Great food, great people. Roy and his wife are great, friendly hosts and the earnest nature of their restaurant comes through in their cooking, service, and beautiful outdoor garden. It's the kind of honest integrity you only get in a hole in the wall Mom and Pop shop, and I wish more neighborhood restaurants like this could thrive. Unfortunately I neglected to take any photos of the food (because I ate it so fast), but for now please be satisfied with an outdoor picture. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Outdoor garden - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

This is a lovely little hole-in-the-wall, mom and pop place with all the authentic warmth of eating at your grandparents place. It isn't fancy, it's in a strange little warehouse alley....but the deck is sunny and surrounded by a small jungle of flowering plants and the food is flavorful and fresh. The couple who own the place are so gentle and sweet and they are the whole staff....each fish is made with attention love. I love their chicken learn and all the curries. Tonight I had a lemon sole which was so flaky and crispy and full of flavor. Open till 10pm too! read more

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I haven't been here in person, but I've ordered from Vulcan Cafe on doordash and wasn't disappointed. The best thing about ordering Vulcan Cafe on doordash is that their prices are significantly less than other Thai places on the app. Ordering from Vulcan Cafe and paying the extra distance fee (from Oakland to Hayward) came out to be less expensive than ordering from a Thai place nearby. I got two Vulcan dishes for the price of one dish from around here. Don't let the price mislead you though, it was pretty solid for what I got! + Beef Pad See Ew (~$11): The noodles were a little thinner than I've seen at others, but all the great flavors were there! It's a pretty decent portion size for the price and I was able to share with 1 other person. + Mango Sticky Rice ($10): Can't go wrong here - worth the treat! It's in season too so the mango was so sweet. Maybe I'll check it out when I'm in Oakland, but I wouldn't mind ordering from here again! read more

While the portion sizes at Vulcan Cafe were generous, the prices felt steep for what you get. The papaya salad had wilted vegetables that had an off taste, reminiscent of something found at the back of the refrigerator that should've been tossed two weeks ago. My fingers still reek from the two shrimp in the salad, which didn't sit well with me. The portion size was mercifully stingy but cost as much as a good Thai restaurant that would have served a fresh, savory, and generous meal. If I wasn't so hungry that I couldn't think straight, I would've gotten up and left after the first bite. If you're looking for fresh, flavorful Thai food, by all means, look elsewhere. We were the only customers there at dinner time on a Saturday night read more

"The Vulcan Cafe" is a Thai restaurant in East Oakland that stays open late. I had a recommendation that I try this place, so on a Thursday evening I ordered: - Garlic Chicken Wings (6) - Tom Yum Gai Soup Okay, the chicken wings look great in the photo, but were overcooked and hard to eat. I had to throw away a few. Grade (2/5). The Tom Yum Gai Soup gets Grade (4/5) with it's delightful blend of flavors in a rich broth. Thai style hot and sour soup with chicken and assorted veggies. Rich and satisfying soup, perfect for a cool evening. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Garlic Chicken wings - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

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TLDR: I'd rather skip a meal than eat this inedible food. The glowing reviews are fake. Do not recommend. Flavourless everything, curries don't come with rice - have to order separately which isn't stated in the online order menu, def not real Thai food, and the guy hung up on me before I could complete my order. We ordered a veg pumpkin curry, a bbq pork fried rice, and the beef larb salad. All awful, don't recommend, we obv will never pay a penny to Vulcan again. read more

There was hair in our food which of course ruined it and our appetite, that's all I really gotta say..

Everything we ordered was yummie! We had some chicken skewers, pad thai and even a vegetarian dish with Tofu. I would definitely recommend you to try it, dont let the location fool you read more

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First of y'all... the 1 star reviews are TRIPPIN. Certain restaurant's have their strengths and weakness dishes and you just gotta know how to order ‍ Just because certain items aren't good doesn't mean ALL the food is bad or terrible. I ordered the salad attached & the hot n sour Thai soup. I've had better but for being open so late to my convenience it still satisfied the craving. The salad however did it for me and will be returning for the salad alone. I didn't try any pan friend noodle dishes or entrees but will give it a try the next go around! read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Yum Voon Sen Salad - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

Pretty underwhelming. But like someone said, for being open til midnight it satisfies the craving. Crab fried rice - small amount of crab on top of regular rice and tiny bits of egg. Definitely not fried rice. Pad Thai - very okay. Had a tiny bit of cabbage and peanuts, but no fresh bean sprouts which is needed to balance to noodles Green curry - not spicy at all. Good flavor and veggies were cooked well though read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Pad Thai with shrimp - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

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The food dishes were scarce with an after taste that didn't seem right. We wont be going again, unfortunately. Expensive for what it is.

