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Original Sa-By Thai

3.5 (547 reviews)
ModerateThai
Closed • 11:00 am - 2:30 pm, 5:00 PM - 10:30 PM

Original Sa-By Thai Photos

Business Info

ORIGINAL SA-BY THAI ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Original Sa-By Thai

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Reviews With Photos

Roasted Duck Curry with rice
Allison N.

Located in downtown, there is only street parking available. The restaurant appeared to look very unkept as the menus are sticky and obviously not wiped. We were the only dine in customers at the time, but I noted they have mostly doordash orders during the 25 minutes we were there. The sign by the entrance says "No cash," ok no problem, we can pay with card. Then there's another sign that says "Credit cards $1 surcharge, debit cards no surcharge." -- Paid with debit and still was charged $1 surcharge.. After paying, I saw a sign that says Zelle accepted. 1 entree + 1 Thai Iced Tea with complimentary waters + $1 debit card surcharge + 20% tip was a little bit more than $30. Roasted duck curry with rice $18.95 - 1/5 stars. I'd give this a negative star if I could. This consistency of this curry was more like soup as it was so watery and not thick. I was able to count how many tiny slices of duck + duck skin was given in this dish (10). By tiny, I mean TINY. If you were to put all the pieces together, you wouldn't even get a normal portion of a slice of duck LOL. It's all green peppers and like 3 slices of cucumbers. The flavor of this curry was more sweet than savory and way too liquid-like to eat as a curry over rice. Thai Iced Tea $5 - 4/5 stars. This was extremely sweet, good thing I have a sweet tooth! Only thing was I ordered regular iced tea but was served and charged for Thai Iced Tea. Omitting this from the overall rating because it's not what I originally wanted. Overall, the entire dine-in experience was... awkward. We walked in, was confused what to do, sat ourselves, stood up and slowly walked over to the cashier and grabbed the menus, looked at the menu, sat in confusion as we waited to order, then got up to order at the counter. It feels awkward and weird to even converse with the cashier/server when he brought out the wrong drink. Normally I give Asian restaurants with 3.5 star ratings a chance because the food is usually good and makes up for all the inconvenience (service, price, etc), however this is not the case LOL. Definitely will not be coming back or purchasing from doordash. Overall rating: 1/5 stars. I felt ripped off going here and walked across the street to get different and more filling food. Maybe the other location is better?

33. Pad See Ew
Brian T.

I didn't eat in as I got my order to go. I got the pad see ew and a panang curry, which both felt pretty lackluster to me. The pad see ew was really dry which made it feel like it was undercooked or just not fresh. The noodles had that harder texture from undercooked/refrigerated noodles. The panang curry had some separation in it that didn't really go away when mixed up. It also felt a bit old and didn't taste great.

25. Seafood Noodle Soup
Tessa J.

$18 for a portion of seafood noodles.??? I feel scammed, the restaurant owner gets rich this way.? I really don't understand how they can be so bad.

55. Panang Curry 33. Pad See Ew
Poonam D.

The Pad See Ew with prawns was incredibly tasty and full of flavor. It would have been nice if the veggies were cooked just a bit more, but they were still crunchy and delicious. The Panang curry with beef was also absolutely yummy. I only wish Thai food wasn't so filling because I wanted to enjoy even more! Definitely recommend.

34. Pad Kee Mao 56. Red Curry
Rubel D.

The pad see mao and red curry were both delectable, bursting with spice and flavor. There's an option to dine in and enjoy the cozy ambiance.

Sampler
Jessica H.

Honestly, I'm really impressed by Sa-By Thai. I came here through a reddit recommendation, and this was the closest Thai place that was recommended by the Westfield/Valleyfair. Sa-By Thai is right across the street from San Jose State, and me and my friends came here after shopping on a Saturday evening. We were the only sit in customers. We ordered the Papaya Salad, the Sampler, Pad See Ew, and Pad Thai. It was honestly, pretty amazing. One of the best places I've gotten Thai food at. Their Thai Tea was pretty dang good as well. I personally really enjoyed the Papaya Salad, the Sampler, and the Pad See Ew. The Sampler allowed us to try a bit of everything, so that was really fun, My favorite were the fishcakes. Salad was good. I really enjoyed the flavors of the Pad See Ew. It was light enough, and just enough sauce for it to be enjoyable. Noodles and meat were well cooked as well. While we were eating, there was a man across the street at SJSU who was on his knees for the longest time. Paramedics came to get him, so we hope everything worked out. Would totally come back.

