Cancel

Open app

Search

Bua Thai

4.1 (565 reviews)
ModerateThai
Closed • 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 4:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Order Bua Thai Takeout or Delivery

Bua Thai Photos

Business Info

BUA THAI ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Quiet
Casual
Happy hour specials
Good for groups

You might also consider

Recommended Reviews - Bua Thai

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Crab Fried Rice
Art K.

Aloha gang! I finally had a chance to have dinner with friends and family at Bua Thai. This restaurant has a very intimate dining room and the service is outstanding. The couple in charge of the business were so polite and soft spoken. They took good care of our party. We started with appetizers, tasty Spring Rolls with Shrimp. Each chewy bite of the Spring Roll and it's fresh ingredients was full of flavor. It was a great way to start the meal. I decided to try the Crab Fried Rice. The presentation was beautiful and I was impressed by the portion served. It was actually enough to feed two. The generous amount of tender crab meat, egg, onion, peas, carrots and stir fried jasmine rice, blended together, gave a smokey and sweet flavor. I enjoyed every savory bite. After the meal, I vowed to return to try the many dishes they offered on their extensive menu. I will definitely be back!

siri g.

I've been coming to this place for years, both for takeout and dine-in, and the quality has always been consistently excellent. I've tried a variety of dishes over time, and every single one has been absolutely delicious. On my most recent visit, we ordered the eggplant stir fry, Pad see ew, and green curry--all were packed with flavor and perfectly cooked. The staff is friendly and welcoming, and the overall vibe is cozy and relaxed. Plus, there's plenty of parking, which is always a bonus.

Fresh Spring Shrimp Rolls
Annie D.

We were sat right away on a Friday night for dinner. Plenty of parking. Flavor and quality of food here is on point. We especially enjoyed the yellow curry and fried rice. The beef in the beef salad was a little chewy and the mango in the mango sticky rice was not sweet otherwise we really enjoyed our food. A little pricey but glad to find a place not too far from home. They get a lot of take out orders.

Crying Tiger Steak (MP)Som Tum (papaya salad)
Sarah K.

the crying tiger steak was so good! incredibly tender and juicy it was cooked really well! if you're ordering takeout or delivery i would note that when you get steak packed up, it can overcook in the container so order more rare. i got rare and it was perfect. the papaya salad was really affordable and crunchy! it was also really flavorful and came with tomatoes. i ordered spice 3, but will definitely get like 5 next time! once again, the steak was incredible it was falling apart in my mouth. i will say everything was a little salty but had great flavor as well

Inside Curry Puffs
Myphuong L.

I am blown away at how tasty, spicy and how fast we were in and out. We both ordered from the lunch menu. The menu was split up by rice, curry and noodles with choice of Vegetable ($13.49), Chicken ($13.99), Shrimp ($13.99), or Seafood ($15.49). I got eggplant basil level 5 and it had a nice kick! Spice level was 1 to 10 and you never know if it's a true spice so I went half way. I should have went for a 3! My friend got shrimp Pad Thai. Lunch comes with a side of salad and soup. My friend also ordered a Pad Thai to go and instead of soup, it came with egg roll. We both enjoyed our dish. The portions are perfect for lunch and the price. This location is a bit hidden on the map. The store front faces Pomerado Road next to the barber shop.

Very generous glass of wine, and quite good too!
Amy D.

The most quaint little neighborhood Thai spot! Lovely Thai inspired decorations, clean and friendly service! Ordered chicken yellow curry (absolutely delishious) with just the right balance of coconut milk to broth, as well as shrimp pad Thai! The sauce on the pad Thai was tangy, spicy and perfectly cooked. Highly recommend a stop for lunch or dinner at this little hide away! Pro tip: our server said it has been in business over 20 years, but recently changed management. Food and service was fabulous! So I would say, they are doing great!

Stopped in for lunch. Very clean Great service Great food Reasonable prices What more could you ask for? Since it was our first time we went with the tried and true- Pad Thai and Panang Curry. Both were excellent! We will definitely go back.

Chicken pad thai, $17
Jane R.

Super flavorful! Went here based on Yelp reviews and yet again, this community doesn't disappoint! We went for Sunday when they opened. The staff was attentive, place was clean, price point is more on the higher end, but worth the penny! Husband got crying tiger steak, medium done. The sauce it came with was simply one of the best sauce I've ever had. It has a variety of flavor notes. The steak was done perfectly. I got chicken pad thai. The flavor was also spot on and noodle was also done perfectly. Unfortunately, the chicken itself was pretty tough and dry. I do want to come back here again, maybe will just try a different protein. Overall, I highly recommend if you're trying to decide where to eat in the area. Will definitely come back myself.

David S.

