First in-person dining visit during COVID, but frequent diner pre-COVID. Super disappointed..."clean" plates had old food caked on. Ordered my usual tea leaf salad. Salad arrived pre-mixed (vs the usual presentation so you can see the ingredients and have it mixed at the table) and missing about half the usual ingredients and quantity. Perhaps give customers the option of mixing the salad on their own. I feel badly for the restaurant during these tough times, but this was not a pleasant experience and it was pricey. read more

Went here last night and it was more than we had hoped! We've never been to a Burmese restaurant so we didn't know what to expect nor did we know about the Palo Alto one. We ordered the following: 1) Tea Leaf Salad - it was good but we the the fried garlic was a little too much and over powered the rest of the flavors 2) Basil Chili Beef - juicy, spicy and amazing! Remember to tear the basil up so you get it in every bite. 3) Rangoon Lemongrass Chicken - same notes as above...delicious! 4) Burmese Curried Pork - pork was tender and full of flavor! Loved it! 5) Nan Gyi Dok - the presented the ingredients separated on the plate and mixed it at our table. This is a must order!!! Carlos was our server and he was really attentive and nice. Considering that the place has only been open a week, it would have been nice if the owner came by our table but that's just a suggestion. Definitely still 5 stars! read more

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We love their garlic noodles. We love that you can get a side order instead of a main dish. I love the mango everything but particularly the mango shrimp. The "hot" option is the perfect amount of hot to me. read more

Garbage food at an outrageous price. Eggplant was undercooked. All of our dishes were bad. Ended up playing $51/person

We really love Rangoon Ruby and have been at the San Carlos and Palo Alto location many times over the years. The food has largely been excellent and the menu diverse. The shortage of staff can impact the experience at times, and when the soup shows up tepid, the dining experience starts out on a cold note. The fried garlic in the Rainbow salad could use tempering as to not kill all other flavors. The lamb and beef curry never disappoint, however. RR needs to return to pre-pandemic days when Burmese food was altogether an option that was worth exploring. read more

Fantastic! Amazing! Delicious!!! I brought couple of friends to try Burmese food for the first time. They had a blast!!! Amazing consistent taste. We ordered Samosas, the best I've ever had. Having had Samosas made by Indian and Pakistani restaurants, RR Samosas the best! For the main course Shrimp curry, Ruby Shrimp, Green Beans. The Taste and texture absolutely wonderful. Contrary to some Yelpers doubt about authenticity of food at RR being Burmese, to be fair and not a Hater.., The CHEF Burmese(formerly at Burma Super Star),the owner Burmese, most kitchen staff Burmese and so on and on. If we consider the authenticity scale none of the Chinese and Latin American restaurants would meet the qualification. So why pick on this wonderful place? Did we and the rest of patrons at Rangoon Ruby's packed restaurant enjoy the food. The proof is on the putting.....Yum! Yum!! Try it for yourself.. I'm a big fan and definitely enjoy future dates with friends at Rangoon Ruby's San Carlos and Palo Alto locations. read more

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I have become low-key obsessed with this place because the food is so good. After several trips, I've narrowed it down to three must-haves for each visit: the Tea Leaf Salad, the Palata Appetizer and the Garlic Noodles. The Tea Leaf Salad we always get with dried shrimp. For the Palata we've had it with chicken, lamb, or duck and really prefer the chicken option out of the three. the Garlic Noodles we always get with duck. We've also gotten the Burmese Pad Thai. It's good and I'd suggest trying it once, but honestly, the Garlic Noodles are so much better that if you have to choose--it's no contest. While the food is awesome, I'll admit, I've never had a visit where the service was on the same par. One time we were pretty much ignored and had to keep asking for things. Another time the waiter was borderline argumentative--which was extra weird. I could go on with instances here, but the moral of the story is, the food is absolutely worth a try, but know that the wait staff will probably not be the best. read more

A reasonable place to eat exotic food. In general ok- a bit pricey for what you get. Presentation: 4 Taste: 4 Quality: 4 Quantity: 4 Parking: 1 Service: 3 Wine/beer: 3 atmosphere: 3 Value: 3 it is a reasonable place to visit from time to time read more

Mandalay Restaurant in San Francisco sets the bar high for authentic and delicious Burmese food. So, by comparison, Rangoon Ruby is disappointing. The food tastes ok, but all the dishes pale compared to Mandalay. The green tea leaf salad is mixed with lots of romaine lettuce as a cheap filler. This waters down the flavor. The catfish chowder is a bit spicy but not very flavorful. The rice noodles with coconut chicken sauce and yellow bean powder is pretty good. All of the above we've eaten at Mandalay where they taste much better. read more

