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    Bua Thai Kitchen

    4.5 (260 reviews)
    ModerateThai, Noodles
    Closed 12:00 pm - 2:30 PM, 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM
    Updated 1 week ago

    Bua Thai Kitchen Reservations

    Order Bua Thai Kitchen Takeout or Delivery

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    BUA THAI KITCHEN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Intimate
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups

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    Larb
    Dani K.

    When everything else in Berkeley closes up shop at 8, this quaint little spot is open and happy to serve up traditional and tempting Thai. I've never heard hot Thai tea until I can't to Bua Thai. Take out service is fast and easy as well for a no fuss dinner to go.

    Thomas B.

    You can look at the other past reviews and see that I absolutely love this place. They have authentic flavors they use fresh ingredients. They have a sparkling, smiling staff and always willing to help the customer the extra mile. They have party room in the back, they have minimum streetside outdoor seating and they have plenty room inside to let you try homestyle Thai cooking. It's Northern Thai style, which is called Ian. And of all the flavors that I tried when I lived there, his son was my favorite and it mimics a lot of the things that you have in layout as well. I recommend this to families even to bring their kids along with them. They'd have fun here.

    Mushroom dumplings
    Kris B.

    Everything about this restaurant is great! We were eating late after organizing my dad's house so there weren't a lot of restaurants to choose from. But Bua Thai is open until 10pm Fridays! The place is very soothing and calm, plenty of open tables and lots of greenery. Wait staff is so nice, very soft spoken and patient. We ordered the Mushroom Dumplings ($12) to share and then I ordered Tofu Pad Thai ($14). My friend ordered Tofu Pad See Ew ($14). Food came out quickly and it was all so delicious! We will definitely be returning here!

    Pad See Ew
    David C.

    The portions are very reasonable and prices are about $18 a plate. We called in the order and we got two boxes one of pad Thai chicken and one of pad see ew beef and it was lovely. Very authentic very Hardy. Totally coming back here. The inside is very quaint yet modern with some neon lights. $48 for pad see ew, pad Thai and 1 order crispy rolls

    Christian M.

    Amazing Thai spot in Albany. Came here with my girlfriend and this was a perfect date night spot. Loved the ambiance in here and it wasn't too packed due the rain the night we went. Our service was great as the food came out fairly quick and was amazing. Full of flavor and the portions were great for the price. Loved this place hopefully will be back soon

    Seafood Eggplant
    Dexter D.

    Family dinner for six. When I asked where folks wanted to go, two of my brothers independently suggested Bua Thai Kitchen. Sure, we're down for that. A reservation was made for 6pm on a Friday night. Never knowing how bad traffic would be, we left home early and arrived way to early. We grabbed a parking space in their small let and felt lucky because there was only on other space plus a handicap space. We didn't realize that two cars could also park parallel close to the building. Street parking is also very tight. This is important to know because this restaurant appears to do a very healthy delivery service business. It seemed like many of the drivers picking up orders chose not to park properly, making it difficult for others to pull into parking spaces or even just into the lot itself. We observed at least one driver who parked near the building and ran inside, leaving his lights on and his driver's door open. The restaurant can't be blamed for this behavior; it's beyond their control. There were a few occupied tables when we entered. We were seated at a two-top that was next to a four top. It seems like more restaurants are using USB-C ported LCD lights lately. Much more useful than those silly LCD "tea candles" that provided zero light. Menus were presented as were glasses of water and two carafes. Our server came over several times to see if we were ready to place our order, but it always takes forever. We finally ended up with: Green Salad Rolls - 4 - Fresh, crunchy, and delicious with the accompanying peanut sauce. Roti with Yellow Curry - 4 - The Roti was perfection. The Yellow Curry Sauce was a bit on the thin side. Thicker would adhere better to the Roti. Roti with Peanut Sauce - 4 - Same great Roti. Peanut Sauce flavor was decent but there was some separation of oil from the sauce itself. Crispy Rice Salad - 4 - A bit too sour for me from the lime but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Pumpkin Curry with Tofu - 4 - Perfect over rice. We ordered everything mild so everyone could eat all that we ordered. The vegetables were cooked well. Spicy Green Beans - 1 - This was our least favorite dish. The Green Beans were simply tough and stringy. Pad Thai with Chicken - 4 - Was good. As expected. Seafood Eggplant - 5 - Dish of the evening. Although no one got a taste of every ingredient, what I got was quite tasty. Pla Rad Prik - 4 - Deep-fried Pampano with Sweet and Sour Sauce, Pineapple and Crispy Basil. There was also an assortment of red, green and yellow bell peppers. By the time we were done eating, we had no room left for dessert. Service was pretty good. Definitely a place worth returning to except for the Green Beans.

    Red curry
    Aly C.