Shrimp Pad Thai
Pamela Y.

We were looking for a Thai place and this one had decent reviews. No, just no. The pad Thai is so sticky, flavor is just not there, and I paid $4 extra for shrimp to get 5 smaller sized shrimp in the entire dish. Shrimp was dry and over cooked. I literally threw this dish away after taking one bite. Not pictured: -Green curry was just ok, the taste was off like a sourness or something to it that makes you feel like you'll get sick if you continue eating. -Thai Iced Tea, flavorless like you're drinking water -My dad got the fried tilapia, he did not complain and ate the entire thing, but he may be the most accommodating person alive so take that for what it is. (Hence why I'm giving 2 stars instead of 1)

Chicken pad Thai to go

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2 years ago

Tasty! Green curry, yellow curry, and pad kee mao were delicious. Ordered to go and no utensils were included :(. Inside looks really small.

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

I got the papaya salad, Yellow Curry with rice and Sticky Mango rice. They food was bland and could really use more seasoning and some love.

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

Nice small place. Got the lamb curry, was sweet and tasted good. Service is pretty good since it's just a few tables lol

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2 years ago

Our food was really good. The girl helping us was one of the best waitress ever. Prices were good for the area. I like this place a lot.

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4 years ago

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10 months ago

their pineapple fried rice was very good but the restaurant was kinda quite when went in at around 6-7pm

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Came at 9 PM and the guy with long hair wouldn't take us even though a couple sat before us 2 minutes before. Yelp says close at 10:30?

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6 years ago

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Must be Thai - Pad See You

Must be Thai

4.0(2.5k reviews)
3.8 mi•West San Jose
•$$

YUM! Must Be Thai was great and lived up to the ratings and reviews. I must have been feeling…read moreadventurous as I took both my picky child/teen and my picky Asian parents at the same time. Well the risk paid off as all my picky family members enjoyed EVERY dish. Admittedly I am pretty shocked. We ordered: Crispy Fried Calamari: deep fried, chunky tender pieces of calamari that was perfectly portioned for our smaller group Tom Yum Fried Rice: fragrantly fried with a good lemongrass flavor Hat Yai Fried Chicken: light crisp outside and oh so tender and not dry on the inside. Southern Pad Thai: ok Must Be Thai. You get us. This is the first place to live up to my family's level of spice. There is a reason it is marked "SS" on the menu representing "Seriously Spicy". Kiddo and I loved it. NSFCP (Not Safe for Canto Parents) however lol. Overall, we really loved the variety of the regional Thai dishes, flavors, and textures. Can't wait to go back. Hoag Me:

Came here on a Wednesday around 6PM and it wasn't busy! We were able to get seated right away…read more I ordered the panaeng curry w crispy pork and white rice along with thai tea and my friend got the vegetable pad thai. The panaeng curry was flavorful and heavy. It looked small but made me full quite fast. I had to take leftovers. The pork itself was okay it was a bit overcooked :o The thai tea was alright i've had better and it was a bit warm. The vegetable pad thai was perfect. Noodles were chewy and very saucy. I would definitely come back to get this and add a bit more spice as well.

Photos
Must be Thai - Online Yelp waitlist available. check in on the iPad when you arrive.

Online Yelp waitlist available. check in on the iPad when you arrive.

