A friend of mine is a cook and he recommended this place so we had to try it. 10/10 highly recommend. 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 read more

See all

I had their fried chicken and Roti, which came with fried chicken thigh, roti, sweet chili sauce, curry sauce, and pickled cucumber. Everything tasted really good. The fried chicken was juicy, tender, and cooked to the perfect level of crispiness. For the sauces, I liked their curry sauce more because it had more complex flavors from the spices. The roti was like a huge puff which was really interesting because I have neven seen it prepared that way elsewhere. The only downside was it's a bit greasy. Other than this, everything tasted great! read more

See all

Absolutely one of my favorite Thai places anywhere. Staff is friendly and accommodating. Disco in the bathroom is a nice touch (wash your hands). Dining room can be a little tight but the outdoor seating is great on a nice day (most the time I order to go and eat at the Marina). One of the best Papaya Salads I've ever had. Nothing overpowering, just harmonious flavors and textures. Something I could eat everyday. Pad Thai is outstanding and comes with 2 huge prawns (I always opt to add a couple more). Absolute flavor bomb; savory, spicy, salty, tangy and sweet all at once! Thai places everywhere but I'll drive past a dozen of them to get here. 5/5 mando pull up read more

Funky Elephant - Papaya Salad - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

This review is for their lackluster desserts only. Ummm, $30 for soft serve mango and hard mango sticky rice, what a trip. First off that soft serve was so plain and small I could have bought that any where in SF for half the price. The mango sticky rice with that hard blue rice was ugh, not worth it. The only things that should be blue are paint and Smurfs. Horribly dissapointed in these two desserts. A must skip! read more

Funky Elephant - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Cute hole in the wall find! Love the khao man gai- the soup is sooo tiny- recommend you order another side of it. We ordered the fish curry noodles and the steamed mussels. Mussels were good and flavorful but a bit salty. Fish curry noodles were good, but I personally prefer curry with rice. I'm excited to try other things on the menu next time. The mango sticky rice hit the spot! Everything we got was good to share between two people, but for those who might have more of an appetite -order more! read more

Funky Elephant - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Hands down the best pad thai I've ever tasted. And I almost never order pad thai simply because I find it to usually be a lame excuse of soggy noodles dipped in sugary ketchup (that being said, a pad thai is always a good litmus test for a Thai restaurant). Be sure to remove all of the shrimp head innards and get it well combined with the noodles. The dish is proudly pungent, spicy, and boldly flavorful. The shrimp is always extraordinarily fresh (for what reason? It's not even a seafood restaurant) and incredibly sweet. I've had this dish at least five times and it is a must go whenever I am in the bay. Oh and everything else is amazing, but the pad thai overwhelms the roster. read more

A homey quaint yet sophisticated establishment. Family owned restaurant with quality food. Michelin rated restaurant with Unique offerings. They have their standard menu and a smaller Berkeley inspired menu. Our lunch was composed of dish Blistered Greens, Grilled King Mushrooms, and two soups: Tom Goong, and a Red Curry ( I forgot the menu item name) with Red Fish. Service wait time was good but good food takes time to cook. It wasn't super busy but I felt for the singular server. She was very pleasant. read more

See all

We stopped back in to funky elephant and retried the Pad Thai and wings (w the spicy sauce on the side) and they were just as delicious! We also tried the mussels and roti this time around and I'm so glad we did, because these additions really rounded out our meal. This place is amazing, I HIGHLY recommend you check it out when in the area! You won't be disappointed. It's quality you can really taste. read more

