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    Bua Luang

    3.8 (357 reviews)
    ModerateThai, Asian Fusion
    Closed 11:30 am - 2:30 pm, 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM

    Order Bua Luang Takeout or Delivery

    Bua Luang Photos

    Business Info

    BUA LUANG ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

    Recommended Reviews - Bua Luang

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    Reviews With Photos

    Pra Ram with grilled chicken & prawn rolls w/dipping sauce

    Our first time having lunch here, with a recommendation from a 'friend'. I had the Pra Ram with chicken lunch with crispy fried shrimp rolls with dipping sauce. My lunch buddy had another lunch dish, that looked scrumptious and a lil' spicy. With both were served a mini crisp lettuce with a smidge of corn salad that was served cold, it was a refreshing start the meal. Wanda and the other server checked in on us from time to time. As we caught up with another and totally enjoyed the Thai lunch. We were amongst other diners as we admired the art pieces among us. We'll be back to engage with other items on the menu. Bonus: off street parking, 90 minutes. Also, there's plenty of local shops to browse upon.

    Mango + Sticky Rice
    C L.

    Such a lovely little spot in Albany! Was looking for a nice bite after a beach day and I couldn't have picked better. Outdoor parklette was spacious and comfy, the service was very nice, and the food was delish! They brought my dog a dog bowl of ice water, and we chatted about dogs and how much love (and mischief) they bring to your life I got one of the specials and the chicken melted off the bone into a delectable curry sauce with crispy egg noodles. I also had to get the mango + sticky rice and it did NOT disappoint! Highly recommend this spot, an absolute gem.

    Pad Thai with Chicken
    Kyra K.

    I've lived in the neighborhood my entire life but never tried Bua Luang! Each time I've passed by it's been jamming so I was excited to try this spot for a girl's night out. The restaurant is simple and modest with indoor and outdoor seating. The interior has natural elements with a calming environment surrounded by Thai decor. The workers are all kind and constantly check in while dishes come out promptly. Whenever I go to a Thai restaurant I order Pad Thai as a basic standard dish. Their Pad Thai with Chicken was everything you look for in Pad Thai--sweet, savory, and slightly nutty. I liked how it also came with tofu! My friend enjoyed her Duck Noodle Soup. For the price, portions were plentiful and a take-out box was needed for both myself and my friend. Bua Luang is a popular destination in Albany for Thai cuisine. Find them off Solano Ave. with street and neighborhood parking. I wouldn't mind coming back to try their other dishes!

    Inside dining area
    Donovan H.

    I am quite passionate about Thai food since much of it is delicious. However, since much of their food is on the spicier side, I tend not to eat a lot of it. Which takes me to the city of Albany where I had the opportunity in trying out "Bua Luang". Located in the heart of downtown Albany directly on Solano Ave and just a couple blocks east of San Pablo Ave, this place has been dishing out delicious South Asian Thai food dating way back to 1990. Which means locals and residents of surrounding areas have eaten here at least one time or another. As far as their menu goes, this place is fairly standard with a wide variety of Thai offerings. This includes noodles, curry dishes, seafood specialties, soups, fried rice, and salads. I came here with my significant other during the evening of Saturday 4/20/2024 at around 8:00pm. Luckily they were open until 9:00pm which gave us ample time to dine-in, order, and enjoy our food. As far as the interior layout, this place has a very classic cozy feel to it with wooden accents and unique Thai-inspired displays throughout. It isn't the biggest place but still enough to accommodate at least 30 customers. They do have a very nice wooden outdoor deck (which I am guessing was built during the pandemic) to enjoy the more comfortable days and evenings. The hours are also quite generous as they are open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30am-2:30pm (for lunch) and 5:00-9:00pm (for dinner) while they are closed for business on Monday. Once seated, we were given two iced water. I knew exactly what I wanted prior to coming here and that was none other than one of their main signature dishes, their "Panang Beef". This dish used thick red 'Panang' curry with tender beef, lime leaves, ground peanuts, bell peppers, sweet basil, and coconut milk while served with broccoli. My lady went with their "Pad See-Ewe" (with chicken) which is pan-fried rice noodles with traditional broccoli, Chinese broccoli, carrots, eggs and bean sauce. We also opted for a side of Jasmine rice and I chose their Thai Iced tea as my beverage of choice. Both of our dishes arrived in roughly 10 minutes and everything was piping hot. As for my beef dish, it has the perfect amount of sweet and spicy with a distinctive and noticeable coconut/curry flavor to it. Even though I am not the biggest fan of spicy food, I could tolerate this. I sampled some of her Pad See-Ewe and this was cooked to perfection as there was a very generous serving of chicken inside. Overall, its safe to say that the food in general was above average and delicious. Not jaw dropping amazing but a smart choice if you're looking for a family-owned Thai restaurant in the East Bay. All in all, "Bua Luang" was the perfect comfort food for our Saturday evening. And if you can't dine-in or even pickup your order, they offer online ordering & delivery through all the major food apps; DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Postmates. As for the restaurant itself, the service that our female waitress provided was excellent as she made sure our waters were filled up and that everything tasted delicious. The atmosphere, ambiance, price, and most importantly, the food was good. My rating for Bua Luang, an above average four stars.

    Ambiance
    Anna W.