In search of another delicious thai place, this spot popped up. There was plenty of parking which is always nice. And who can beat the corner spot in the lot. We were quickly greeted and provided a table. The restaurant is a good size and was very clean. The service was also outstanding and they were on top of everything. The food was flavorful and not overly spicy at 5/10. The only downsides would be that there were a few pieces of beef that were just a little chewy in tbe beef salad and the mangos were not very sweet, although the stick rice was amazing. The curry was also so flavorful but could have been just a little thicker. But that's just a personal preference. One last minor detail is that this is definitely more on the expensive side for most Thai restaurants. But what isn't expensive these days, right? With so many options, you will be very happy with almost any choice. Definitely come by and check them out or do what many others were doing and order some delicious take out for home.

Lorenza with the first round.
WILLIAM P.

I so wanted good Thai that I overruled my wife's desire for Middle Eastern food and suggested we go to Bus Thai The first thing my wife notice was that all the native Thai decorations were gone. She asked if there was a new owner and the lead server told us "No the old owner had taken the business back and all the decorations were removed during Covid. We ordered Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles with Mixed Seafood and Panang Curry Chicken luncheon specials which included salads and soups. We also ordered the Chicken Larb appetizer. On the positive side all the dishes were generous, especially the Mixed Seafood. On the negative side, my spicy Drunken Noodles was not very spicy and all the dish were unusually sweet. We have had Thai food often and while there may be a bit of sweetness, never this much. Also good was they had refreshing Chang Beer served in cold glasses. Another issue, which will soon be illegal was that they would add a 3% charge if you pay by credit card. Fortunately we had enough cash to cover the tab. Not sure if we will return

Panang Bland curry-no bamboo or authentic thai veggies.  Ugh.  Rubbery beef when I asked for shrimp!
Christina R.

Update-Edit: 1 star- only because the waitress was nice. But she was also not very good. This is bad Thai food. It is like an Ameri-Mexi dishwasher version. We returned tonight only because if a picky child requests to actually return to a restaurant, you don't say no. So we ordered 1. beef salad -Again. very tasty like the first time. But I specified JASMINE and we got sticky rice. 2. Chef's special seafood noodles. Bland! The sauce had no Thai flavors. It was a mixture of watered-down soy sauce and sugar. The only authentic Thai ingredients were basil and green pepper peppercorn. I ate all the basil leaves by themselves and tasted no flavor. I usually can't eat the entire branch of green peppercorns because they are too strong. I ate all of these in two bites with the barest pop of spice. Not fresh. The vegetables were American staples: carrot, onion, cabbage, zucchini, green bell pepper. I was expecting bamboo, bean sprouts, shallots, straw mushrooms... and those are just the common ones. When a supposedly "Asian" restaurant serves me regular American broccoli, I don't go back. Plus all the veggies were cut terribly crudely by an amateur in a rush. The egg noodles were fine, but the dish was overall was utterly tasteless. When the waitress asked me how everything was, I tried to be kind, but it was truly awful. So she tried to make it up to me by offering what she claimed was the most authentic Thai dish on the menu Panang Curry. 3. Panang curry should be thick- this was very watery because they didn't take the time to reduce the stock and probably used premade mix and the wrong coconut milk and no peanuts. No fish sauce. I have eaten better curry all over California, the states, the world, including Thailand, and I have cooked it myself. In fact, the penang curry my family used to eat in Miami in the 1980s was more authentic than this. Also, I ordered SHRIMP- but you can see the beef that our waitress brought in the pic. The beef was rubbery and actually squeaked as I was chewing. Again with the American vegetables- carrots and bell pepper. No bamboo, no mushrooms, no Keffir lime leaves. NO flavor. If you insist on wasting your time and money here despite reading this review, I am warning you-stick to the beef salad. Original review: The short: Excellent Beef salad! The long: 2 of my Korean-American friends recommended this place. The fried tofu in particular came highly recommended. So we ordered one of those, a Beef Salad and 2 orders of white rice. But I asked our server to clarify what's the difference between the Crying Tiger and the Beef salad? I have eaten a lot of Thai food, and usually order one or the other and still don't quite understand the difference despite having eaten so many of them. So the server tried his best to explain, but, not being a cook, his description came out just as vague and inconclusive as the menu. He said the beef was the same in both dishes and that he preferred the beef salad personally. So that's what we chose, and we devoured it. Actually, I only tasted a few bites before Alex devoured the rest of it, lol! The beef was deliciously salty, sweet and tangy, with an extra nice texture from the ground toasted rice. The lettuce, onions and scallion were fresh and crunchy and nicely coated in dressing. It was a great dish I would recommend to anyone. I only wish there were slightly more of the delicious dressing just so I could soak my rice in it like I usually do. As for the fried tofu, it was perfectly coated and browned on all sides, nice and crunchy, good texture, and soft inside. However, the coating did not have flavor and without the side of sauce, this would have been boring bland fried tofu. The sauce was a tasty yet very basic syrupy, sweet-and-sour dip. I would not ordered this again. I was a little surprised our total with tax and tip came out to almost $50! For one entrée, one appetizer and two bowl of plain white rice, that seemed extremely steep. Overall, a good place I want to revisit but next time I will forgo ordering rice or appetizers and just take it to go so I can eat the entrees with rice at home.