    ===TL;DR=== - Red curry - Seafood eggplant ===TMI=== First and foremost, they NO LONGER have the young coconut seafood curry - not sure why that was in their promo photo since I literally came here for that. After finding that out, had to opt for something else. Can't go wrong with red curry anywhere. Pair it with rice and that's a solid meal. Tried their seafood eggplant.... There were sure a lot of eggplants in there so for all those eggplant lovers out there, this is your dish. I was hopping there would be more seafood. The flavor was good tho and it came on a sizzling plate so that was nice. I've also had their beef noodle soup and spicy wings of heaven here as takeout before. Their beef noodle soup was surprisingly not bad. Wing wise, flavorful but very small. Overall they do a good job on flavors here.

    Edison H.

    Interesting setup here.. looks to be a big house remodeled to be a restaurant? Parking was tight and limited - highly recommend street parking. Both items I ordered were great. I particularly enjoyed the crispiness of their spicy wings of heaven. Not sure about the spicy portion though. Maybe they thought we can't handle real spicy which is true lol. The duck noodle soup felt stacked and I didn't feel like they skipped on the proteins either. It's boneless too so feel free to slurp and eat away! We did noticed the service being slow from water refills to paying the bill. Not a dealbreaker so 4*.

    Shrimp Pad Thai
    Adem M.

    It rarely gets better than these types of locations. Literally within walking distance from our place. Looks like you're walking up to a neighbors front door upon entry. Well lit decorated entry and dining area. The service is eager to attend to every request. Everything was delicious and there was plenty leftover to take home after ordering for two. Always a plus! We shall return!

    Heliana M.

    Great experience today for lunch. We came with our 7 year old and shared: - fresh shrimp rolls - egg rolls - shrimp pad thai - Pork larb Everything was so tasty excellent food and authentic as we had it in Thailand years back. Fast service and clean bathrooms. Would return back to try more from their menu.

    Chicken Spicy Wings of Heaven
    Sharon B.

    I've been here before but didn't know it until my kids reminded me. We were in the area and we were looking forward to having Thai for dinner, especially at a place we never been but oh well, the reviews were great. We were seated immediately despite the busyness of the place. We decided to forego our usual Thai dishes and ordered chicken wings, shrimp pad thai and a fried pompano fish with the sweet and sour sauce on the side. The chicken wings came and looked good but taste wise- it was bland and the chicken had a strong "chicken" taste to it- can't explain but I didn't like it. If chicken could be called gamey, then that's what it was. And the chicken wings could've been fried more or it could have been double fried but either way they weren't that crispy. My Pompano fish looked really good but like the chicken, it was also not as crispy as it could be so either their oil wasn't as hot or they didn't cook it long enough I don't know, but I'm not a restaurant so I can't tell you . It's too bad because I was really looking forward to having a fried fish. The one thing that saved the entire meal was the combo dessert that we ordered. It was coconut ice cream with roti and mango and sticky rice. You can't go wrong with dessert so that was fine. It's too bad because I really wanted to like this place, especially after seeing all the good reviews. The service was really good though despite being busy, it was really friendly and warm so the service is at least four stars. It wasn't five star service because she did forget our drinks and I had to ask for it in the middle of our meal.

    Veg shrimp rolls
    Mary R.

    Everything was great. We went out for our anniversary and the food and service was excellent. From appetizers to dessert. Parking is good they have their own lot, and prices are high but not for the amount of food and flavors that come with it. We definitely will come back here again.

    Pla Manow

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    3 years ago

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    Beatriz M.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    Woody K.

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    4 years ago

    Ordered pad see ew and a yellow curry. Both were piping hot and excellent. Will be coming back soon!

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    4 years ago

    Consistently great Thai food. Seafood tastes fresh, flavors are great. So glad we found this place!

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    Woody K.

    Hi. Elynne Thank you for gave us a great review see you again soon

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    Woody K.

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    4 years ago

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    Woody K.

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    4 years ago

    Such delicious Thai food with a lot of options for my family that all has different taste in dishes.

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

    A hidden gem! Food is fresh and beautifully prepared. The BEST Thai food I've had in the Bay Area.

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    4 years ago

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    Woody K.

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    3 years ago

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    Beatriz M.

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    4 years ago

    Food was authentic, delicious, and came out pretty quickly. Staff are friendly as well

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    Page 7 of 7

    Bua Thai Kitchen Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Bua Thai Kitchen

    Are you open today, Christmas? No answer on phone but reservations look available?

    Sorry for late response Yes we are open I thought 3 hours ago the electricity outage

    Are the dishes overly sweet with added sugar?

    No, things don't taste like there's a lot of sugar. The staff is are very accommodating, so you could request no added sugar.

    Is there a lunch menu?

    We have all day menu because we included the rice to main dishes you only paid for an extra rice Thank you.

    Can they accommodate a gluten free diet?