Pro- Their green dipping sauce for their corn cakes is amazing. Con- Thier corn cakes have no cohesion and crumble apart making them hard to eat. Otherwise very middle of the road, boring, Thai food. Their Pad See Ew was fine. But that's it. Just fine. Won't wow you but will scratch the Thai itch. And that green dipping sauce is amazing. read more

Delicious, high quality, fresh vegetables, spices, and meats - comfortable, home-style atmosphere, informal living room style with sofas and furnished warehouse feel - beautiful rose garden deck, small outdoor dining area. Quick service and delicious appetizers, Fried Spring Roll and Calamari. Unusual industrial neighborhood and DSP right at the end of the street. read more

I had shrimp Pad Thai and shrimp spring rolls. The spring rolls had too much lettuce and some didn't have any shrimp. But I enjoyed the ones containing shrimp and I liked the sauce that was served with it. I also enjoyed the pad Thai. read more

I'm down here in the East Bay visiting a friend and he wanted to take me to an unusual Thai restaurant called the Vulcan Cafe. No, the servers didn't have pointy ears, but I guess Vulcan refers to an industrial area here in Oakland that had a foundry named that. I will say the location is quite unusual, located in a totally industrial area of Oakland down a dead end street with artist lofts and the like all around. Then you come across a That restaurant! The Vulcan has been here open for like 35 years! That's gotta say something that people love coming here, since there really no food traffic like a busy street to get customers. Parking can be tricky, but do pay attention to the No Parking signs in front of other businesses. You go up a few rickety steps and into the cafe. It's a little industrial looking, but does have a Thai flavor to the decor. The menu has all the basic Thai dishes we've come to expect, from colored Thai curries, pad Thai noodles and coconut soups. Once inside, you kinda forget you're on a dead end street in the middle of industrial Oakland. We were here for lunch, it might be a little scary down here at night! Service was very cordial and efficient. We choose a standby of Pad Thai and a special that day of Thai Roast duck. We also had Thai Iced Tea to drink. There were quite a few other people in the restaurant while we had lunch, proving the popularity of this really out of the way place. Our food arrives and it looks delicious. The pad Thai was done just right with the right amount to sauce balanced with the wok fried noodles. The duck was scrumptious as well. The meat was flavorful and yes a little fatty, which is a good thing when it comes to duck! The meat just melts in your mouth contrasting with the crispy skin. We had a wonderful lunch here and I'd return for sure, though I don't get down to the Bay Area too often, cause traffic totally sucks! But places like the Vulcan Cage make it worth it. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

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Likes: open late Delivers Thai food lol Dislikes: Small portions (not understanding how I paid 6.95 plus tax for 6 small pieces of tofu.... So they are a dollar a piece? Last time I checked a square of tofu is 3 bucks at the most... definitely feels like they are ripping people off. If you want to sell less make sure the customer knows how many pieces they are getting. I would NEVER charge someone this much for a few pieces of tofu... read more

The Vulcan Cafe - I ate ONE. Only ONE!!!! This is really awful - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

I felt the need to satisfy my Thai craving but I hate to say I was disappointed. The pad see ew lacked flavor in my opinion. Definitely could've used more sauce. The noodles felt a little over cooked yet the veggies still had a slight undercooked crunch to them. The tofu had a weird taste even the peanut sauce couldn't mask. They were dry too. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - fried tofu - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

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I was craving some late night munch and was happy to find a Thai place open so late that also delivers. I ordered the shrimp fresh rolls and classic pad Thai with chicken. The pad Thai is decent, good enough for night time cravings. I prefer my pad Thai more spicy and saucy but the flavors are all there and that's good enough in my book. However the spring rolls were disappointing. There was only shrimp in about 3 of the pieces, and even then it was a really small amount. I thought it was the wrong order at first until I broke one of the sections apart and found a small piece of shrimp. I didn't really care for the complimentary sauce either. Good thing I ordered peanut sauce on the side. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Pad - Thai - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

