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Great food, great service and shareable portions. The restaurant itself is well decorated and inviting from inside and out! My absolutely favorite was the papaya salad. All the flavors were there and thankfully, medium spice was manageable for me! I may have found my new favorite Thai spot!
Ambiance - casual/family-friendly spot. Most optimal for 2-4 diners since it's a small space. Service - staff was nice, but there were few people on shift, so it was hard to get their attention. Didn't refill waters. Food - solid American Thai food. The noodles tasted slightly overcooked.
Great food options, lots of vegetarian choices. The place has great ambience and pretty walk on the block.
We ordered 3 items which we all loved: papaya salad (our goto whenever we visit a Thai spot), red curry (same), roast duck fried rice (kids loved it). All are flavorful and quite affordable. We came in before 12pm on a Sunday and it's already mostly filled. Service was enough -- no phony "how's everything" interruptions lol. Bright and plenty of sunlight. Note to the owner: might wanna throw away some of those broken utensils. Detail matters :)
Alright Thai spot located in downtown San Mateo. Gave this spot a try because the high reviews but was disappointed. The inside has a good amount of booths and tables. My husband and I got there right when they opened and were first ones there. We started with the curry puff and the crispy chicken wing. Both were alright, probably wouldn't get the chicken wings again because it was thick with batter but enjoyed the sauce it came with. The pad kee mao was ok, not the best nor worst I've had. Flavor was a bit lacking and there was no spice. The ka na moo krob was the highlight but some of the pork belly was overcooked and hard while some were nice and tender. Wish it was more consistent. The pickled jalepenos were probably the best thing I ate. Overall, good location and pricing but thought this place was just alright. Probably wouldn't come back again. Service was just alright as well, could have been better as it wasn't busy but we had to go to the counter for the check and boxes.
Great Thai food with authentic flavors! Everything was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. Friendly service and a cozy atmosphere. Definitely would come back!
Hubby and I needed a late dinner around 9 p.m. on Sunday and decided to head to ZhangLiang since we hadn't been there in a while. The place was packed. We joined the waitlist and were somehow number 23, even though they were closing in 30 minutes! Since we weren't about to wait around, we decided to give this Thai place another try. It had been at least two years since our last visit, and they had a table available right away. I remembered liking their Pad Thai, so that was an easy choice. Hubby ordered the seafood salad because papaya salad felt a little too predictable. Big mistake. The "seafood salad" turned out to be a plate of boiled snow fungus (雪耳) mixed with a bunch of random frozen seafood and fish balls. I would not recommend this dish under any circumstances. -100/10. The other dish was chicken with bell peppers in a very sweet sauce. We were surprised to find that it was made with ground chicken. The flavor didn't work for us at all. Maybe 1/5. The Pad Thai ended up being the best thing we ordered. It's not amazing, but it was decent and easily the highlight of the meal. Unfortunately, this visit reminded us why it's been two years since our last one. We probably won't be coming back.
Restaurant on B Street, closed to traffic. Many restaurants to choose from. Last time we came, we were crowded and waited in line for limited seating. Today we came after lunch crowd. We ate family style so I tried everything. Pork neck slices were excellent, tender, and had little fat. Pad sew ew was a flat noodle with chicken, was very good, not greasy. Penang curry was very good, not too spicy, and came with rice. Roasted duck leg soup noodle hard to share, one duck leg, soup nice 5-spice beef flavor was tasty. Seafood noodle soup came with assortment of seafood, mini scallops, red tofo for soup flavor was not my favorite but some at our table loved it.. Service was excellent as we came late and no one in restaurant. We picked a winner, 5 stars out of 5.
