstanding. The entrees were acceptable, but the service was highly inattentive, even though there was only one other party in the place. We waited for everything, all the way to waiting for the bill. It was like being in a bad Chinese food restaurant. It did not have the pride of a family restaurant — it seemed like they’d much rather be doing something else. With the tone of other reviews here, they may get that opportunity. Such a loss.

I come here often and the food is always solid. Love the pad kee mao and the curries are excellent. Don’t forget to use the check in offer for free ice cream!

We went in on a Sunday afternoon and it was busy but people were leaving and about 3 table opened up. There was only one waitress working the dining room and she never said ‘it’ll be a couple minutes…’ We were completely ignored. After about 15 mins of trying to be patient — we walked out. I blame it on the owners as they have to staff properly. At least have one waitress/​waiter and one busboy person.
The food may be good and I love supporting local businesses, but I have to draw the line, if I’m not even acknowledged as a customer. It’s unfortunate.

The red curry was awful. It tasted like it had sand in it and the flavor was super off. I ordered a red curry with tofu, side of rice, and side of veggies and all of it was tasteless with the most obscured textures. Save yourself the hassle and hit Thai Cottage down the street.

Ok, this place has turned around.
The food is back to the quality that it used to be.
This is a must go Thai spot.

The service and quality of this restaurant has gone downhill quite a bit. We used to come here alot since we live a few blocks away. Last friday, me and two friends came in on a friday at 7:10pm and ordered our food. We knew something was wrong when the waitress insisted on us ordering something to drink when we said we were ready to order our food.
We got three dishes, Pineapple Fried rice, Pad See Ew, and Chicken Curry Noodles. Our friend’s Pineapple Fried Rice came 25 minutes after ordering. The two noodle dishes never came until we got up and left at 7:55pm. We waited over 45 minutes at this establishment for our food. We asked two different waitresses where our food was, and they said it’s coming. When one of us said, «we’re leaving» the waitress had the gal to say that our food was cooking in the back. After telling us that, 10 minutes the food still hadn’t come out and so we said we weren’t paying for the unserved dishes and demanded our check come in right there and then.
We also watched people come in, order, eat, and pay for the check well after we came in. There was an elderly couple next to us who stated that they got the wrong dishes, but the waitress bullied them into believing that those were the dishes they ordered. Also no less than 5 take-​out orders were given before our friend’s plate was given.
As we left they handed us our noodles and said that they were sorry. Too little too late. To give a time table on how quickly I can actually make those noodle dishes, is 10 minutes. I’m not a cook by any means, but Pad See Ew only takes a few minutes to make. The curry chicken only needs the curry powder and noodles and takes even less time to make. All in all, the people running the place last friday don’t know how to run a restaurant.
I’m never coming back here again.

This place is pretty good flavorful dishes and inexpensive lunch special. Will def be returning since its way better King of Thai that I usually go to for Thai food in the neighborhood

This is one of my favorite Thai restaurants! I usually only eat here during lunch and there is never a wait. I always order the lunch special for $ 8.50, which comes with soup or salad and a choice of two different entrees. The portions are good enough to fill me up and most of the items on the menu that I tried, I enjoyed. The ground chicken ga prow is a favorite of mine that I get literally every single time I eat here. The pad thai is also one of my favorites here.

Vanida used to be my to go spot for Thai food but over the years their quality has been slowly declining. Their flavored just aren’t as robust as they used to be and lack that special touch they used to have… They have also become more and more skimpy, I used to be able to be full off of one entrée but now I need one and a half.

I just knew that they’ve special every month & this month is a roti ice cream. It was awesome. The roti was crispy and the coconut ice cream is good as usual. I’s really enjoy the time here.

