Cute, low-key spot with plenty of menu options and great portion sizes. I had the pad see ew per the use, and opted to add eggplant for a slight extra cost, and it was all so tasty. I did order a medium level spice and would likely go down at least one number next time because it was almost too much heat for me. Obviously, that's subjective and the flavor was still delicious. read more

I got the crab pad thai and I liked it! The pad thai itself was flavorful and there was sufficient crab. Everything on the menu looks good! Khao soi.. I would have to come back to try that. They also have a variety of drinks; not just thai tea/thai coffee. They have some boba drinks, flavored milk and they also have Thai beers. Service is efficient and the ambiance is fine -- it is a small, clean restaurant, a place I would go with coworkers for lunch. read more

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Absolutely stellar. Prices aren't terrible for the portion sizes, around the $16-19 ballpark for most of the dishes. But the important thing here is that everything is absolutely fantastic-tasting. My favorite Thai place in the area. Clean, charming, small, underrated. I went here twice with a date in March 2026 and both times I left extremely satisfied. Don't miss out on this spot if you're in the area! read more

A hidden gem! Got something a little untraditional Thai for tonight (Tom Yum Spaghetti) and had some of my friend's Beef Khao Soi. Sooo good! Service was a bit slow, though, but then again the restaurant is small and there was only one server working at the time. I'm not sure if there's more when it does get busier. Prices are reasonable for the location it's at; There's plenty of parking on the plaza as well. Don't let the quiet environment fool you either, this place is popular with those who know about 56 Thai. Can't wait to be back. :-) read more

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I absolutely love 56 thai cafe. Went her with a friend the other day and had a great meal. The food and service were really great. Had the pad se ew with veggies. Will be back. If you are looking for great thai food give this place a try! read more

Tried something different today -- Phuket Noodles with Chicken (4/5 $16). It was quite good. Service was also very good. My take-away dinner was ready in about 5 minutes. read more

56 Thai Cafe - Interior -- Eating Area - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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Came in and ordered the pad Thai and pad see ew, both with beef, plus a Thai tea and a soda. Total was about $56 with tip, so it's not cheap, but also not completely out of bounds for San Diego right now. I ordered the pad Thai, which was good. Thicker sauce, richer texture, and very satisfying overall. That said, I was actually surprised by how much I liked my husband's pad see ew. I'm a salty-sweet person, and the savory profile on the pad see ew really worked for me. It was straightforward in a good way and ended up being the dish I kept going back to for bites. Both dishes were well cooked, portions were solid, and we had leftovers, which helped justify the price a bit. The space is clean, calm, and comfortable. It's not loud or chaotic, which makes it a nice place to actually sit and eat. The two lady servers were incredibly sweet and helpful, which made the experience noticeably better. Bottom line: solid Thai food, pleasant atmosphere, and kind service. Not quite five stars for me given the price point, but a dependable 4/5 when you want Thai that hits, especially if you lean salty-sweet like I do. read more

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Stopped by here for a lunch with a good friend. I saw this open up a while back and have been meaning to give it a try! We were greeted upon entry and asked to pick any table to sit. I ended up ordering the shrimp pad Thai and my friend got the drunken noodles. We also got an order of crab rangoons to share. The food came out pretty quickly and the portions were great! I really enjoyed my dish and so did my friend. We will definitely be back again soon! read more

56 Thai Cafe - Crab Rangoon - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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I ordered take out from this restaurant and really enjoyed the food. I currently have dietary restrictions and can't eat any soy or dairy. I called beforehand and they answered my questions about the menu and were kind enough to walk through different options with me. I ordered the pad thai, panang curry, and mango sticky rice. Everything was delicious and I would definitely order again! read more

56 Thai Cafe - Mango sticky rice - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

They use MSG in all their dishes leaving my mouth so dry and thirsty for a day. Their food is salty and you can taste the old processed oil they use that comes out through the flavor. If you're not a health nut like me then you may like this place. It was lackluster for my husband and I read more