We stopped here with a party of 8 on Friday evening for dinner. It was a long wait but boy was the wait worth it. The entire unanimously agreed that this restaurant has really delicious Thai food. Food 5/5: We ordered a number of items green curry, pork curry, veg pad kee mao, pork fried rice and Thai iced tea with a panda on the top (it was a showstopper and everyone was intrigued to see it - great conversation starter) We were disappointed by crispy tofu - that's a really bad dish - bland and simply not worth the calories Ambience 5/5: it looks nice. Ambiance is functional and interiors are really good for the price group $$ sign yelp restaurant category. They maintain cleanliness and hygiene Service 4/5 - service was good. People were friendly. It took a relatively long time for them to bring fried rice dishes compared to everything else and they missed to add one item during ordering. But also the restaurant was really busy and a long wait list with only 2-3 staff members, so understandable Parking was easy to find in the downtown parking garage Definitely recommend trying it
Located in San Mateo. The Pad Kee Mao is my go to and I wasn't a fan here unfortunately. I tried it with pork this time and will definitely be coming back to try the chicken next time. I wasn't given a spice option, it was very bland. Next time in person I will see if I can do a 4x spice option as I LOVE spicy pad kee mao. Thai tea is yummy they also have ice cream. The atmosphere is also really nice with plenty of seating, and they even have a fun photo op wall that adds a nice touch to the dining experience.
We have passed by many times while walking around this busy part of San Mateo, but this time we decided to give them a try since we haven't had Thai food in a while. We got here for an early dinner, so there were many free tables available, though all the booths were taken when we arrived. Modern interiors and casual vibes. ***OUR PICKS*** MANGO SALMON SALAD ~ deep fried salmon, mango, cashew nut, and onions in spicy lime dressing, served with sliced cabbage. The salmon was fishy and didn't taste fresh. The cabbage was so minimal that you could count the shreds, and it looked like pre-cut slaw from a bag?! It looked O-L-D. This was supposed to be a salad. Not much greenery on the plate. What stood out were chunks of mango and fried salmon. The only thing good was the mango. 2.5/5 CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS ~ deep fried chicken wings marinated in a house specialty sauce flavored with salt and pepper, served with sriracha sauce. The chicken was breaded and fried. I guess I wasn't prepared for that kind of chicken, and the menu didn't give a detailed description of how it was made. I prefer the chicken to be coated in flour versus a bread crumb coating. The chicken meat inside was flavorful even without a sauce. I believe the sauces I got were sweet Thai chili and a salsa. Nothing spicy. 3.5/5 ROASTED DUCK CURRY ~ Slice roast duck with pineapple, bell pepper, Thai basil, and tomato with red curry. My guy ordered this dish, and I just tried a sliver of duck. Tasted like Chinese roasted duck, and there were maybe 4 small pieces of duck. You get a bowl of rice, but this should be listed as an appetizer. 3/5 SPICY EGGPLANT WITH SHRIMP ~ sautéed shrimp with eggplant, bell pepper, basil, and Thai chili. Lots of flavor in this dish! Probably the best dish out of the 4 we had. 4/5 Maybe we ordered wrong. We didn't want the typical Thai dishes like Pad Thai or Pad See-Ew, but maybe those were the dishes they do well here.
3.5 stars. I think the main reasons why this average Thai restaurant has such great reviews and is always busy is because they provide an incentive for people to write reviews (free Thai tea for yelp review and free ice cream cup for Google review), they are a small sized restaurant with limited seating, and their affordable. For those reasons, always expect a wait. There's an iPad wait list and they will text you when the table is ready. They only take reservations for parties of 5 or more The food is decent taste wise. Prices are pretty good for the quality and portions. It's nice that the curry dishes come with rice. We ordered the red curry $13.75, yellow curry $13.75, pad Thai $14.75, and spicy eggplant $15.25. Everything is on the sweeter side and not very spicy despite my request for spicy. Food is not bad, but didn't quite satisfy my Thai food craving, which is not a good sign...
It's okay -- nothing particularly stood out, but the food was decent. What really surprised me was the price. It's actually quite affordable, especially compared with a lot of Thai restaurants these days. For the price, I'd say it's a pretty good value. But probably wont come back, there are a lot of different options in downtown San Mateo.