See all

There's something for everyone at Funky Elephant. Literallly. My four year old ate the kids noodle and tofu, after turning his nose at it, he completely devoured it. Everyone loves the chicken (KMG #2) with dipping sauce. Motherland curry is surprisingly chock-full of good things like herbs, fish, and noodles. I was dreaming about the head-on shrimp and we finally realized it was Funky Elephant's pad thai old skool. I'm normally not a pad thai person but suddenly we all are digging the pad thai at Funky Elephant, it's really freaking good. It's the vibe of the restaurant's entire menu, everything is really good. My eyes are bigger than my stomach. We will be back! read more

always a pleasure to come here! you can tell with every dish that it has fresh ingredients and everything is made in house. everything was so flavorful especially the mussels. i dipped everything in the broth afterwards, including the rice. it was a one woman show on the front end and she did great with the lunch hour rush! always asking us if we needed anything and was very accommodating. the space is tiny, but i love it because it gives a comfort homey feeling. i'm always talking about this place to everyone! read more

See all

Had a really great meal at Funky Elephant! There wasn't a lot of people when we dined on Sunday for lunch which is great because we're avoiding crowds nowadays. The food was delicious and they have tons of veggie options for my friend. Super friendly service too and they played 2000s hits. Can't go wrong with this spot. Now that I know they have one in SF, will definitely check that one out too since it's closer. read more

See all

I came here and love the vibe of this place. It's in a cute little place and they do have outdoor seating available as well. Everything is so colorful and so fun. I really enjoyed my experience here everything comes served perfectly. The dishes are very big and totally worth the value. Service is also pretty good too overall enjoyed all of my experience here from Food, price point, service. read more

I wasn't totally convinced by the positive reviews. Nah, this place is really good! Funky Elephant is really unassuming from the outside, but cute-looking inside. The dining area can't be much bigger than 10' x 15', so the two women working the front of the house had their jobs locked down. They were very friendly and had great attention to detail especially for a casual establishment (offering extra napkins, refilling water from the old Four Roses bottles, clearing dishes as soon as they were empty, and offering fresh plates). And the food was so good! All hits and I look forward to trying the rest. Fried Brussel Sprouts: Fluffy and crisp texture. I don't know what King sauce is exactly, but it's incredible. Sweet, tart, gooey, and kaffir lime I think. This dish's reputation is well earned. Pad Thai Old Skool: It's a larger portion than I thought from the photos. I loved the toothsome noodles and pleasantly sticky sauce texture. It had a decent amount of spice, fried tofu cubes, and really big whole shrimp to top it off. It just had an unusually good balance of flavors, particularly the tartness that lacks in a lot of pad thai. Party Wings! That chili jam is killer. I need to know more about it. The fried basil was a nice touch. read more

See all

Picked up my sister at the train station and needed some sustenance before a concert... Funky Elephant hit every spot! This place is tiny inside and has a super cute patio, but it was crazy chilly so they fashioned us a table out of thin air right by the kitchen and it was incredible! The server could not have been any nicer to us, the good came fast but tasted like it had been cooked for hours... I cannot wait to be back in Berkeley to eat here again! read more

See all

Very yummy! Spirulina rice was cool. Everything on the menu looked really good and everything we ordered was delicious. Small interior restaurant. Friendly staff. read more

Went for restaurant week and it did not disappoint. The dish came with chicken skewers, red shrimp curry, and ice cream. The food was absolutely amazing! One of the best red curries I've ever had, & it had such a beautiful presentation. Service was great as well! Very small restaurant so definitely make a reservation/call in advance just in case! read more

Funky Elephant - Restaurant Week Special - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Limited menu for a Thai spot, in a small cafe in the industrial section of Gilman in Berkeley, but the flavors here for us were something special. Perfect complex bites with the right amount of spice, acid, fish sauce and fresh ingredients. Really some of the best pad thai we have had since Thailand. Favorites include Old School pad thai. Absolutely add the grilled shrimp, which are juicy, fresh and enormous. We got chili on the side so we could control the heat, which they describe as Thai hot. (We've made that mistake before.) We ordered a fish rendition of their Kanom Jean red curry dish. The wild rock cod was fresh, perfectly prepared, moist, and delicious. The thai ice tea was somehow extra delicious too. We had thai tea soft serve for dessert, which was not as bright and intense as their drinkable thai ice tea. Next time will try a different dessert (mango sticky rice.) read more