My friends come here pretty often so we wanted to try this place out. Went here on a Sunday night and it wasn't too busy. The employees were very friendly and helpful. The food was very good and the portions are good for the price. The restaurant is small but didn't seem like you were sitting in a tight space. I'll definitely be back when I'm in the area. read more

56 Thai Cafe - Thai fried rice - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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Little Thai eatery in a strip mall in Del Mar Highlands next to a few other small restaurants. We both had Drunken Noodle with chicken which was tasty. The chicken was nice & tender. Cold beers and quick friendly service. Seemed like several" to go " orders in the evening. read more

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Unpretentious Thai eatery tucked into a local local mall. Drunken noodles were delicious and perfect heat level. Lots of well seasoned chicken in each dish. Small dining area, brightly lit...seemed very popular for take out and pick up. Fast, friendly service with two choices of Thai beer served with chilled mugs. Nice touch! We'd definitely return for the excellent food. read more

56 Thai Cafe - Drunken Noodles - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

Located in Del mar heights this little Thai shop looks new. Parking was easy to find. The interior on first impression was small. It's not a place for groups. Service was fast and effecient. I got my favorite Thai dish Kao Soi. The packaging separated the noodles from the soup which i appreciate. The soup was good. They put chicken drum sticks in it which was different. I didn't care for it. They also put pickled veggies in it. I like pickled veggies, but never had it in kao soi. The fried noodles topping were crispy. Overall, i enjoyed this dish. read more

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Newly opened in the area. With the rainy weather just wanted to have soup so tried the tom yum soup. Great. We took a spice level 3 on the scale of 0-5. Whoooo it was spicy. We know the level for the next time now. Pleasant server. We didnt have to wait long after placing the order. Neat and clean. read more

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Finally had a chance to swing by here to check it out with my family this evening for dinner this evening. We had some 56 Thai Cafe food catered to my office recently but I don't think what I had in the office reflects what the food at the restaurant tastes like. It's better when not ordered in a large quantity in my opinion. Everyone in the family enjoyed the food. We ordered the tom yum soup with shrimp, lao style papaya salad, pad thai, parang curry with chicken, pad thai with vegetables, drunken noodles with shrimp, and crab fried rice. Everything paired well with each other. My kids who are picky loved the food so thats definitely a win for us. The waitress was very nice and came to check on us multiple times. The wait for our food was not long. Location has ample parking. I'd love this place more if they offered the nearby employee discount throughout the day and not just for lunch :) other establishments around offer it all day. read more

So bad! Crab rangoons were horrible, husband took one bite and threw the whole order in the trash. Pad Thai was a 3/10. Tasted like it was old and had tomato in the sauce. Chicken was dry. Ordered Uber Eats to our hotel based off good reviews. I'm not picky so I'm not sure how they had good reviews. Hopefully it was an off day. read more

This was a nice cozy Thai food experience. We walked over here and were seated right away. The customer service was great. Very friendly server and I think the cook? Everything was prepared exactly and the food was so good. We got the spice levels 1 and 2 and neither was spicy. I dont like super spicy but but 1 and 2 are very low, Ill try 3 next time. We had a great meal here, check it out. read more

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The food is good, not great. I rated this place 5 stars because of the service. Unlike the other Thai restaurant in the area, ordering is easy, the food is ready when they say it will be, and the spice level is consistent. It's nice that I can order the spice level I want without it being bland one day and inedibly hot the next. read more

The most disgusting Thai food I've ever had. We ordered a small TomYum and it did not have the flavor of the authentic Thai soup. The Drunken noodles we ordered with Shrimp came with meat were soggy, oily and no flavor whatsoever, very bland. The Som Tum Lao style was very fishy, no lime whatsoever and the crabs had very bad smell. The fish cakes were so so. The only edible thing was the desert. Mango with sticky rice !!! I cant believe we spent $108 for this restaurant. read more