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INEDIBLE FOOD!!! I ordered Uber eats an hour before they closed.. maybe my fault. Like the previous review says about the wings, DRY, TOUGH - the worst part - WITH CLAWS & SPIKES. NO CHICKEN WING SHOULD BE SPIKEY. Surprisingly, the spikey wings had the most flavor out of everything. My favorite Thai, Go-To STIR FRY NOODLE DISH - Pad Kee Mao, HAD NO NOODLES IN IT! If they went out of noodles, I wish they would have let me order something else instead.. it was all vegetables in a sauce. The FEW noodles I did manage to find were so mushy and texture was disgusting. So they put all vegetables & a few beef pieces in a sauce to TRY TO COVER THE FACT there's NO NOODLES - in a STIR FRY NOODLE DISH Lastly. THE FRIED RICE IS NOT FRIED! It's WHITE rice mixed with veggies - NOT AN OUNCE OF FLAVOR, soy sauce NOTHING. I thought I was playing it safe with stir fried noodles & fried rice DISGRACEFUL. How do they stay in business with such awfulllll food like this? NEVER THREW AWAY FOOD AWAY SO FAST IN MY LIFE! - EVERRR. Because I'm cheap & I love food - but this was just that terrible! read more

Good food reasonable prices, kind owner operators, the place has been an institution in the area for decades. A little scrappy around the edges for appearance, but it's the kind of charm that I appreciate. read more

Today, I ordered Thai Spring Rolls(vegetarian), crab meat fried rice, and Thai iced tea from Vulcan Cafe. The order was placed using UberEats. Honestly, the food fell short of my expectations. The rice weighed down the quality of the meal. While the rice was cooked properly, there were crab shell fragments in my rice that made eating it a minefield. The flavor of the rice was sufficient but I've definitely eaten more flavorful Thai meals than this. It was very one-dimensional on my palate. Onto the spring rolls, those were good. The sauce that accompanied it was very nice and refreshing. The only downside is that mine were slightly over-cooked & a wee oily. Onto the Thai Iced Tea, thankfully, this was constructed beautifully. I truly enjoyed the beverage. It helped knock a few of the shell fragments down my throat. Not too bitter, not too sweet. Overall, I would likely eat here again if I just really wanted some Thai food out of convenience. But, if there was a better location selling Thai dishes, then I'd try that place first. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Crab Meat Fried Rice + 4 Thai Spring Rolls - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

They have Thai food. I have eaten there many times over several years. The food is good and reasonably priced. You should try it.

The Vulcan Cafe is such an hidden gem! Located right across from the BART, surrounded by trendy lofts and almost artist like buildings, I honestly can't get enough of this place! The food is so tasty and the Thai Iced Tea is delicious and super refreshing. I can dine here in the afternoon, evening, and even for dinner thats how great the food is. The service is always wonderful and the food is always fresh. The decor is very traditional, with outside and inside seating, very spacious! Please note that the area is very industrial like, a positive for some, and negative for others. Parking is minimal and can almost seem "sketchy" if you are not familiar with the area. I recommend not ordering online through food delivery services, as the place may be hard to find and the food may take long to arrive. This is a definitely a place where you place an in person order! read more

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Slightly below average but worth it if you're in a pinch for some Thai (delivery). The Pad Khi Mao (also known as Drunken Noodle) was dry. The Veggie dish was filled with bell pepper and hardly any eggplant. The chicken satay was amateur. Dry pieces of chicken on a stick. read more

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Such a fresh experience. You'd never know it but there's a secret gem hidden in Oakland. Super nice people and amazing flavors. I will be back. read more

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I've had many good meals here. Rarely disappointed by the nice family running this cozy little shop. read more

I ordered some Tom Yum Gai, which was decent and the best part of the order. These guys seriously need to consider getting a new chef because the current chef has no idea how terrible the food is that they are selling. I mean terrible. This is by far the worst Thai food I have had in ages. I order the Som Tum Salad (green papaya) and the papaya was at least 3 days old, mushy and not fresh at all. It looked like it had been improperly stored and tasted like crap. I threw it away after the first bite. It was simply inedible. On top of that I ordered the Red Curry, Thai hot red curry with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, basil leaves and vegetables. There was far too much green beans, no bamboo shoots and no basil. It tasted totally bland and completely watered down. It was so bad I gave it to my dog, and my dog refused to eat it!! Complete waste of $35. Come on guys I know your food is pretty cheap, but this is meaningless if it is inedible. Get a proper cook who can cook thai food or close down this crappy restaurant. read more