Been seeing a lot of mixed reviews but I have to say this was some of the best Thai food I've ever had in the states. We ordered the roti, the motherland curry, the yellow curry w/ grilled chicken and side of sticky rice, and the wholesome noodles. WOW! So much flavor and the food tasted very fresh. Agreed that the prices are high but for the quality (which left us feeling full), I felt like it was worth it. Will definitely go back again! read more

Funky Elephant - motherland curry with rock cod - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Parking is tough on the street. The restaurant is supposedly wheelchair accessible but it is extremely tight in there. I was about five inches from the neighboring table. Servers were exceedingly patient with my allergies. Checking multiple times with te kitchen, letting me see the ingredient lists on bottles, answering a billion questions. I ended up having the pad Thai as it was my only celiac safe option, with the others being pork and I don't eat pork. The food was good although I wasn't expecting the shrimp to still have their shells and faces on. The noodles were a little undercooked which made it harder to chew. I became sick about 15 minutes after we finished eating. Something in the food made me unwell-- potentially gluten cross contact? Who's to say. I wouldn't return but they were very friendly and accommodating. read more

The pad thai was good, but the Super Jungle Tofu Curry was a joke. A $25 soupy joke. If I had just had the pad thai I would have given the place 4 stars, but since I had the Super Jungle Curry to judge too, I give this place 2 stars. Over $60 bucks for 2 entrees and a thai iced tea???. If the food was really good, sure. But it wasn't. Definitely won't be back. Imm Thai is much better. read more

Exceptional. Superpower here is that the spicey dishes are so flavorful - the flavor is not hidden by the heat; the heat is just part of the flavor. I'm not someone who normally eats extra spicey - this place gets to the top of my comfort zone, and the flavor of it all makes it worth it. Total respect for having a short menu, just doing a few things right. No customizing spiciness here, as the recipe is what it is. I like to get the Hella Drunken Mussles, and there's so much leftover broth that I use it to marinade fish the next night. read more

Finally made it here after wanting to go for over a year. Definitely will be back to try more because it was super good. I got the Old Skool Pad Thai which had tofu and 2 big shrimp with the head and legs still on. The shrimp were to die for! Probably the best pad Thai I can remember. It was a healthy serving too, so I had plenty to take home. I got the Thai Spicy version, and it wasn't too spicy in my opinion. For dessert I got the Thai iced tea soft serve which was also delicious. One person was in charge of seating, taking orders, and bringing food out, but she was very attentive and sweet. You can sit inside or outside and parking is pretty easy in the lot by Philz or on the street. read more

Funky Elephant - Pad Thai Old Skool - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

A small, quirky, and fun location with large portions. My second cousins (twice removed) and I partook in a weekend lunch here and ordered the following Thai Iced Tea, Wholesome Noodles, Green Papaya salad, and Pad Thai. Thai Iced Tea was delicious and sweet. Wholesome Noodles [5/5]: ground pork soup dish with floral flavors, pork, bean sprouts, and warm broth. Comfort dish that felt like an elevated homemade meal. Green Papaya Salad [4/5]: citrusy, crunchy, savory. Papaya was a little tough to chew and a little on the salty side. Pad Thai [5/5]: came with smoky prawns atop perfectly chewy noodles. Was balanced between sweet, savory, and citrusy. Loved the array of textures with the noodles, beansprouts, and peanuts on top. The restaurant itself is on the smaller side so be sure to book if you intend to sit inside. Service is quick and hospitable. read more

See all

I would give this place a 3.5 stars for the food alone. Service was average when my friend and I walked in. The place is really small so I felt lucky that we were able to be seated immediately. What we got: party wings (4/5) -- crispy skin, juicy meat, very savory flavor, the chili jam they serve it with is delicious and I was able to tolerate the heat despite not being able to handle a lot of spicy food motherland curry (3/5) -- red curry with fish, vermicelli, and herbs...I wish there were more curry flavor but I got mostly coconut...I also wish more fish came with the dish, otherwise it is mostly a bowl of noodles and bean sprouts KMG #2 (4/5) -- pretty basic poached chicken thigh with skin over garlic ginger rice (the rice was amazing) and some super pungent sauce with soy, garlic, chili, etc. unsweetened mango tea (3/5) -- really refreshing given what we ordered but I would have liked stronger mango flavor Not sure if I would come back here, especially since there are so many other Thai places around the Bay and options in Berkeley. read more