The hippest Burmese restaurant - a full bar and a wine room (and a price premium on food to go with it), young and friendly wait staff, bad acoustics even when the restaurant is half full, and food served in modern white servingware. All this combined with a solid four stars for food makes this a good place to go to for a fun night out. - Tea Leaf Salad - amazing flavors over lettuce. Not sure how authentic. Don't care - Fried salt and pepper fish - bland fried previously frozen fish saved by the salt and pepper. Works well eaten with the tea leaf salad - Nan Gyi Duk - noodles with chicken curry and a bunch of other stuff. I was meh on this dish. read more

We had ordered a large lunch for the office. Spent over $100 and we all got sick from the food. Garlic noodles were not what you would expect bland with egg noodles? Sesame beef was so terrible and smelled like rotten socks, not sure what kind of "beef" that was. Samosas were ok, lettuce cups came with wilted rotten lettuce. Egg rolls were soggy and we had no napkins or utensils. Disgusting restaurant would never even think of going back. read more

It seems like local restaurants are opening up a second or third chain everywhere these days. Rangoon Ruby is another one of them, focusing on Burmese food. I have been to the Palo Alto one, and thought they have a good selection. Burmese food is quickly becoming the rising star of Southeast Asian cuisine, surpassing even Thai food in popularity in the bay area. However, I have noticed that most of the Burmese places have very similar items on the menu. The cuisine as a whole is still suffering from the cookie cutter problem. Rangoon Ruby is no different, offering familiar dishes such as tea leaf salad, rainbow salad, a variety of noodles, curries and stir-fries. That's not to say the food can't be good. Their tea leaf salad is decent (I still prefer Mingalaba's), and their basil chili beef is fiery and flavourful, which paired perfectly with the coconut rice. I was not impressed with the rangoon noodles though -- the texture is a bit grainy and off-putting. This is an excellent place to grab some SE Asian food in San Carlos, and a good addition to the neighborhood. read more

So if you've never experienced Burmese food before, or never even heard about a country named Burma, this is a good place to go to to expand your taste palate. My family is from Burma so this cuisine is nothing new to me. I will say that for what it is, it's way overpriced. But hey, this is San Carlos where they can hike up prices as much as they want. I wanted to try a staple dish to compare to what I usually have at home, so I ordered their mohinga (which they call monk hingar - I'm not really sure why.) I think it was $12 for a bowl, but my family cooks that all the time, and it is definitely a very cheap dish to make. For price alone, I don't think this place is worth it. But the food is good, the ambience is good, the staff is friendly. They could stand to move their tables a little further apart though - I felt like I was dining with the couple sitting next to me the whole time. read more

Pretty solid place to get some yummy food and a fancy smancy looking establishment. It doesnt get very busy from my experience and there was ample seating and great service. It does get pretty damn pricey. Those three dishes below, a bowl of rice and a drink were over sixty bucks. 1) garlic noodles- legit and tasty. It is a smaller portion than what you would get at a chinese restaurant or something but it is packed with flavor. nom I would get it again 2) Chicken pumpkin curry- this was a nice dish to try since you dont really get stuff like this. It went very well with the noodles just to mix it up. Def worth a try if you havent already. They have it in different variations like tofu and salmon. 3) Beef tofu dish- This tasted like something I could get at a chinese restaurant. Pretty decent but prefer the other two dishes. read more

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We were there today and had the BEST MEAL EVER! The service was amazing and every single dish we ordered was no less than amazing! We ordered the samosa for first dish, for main course one of the beef dishes and a tofu and vegetable main course. We will defiantly come again! read more

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They went from good Asian food at a good price to a wannabe fancy restaurant ripping off people. We used to be able to have dinner with leftovers for $50, now the portions are smaller, prices are higher, and to add insult to injury they push a $9 sparkling water bottle on you. Enjoy that $9, because we are not coming back. It's not worth $100 for a dinner for two. read more

Today was the first day outdoor seating became available in San Carlos. We were so excited to be able to go out and be served a nice meal safely. Uh oh, here's the problem. You won't be served. The tables make you think they will be open for service, but no, they make you order at a window and bring everything to you in, take out containers. Complete with paper plates and plastic silverware. It's the equivalent of ordering takeout and going to a picnic table. There are so many choices available out there. Don't be fooled. Too bad, we love the food. This experience just blew it. read more

I feel like this place is a bit over priced. Tea leaf salad wasn't bad, has a nice spice kick but too oily. Monk hingar was small and tasted not bad. Felt like something is missing though. Garlic noodle...too oily and I didn't like the taste of the egg noodle. Didn't come here with a reservation but there was a table outside so they accommodated us, which was nice. The food did come out fast. read more