24 days ago
I love this restaurant and it tastes so amazing. The staff are so nice and the food tastes super good. I definitely recommend! read more
1 month ago
Great BBQ pork fried rice and the service was extremely quick. Atmosphere was very calm and soothing as well. read more
1 month ago
The food was good and the staff were super friendly. My favorite was the pineapple fried rice. read more
Great food, great service and shareable portions. The restaurant itself is well decorated and inviting from inside and out! My absolutely favorite was the papaya salad. All the flavors were there and thankfully, medium spice was manageable for me! I may have found my new favorite Thai spot! read more
6 days ago
Ambiance - casual/family-friendly spot. Most optimal for 2-4 diners since it's a small space. Service - staff was nice, but there were few people on shift, so it was hard to get their attention. Didn't refill waters. Food - solid American Thai food. The noodles tasted slightly overcooked. read more
1 month ago
Business owner information
Derek S.
Hi Loreta, I’m very sorry about your experience. Regardless of what…
1 day ago
Great food options, lots of vegetarian choices. The place has great ambience and pretty walk on the block. read more
We ordered 3 items which we all loved: papaya salad (our goto whenever we visit a Thai spot), red curry (same), roast duck fried rice (kids loved it). All are flavorful and quite affordable. We came in before 12pm on a Sunday and it's already mostly filled. Service was enough -- no phony "how's everything" interruptions lol. Bright and plenty of sunlight. Note to the owner: might wanna throw away some of those broken utensils. Detail matters :) read more
Alright Thai spot located in downtown San Mateo. Gave this spot a try because the high reviews but was disappointed. The inside has a good amount of booths and tables. My husband and I got there right when they opened and were first ones there. We started with the curry puff and the crispy chicken wing. Both were alright, probably wouldn't get the chicken wings again because it was thick with batter but enjoyed the sauce it came with. The pad kee mao was ok, not the best nor worst I've had. Flavor was a bit lacking and there was no spice. The ka na moo krob was the highlight but some of the pork belly was overcooked and hard while some were nice and tender. Wish it was more consistent. The pickled jalepenos were probably the best thing I ate. Overall, good location and pricing but thought this place was just alright. Probably wouldn't come back again. Service was just alright as well, could have been better as it wasn't busy but we had to go to the counter for the check and boxes. read more
Hubby and I needed a late dinner around 9 p.m. on Sunday and decided to head to ZhangLiang since we hadn't been there in a while. The place was packed. We joined the waitlist and were somehow number 23, even though they were closing in 30 minutes! Since we weren't about to wait around, we decided to give this Thai place another try. It had been at least two years since our last visit, and they had a table available right away. I remembered liking their Pad Thai, so that was an easy choice. Hubby ordered the seafood salad because papaya salad felt a little too predictable. Big mistake. The "seafood salad" turned out to be a plate of boiled snow fungus (雪耳) mixed with a bunch of random frozen seafood and fish balls. I would not recommend this dish under any circumstances. -100/10. The other dish was chicken with bell peppers in a very sweet sauce. We were surprised to find that it was made with ground chicken. The flavor didn't work for us at all. Maybe 1/5. The Pad Thai ended up being the best thing we ordered. It's not amazing, but it was decent and easily the highlight of the meal. Unfortunately, this visit reminded us why it's been two years since our last one. We probably won't be coming back. read more
12 days ago
Restaurant on B Street, closed to traffic. Many restaurants to choose from. Last time we came, we were crowded and waited in line for limited seating. Today we came after lunch crowd. We ate family style so I tried everything. Pork neck slices were excellent, tender, and had little fat. Pad sew ew was a flat noodle with chicken, was very good, not greasy. Penang curry was very good, not too spicy, and came with rice. Roasted duck leg soup noodle hard to share, one duck leg, soup nice 5-spice beef flavor was tasty. Seafood noodle soup came with assortment of seafood, mini scallops, red tofo for soup flavor was not my favorite but some at our table loved it.. Service was excellent as we came late and no one in restaurant. We picked a winner, 5 stars out of 5. read more
