If you like pho come to tho place I had a great experience . Great choices of food and quick service getting good. read more

Take It Easy - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

I'm a sucker for punishment, which probably why I keep on coming back to this place. I'm slowly working my way through their menu; started with the noodle dishes and now moving on to rice dishes. All the items I've tried, except for one, are on the sweet side. I've been trying to balance out the sweet with pepper flakes or hot sauce but that isn't working too well. Why do I keep on coming back to this place? They're nice, the food isn't horrible, and it's the only thai place in Downtown Oakland that i know. Plus, i'm stubborn so I'm trying to find something that I like. read more

I really like this place. I started coming here when they opened and I lived around the corner, and I still make the trip when I'm too tired to cook for myself. I read a couple other reviews and it's true, you definitely have to know what to get here. I like the coconut tofu curry and the cashew chicken (they are not stingy with the cashews), chicken satay and golden triangles. This place is not like other Thai restaurants, if you order something like pad thai, you might be dissapointed, think of it as fast food meets someone's grandmother's cooking. Fast comfort food. Not fancy, but fast, fairly cheap, and hot. I'm pretty sure it's instant rice, but when I'm hungry and in a hurry, I don't care. Maybe not a special date-night place, but perfect for a get-takeout-stay-in-watch-a-movie place. Plus the staff are the sweetest! read more

Two stars maximum....barely. I went to this place with my co-worker and he felt the same way about this place. First of all, the service is very unfriendly. The guy who appears to be the owner got angry when I pulled my plastic out and said "Cash only!!". Now to the food... I had 'Garlic Lamb' for 8 dollars and my co-worker had veggie curry. Like somebody else said on these reviews - the lamb did not really taste like lamb. I could have sworn it was something else. The salad was dry and not tasty at all. I was hungry and tried my best to enjoy the food....but just couldn't. My co-worker had the same opinion about his curry. Combined with their sour atmosphere and faces like they were just sentenced to serve life in prison - no, thank you. Never going back to 'Take it Easy'. The irony here is that the owner should try taking it easy just a little bit. I would give it 1 star, but there are places worse than this so 2 stars. read more

Simple little place for Thai food on colorful 17th street Lots of seating and can hear your conversations Add it to my lunch list read more

The vegi pad kee mao was awful. The noodles were curled up and smelled odd. The vegi curry was bland. And since they are cash only, had to pay a $2.25 fee at their in-store ATM. We will never eat there again. read more

Take It Easy - Really bad vegi curry and vegi pad kee Mao - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

I went to this place several times and my experience was pretty good: yum food with fresh veggies and BIG portion that I needed a Togo box for leftover. Price is reasonable for a typical Thai restaurant (sure, you cannot beat Chinese lunch special) Plus, male cashier and female cooks are very nice and polite. Yes it's cash only but that does not bother me. Only problem is it can get stuffy and hot inside. Surprised to read all negative comments...... read more

Great place with great lunch special Food was tasty and good portion Paid only 8.75 for mixed beef rice noodle Loved it Would definitely suggest this place if you wanna grab something fast and not too pricey read more

Been eating here since 1995. Tom and Sue are Family to me. This is truly the most under-rated restaurant in Oakland. Eat your way through the menu and enjoy the real deal! read more

One of my favorite Thai restaurants. I love the Jungle Curry: Chicken or Pork or Shrimp. I ask for "extra sauce" so the rice is soaked in great sauce. read more

I've worked in DT Oakland for over 15 years and this is, hands down, one of the best places and my go-to lunch spot at least once a week. Family owned, fresh ingredients, super clean, great service. The single biggest thing I miss during the pandemic is not being in my office and being able to go here for my favorite, beef curry. read more

I usually order the spicy tofu salad (which is pretty darn tasty in my opinion) but I was dying to try their tofu jungle curry. I don't know about you guys but I love me a big kick in my food. Today I was looking forward to trying it out because I had heard good reviews from everyone who had tried it. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. It was everything I had expected and more. The thing I love about Take It Easy is their portions. Very generous and not so expensive either. It's a deal. I drank a Thai iced tea on the side and I'm a sucker for sweets. It really balanced the spiciness of the curry and I recommend it. It's a plus that the customer service is great and the environment is relatively clean and neat. I didn't finish my plate (or else I'd probably fall asleep after going back to the office) so they had small to-go boxes to place your leftovers in. read more

Take It Easy - Tofu Jungle Curry and Thai Iced Tea - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

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My bf and I have eaten food from here a couple of times and enjoyed it. Asked for veggies and tofu in our noodles and received a good amount, not just a few veggies and tofu thrown in there. Food is light, mild and plenty (enough for left overs), and the restaurant employees (owners?) are nice. If you like a lot of flavor and spice, I suggest you specifically ask for it. read more

years ago when they first opened, the pad thai looked interesting so i ordered it and loved it. since then i have tried pad thai at multiple restaurants but i'm never even close to being satisfied. they simply are the best!! i've taken friends there who have always enjoyed the other dishes. plus the owners are very kind and hard working. i always get a genuine welcoming smile whenever i go there, no matter how busy they are. i cant recommend highly enough!! read more