If I could give a zero stars I'd absolutely rate this place a zero. To start, we walked in on a Friday night and mind you it was pretty busy in downtown San Carlos but walking into the restaurant it was completely empty and that should've been my first red flag. We walk in and requested a table for 3 and mind you the restaurant is completely empty besides a small family at one table in the corner and the hostess then asks "did you have a reservation"? We stated we did not and then she advises we can then choose any table - which I thought why ask if we had a reservation if nobody is there. Secondly, we sit down and our server brings us waters and one of the cups had a gnat floating around. We were considering leaving but my mother wanted to try it as she had a good recommendation from a friend. Then, as we were looking at the menu the prices were pretty high - especially looking at the pictures on Yelp definitely did not seem worth it. We ordered 3 dishes and all three were lacking taste, were completely cold, and all gave us bad stomach aches. One of the curries we ordered you could tell it was old and probably had been reheated multiple times by the way the coconut milk had presented itself. If you are looking to come here or even order take out I would highly recommend going somewhere else. read more

We love the Rangoon Ruby in Palo Alto and thought of trying out the one here in San Carlos. We wanted a quick bite so we ordered a tea leaf salad. They got the order wrong and got us just the cabbage leaves and to top it all, it was all stale and the tomato's rotten. Definitely not a good air dien place and hygiene is a huge question mark. read more

Try the oven baked sooji,dessert palata and coconut pudding.Loved them.

Came here with a small group for a birthday and loved everything about this place. The decor is lovely, the space is cozy and intimate, and the service is decidedly upscale. We were very well attended but never felt smothered. The table was kept clean, dishes cleared, silverware replaced. Most of us have never had Burmese food so we ordered the tea leaf salad to start on recommendation from our server and three other dishes to share between four ladies. The tea leaf salad is incredible. Impossible to describe! Delicious flavors, lots of crunch. Our waiter mixed it at the table and told us everything that was in it. The dishes we ordered for dinner were fantastic as well. I was worried it wouldn't be enough food but we couldn't finish -- and believe me, we tried! I rarely overeat but we all did that night because everything was so delicious. We took the leftovers to go and they were just as yummy the next day. Our birthday dessert came with a a sparkling torch in it which was very exciting and the desserts were really good. Too bad we couldn't eat them! Order less, eat slowly, enjoy Rangoon. read more

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I'm a creature of habit. I have the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day (green juice and a salad), I wake up and write for at least an hour every morning, watch the same show obsessively on Netflix until there's something new to fixate on, I've had the same brand of make-up since I was 15, and my husband and I go to the same two restaurants almost every time we go out. You get the point. When I find something that works, I don't deviate much. I'm so happy I decided to break our date night monotony and go somewhere new. I've been craving a tea leaf salad for months; the last I ate one was at the infamous Burma Superstar, so I had high expectations going in. I can absolutely attest to the quality and caliber of Rangoon's tea leaf salad being comparable to Burma. I especially like the baked crispy garlic cloves in the salad; yum! We also ordered spicy chili basil lamb, garlic noodles, and chicken lettuce wraps. All which were flavorful and delicious. The noodles were very light and had just the right hint of garlic, the lamb was very spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. We thought there was no way we could eat dessert, but I'm glad we went for it. The coconut ice cream was incredibly refreshing and the condensed milk poured over it put it over the top into heavenly. The ambience and waitstaff are superb as well. It was an excellent dining experience, and we'll be back for sure; likely, over and over again :) read more

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Excellent Food On Laurel St. Try the Mango Chicken and Coconut Rice. Thanks Again John for getting us well fed tonight.

Went to satisfy my tea leaf salad craving and this meal did that and exceeded my expectations at this stylish restaurant. 4.5 stars Food: 4.5, Atmosphere: 4.5, Service: 4.5 Cost to worth it rating: 3 (bit spendy with salad at $14, lunch entrees $10-12) Return worthiness: yes Highlights: - Tea leaf salad: the reason I came and was so happy with this version. Loved how they came with the plate so you could see all the ingredients and then mixed it together. The mix of crunchiness, tangyness, and earthiness is killer. - Shrimp kebat: tamarind and masala mixture was interesting touching on curry and sweet. Shrimp was a good size and cooked perfectly. - Nan Gyi Dok: like udon noodles but made of rice that I was impressed with. Liked the subtle coconut curry flavor and soft texture of the noodles. - Basil chili beef: dark thin sauce with a bit of chili - Coconut rice: always love this option - Decor: unexpectedly fancy with alien colored glass tentacles coming out if the ceiling Bellagio-style - Coconut water: they had it fresh out of the coconut like you get it in Thailand or in other tropical places - Staff: very friendly and helpful to us first timers advising on favorite dishes - On Open Table: always a plus for me cause I like having a reservation and earning points - Palo Alto location: so there's one close to home for my next tea leaf salad craving Lowlights: - Cost: some items a bit spendy as noted above (though good enough to be worth it) Lunch here with my foodie coworkers made me very happy and we'll be back. read more