Had an incredible lunch here today.
First time here and the food and service was EXCELLENT.
I parked in front and then proceeded on in. I was greeted right away and found a seat near the front window. I asked for water and then looked in the menu. They have a lunch special which is good because these meals are at a reduced price compared to the normal evening hours. I was looking for the Pad Kee Moa and found out that they do have it but it called Dragon Noodles here. AWESOME.
After I had placed my order I took time to look around the restaurant. This is very fanciful. There is not too much color or over the top decoration. It almost seems like this place is a hidden gem in the sunset. Everything about the inside is peaceful and relaxing. Even the music being played in soothing. I had a very peaceful lunch here.
When my food finally arrived I was ready and so was my stomach. The meal was hot and tasted incredible. It seems like every time I go to a new Thai restaurant the Pad Kee Moa gets better and better but the taste stays consistent. CONSISTENT TASTE IS KEEP!!! The meal was very pleasing and met all my hunger needs.
The waitress was very attentive and nice. She refilled my water and checked on my food and myself. She did a phenomenal job of taking orders, greeting customers, seating customers, and bringing out the food. Super sweet and nice. These kinds of non verbal cues and actions will put BIG tips in her pocket. Kudos to her.
It is easy to be stirred away from this place based on some of the reviews posted but just come and check it out for yourself. I had a wonderful time.

they used to be really good, but the meals have been not so good lately. Recently, we got a mango rice dish (thats normally good) and it looked a little rancid, it was gross. Sometimes our dishes were burned, and they seem to be skimping out on varies things now… unfortunate, this place used to be pretty good.
The hostess/​waiting staff is really good though.

Had a late night carry out and went with their Drunken Noodle. It’s one of my usuals at Thai places and hard to mess up. While I came on a Friday night towards closing, one could see the staff trying to rush (more so because of the limited staff and several people trying to get food). The gal was very friends and polite. When I finally tried the drunken noodles there was a strange alight sour odor. Wasn’t sure exactly what it was and the over all dish seems really pale/​light. They didn’t put in enough sauce which you could tell when there were blotches of noodles still untouched by anything. The chicken was great though and overall meal wasn’t too bad. Definitely not the best or standard I’ve had.

(Review for take-​out)
This is Thai food for people who really don’t like Thai food. The dishes were bland and overpriced. I’ve traveled extensively and repeatedly in Thailand, and have eaten at countless Thai restaurants in the USA. Vanida’s green curry had almost no basil. The Pad Thai was a solid lump of overcooked and unflavored rice noodles. The seafood eggplant was tasteless.

The hostess and the server were both outstanding here tonight. My yellow curry was flavorful and nice. The restaurant was bustling for Friday night’s dinner service and my take out was still served in under 15 – 20 minutes which really made my night very wonderful.

Totally disgusted. I can pick up my entire container of pad see ew with my chopsticks. The flavor is unbelievably wrong. I have a metal flavor stuck in my mouth from this. I’ve ordered from Vanida Thai before and the food is ok but today, this is completely unacceptable. Also ordered garlic pork and they forgot the green sauce that makes the dish! Won’t be ordering from here anymore.

If I can give them 5 stars based solely on how nice the staff is, I would, but, unfortunately, that was the only bright spot of the meal.
The prices are about average to any other Thai restaurant in the Sunset area. The taste is nothing extraordinary. The portions for the entrees in this place are small, however, which makes the average price seem like a fortune.
Maybe I ordered the wrong thing, but my entrée was very stingy. Ordered the garlic shrimp and out comes a plate covered in a bed of lettuce and on top are 9 (yes, I counted) shrimp tossed with some garlic sauce. And these weren’t big shrimp, but the size of shrimp that are served in bulk at buffets. This comes down to $ 1 a shrimp for this entrée!
Great staff, but not worth the price. Still willing to give them a shot later on (ordering something else of course), but definitely not when I’m super hungry (just in case).

Found this Thai place on a Unilocal Ad while hanging out by Ocean beach. Very glad we decided to come here for lunch. The place is very clean, the décor is nice and relaxing, and the service is great.
The lunch specials allows you choose from 25 items like pad thai, green, curry, spicy eggplant etc. and it comes with soup (tom ka or tom yum) or salad. They also offer rice plates and noodle dishes as part of their lunch specials menu. Our server was very attentive, and handled the lunch crowd with ease.
I ordered the yellow curry with and eggplant dish in a spicy sauce with delicious tofu and rice. The food was good, 3.5÷4 while the 5, star service and great prices will have me back soon.

Good thai food. But I’m not a fan of the curry. Have tried the Duck Curry and Green Curry which tasted too sweet for me, possibly too much coconut milk?
However, I’ve liked the other dishes I’ve gotten here. The Pad Ma Keur was tasty, not oily like I’ve seen at other places. The Crab Fried Rice is also good, with plenty of crab pieces.
It’s a great quiet place for dinner, with great service. Can’t complain.