56 Thai Cafe - Mango with Sticky rice - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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My daughter and sister, both local residents, were interested in having dinner out on this Thursday evening, so since I was visiting from the Bay Area, I got to chose. Showing my Manhattan roots, my preference was to go local. We chose Thai food and discovered 56 Thai Cafe, a wonderous gem located in an active mall with some very interesting places to dine. The Cafe's decor is subtle, well lit, remarkably tidy and quite welcoming; the friendly hostess/waitress sat us with a gracious smile. The establishment is intimate and we sat comfortably at a table near the door. Upon the review of the extensive and colorful menu, we ordered "the small bits"spring rolls and uniquely refreshing papaya salad as appetizers, and for me, a lovely glass of white wine. My guests ordered their meals which they very much enjoyed, the eggplant and a noodle soup with chicken. But, I am more adventurous and had to make things more interesting. I desired a spicy noodle dish and chose the Spicy Anadman, with was loaded with shimp and squid. Much to my good fortune, this noodle dish was made with instructions to make it as hot as they can do so, as my family confirmed that I have a high heat tolerance. I have a great love for very very spicy food and candidly, had never met my match. Boy, was I in for a big surprise! Despite the deliciousness of the food which looked beautiful in presentation, I savored the first bit of the numerous shrimp, minus the mussels as requested, and was in heaven; everything was cooked perfectly and all three entrees came out steaming hot! Nevertheless, after just a few moments of gobbling up the noodles, the heat that I had been longing for came to be, and much to my chagrin, I had to stop, drink my wine, then my water and then, the salad, all in a futile attempt to calm down the heat. With a heated grin on my face, the attempted to move forwarded but finally had to subcumb and admit defeat! So, not wanting to support any notion of being a wimp, I told the waitress how delicious was, but I needed to stop and perhaps dilute the heat if she would just kindly add additional to the dish that I hope would help dissipate the heat. She grinned and knowingly said that would not help the situation, so instead she brought me another example of the noodles but with less fire! It was more fabulous that you could imagine. So, we ended the meal with the outstanding Chocolate Lava, but not without profusely thanking the staff for an outstanding meal and service! To top things off, although I had insisted to compensate them for my error, they provided my meal on the house, which was totally unnecessary, but such a unnecessary yet considerate gesture! So, with me leaving in the morning, the conclusion is that I am surely going back to this understated restaurant; I will be looking forward to visiting again and sampling the full measure of the outstanding and unique menu of Thai cuisine. My best advice: Go see for yourself and you will not be disappointed! A great dining experience! Apologies for the length of this review, but this was a great story to tell the grandkids!! read more

The food at 56 Thai Cafe was delicious and authentic. We ordered several dishes, and the portions were quite generous. I highly recommend trying their appetizer fish cakes. They had a great texture, were full of flavor, and the cucumber side with finely crushed peanuts that came with it really enhanced the dish! Their yellow curry was amazing--probably the best yellow curry I've had in San Diego! The spices were imported from Thailand, and the flavor was so authentic, it felt like I was eating straight from Thailand. 56 Thai Cafe has a clean atmosphere, with simple yet refreshing decor. We enjoyed our dinner experience. read more

I was visiting my family in San Diego and was seeking a Asian style restaurant local to home, so we found this interesting Thai restaurant amongst a number of other alternatives of the same cuisine. As we walked into the establishment, my daughter, my sister and myself, we were pleasantly greeted by the hostess/waitress who immediately sat us. The restaurant is very well licked, tightly kept, and seemingly working briskly, a welcoming sign. So we ordered some tasty spring rolls and a fabulous papaya salad. I don't really recall what my daughter had other than it had a fabulous broth and an enormous chicken lake and my sister had a curry dish. For me, I was intent on having their seafood noodles and express my long held interest in having it spicy, which in the past as a NEW YORKER, I had not felt that the cuisine was as spicy as some. So once opting for the edited edition of the Spicy Andaman, we are more shrimp was substituted for the muscles, I was delighted to taste the first morsels of the noodles after requesting purposely end with figure that I could withstand the hottest that they could serve, which apparently was a number five which is not necessarily meaningful measurement. In any event, the knowledgeable waitress recognize my delightful dilemma and was quite helpful in solving my problem. It was a wonderful dish, but I certainly meant my match! So the idea is for all of you to go there and try the delicious food from their extensive menu that they offered! I'm surely going to visit the next time. I'm in town and look forward to the 56 Thai Cafe's continued success to its customers and their communities' delight! read more