A little pocket of paradise in an industrial area. The food is wonderful and the people are super nice. The flowers outside the patio always brighten my day. The delicious food and a Thai tea help too. The atmosphere is homey and cozy and they pack my to go orders really well so I'm not afraid of spilling in the car. This is one of my go-to places with friends. The first time I take them here, they tend to give me weird looks as we are driving, but I tell them to trust me. Never disappointed! read more

Food is great, owners are very friendly. The ambiance is cozy and cute. Don't agree with other reviewers here, food is very tasty and authentic. read more

Just not a place to order to go. Saturday 28 late night . Uber delivery. 30 dollars later a bad experience . If you open late don't just send your left over . Never again don't recommend it read more

The Vulcan Cafe - tone of onions and some crab meet on the top don't make it a fried rice. Bad bad bad. BAD. - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

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Both my husband and I feel sick each time we eat here. Not sure what it is... we've ordered different dishes each time. Pad Khi Mao is greasy, lacks flavor, the meat is ground up and the texture is weird. Yellow curry has good flavor but is very thin. read more

I ordered red curry and pha Thai noodles the curry had a weird smell and the noddles well I was not able to finish them since they didn't taste good. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Chicken pha Thai - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

I ordered through door dash and the overall experience was horrible. First of all, the order I placed stated it was served over fried rice. No where in the description does it say the rice needs to be purchased separately. I called the restaurant and she explained to me when I called her that I had to purchase the rice separately l (even though the description for the curry stated "served over fried rice). Second, my door dash server, Mercedes, had me walk to her at the 7 11 to get my food. I was bare foot mind you, when they called me to drop off the food. I ordered from "door dash". If I had any knowledge I was going to hike for my food I would've gotten in my own car and go to the restaurant to order. This whole meal was awful and my friends and I agree no Spock for us. This restaurant is trash. read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

Don't go here if you're super hungry! I got charged $49 for an appetizer and two entrées. The problem is the portions of food were very small. Won't be going back. read more

Absolutely terrible. Ordered delivery from here. They gave me flavorless skewers instead of Pad Thai and now I can't get a refund. Yellow curry tasted very watered down. Not going back here.. avoid at all cost! read more

The Vulcan Cafe - Doesn't look like Pad Thai to me??? - Thai Near Me - Oakland, California

Cute cute cute spot but you need to be open minded here . It's like walking into a warehouse with plants and a very hippie feel Very old place with a cute vibe Papaya salad was to gushy but decent Had spicy something and that was delicious If your OCD clean don't come If your willing to dip your napkin in water and give your silverware an extra clean this is your spot Good food cute place read more

We came here with a groupon deal and ordered a papaya salad and a pad sew ee. They do not serve alcohol. papaya salad portion was small but the presentation is very unique & pretty with a small i think bowl raised on top of a small plate, the papaya salad itself are inside the bowl, there were a few shrimp chips at the bottom of the dish along with cabbages. pad sew ee - lacked flavor, so i had to add a lot of chilli sauce into it. Food - 7/10 due to very small portions Service 9/10 Atmosphere 8/10 - i liked the decorations on the walls with lots of rose origami Presentation 8/10 read more

BEWARE: STAFF DO NOT WEAR MASKS I went to go pick up food and saw one of the lady cooks with no mask. There was an old white gentleman with white hair sitting at the cashier table reading a newspaper. I was confused at first wondering if he worked there. He got up and assisted me. He was NOT wearing a mask. How is this ok??? I see in several reviews that they have also witnessed staff do not wear mask. As a business, you should be following local and national public health orders. I guess they think most people order for delivery and won't notice. But come on...for the safety of customers and the world, WEAR A MASK. At least the guy at the cashier could wear one geez!!! Shame. I want to support small businesses but not if they don't care about our health and safety. read more

This place is awesome - I'm surprised it doesn't have a perfect 5-star rating. It has a homemade taste and even my Caucasian husband commented on how flavorful the curry was (he is an expert on honing in on good Asian food - particularly Korean (my race), which is hard to do if you know what you're looking for). I had to agree with him - the curry was excellent and the pad thai and spring rolls were really good. We found this gem on Doordash and will keep ordering from here for our Thai food needs! read more

Incredibly frustrating experience. I was trying to place an order but wasn't able to get any questions answered. Instead was called baby and honey and hung up on not just once but multiple times. I really just wanted to ask questions so I could place my 6 item order. I really hope they switch up the people who answer phones because they're probably missing out on a bunch of orders. I took my business to Tuk Tuk Thai instead. read more