See all

A Bay Area staple. Excellent award winning cuisine tucked in a most inconspicuous location. Get your taste buds ready. The seating is a little tight but the food is the BEST! read more

Funky Elephant is a cool looking place on Valencia Street with pretty good food, but the price is totally not worth it. The food was authentic and tasty but wow, the portions are essential $20 for a portion size that can only feed half a person. FOOD [4/5] I wrote these reviews based solely on the taste and not the price, but in reality I would dock 1 star for each meal because of how small the portion size was. Also, as a heads up, they don't give any complimentary rice with any of the dishes. :O - Pad Thai Old Skool $18 [3/5] This was a pretty average Pad Thai. It definitely has a spicy kick, but it wasn't very flavorful otherwise. And as a heads up, they only give two pieces of shrimp and they charge an additional THREE DOLLARS ($3) per shrimp, which is pretty crazy. - Wholesome Noodles $17 [5/5] This was really good! It comes with a good amount of broth, and the broth is quite flavorful. The minced pork also tastes really good and made this dish the most worth it in terms of portion size and taste. - Motherland Curry $18 [4/5] The curry base in the curry was REALLY good. I kept drinking the curry afterwards because it was so good. SERVICE [5/5] Our servers were brisk with us at first because we had outside drinks, but they let us in anyways (as long as we promised not to drink them) which was very nice. They were overall friendly and attentive. AMBIANCE [5/5] The restaurant is a little on the smaller side, but it's beautifully decorated and the restrooms were really funny to walk into haha. read more

See all

We came across this Thai place next to Philz Coffee thankfully bc we were hella hungry, we didn't realize that it was a Michelin guide restaurant until we sat down and the flavors definitely lived up to it! We ordered: Hella Drunken Mussels - this was my favorite selection! - sauce was sooo yummy, I brought it home even though I already finished the mussels Blisted Market Greens - this was good, but not amazing or out of this world -- standard greens, a bit overpriced but also not for the area Motherland Curry - I don't typically encounter curry with wild rock fish cod so that was a nice new protein to explore - curry was delicious! Butterfly Pea Jasmine Rice - this was my first time trying butterfly pea! I liked the creative use of this to bring out a blue color, not usually a color I get to enjoy in most meals It was really packed, but our server was pretty on top of it! The space is kinda small and we sat at a little area by the window and just covered ourselves with the menus so that we and the party outside could have some privacy. There is a lot of seating outside but it was a bit cold for us. Would come back here to bring someone to try it and also get my mussels fix again :) read more

See all

Food - excellent with good use of fresh herbs and spices. I went with someone with peanut allergies but no problem, the waitress was quick to offer an option to ask the cook to make Pat Thai without the peanuts - so my dinner companion got to try his first Pat Thai which is a traditional Thai rice noodles dish. Super flavorful. As was their curry and salads. If you cannot take overly spicy foods, they can put the sauces on the side as an alternative. Service- efficient and friendly service by our cheerful waitress who was very quick to offer to customize the above mentioned noodles dish. Ambiance- it's a cute casual ok yes admittedly a "funky" ambiance. We chose an outside table as the indoor dining was full. With a heat lamp outdoor dining was pleasant but the indoor dining seemed lovely with a full house. It was first time dining here and we hope to return when in the area again. read more