Beef Drunken Noodle, Pad Cha Seafood, Thai Iced Tea

Great service and even better food! We had the drunken noodles with beef and the seafood pad cha.

Drunken Noodles with tofu
Betty C.

Lovely ambience and delicious food! I ordered the drunken noodles with tofu, and they came beautifully dished, with perfectly cooked carrots looking like little orange flowers throughout. Kim was a very attentive and sweet server too. She brought me icy water and handed my to-go noodles right to me. I love that. The flavors are delightful, all contributing their own distinct deliciousness

Pad Thai Noodle

See all

Photo of Tiffany T.
88
86
116

4 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Rose S.
4
219
48

5 days ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 month ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Art K.
117
291
1543

8 months ago

Helpful 23
Thanks 12
Love this 21
Oh no 0

4 months ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 1
Love this 4
Oh no 0

11 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

7 months ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

3 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

5 months ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

7 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Sunshine L.
65
985
420

4 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 months ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of K O.
0
12
1

4 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

3 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Dan E.
119
282
8684

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 2

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 1
Photo of A T.
0
4
0

4 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

8 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Business owner information

Photo of BuaThai A.

BuaThai A.

Thank you so much

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Jeff F.
118
408
3237

3 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 1

11 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Chris W.
339
22
12

1 year ago

We had the pad Thai and the pad see ew, and it was all really good. Place was cute, service was great!

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

5 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 1
Love this 3
Oh no 0

Page 1 of 15

Bua Thai Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Bua Thai

Is any MSG ingredients Put in the soup broths or in the curries?

We do not add MSG in soup broths and curries. Also, I have already check on the nutrition fact of the curry paste we use, there is no MSG contained.

Is msg used at all we have a very serious msg food allergy?

Hi April. Most of the dish in menu we do not add MSG, however, some imported chili paste already contained. So, please advise us before you make an order. Thank you

Do they still have the lunch special with soup, salad, spring roll & small entree with the new ownership?

Hello, For lunch special, when dining in, the lunch specials are served with soup and salad. For a… Read more

What cross contamination procedures do you have in place for the gluten free dishes? (I have celiac)

When making a gluten free dish, we add a gluten free sauce to a dish instead. Our sauces are bottled.… Read more

Do they have wine?

Yes

Has anyone ordered a la carte takeout from this restaurant? How generous are the portions? Most Thai restaurants don't give you much for the $$. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

The Thai restaurant takes great care of you. Food taste amazing whether it's take out or your dining in. The portions are filling, my favorite is the Spicy Fried Rice.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

You might also consider

Urban Thai Kitchen - Drunken noodles

Urban Thai Kitchen

(574 reviews)

$$

Last night, my friend and I went to a marvelous restaurant; it was in the Rancho Bernardo/Poway…read morearea. Honestly, I hadn't been there yet, but had looked for something that was open late in the area. I normally live in NYC (the city that never sleeps!), and soon realized that not much in the No. Inland County of SD area is open late. So, since our friendship date was at 8 PM, this is the place that I chose. In other words, other than generally enjoying Thai food, our selection of this place was largely due to scheduling. Sometimes, it's about practicality. Yet, once we were there, we were both pleasantly surprised by the welcoming, relaxed vibe as well as both the quantity and quality of food that they shared. (Also, we didn't have a reservation; but they still promptly seated us, even though it was fairly busy then, which we appreciated.) We ordered countless items from the menu, and they were all tasteful and oh so filling. We went home with more than half a dozen to-go boxes, too! : ) I particularly enjoyed the coconut milk soup with veggies and the dessert, which was the fried banana rolls paired with coconut ice cream. Can you infer that I'm into coconut everything?? LOL Last but not least, big shoutouts go out to Ivan and Roberto, for their loving hospitality and epic service. Roberto was so patient, as we asked him plenty of questions about the menu and garnered his kind recommendations. And - per our request - everything came out with mild, rather than maximum spice levels. Thanks and brilliant! So grateful for this wonderful experience -- even their fortune cookies were spot on. : ) I wish them only good fortune from here on out! Only the Best, Katherine (& dinner companion)