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Had lunch here with a group of 9 women! Our waitress was great, got everything right, made recommendations and really took care of our table. The food as all excellent. I can't say enough about the salads, mainly the tea! Delicious, simple and fully of flavor. Heads up, this place is an onion and garlic friendly place so if you're not into that, let them know to go light on it. We didn't need to. All the dishes that came were great as well. I am allergic to shrimp but every shrimp plate got rave reviews and all consumed. I had veggie and chicken dishes (all family style - recommended) and my tummy was happy. They have a wine and beer bar and quite a few options on tap. Save room for their ice cream and if you are feeling like you want attention, get the coconut water that comes in a coconut! Cheers. read more

Need I say more? They are upholding their food, service, and ambiance! There for the 5th time? They are doing it right for us each time. I can't remember the names of the dishes but it was a noodle dish, a pork dish and the green beans. Mmmmmm... So good! We have not had a poor selection yet! read more

Went here for a team lunch. We tried their tea leaf salad, samosa salad, pumpkin curry, and veggie tofu mix (not really sure if that's exactly what it was called). The tea leaf salad and samosa salad were delicious. They bring it out unmixed and point out all the ingredients before mixing it for you. Even though the tea leaf salad has small substitutes such as different lettuce type as opposed to the traditional burmese tea leaf salad, it was still really delicious. The samosa salad is very tasty like samosas are, but you feel a bit healthier since you're eating it with a salad. The pumpkin curry and veggie tofu mix are served with burmese/indian rice which is packed with flavour. I saw cloves & other fresh spices mixed in. The pumpkin curry comes with some tofu in it and also fresh broccoli, and the mixed veggie/tofu was a bit spicy, but it was just enough spicy to enhance the flavour and not overpower it. read more

I was hoping to give a 4 stars but the tea leaf salad propelled it to 5 stars. Tea Leaf Salad - wow.. the combination of nuts and crunch with the optimum mixed of flavor of the tea leaf dressing really give one a nice salad experience. I'm not a big salad guy but I can eat just that for lunch. Mango chicken - The flavor is rich. Sweet and spice makes a good combo. I normally like crispy chicken but this stir fry did a good job. Thanks to the sauce. Nan Gyi Dok - The noodle was a bit soggy. The coconut flavor was rich. It's not my favorite dish but it taste pretty good. I just hope the noodle wasn't that soggy. I will come back to try other dishes. read more

Came here for lunch on a Friday. Had the Samosa Salad, which was really tasty. Will need to try the Tea Leaf Salad next. A little pricey but worth it. Nice ambiance and the wait staff there is very attentive. read more

I went to the Rangoon Ruby in Palo Alto and I thought the food was delightful, so I decided to try out this one that's a bit closer to my house. This Rangoon Ruby is located on a small side street in San Carlos. The side street is surprisingly busy with some restaurants and shops. The Rangoon Ruby here is a bit smaller so the atmosphere feels a bit more cozy. We got the tea leaves salad. It was just as delicious as the one in Palo Alto. They mix fermented tea leaves with a lot of different toppings. The salad is cut kind of oddly though so using a fork is actually a bit difficult to eat with - I don't really know what utensil would work best for this kind of salad, actually. The pumpkin stewed pork was interesting. The sauce was interesting, but the pork was a tiny bit dry. I felt like I was eating something that I would feed my cat. We also got a beef and a chicken dish. They were okay, but nothing that I would write home about though. read more

Fiery beef, eggplant garlic, pumpkin pork stew were all fabulous. Pairs well with jasmine rice. Mango chicken wasn't my fav though. The coconut rice didn't pair well as then jasmine. Their Thai ice tea is unique and delicious. read more

Rangoon Ruby - Thai ice tea is great. More like a light ice coffee. - Burmese Near Me - San Carlos, California