    I love the food, service, and ambiance here. The pumpkin curry is my favorite. Pad Thai, drunken noodles, eggplant, chicken satay, everything is good. No complaints.

    Meang Kum
    Esther H.

    My husband saw Miang Kham on the menu and said, "We have to eat here. I never see this on restaurant menus because it's not very popular." It was delightfully refreshing and I could've eaten many more! We also ordered Tom Yum & Tod Mun and they were as expected (tasty). Even though we tend to eat at 'weird' hours where we might be the only patrons dining outside, I'm happy this spot was open and the food was definitely fresh.

    Cashew chicken & tom yum soup lunch combo
    Alice L.

    Best bang for the buck is the lunch combo. Ordered the cashew chicken & tom yum soup. Food is flavorful, fresh & no skimping on the ingredients. The menu is quite extensive & service was attentive. Was a bit skeptical about the green tea since the description had watermelon & rose in it, but surprisingly, it was the right flavor combo without any specific one overpowering it; multiple refills were enjoyed.

    Solano Stroll today
    Kris B.

    My friends and I came here on Solano Stroll afternoon and they almost turned us away. We didn't know they were closing early due to Solano Stroll but luckily they let us in! We had a delicious meal of pumpkin curry, shrimp pad thai and tofu satay. I was so great to catch up with old friends. This place is as amazing as we remember.

    Gaeng Hung Lay - 4 stars. The most interesting/unique dish. Sun takeout 2023-03-19

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    Page 3 of 9

    Ask the Community - Bua Luang

    Do they have any online lunch specials?

    Yes, we have. Please visit our website at bualuangalbany.com for lunch combination menu.

    View All 2 Questions

    Sistory

    Sistory

    4.3(296 reviews)
    0.6 mi
    $$

    Just want to give a shoutout to Sistory's lunch plate which is fabulous! The lunch special includes…read moreappetizer, entree, salad, scoop of rice and Thai tea/coffee. The food is fresh and tasty as always!

    My best friend and I grabbed dinner together at Sistory! Our initial plans didn't go through due to…read morethe holidays, but we're happy to have checked off a new spot. I've always wanted to dine at Sistory for brunch, but coming in the evening, it wasn't too busy. There was a steady flow of customers and take-out orders. The restaurant is warm, cozy, and quaint. There are several tables for pairs or parties of four, plus some artwork displayed. There was only one server who was juggling customers, but we were well taken care of. My best friend and I shared Roti Dip, Pad Thai with Chicken, and Yellow Curry with Tofu. The roti was so flaky and warm! The Pad Thai tasted good and was typical of the ones I've had. The curry was robust and flavorful! Being mild, it was a bit spicier than we had anticipated. So if you have a low spice tolerance, keep that in mind! We also got Thai Tea, which was refreshing! Portion sizes were good, and we took our leftovers to go. Sistory Thai Kitchen is an addition to the Albany and North Berkeley area. I wouldn't mind coming back to try their brunch! They're located off San Pablo Ave. with street parking out front.

    Photos
    Sistory
    Sistory - Kanoom Jeen Nam Ngew/ traditional dish from Northern Thailand

    Kanoom Jeen Nam Ngew/ traditional dish from Northern Thailand

    Sistory - Lui Suan salad

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    Lui Suan salad

    Funky Elephant - Pad Thai Old Skool

    Funky Elephant

    4.0(437 reviews)
    0.7 miWest Berkeley
    $$

    A friend of mine is a cook and he recommended this place so we had to try it. 10/10 highly…read morerecommend. Parking is a little tough, it's a small lot but there are street parking around. For a Saturday night I found parking pretty quick since there's not much else going on around. The service is incredible. Our server was super nice and attentive to our table giving us plenty of water and suggestions when we couldn't figure out what to eat because everything sounded good. All I can say is, everything we got was flavorful and delicious. I wish the portion sizes were bigger for the price tag it came with but it was all delicious all the same. Of course I got their nam kow, which I will admit is not as great as champa garden's but still worth getting. Again, the price and portion size is not the best but still delicious. My new favorite dish of all time is their yum khai dao. It's a bunch of fried eggs with salad on top that has a tangy sweet spicy dressing tossed on it. I'm a sucker for fried eggs so this is easily my favorite dish. We got both their savory roti and their sweet roti and I recommend both. The sweet roti comes with ice cream and their roti is covered with condensed milk. It's actually the perfect way to end the meal with something sweet after all the savory or salty dishes. We also got their grilled beef short ribs, drunken muscles and the O' Breakfast Grilled Pork. The pork and grilled short ribs were both so good we all almost didn't want to share with each other. The next time I come back, I will go for the pork and the fried eggs salad along with both roti's. 10/10

    Tucked away in between Philz and Homeroom is Funky Elephant. Small interior with only about 5-6…read moretables inside with outdoor seating. The motherland curry was a joke of a portion at $21. The container was half full. There was a side of noodles and garnish that went along but still tiny. The flavor was there at least. The old school pad Thai wasn't really anything special either. The strawberry matcha latte was another miss. Super bitter. The service was nice.

    Photos
    Funky Elephant - Cozy corner spot

    Cozy corner spot

    Funky Elephant - Papaya salad

    Papaya salad

    Funky Elephant - Party Wings

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    Party Wings

    Bua Luang - thai - Updated May 2026

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