Racha was my go-to thai restaurant as an undergrad at Berkeley. It has a homey feel, the servers are very kind, and it's the perfect spot to grab a warm and fresh meal to fuel a late-night study session. They typically seat you pretty quickly and have lots of room for large groups, as opposed to other thai restaurants in the area where you typically have to wait 20-30 minutes to be seated.
I visited again today and found the portion sizes to be significantly smaller than I remembered (no leftovers this time!) and the Pad Kea Mao and Pad Thai to be less flavorful than usual. I really enjoyed the Tom Yum's sour, tangy, and bright flavor, but wasn't a fan of the tough pieces of ginger and bamboo left in the soup. Racha will always have a piece of my heart, but I was a quite underwhelmed by my visit today. read more