We stopped here with a party of 8 on Friday evening for dinner. It was a long wait but boy was the wait worth it. The entire unanimously agreed that this restaurant has really delicious Thai food. Food 5/5: We ordered a number of items green curry, pork curry, veg pad kee mao, pork fried rice and Thai iced tea with a panda on the top (it was a showstopper and everyone was intrigued to see it - great conversation starter) We were disappointed by crispy tofu - that's a really bad dish - bland and simply not worth the calories Ambience 5/5: it looks nice. Ambiance is functional and interiors are really good for the price group $$ sign yelp restaurant category. They maintain cleanliness and hygiene Service 4/5 - service was good. People were friendly. It took a relatively long time for them to bring fried rice dishes compared to everything else and they missed to add one item during ordering. But also the restaurant was really busy and a long wait list with only 2-3 staff members, so understandable Parking was easy to find in the downtown parking garage Definitely recommend trying it read more
Located in San Mateo. The Pad Kee Mao is my go to and I wasn't a fan here unfortunately. I tried it with pork this time and will definitely be coming back to try the chicken next time. I wasn't given a spice option, it was very bland. Next time in person I will see if I can do a 4x spice option as I LOVE spicy pad kee mao. Thai tea is yummy they also have ice cream. The atmosphere is also really nice with plenty of seating, and they even have a fun photo op wall that adds a nice touch to the dining experience. read more
We have passed by many times while walking around this busy part of San Mateo, but this time we decided to give them a try since we haven't had Thai food in a while. We got here for an early dinner, so there were many free tables available, though all the booths were taken when we arrived. Modern interiors and casual vibes. ***OUR PICKS*** MANGO SALMON SALAD ~ deep fried salmon, mango, cashew nut, and onions in spicy lime dressing, served with sliced cabbage. The salmon was fishy and didn't taste fresh. The cabbage was so minimal that you could count the shreds, and it looked like pre-cut slaw from a bag?! It looked O-L-D. This was supposed to be a salad. Not much greenery on the plate. What stood out were chunks of mango and fried salmon. The only thing good was the mango. 2.5/5 CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS ~ deep fried chicken wings marinated in a house specialty sauce flavored with salt and pepper, served with sriracha sauce. The chicken was breaded and fried. I guess I wasn't prepared for that kind of chicken, and the menu didn't give a detailed description of how it was made. I prefer the chicken to be coated in flour versus a bread crumb coating. The chicken meat inside was flavorful even without a sauce. I believe the sauces I got were sweet Thai chili and a salsa. Nothing spicy. 3.5/5 ROASTED DUCK CURRY ~ Slice roast duck with pineapple, bell pepper, Thai basil, and tomato with red curry. My guy ordered this dish, and I just tried a sliver of duck. Tasted like Chinese roasted duck, and there were maybe 4 small pieces of duck. You get a bowl of rice, but this should be listed as an appetizer. 3/5 SPICY EGGPLANT WITH SHRIMP ~ sautéed shrimp with eggplant, bell pepper, basil, and Thai chili. Lots of flavor in this dish! Probably the best dish out of the 4 we had. 4/5 Maybe we ordered wrong. We didn't want the typical Thai dishes like Pad Thai or Pad See-Ew, but maybe those were the dishes they do well here. read more
3.5 stars. I think the main reasons why this average Thai restaurant has such great reviews and is always busy is because they provide an incentive for people to write reviews (free Thai tea for yelp review and free ice cream cup for Google review), they are a small sized restaurant with limited seating, and their affordable. For those reasons, always expect a wait. There's an iPad wait list and they will text you when the table is ready. They only take reservations for parties of 5 or more The food is decent taste wise. Prices are pretty good for the quality and portions. It's nice that the curry dishes come with rice. We ordered the red curry $13.75, yellow curry $13.75, pad Thai $14.75, and spicy eggplant $15.25. Everything is on the sweeter side and not very spicy despite my request for spicy. Food is not bad, but didn't quite satisfy my Thai food craving, which is not a good sign... read more