Must be Thai - Pad See You

Pad See You

Must be Thai - Pok Pok Lao/Papaya Salad ($12.90)

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Khaosan Thai - Big thanks to our customers for your support

Khaosan Thai

4.1(1.2k reviews)
5.3 mi•Cambrian Park
•$$
Locally owned & operated
Wheelchair accessible

Delicious Thai food with a comfortable and dog friendly outdoor patio! We went on a Saturday…read moreafternoon and there was no line. We ordered the roti, crispy pork belly, sausage, Laos style papaya salad, and a khao soi to share between 3 people. All of the food was absolutely delicious but we felt like the portions were a little small for the price. The pork belly and sausage were both ~ $23 and didn't come with as many pieces as we thought it would. This was some of the crispiest roti I've ever had! I loved the curry dipping sauce on the side and the nice crunch of the cucumbers. The pork belly was slightly overcooked, a little hard but the flavors were great! The sausage tasted house made, it had a great tang to it and I loved the variety of dipping sauce. We ordered extra spicy/hot for the Laos papaya salad but it was definitely medium. The khao soi was very comforting on a cold day and the broth was rich and creamy. I'd definitely come back if I was in the area!

I ordered the Pad Thai (seafood) and Pad See Ew (shrimp), and the total came out to about $50…read more Unfortunately, both dishes were pretty underwhelming. Everything tasted just okay, very mediocre overall. The Pad See Ew had a weird bitter aftertaste that made it hard to enjoy. The Pad Thai was also disappointing; the noodles were clumped together and lacked flavor. We didn't finish either dishes. For the price, I expected much better quality and taste. Probably wouldn't come back.

Photos
Khaosan Thai - Khao Soi in the front and yellow curry lunch combo in the back

Khao Soi in the front and yellow curry lunch combo in the back

Khaosan Thai - 🇹🇭crispy pork belly ($16)🇹🇭

🇹🇭crispy pork belly ($16)🇹🇭

Khaosan Thai - Papaya salad

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Papaya salad

Fox Tale Fermentation Project - Funk Bowl w/ Red House Kimchi ($18)

Fox Tale Fermentation Project

4.8(195 reviews)
0.3 mi•Downtown
•$$

Absolutely one of the most unique spots in downtown San Jose. Fox Tale Fermentation Project somehow…read moremanages to feel like an experimental brewery and community gathering space all at once. The fermentation concept is woven into everything from the beers and botanical mocktails to the food and it actually works incredibly well. The drinks are creative without feeling gimmicky, and the flavors are layered and thoughtful. The food was surprisingly memorable too, especially how vegetable-forward dishes still felt rich and satisfying. The atmosphere has this warm, artsy, almost hidden-gem energy that makes you want to stay for hours. What really stands out is that the place feels intentional. You can tell the owners care deeply about craft, community, and creating an experience instead of just another brewery. Easily one of the coolest and most distinctive food/drink concepts in San Jose right now.

I need to start off by saying I never had good vegetarian food. I hate vegetarian food. I am a meat…read moreeater and need it for every meal. Fox Tale Fermentation is a small place like a Japanese ramen shop. My high school classmate suggestion this place and I thought she was vegetarian. I asked her why this place; she wanted to try it out but she's a meat eater. I'm down to try new places so we went. When we went, it was really crowded for a Thursday dinner time. A lady saw my cane and offer her table to sit at so I felt seen. You pretty much order at the front counter; you pour your own water. Front counter was so nice to us as we try to order. We got the funk salad and kombucha. We didn't order a lot because we wanted to try the place. When we got to our table, it was near the door. Our funk salad came and it was hefty mf. It was a bowl of salad all right. So you know how I said earlier that I don't like vegetarian food? OMG I was amazed. The best salad I've eaten. The vinaigrette was so good; it was citrusy. My salad was cut into small pieces so it wasn't big that I need to cut it. The sweet potato was sauteed. The princess sauerkraut was so good. I don't like sauerkraut at all but it was divine. I never tried kombucha because I thought it was dirt tea. I was wrong. It has the fermented taste and I never knew. After trying it, it's not something I would order again. I liked how I was eating "healthy" food after I ate bad yesterday. I don't have that bad bloated feeling. It's very wheelchair friendly and restroom is unisex. The restroom is clean. The establishment is clean. I would go here again if I have a vegetarian visitor. This place rocks!

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Fox Tale Fermentation Project - Caesar salad

Caesar salad

Fox Tale Fermentation Project - Arancini ($12/2)

Arancini ($12/2)

Fox Tale Fermentation Project - Spent Grain Miso Paste ($16)

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Original Sa-By Thai - thai - Updated May 2026

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