I had the pad see ewe and it was ewe- I would never come back again and def.w as not Thai food. I really miss having authentic Thai food like the kind you find in Thai town in LA or even obviously in Thailand. Gotta travel there someday or kidnap someone's grandma and make her teach me these damn recipes because youtube videos are not helping. read more

While I liked the atmosphere and prices, I was disappointed with the food. I generally like most thai food, even when it's mediocre, and I was not impressed with Take it Easy. I got flat noodles with tofu and broccoli, and the noodles were almost dry. My boyfriend got the Drunken Chicken and hated it b/c it was covered in mushrooms, which he hates. read more

Came here during lunch time on a weekday with my mom. CASH ONLY. Order and pay at the register, then sit down and your food is brought to you (Unless of course you order to-go). Our food came out in less than ten minutes. I ordered the chicken pad thai and it was huge! Very generous portions! It was okay compared to other Thai spots, but for how cheap it is, I'd definitely come back! read more

Stale, papery, old vegetables. Chicken had a candy-tasting sauce that probably masked to aged decomposing chicken. Why did they decide to make it suck? read more

Since I live two blocks away from this place, I figured I might as well give it a shot. It's never looked particularly appealing to me, but it's close by, cheap, and convenient so why not. Well, this place is just meh. The prices are great, but the food is definitely lacking in flavor and presentation. We got three dishes: the tofu drunken noodle, chicken curry, and squid with chili sauce. The noodles were bland and watery because they had added the bean sprouts too early so they ended up stringy instead of crunchy, and the water drained from them into the sauce, which made the sauce watery and not flavorful. There was actually not much flavor to begin with - Thai cuisine is known for its sweet, sour, salty, and spicy flavors, but this dish only had none. Well, I will conceded that each bite was punctuated with spice - because we had asked for the dishes to be hot - but no other flavors tied in the spice. The chicken curry and squid with chili sauce had the same vegetables - to me, that's a sign of lazy cooking. The curry, again, did not have enough salt and the creaminess was overpowering. The thick cut of carrots and green beans did not complement this dish or the squid dish at all. The squid dish had a little more flavor from the sauce, but there was no complexity to it - it was just salty and spicy and the calamari was overcooked. Would I come back to this place? Probably not. There are countless other better Thai restaurants out there (Champa Garden, Grand Ave), but I'll have to go further from home. Another star deducted for taking cash only. read more

DO.NOT.GO.HERE. Walked by at lunch time for a quick bite and had the worst phad thai ever. the noodles were super plain and boring, no peanut sauce, some toppings thrown on top. not worth it. read more

A big disappointment. I am always hoping for plump white meat in my chicken dish or surprisingly fresh vegetables. This place is not my idea of Thai food. I want fresh and flavourful. I didn't find that the food packed a punch of savory delight. The food seemed bland and uninteresting. read more

We stumbled upon this place after visiting a coffee shop nearby. We were debating between this place and a little deli across the street. Boyfriend was swayed by the fact that this place was busy so we came in. The portions were huge and reasonably priced. Not the best service, but the food made up for that. I had a prawn dish with wide noodles, can't remember what boyfriend had because he inhaled it before I got a bite. It's a decent sized restaurant, and well maintained. But before we left, I decided to use the restroom and I was super disappointed. It was small, dirty and not well kept. I would have given this place four stars had that not been the way I ended the meal. (And yes people, the bathroom is important! What if there is a pregnant lady reading this review? Or someone who has IBS?) read more

I like the CURRY. I have never had a bad curry from here. Servings big and super tasty.

I am so surprised by the negative reviews! Yeah, the guy who takes your order at the front counter isn't the most engaging, but he's never been rude to me. I've been coming here for 5+ years. The food that I've ordered is pretty consistent, I usually get the basil/prawns and rice (don't know what it's called) and the seafood combo coconut curry. I love their curry. Granted it's not the best I ever had, but it is good. Both dishes are always delish and are served in HUGE portions. The price is pretty fair too. If you're looking for a five star dining experience, this isn't the place to go. This is more of fast food Thai place, and it's good for a quick lunch within walking distance of the office. Extra star for being like, the only business open after 5 in downtown Oakland. read more

Cheap and disgusting. It started out on a good note with the price and the good thai iced tea, but went downhill fast. I ordered the Pad Thai (my standard first order at any new Thai restaurant). There was no tofu or egg as per usual, just mushrooms. OK, that's fine, I like mushrooms. Then, I noticed there was only dark meat chicken. Again, a little annoying, but I can survive. However, all that mixed together with the disgusting sauce made for one horrible meal! I would not come back again. It's way overcrowded and the food sucks. The only redeeming quality is the price as well as the Thai iced tea. Hardly reason to return though. read more