2 months ago
It's okay -- nothing particularly stood out, but the food was decent. What really surprised me was the price. It's actually quite affordable, especially compared with a lot of Thai restaurants these days. For the price, I'd say it's a pretty good value. But probably wont come back, there are a lot of different options in downtown San Mateo. read more
1 day ago
Great food and service . It might be a bit spicy but filling and reasonably priced for the area . read more
1 day ago
A nice hole-in-the-wall place to spend the evening in. Great service and great menu options. Best chili-vinegar in the bay too! read more
1 day ago
Wow amazing food with amazing decor in San mateo. Amazing spice and my 85 characters are over now. read more
1 day ago
Good ambiance. Prompt service and and tasty food. The staff was very helpful in choosing the food options with dietry restrictions. read more
Located in the heart of downtown San Mateo this Thai restaurant is colorful, well lit with natural sunlight, open space concept. Come at night to see the lights, good food and drinks! Parking is a bit hard to find but, well worth it! read more
1 day ago
Unbeatable prices for delicious Thai food. Best part is that their curries come with rice and it's not an extra fee. I think that their Roast Duck Curry is by far the best dish, but they have an extensive menu. What's also really nice is their bear-shaped ice cubes that come with their Thai Iced Tea. Service at times can be slow, but the staff are very friendly. We also enjoyed the fried bananas and ice cream, but it was more ice cream than banana as we had 4 pieces of fried banana read more
Came here for lunch and had a delicious meal! The appetizers were okay, the roti wasn't very fluffy and the satay was decent. But the entrees were delicious! The pad see ew with crispy pork had tons of protein and was super tasty. We ordered the roast duck curry medium spicy and it was very spicy but very yummy. Portions for everything were pretty good but would skip the roti and chicken satay next time. Came on a Sunday for a late lunch and there was still a wait, so it can be pretty busy! read more
We decided to try New Thai Elephant for the first time. The first dish served to us was the main dish -- rice with pumpkin curry --instead of the appetizer/salad and a couple of minutes later the papaya salad arrived. The chicken wings came next, and the eggplant dish was served last. The papaya salad was awesome and perfectly done! I loved it at the medium spice level. The chicken wings were okay, but nothing particularly special. Since the main dish was served first, it had already gotten cold by the time we started eating it, and the rice was a bit hard, probably from having less water when it was cooked. The flavor was really good though -- very tasty. I was just hoping the curry sauce would be thicker and creamier instead of watery. For the eggplant dish, we chose duck meat, but unfortunately it was too salty for us. The eggplant itself and the bell peppers were good though. The experience wasn't quite what we expected, and there are a few areas that could use some improvement. I hope the team can look into this. read more
1 month ago
They are very nice and they food tastes very good every time! I like the pad see ew also but I didnt ordered that this time. read more
Messy, dirty, sloppy: I visited around 7pm on a weekday and waited quite a long time before anyone acknowledged me. I was put at a dirty table and excused myself to go to the bathroom. I passed the kitchen and it smelled of garbage. The bathroom was atrocious (see photos -- I mean, if you can't clean your toilet or the space behind the bathroom door, what else are you missing? When I returned to my table - it had puddles on it and had not been wiped off. The server brought me tattered menus and apologized for the table being wet and said he'd return but then attended other tables. After another 10 minutes - I just left. Abysmal service and cleaning standards. read more
2 months ago
9 months ago