See all

When it comes to local Thai spots I usually stick to my usuals around the area but this place always seemed to stick out to me on my Philz runs. After hitting up Whole Foods, I decided to finally give this place a go! The menu and food were novel compared to traditional Thai spots. I saw the Drunken Mussels and was super compelled to taste it! The waitress suggested to eat with sticky rice and it was such a good pairing. The "broth" was tangy, spicy and a bit sweet and the sticky rice of course being sticky and not falling apart really absorbed that flavor! I also picked off my hubby's plate, he ordered the morning pork and it was really yummy. I also had the Thai iced tea more iced tea-ish than milky. Depends what you're into... I just love a heavily milked down one LOL but that's just me. Gilman is a pretty busy area but you can find parking by Philz or on the side streets. Indoor seating is pretty small and cramped but there's more spacious outdoor seating. The decor is very cute and the art is thought provoking. Overall, this place is worth the try! I'll definitely be coming back. read more

Funky Elephant - "Hella Drunken Mussels" (paired w/ sticky rice) - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Most memorable dish was the nam khao Tod. If you eat pork and you like spicy, press play on this dish. It's a real winner. I also tried the chicken wings which were served piping hot and cooked to perfection. The chef came out and greeted us personally as we were the first guests of the evening and explained the dishes we were about to enjoy. A very nice and hospitable gesture. The place is small, but the decor is large. There's a chair lift outside the restaurant which my dinner companion made good use of. It wasn't difficult to maneuver while it was just the three of us, but I wonder what it might be like with a full house. At any rate... I hope this spot expands into new territory. I suspect they'll need more room than they have soon. Will definitely return. read more

Long overdue review - this Funky Elephant location is in the industrial area of Berkeley. This is a bit hidden away - there is plenty of street parking. Retro looking and small spot, not much seating inside, but I was able to dine outside and received my food in a timely manner. I tried their Crispy "Hodo" Tofu, Gang Rawang Beef, Pad Thai Old Skool, a side of butterfly pea jasmine rice, and a Thai iced tea. The tofu was not my favorite, as I felt like it was a bit dry with the seasoning powder, but the sweet chili sauce helps. The beef and pad Thai was delicious - very flavorful and filling. The rice was a beautiful blue color and it tasted like regular rice, but great for photos. The Thai iced tea was creamy and refreshing. read more

a cute place with unique Thai items. mussel soup highly recommended - it's a lot of mussels and the broth is just addicting. Super zingy and spicy. We had a nice server - she got a heat lamp for us bc we sat outside:) def recommend if you want something different from the usual pad se ews and thai fried rice. read more

Funky Elephant - Chicken Party Wings - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Everything about this restaurant is fantastic! It offers the best menu for my gluten free/ nut allergy that I have ever found in a Thai restaurant. I love the quality and authenticity of what the award winning Chef O provides. Try the Motherland Curry or ask for nut free Pad Thai. "O"mg! read more

Came here on a Friday evening to have dinner and we were able to be seated immediately. We shared the crispy rice salad and yellow curry, along with a Thai iced tea. The service was great and the food came quickly. I really enjoyed the food and appreciated it as much as I did the other location in San Francisco. I would come back here! read more

Funky Elephant - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Went on a day trip to Berkeley with my fiance and we decided to try out Funky Elephant! Between us we shared the pad thai old skool and the motherland curry with wild rock cod fish! The staff were kind and gave us extra bowls as we told them we were sharing our food. * pad thai old skool 5/5 it was so delicious, the noodles were perfectly chewy and not anything like the usual pad thais I get in San Jose. The flavors were complex and unforgettable! I think next time I would definitely ask to add a fried egg on top! * motherland curry 4.8/5We tried this dish on a whim, we actually thought about getting the party wings instead but decided to try the curry last minute! I'm not sure if it was supposed to be served lukewarm but the reason why I docked some points off was because I wished it was piping hot when we ate it. read more

See all

This place was SO DELICIOUS!!! We went pretty late and the restaurant was still pretty packed. We were able to get seated right away though. We tried their papaya salad, wings, and grilled pork, mango sticky rice and everything was extremely good. We will definitely be going back lol Street parking only but there were plenty when we went. read more