    Yes all of curry dishes are gluten free Thank you

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    3.8(360 reviews)
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    Lunch Special $22 Chicken Satay appetizer and Cashew Nut with Tofu. $6 Thai iced tea with coconut…read more Tofu was well seasoned and surprisingly more delicious than the chicken satay which was already pretty decent. Really nice flavor profile with plenty of umami, spices, and oil to provide fullness. Thai Iced Tea tastes like the premade stuff I'm familiar with at many restaurants. Good food but not necessarily worth going out of your way to try.

    With such a plethora of excellent Thai options nearby, we never got around to trying Bua Luang…read moreuntil just recently. Walking in on a Friday evening, we were able to snag a table right away without any wait. They have both indoor and outdoor parklet dining options, and both are very nice options to choose from. The interior is very spacious with tables sufficiently spread out so you can have private conversations without feeling like you're intruding upon your neighbors. For our meal, we ordered the following: Fresh Rolls: Wrapped with tofu, shiitake mushroom, rice noodle, romaine, carrot, cucumber and cilantro. And comes with a side of sweet & sour and peanut sauces. We found this one really refreshing and light. And I really enjoyed the delicious sweet & sour sauce that was included (so much so that I used it as a sauce addition on my entrée as well). If you choose to, they are also willing to customize and add shrimps or other proteins of your choice for an additional charge. Pumpkin Curry w/ Chicken: Curry with pumpkin, green pea, bell pepper and sweet basil. My wife is a big fan of pumpkin so she really enjoyed this one. You have your choice of proteins (some with an additional charge) to choose from. My wife opted for the chicken. Pineapple Fried Rice w/ Beef: Fried rice with Pineapple, garlic, green peas, onions, egg, raisin and cashew nut. I'm a big fan of this dish overall and I found Bua Luang's version to be ok. A bit light on the flavor, but overall enjoyable. Overall portion sizes were on the smaller end. Service was excellent and they make sure to check in on you regularly throughout the meal.

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    Sistory

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    My best friend and I grabbed dinner together at Sistory! Our initial plans didn't go through due to…read morethe holidays, but we're happy to have checked off a new spot. I've always wanted to dine at Sistory for brunch, but coming in the evening, it wasn't too busy. There was a steady flow of customers and take-out orders. The restaurant is warm, cozy, and quaint. There are several tables for pairs or parties of four, plus some artwork displayed. There was only one server who was juggling customers, but we were well taken care of. My best friend and I shared Roti Dip, Pad Thai with Chicken, and Yellow Curry with Tofu. The roti was so flaky and warm! The Pad Thai tasted good and was typical of the ones I've had. The curry was robust and flavorful! Being mild, it was a bit spicier than we had anticipated. So if you have a low spice tolerance, keep that in mind! We also got Thai Tea, which was refreshing! Portion sizes were good, and we took our leftovers to go. Sistory Thai Kitchen is an addition to the Albany and North Berkeley area. I wouldn't mind coming back to try their brunch! They're located off San Pablo Ave. with street parking out front.

    My friend and I came here around openning time on a Saturday and were sat right away. We ordered a…read moreKao Soi and Pad Thai to share. After ordering the food came out really quickly and we were able to dig in right away after some pictures. Both dishes were huge and we definitely had left overs to bring home. The kao soi was very flavorful as it was sour, spicy, and very creamy due to the coconut. The egg noodles really soaked up the sauce and made each bite taste so good. I wish there was a little bit more meat in it though. The pad thai was very saucy tasted so good. The noodles weren't soggy at all and had a lot of meat throughout. Overall a really nice place to share food with your friends and family.

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    Sistory - Kanoom Jeen Nam Ngew/ traditional dish from Northern Thailand

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    Funky Elephant - Pad Thai Old Skool

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    I had their fried chicken and Roti, which came with fried chicken thigh, roti, sweet chili sauce,…read morecurry sauce, and pickled cucumber. Everything tasted really good. The fried chicken was juicy, tender, and cooked to the perfect level of crispiness. For the sauces, I liked their curry sauce more because it had more complex flavors from the spices. The roti was like a huge puff which was really interesting because I have neven seen it prepared that way elsewhere. The only downside was it's a bit greasy. Other than this, everything tasted great!

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    Larb Thai Food & Tapas

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    4.4(741 reviews)
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    Other than yelp, I may gate keep this place. Definitely a hidden gem in this community! It's hard…read moreto find notable Thai food anywhere in the bay, and I think this place may be it for me. Food. You can really taste the love, effort. Aunties and uncles in the back definitely throwing it down. You know the Thai food is good when the spice level is the actual spice level (some places say medium when there's no spice at all, lol). The khao soi alone is worth the trip. We'd also recommend (quite literally anything else). We also loved the Thai Arnold Palmer. Service feels like home. Respectful, friendly, kind and prompt. Ambience is busy during lunch! As they should be. Though, very attentive. Had us reminiscing about our time in Thailand - and felt the same kind of love, same notes of flavor of food. If i didn't have self control I'd probably be here once a week

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