Very solid Thai food spot on the Peninsula. Although the place is a little small, the ambiance and vibes are pretty modern and up to date. They try to make it more romantic with dimmer lighting and candles as well. I love how close it is to boba shops in downtown so you always have dessert options without driving. Definitely come earlier since there was already a 5min queue time on a Saturday around 5:30PM. I ordered a Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao, and both are really good and flavorful. The Pad Thai was sweet and a little stinky (according to my wife) from the fish sauce but I found it to be a good balance between sweet and savory. I just wished the beansprouts were cooked instead of raw, but they still paired well with the dish. The Pad Kee Mao was a little spicy with an amazing flavor profile, but it came with ground beef when we were expecting beef slices. I think ordering chicken next time would be better. The portions are generous, especially at this price point and ambiance. Service was pretty attentive but it can get very busy, so a little initiative never hurts. They do try their best to tend to every table, but the high turnover rate and small restaurant can be a challenge. This is overall a very solid spot for and affordable date night, and we are definitely coming back! read more
Very decorated restaurant! A few booths and small tables throughout. Service was just okay. Took a while to get our order and water refills. I really enjoyed the Papaya Salad! Super funky and the fish sauce was perfectly potent. Papaya was crunchy and refreshing. Sooo delicious! The Pad Thai was tasty. No notes, but they probably have better noodle options! read more
I enjoyed my dinner at New Thai Elephant! This restaurant balances both upscale and cozy vibes. Service can be a bit lacking as you will need to reach out directly to order and to get the check. Papaya salad was delicious, this was my first time ordering this dish and I don't regret it. The vegetables were fresh and the fish sauce added the right amount of concentrated flavor to the dish. The Pad Thai was delicious, our protein was tender and seasoned very well. Portions here are sizable but definitely finishable in one sitting. read more
I am not sure why this place has such good reviews, maybe it's because they offer you a free thai iced tea if you leave a rating on Yelp? My family and I visited for lunch today and were not impressed. All the dishes were simultaneously too sweet and too salty, and nothing was spicy at all, which was surprising for a supposed Thai restaurant. We ordered the roast duck curry, pad kee mao with chicken, roti, crab fried rice, and crispy pork with bell peppers. The roast duck curry was far, far too sweet, and barely tasted of curry. There was barely any meat inside, and most of it was just the duck skin. The pad kee mao was alright, but also too salty and barely had any chicken in it (you can see in the picture that there were very few, tiny pieces of ground chicken inside). The roti pieces were floppy and not crispy at all, and again the dipping curry that came with it was far too sweet. The crispy pork felt overcooked, and was the only dish that wasn't sweet, but was even more salty than the others. The only passable dish was perhaps the crab fried rice, which had a fair serving of crab, but was a tad too oily (even for fried rice). I'm not sure how much sugar they use in each of these dishes and I'm not sure I want to know! We definitely won't be coming back, there are plenty of other authentic Thai restaurants in the area that are much better like Sweet Basil in Foster City or Farmhouse Thai in Menlo Park (although the latter is fairly pricey). I would recommend going to one of those instead. read more
2 months ago
6 days ago
Pork neck appetizer was tender and juicy and the sauce it came with is tangy and pairs well. Pad Thai was delicious and good portion. read more
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More info about New Thai Elephant
200 S B St
San Mateo, CA 94401
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(650) 431-0888
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Ask the Community - New Thai Elephant
How do they do with food allergies such as needing gluten-free or soy free?
For gluten free some dishes on the menu can be gluten free upon request but I am not recommended pad see ew and pad kee mao because those dishes base on soy sauce
I'm vegan. Is there a way to ask for fish and oyster sauce to be omitted from your dishes if requested?
On the vegan option they didn't put fish sauce and oyster sauce
Are you going to have happy hour prices for food like the previous restaurant?
Thanks for your question. Currently, we don’t have happy hour prices like previous restaurant. We are considering to make daily special or happy hour going forward. Best regards.…
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