See all

Near the end of combining fun, leisure and obligations on a Sunday, we were hungry and chanced upon this unpretentious, albeit expensive (what isn't, in Berkeley?), small Thai resto serving non-traditional comfort food. And oh, what a comfort it was! If ever I eat out, I usually look for good Thai restaurants, and this one didn't disappoint. Except for the Thai iced tea - it had too much ice and thus, tasted watered-down. The staff was helpfully honest in notifying us firsthand that their dishes are on the more-spicy side, and that we would have to let them know whether we'd like to have our ordered dishes tamed down. We requested ours to be toned down a bit. We ordered Hell Drunken mussels, Motherland Curry, Blisted Market Green, and the Butterfly Pea Jasmin rice. We really love the Hell Drunken Mussels, especially the sauce it was in (we even requested if we could take home the remaining sauce after all the mussels were gone). It helped that we had the light-blue colored Butterfly Pea Jasmin rice to balance the spiciness of the dish. I was excited to try the Blisted Market Green salad. Sadly, it was unremarkable despite the Thai basil vinaigrette sauce. Thankfully, the roasted garlic in it made it passable. For someone who loves fish, broth with some vermicelli noodles in it, and a bit of spice, the Motherland Curry is aptly named. It felt like coming home to all these ingredients wonderfully combined in one dish! It wasn't exceptional, but it was good! To make use of whatever small space they have, they make use of indoor and outdoor sitting, even strategically placing a very small rectangular "table" beside their glass window with a view of other patrons eating at their own table right in front of us, with just the glass as a partition between us and them. To avoid embarrassment of being seen how we eat by them (and vice versa), we simply plopped the menu standing up on the glass window (see picture attached). Our small, narrow rectangular "table" right beside the window while we eat is reminiscent of street food eateries in Asia, including the down-to-earth vinyl table cover! All in all, despite being a bit overpriced, I can say I would eat here again if I'm near the area and am really hungry. read more

See all

We stumble across this place was blow away! Awesome food and drinks. We meet our friends there for dinner and they loved it and ordered everything for our table! read more

See all

When I tried Funky Elephant I had a delightful Old Skool Pad Thai with a light tangy sauce, plump shrimp, and a healthy portion of Hodo tofu. Last night I returned to order the same thing. What I got was a much smaller portion, 3 tiny pieces of tofu, a thick gunky overly sweet sauce. All for for substantially more expense. There won't be a third time. read more

We had a large group of 10 and were excited to try this place as we had read great reviews in the SF Chronicle. We had also heard it was opening a location in the Mission District soon. Our experience here was mixed and I'll explain why. First and foremost, our waitress was a little gruff. One of the persons in our party says the more accurate description is "rude" but I'm going with "gruff" and "direct." In any event, her tone and manner were definitely not welcoming. My assessment of her demeanor did not have to do with FE's strict policy for large parties (that all members of the party must be present, etc. which I totally understand, but which also was repeated to us many (i.e., 4-5) times). Service aside, the portions here are on the small side. Usually when we order Pad Thai, it'll feed 3 people maybe 4. Here, the serving will feed 1, maybe 1.5 persons. Further, the dishes are somewhat pricey. We ordered pad thai, crispy rice salad, papaya salad, brussel sprouts, mussels and a curry dish and the bill was $350 for all of us. That's quite a sum for lunch. On the bright side, some of the food was great. The brussel sprouts, in particular, were fantastic. I actually cannot stand brussel sprouts but I couldn't get enough of these. The Pad Thai was also above average. Very flavorful and probably one of the better Pad Thai that I've had. The papaya salad was not very good in my opinion. Extremely small (probably about 1/2 of what a regular person's whole portion would be. We ordered two servings and each person only could take approximately one "large tablespoon" of salad. We ordered one spicy and one non-spicy because one person in our group doesn't handle spicy food well. But even the "spicy" portion was a little bland. Overall, I'd give this place 3 and 1/2 stars. read more

See all