This was a cute Thai restaurant off the 56 that I would recommend for a quick fix if you're in a pinch. I ordered the Chicken Tom Kha, Chicken Larb and Chinese Sausage Thai Fried Rice. All of the dishes had decent flavor and the service was attentive. The chicken Tom Kha had the rich coconut texture I enjoy which was the highlight of my meal. I just wished they would have had larger portions. The chicken Larb had a good citrus kick to the flavor and the Chinese sausage fried rice was what you would expect from a Thai restaurant. Overall I see this as more of a casual neighborhood takeout spot than your traditional sit down restaurant. I would recommend giving this place a try! read more

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My wife and I come here often now (almost every week). The service is always excellent. The crew is very friendly. The fold is ALWAYS on point. It has a real comfort food feel to it. Their approach is different than what we normally experience. This is BY FAR our favorite Thai place in San Diego now. Food is clean and relatively simple. We tried a new item on the menu today. It's deceptively simple! Just chicken and rice but there is a ginger sauce that comes with it for dipping and it's ABSOLUTELY MIND BLOWING. Customers for life! read more

The drinks started off delicious with a fresh lychee in the lychee black tea! Service was friendly and the food was delicious. Tried the drunken noodles and yellow curry at level 3 spicy! Perfect amount of kick - also tasted the pad see u noodles at level 1- I recommend level 1 if you don't want the flavor without any spice! Portions are large- took home some leftovers! We will be back!! read more

56 Thai Cafe - Lychee black tea with boba and strawberry lemon soda (fresh strawberry!!) - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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The food is so good here! Staff is friendly. I recommend the krapow. They also have good Thai tea! I'll be back for sure. read more

56 Thai Cafe - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

Checked this place out for first time. Very tasty. Got the spring rolls, shrimp pad Thai and beef pad Thai. Great service, clean restaurant and food was flavorful and large portions. We will definitely be back!! read more

Food is tasty and fresh! If you upgrade your protein to shrimp, it is completely worth it! The shrimp are HUGE and they give you a good amount too! I got 6 shrimp in my drunken noodles. Their spice is also very tasty. A lot of Thai restaurants just throw the spiciest chilis into their dishes but this place has it just right. It's still spicy but you're not in pain when you're eating it. Will definitely be coming back and trying other dishes! read more

56 Thai Cafe - Drunken noodles with shrimp - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

Definitely disappointed. Ordered Pad Thai & Stir Fried Cashew. Pad Thai: flavorless gummy mess of rice noodles with some crushed peanut powder and a few pieces of bean sprouts. Stir Fried Cashew: Ordered with fried tofu. Tofu was tough and dry, vegetables were fresh with little sauce. Over all the dish was lacking and dry. Will not be returning. On a positive point: The place is small and clean the the service was friendly. read more

our new favorite restaurant! We had the drunken noodles with chicken, crab, fried rice, level one spice and we had the beef with vegetables level four spice, which was a little spicy for me but very tasty. I think next time I'm gonna try level three. The other ones were excellent tasting we would order it again. It was so delicious, the best Thai food I've ever had. ! our server Eva was extremely personable, friendly courteous, and she even went above and and brought us a special anniversary mango with sweet rice in a shape of a heart! We had never been here here before, we found it on yelp and like three reviews that we saw so we felt if we liked it too, but also posted a good review, it's definitely worth driving too! The artwork on the walls was really simple and beautiful, clean lines and artistically done with the leaves and lines and a simple artistic earthy with a glass cover over the entire really clean and elegant. I was a little bit hesitant and coming to this from the I wanted to have a dinner, but I have no qualms about this at all. Everything was just perfect for us. read more