First timer for Burmese food and Rangoon, overall a pleasant and tasty experience. While I can't judge the authenticity, I'd probably rate it 3~3.5 stars based on my own scales of yumminess and price vs quality index. The restaurant is nice and clean with tasteful decor, service was friendly and efficient one can tell that the wait staff had some training. For 6 of us we ordered the following Tea leaf salad - a standout dish; unique texture and flavor, nice Ruby Rainbow salad - mostly cabbage with condiments on top, just OK Samosa soup (I think) - good flavors, not hot (temperature) enough for me Lemongrass chicken - one of the better ones, chicken slices were tender with crispy vegetables in a mildly flavored sauce Ruby Shrimp - good size prawns very good Lamb curry - not my favorite Pumpkin and Pork stew - decent Egg & Okra Curry - I actually liked this one, a good option for vegetarians white and coconut rice A great introduction to Burmese cuisine , can not say I was blown away but the experience was certainly enjoyable. read more

First time trying Burmese food and everything was delicious! If you come with a large party, you have the advantage of trying a bunch of different plates. They allow you to select mild to very spicy for certain dishes. If you decide to go spicy, it's very spicy!! So beware. Also, their water is infused with cucumbers which I wasn't a big fan of. The tea leaf salad is a must try and they'll recommend it to you anyway. The food and service were great and I definitely wanna come back. read more

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A modern Burmese restaurant perfect for big groups. It's more 'Americanized' and slightly pricey but the food is still good. There is a parking lot nearby and there's plenty of parking spots along the street. The restaurant is very clean and modern, with EDM music playing. We came at 12 on a Tuesday and it was empty; we were able to be seated immediately. Our waiter was extremely accommodating of our table's dietary restriction (one vegetarian, one peanut allergy). He told us what was in each dish as he placed them just in case. My table of five shared the following dishes: TEA LEAF SALAD (one vegetarian, one with dried shrimp) A must try at any Burmese restaurant! SAMOSAS This came with 4 samosas. The rice flour was perfectly crunch and the filling was flavorful. FIERY TOFU AND VEGETABLES This dish was surprisingly good! We got medium spicy and it wasn't that spicy; felt more like mild. GARLIC NOODLES We got the side option rather than the noodle option (served with meat/tofu) to go with the rest of our food. I wasn't a huge fan of the noodle type, but they were flavorful. SESAME BEEF SESAME CHICKEN Overall, it's a good pick for a team lunch. They have a lot of options, even for the pickiest people. read more

We've had them cater our weekly company lunch once before last year. Unfortunately they're a little more on the pricier side of things, however it's definitely 100% worth the amount of money that you pay & I don't think you (or your employees) will be disappointed! I'm a huge fan of the palata & the coconut rice. So delicious! Chantal is also a pleasure to work with and responds promptly to emails when booking catering needs. read more

My gf and I came here for dinner after a nice long hike in Palo Alto. The staff were welcoming and the place looks clean, however I had to shoo away a few flies. Our first dish was the lamb curry and it was disappointing. First off, the curry was not hot and one of the potato chunks was undercooked, couldn't even bite into it. However the Paratha bread had a nice texture and was hot. I don't think curry is suppose to be room temperature. The portions are super tiny, so I was definitely still hungry. At the price they are charging too, I feel ripped off. The crispy chicken came to us crispy, hot, and spicy which was delicious, no complaints here. As for the garlic noodles, it wasn't too garlicky so it depends if you like it more garlicky or not. Service was good, the staff were very attentive and always checking up on us and refilling our cups. I'd say service helped made up for the first disappointing dish we had. Experience was not bad, but I will give another Burmese place a shot. read more

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Small place in the very nice town of Downtown San Carlos near old age home so plenty of super nice people walking around. 100% family friendly. Went to visit my aunt and my lil angel who is now almost 1 years old. Definitely start with - Samosa Soup (For Table serves 2-3 people) - The Green Tea salad it is amazing. (Serves 2 people) I had: - Beef Kebat Marinated beef stir fried with paprika, masala, tamarind, green chilis, mint leaves, tomatoes, onions and cilantro Aunt had: - Mango Chicken Chicken breast tossed in wok with basil, onions and mango puree. Served with fresh mango on the side Drinks are up to your preference: - Bottomless soda - Various Vines (Get The Napa ones u are in SF) - They Got Dom Perignon!!!! - hard Liquor as well Enjoy. Ps. Looks awesome at night especially with there special lighting. Get Reservations at night!!!!! It gets Packed. read more

Rangoon Ruby - Burmese Near Me - San Carlos, California

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Horrible service, mediocre food. Our waiter/host left us to sit for 10 minutes without menus. The food is overpriced for the quality.

Ordered the samosa, tea leaf salad, chicken crisps, and coconut rice. All the food was very good. The ambience was comfortable, with outdoor seating for maybe 2-4 tables at a time, so the wait is longer for those. The waiters were very attentive, never had an empty water cup. Definitely coming back. read more

Rangoon Ruby - Chicken crisp - Burmese Near Me - San Carlos, California