Good food, absolutely unacceptable service -- never coming back !…read more We've been coming to this restaurant for a while because the food is good, even though the service has always been mediocre. This was a lazy Monday night with less than 25% of the tables occupied, yet we sat for 15-20 minutes without anyone coming to take our order. No acknowledgment. Nothing. Eventually, the receptionist felt bad and took our order, which should have been our first red flag. No one even bothered to refill our water, even though servers were refilling glasses at the table right next to us and deliberately skipping ours. My young child was waiting for fried rice (his favorite). When I finally asked a waiter about it, his response was: "I don't know who your waiter is -- they forgot to place the order. Do you want the fried rice or are you done?" No apology. No ownership. No attempt to fix the situation. Just attitude. No one even came to give us the check. I had to walk to the front desk and deal with the same rude waiter just to pay and leave. Management should take this seriously: arrogant and discriminatory service kills businesses faster than bad food ever will. Loyal customers don't disappear quietly -- they stop coming and they warn others. Food is one thing, but no one goes out with their family to be ignored, talked down to, and treated as an inconvenience. Why would anyone pay to be insulted like this?

The Original Sab-E-Lee - Shrimp Pad Thai ()

The Original Sab-E-Lee

(1.3k reviews)

$$

Rancho Penasquitos

Pretty decent Thai food, a bit pricier than I like, but these days, prices just keep increasing yet…read moreno increase in salary. You have to do more with less, so frustrating. Ridiculous wars jacking up prices which I didnt vote for. OK enough of my complaining and onto the review. After a failed to go order to a Thai place 5 min away, I called this place to place a papaya salad order. There are 3 options and next time I will try the Laos version. I asked for mild. I can't do spicy. I ordered a tofu pad Thai, also mild. Woman on the phone was efficient and said my order would be ready in 10 min. I drove over and sure enough, within less than 10 min, my order was ready! With tax and tip, both entrees came to $40! Wow! Happy to report that both items were good, not the best Thai I have ever eaten (been to Thailand and had the real deal all over Thailand), but very solid. Fresh ingredients, fast and efficient ordering and pick up and close to where I am, I will be back to explore more of their interesting menu! Thanks for saving the day Sab E Lee when Aaharn closed for renovation!

Writing this so other people actually check their statements after eating here. The waitresses at…read morethis place commit fraud, full stop. I came in for dinner, paid with my card, wrote a normal tip and a clear total, and signed. Took a quick photo of my receipt on the way out, which is a habit I'd recommend to literally everyone at this point. A few days later I noticed the charge was higher than what I'd authorized. Compared my statement to the photo and the tip line had been changed. The total was overwritten to match. Not a service charge I missed, not a tax thing, not a rounding issue. The waitress went back after I walked out and rewrote what I signed for. I called to ask about it and got brushed off. Ended up disputing the charge through my bank to get it reversed. That's not something I should have had to do for a meal. The food doesn't really matter when the people taking your card are going to alter the receipt after you leave. And if you scroll the reviews, I don't think I'm the only one this has happened to. Don't come here. Unless paying whatever the waitress feels like writing in after you sign sounds like a fun surprise, go literally anywhere else for Thai.

Pailin Thai Cafe

Pailin Thai Cafe

(300 reviews)

$$

Rancho Bernardo

It's funny, I've worked in this general area for over ten years, and I'm still surprised by the…read morerestaurants and shops just a few minutes' drive from the office. Pailin Thai is in a shopping center that absolutely gets bonkers during busy hours, mostly because of the obnoxiously skinny parking spaces and the incredibly large cars trying to cram their way into them. We ordered our lunchtime meal online, taking advantage of their lunch combo specials. I got the See-Eyew Noodles with chicken ($13.95) and my husband got the Spicy Noodles with pork ($13.95). Because these were the lunch combos, each meal also came with a small serving of the soup of the day, a small salad, an egg roll and a fried wonton. The menu said you're also supposed to get steamed rice, but we did not. I'd rank the items in my lunch combo this way: the soup (not sure what kind it was, but it was coconutty and citrusy and there wasn't enough of it, in my opinion); the fried wonton; the salad; the noodles; the egg roll. Not that I didn't enjoy the noodles, they were just not the best I've had (and those who know me know that Pad See Ew noodles are my go-to Thai entree.) These noodles were lighter - in color and flavor - than I prefer, and too sticky to easily shove in my face with a plastic fork. The flavor was okay, if a little lacking. My husband's meal was supposed to be spicy noodles, but the container was labeled "Drunken Noodles", which I'm pretty sure is a different dish. But, he ate it all up and said he enjoyed everything about it. Though he did say the serving size was smaller than expected (I reminded him it was a lunch combo, not a full entree, and for what we paid, it was a good deal. I think he agreed haha.) I'd be willing to give them another try, because I love Thai meals and we seem to be lacking in good Thai restaurants anymore.

We ordered lunch special and the soup that x a me with it is ok. Better than what we've had before…read more They have authentic interior design and a lot of tables. Good for large groups. The food taste good and thr price is reasonable. The service is also very good. I'll give this experience 4.4

Bua Thai - thai - Updated May 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...