56 Thai Cafe - Cream cheese and crab appetizers were delicious - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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Food was fairly well prepared but spice level seemed down. One of us requested level 3 and seemed level 1. She was able to ask for some spice to doctor up. Prompt courteous service, prices reasonable. Easy parking, and closer to home a big plus. They had a steady turnover but the noise level easily tended to be high (when some teens came for drinks) and echoing. read more

Mediocre at best. Flavorless tom yum soup. Pad Thai also flavorless and super dry. Veggie rolls were decent but those are simple. Hope it'll improve. Get the basics down first. Was empty when I did take out. Ambiance is a couple of tables. C+ at best. Will try again in a month or two. Nothing really "unique" here? read more

Great newer addition to the area! While the standard dishes were solid, the standout dish was definitely the Khao Soi!

We found the food to be delicious and prices were very reasonable. The variety of teas, sodas and boba drinks was a plus. We had the cherry lemonade and the Thai iced tea. Both were delicious. They also serve authentic deserts which looked interesting, but we didn't try any this time around. We will definitely come back. read more

This is a good little neighborhood spot that has great service and very delicious Thai food. Here's what to expect: a limited menu, but well-prepared, customizable (substitutions are fine) entrees. The ambiance is serviceable but not particularly warm or inviting, given that the price point is the same as other local Thai restaurants (like Aaharn just down the street) who have put some effort into their decor and the dining experience. The only reason I'm docking a star is because a few weeks ago I came in and was turned away for a take-out order because they had just received a huge order and said they couldn't fulfill any additional orders at that time. Otherwise, it's a good find and worth a try. read more

This was our third visit--we are working our way through the menu and so far we are impressed with the freshness and authenticity. Tonight we started with the Devil Wings, then moved on to the green papaya salad, Panang Curry and Krapow Kai Dao Rib Eye. We go "3" spice level, which is hot, but not too hot. A couple of Singha beers to round it out. Everything was delightful along with perfect service. We love a good local Thai spot and after much trial and error, this is it. read more

My partner and I had been waiting for this cafe to open and were excited to attend the soft opening! We tried their drunken noodles with beef at spicy level 3, and their panang curry at spicy level 2. Spicy levels were a good medium spicy. Both dishes were delicious! I especially loved how flavorful the noodles were, how they were still springy not soggy, and how fragrant the dish was with all the basil leaves. The curry was tasty too, just a teeny bit salty for our taste. We also got their complimentary soft opening Thai tea and it was really good! Not too sweet and you feel awake after. Restaurant was cute and clean, and service was great! The man and woman helping us were both attentive and made sure we liked the food and had enough water. I'll be patiently waiting for the rest of the menu to be ready and for them get the ball rolling. Best of luck! read more

Stumbled upon this little restaurant during my lunch break. I had their chef's choice Krapow Kai Dao which was basically stirred fried ground chicken with basil, onions, and red bell pepper. The rice was topped with a fried egg. It comes in mild, medium. Or spicy. I had their medium which I would say is probably more of a 4 (on a scale of 1-10 spiciness). The meat was flavorful. I enjoyed it and would love to try their other dishes. I normally order green curry at Thai restaurants but they only had yellow curry, so I opted of chef's recommendation instead. I'll be back :) read more

This place is just about 500 ft from our house, so I decided to give it a try. I ordered the Pad Thai with beef, but unfortunately I was really disappointed. The noodles were undercooked and very hard to chew, and the fish sauce flavor was so strong that it overpowered everything else. I gave two stars because the staff was genuinely friendly and welcoming I just really wish the food had been tastier:( read more