I went here randomly and ordered their Garlic Beef which comes with rice and a side salad for $6.00. Portion is good, wasn't saucy enough though...but decent. Pad Thai is kind of hit or miss. read more

How could you not love a place that answers the phone by saying, "Take it easy"? I try to live up to that mantra every day and eat their food as often as I can. Okay, I'll admit that I'm a creature of habit and always order the tofu jungle curry. When you've got something good, you might as well take it easy! ;) read more

This is more along the lines of "Quick Thai" or "Fast Food Thai" --- reasonably good Thai food in a comfortable environment. I had the Veggie Drunkun Noodle with a nagging suspicion that perhaps they needed to have cooked it a little more. In any case, I was way too hungry to let fleeting whispers get in the way of an otherwise tasty meal. Btw, I wanted to check out "Your Black Muslim Bakery" just a few doors down for the Tofu Burger but they were closed and so I ended in "Take it Easy" read more

Randomly popped by here last week and loved it. We got the red curry with chicken and a pad thai. Everything including drinks was around $25 and the food was good. If you aren't looking for something fancy but want some good quick food, come here! read more

They've remodeled this place over the last couple years which is a good thing. It's a decent place for a quick inexpensive bite to eat for lunch. The ingredients seem fresh and overall clean. It's not my favorite thai spot, but its a great local cheap place to eat especially if you have a hankering for Thai. read more

My original review was back in 2013 and I just want to say that all my positive comments are still true. I always enjoy going to Take IT Easy. The food is excellent, the prices are crazy cheap and the nice people who run it are always super friendly. These are simple folks making really decent home-style food that's good for you too. If you want to have a "dining experience" go somewhere else. If you want good nourishment for your body served up by good people, come here. read more

I see that Andrew S. must also work in Kaisertown (my pet name for the newer section of downtown Oakland near Lake Merrit, where about half of the high rises are owned by Kaiser) since he's already written reviews for many of my old lunch haunts. This is a very good one, especially for the very reasonable prices. Their veggie pad thai is quite scrumptious and they'll turn up the heat if you ask for it. Add a Thai iced tea and you've got just the thing on one of Oakland's lovely, sweltering summer days. Besides, how can you not love a place called "Take It Easy?" Exactly... read more

I never had the problem of Thai food being unflavorful, but that is exactly what happened when I ordered the Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles). They used thin rice noodles instead of the wide flat ones (big difference!) and I had to cover the dish with sriracha sauce, basically spicy ketchup, to bring myself to eat it. The sauce was watery, there was nothing pad kee mao about it. Really bad. read more

I had the prawn salad- it wasn't spicy and was sort of bland. Maybe it was a bad day.

Consistent, cheap, and decent. The food is pretty mediocre and nothing to get excited over, but it satisfies my curry cravings on horrible days at work. I always get the coconut curry with tofu. It's a spicy/sweet reddish sauce with fried tofu, green beans and sliced carrots over rice. The serving is big enough to last for lunch for two days. For $6.50, you can't beat it. The man at the counter is indeed scary, as other Yelpers have pointed out, but as long as you know what you want when you get to him and don't ask too many questions, you'll be OK. The rest of the service is fast and efficient. Even if all the tabled are full when you arrive, it always works out that someone gets up right when your food is ready. read more

I love the spicy beef Pad Thai. Super yummy. The people are wonderful.

Great place for lunch, also these guys are open late and on weekends. Its sort of different from other Thai food I've had, but everything is good and fresh and you can get chicken, pork, beef, tofu, duck, shrimp version of every dish. read more

For the four years I worked in downtown Oakland, Take It Easy, was one of my regular lunch spots. Sure, it's really busy right around noon and tables can be hard to find. And while the counter guy doesn't exactly fawn over his customers, he is quite efficient and remembers his regulars and treats them well. I remember once when I ask for very spicy vs my usual medium spicy. He scowled a bit and asked if I was sure. When I told him I was stuffed up and needed some heat, he nodded his assent and gave me a rare smile. My usual meal is the always tasty and very filling tofu pad thai. Boy, do I miss working in Oakland. read more

I looooove this place. Granted, I only order the same thing (curry with chicken and brown rice), but it is consistently fantastic. The portions are huge (easily provides two meals), ingredients are fresh and flavorful, and at $7 (plus an extra $1 for brown rice, so worth it) I think I will eat here every week, since it's right by my office. Don't let the curt guy (owner?) scare you off, I think he means well and his shortness is kind of endearing. I should probably give it five stars... read more

One of my favorite Lunch spots... Wish they served dinner. Gai Gra Pow (sweet basil chicken) is some of the best I've had. Five stars to balance out the two stars from people who obviously would rather be eating at Panda Express read more