The Green Curry is exceptional. Spicy broth, well sized pieces of chicken, and the green beans are still crunchy. Must order the jasmine rice with it for a tasty meal. Perfect for the rainy weather read more

Flavors don't really hit full authenticity for the price point. This is a good place for an intro for thai food, their medium spicy is like mild spicy for other places. Service is quick and reliable. read more

Shockingly mediocre, careless prep (scallions were like straw), precooked tofu was cold, added after plating, and heavy-handed seasoning- way too sweet/vinegary. With all of the gangbuster takeout business, the cooks are lazy, even ungrateful for their customers' trust. BS. Service was very good. Look elsewhere. read more

Best Thai food in the Bay Area, hands-down. We live in San Francisco and drive to Berkeley frequently just to dine here. We've tried a lot of Thai spots in SF, and yep -- Little Plearn in Berkeley is still the best. read more

The pineapple fried rice seems everything else but Thai, more like the normal fried rice I make at home. It was very bland and I had chicken satay for appetizer which was a little better but still burnt. I don't recommend this for Thai food there are better out there. read more

Little Plearn Thai Kitchen - Pineapple Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

i most likely will never order from this place again. i ordered to go but had some spare time so i asked one of the workers if i could eat my food there. she looked confused as if i asked for free food, scratched her head then looked at her clock as she proceeded to say "umm" it was not busy at all and she discriminated against me . very bad service read more

Used to come regularly about 10 years go. Picked up veggie eggplant with tofu for lunch today and it was a disappointment - bland, little eggplant and tofu, uninspired. And it costs almost $20 after tip! Sad to say but look elsewhere for Thai food. read more

Was walking on Shattuck and happened to find this place. I was really craving Thai food - specifically, green curry. The food itself was underwhelming, the consistency of the curry was a bit watery and just not as good as the green curries I've had at other Thai restaurants. The service was slow despite the place being quite empty. If you want better Thai food in the area I suggest walking to Imm or Thai Noodle II - they accept card. read more

Little Plearn Thai Kitchen - Green curry chicken! - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

Food is very meh ... ordered a pad see eww the noodle was soggy. Would not recommend.

Maybe I should have gotten something else, but this Thai Fried Rice is the worst I've eaten from a Thai restaurant Mind you Thai food is one of my favorites ! I am highly disappointed and upset that I am hungry and wasted my money on this. I am so glad I didn't get prawns added because I would have been gravely disappointed and maybe would have possibly drove back up and gave them the food back . This has no flavor at all ! I mean NONE at all . This is my first Thai style rice with pineapple. BIG CHUNKS Of pineapple at that . I don't know how this place have a 4 star . Maybe I ordered the wrong item and should June looked at the viewed but I figured that you can't go wrong with FRIED RICE . Well , I was wrong . I was hoping this was it. But unfortunately it's not and know I am not only starving but trying to debate if I continue to eat this and be be upset bite after bite or so I throw it away and really be upset I wasted my money. read more

Good food and I love their lunch specials. Been coming to this spot for over 15 years and it doesn't disappoint. The inside looks nice compared to back in the day and now they take credit cards! The food and the drinks are great, a must-try for sure. read more

Easy to find in downtown Berkeley. From the outside it might look like much, however, once inside the orange walls invoke a coziness that is heartwarming. We started off with the crispy spring rolls which were delicious and fresh. And washed them down with delicious Thai ice tea. My date ordered sweat and sour vegetables with chicken, and I ordered panang beef Curry. The beef itself was simmered and delicious. The owner was very kind and attentive. I would definitely recommend this place and come again. FYI: they are cash only! read more

I don't live in Berkeley but every time I come to this area, I always stop by this place as this is my favorite Thai restaurant in the area. Food is very tasty and generous portion size and I can't resist taking some to go after my meal. Definitely recommend coming here! You won't regret it! read more

Little Plearn Thai Kitchen - Mango sticky rice - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

This place was yummy!! We ordered the yellow curry with chicken and Panang Nua. So delicious! The Panang nua beef was so tender you barely have to chew! The rice was cooked to perfection! Usually jasmine rice is left kind of hard but this was cooked perfect. The salad dressing was yummy too. Will def eat here again. Next time, duck! Forgot to take pictures!! read more

Got delivery so of course take that with a grain of salt but. The tom yum was very bland with no funk or really flavor at all. I got acid notes and some of the lemon grass but I could not detect any galangal and the shrimp were rubber the vegetables undercooked simultaneously. The Panang Nua Curry was just sweet like peanut butter no depth of flavor there. The beef was gritty and had no fat to it. Everything was sort of soggy and sad. (maybe due to the delayed delivery?) Ordered Iced Tea Lemonade and it tasted like instant lemonade with a shit ton of sugar undrinkable The home made chili sauce was the only thing I can recommend it saved the dishes from being totally tasteless. Jasmine Rice was good? read more

Incredible food! We had the hot and sour soup, pumpkin curry, and pad Thai (which was the best I've ever had). Great service as well, despite it being a busy Saturday night. Will definitely be back next time we're in the area!! read more

Cash or checks only. She said she has a note up on the door. Owner didn't want me to write this on yelp because she "doesn't want people come in here and rob her"???? Makes no sense. And the cabbage in my soup tasted expired or soured. I asked for absolutely no spice in my order but she decided to add just a little to mask in the spoiled taste with some of her ingredients. When I brought this up she pretended she didn't understand my English. read more

Sorry but this is flavorless and greasy. Their prices are representative of the rent at this location, not the quality of the food. There's so much good Thai in Berkeley... choose that instead. read more

love their pad kee mao and thai tea! lovely people and delicious food -- check it out!

My dad had no idea where he was going, except that at the end of the journey, we would end up at Plearn. So there we are, wandering down Shattuck, and hes standing on corners staring down the street, hoping the Thai food will come to him. My point is, it's a hole in the wall. But, knowing Berkeley well enough to have a vague idea of where it is from walking by it enough times, I steer us towards Plearn and BOOM we're there. Going in, its six on a Saturday, and no one's there. Later, we realized there's a Cal game tonight, and that everyone is tailgating instead of appreciating Thai food. It was open seating, we grabbed a table and water was brought out with lime slices and menus that featured a small child on the cover. I feel like pictures of food would be more appropriate, but whatever. We started with fried wontons, which were crisp and lovely. Not too heavy, a good solid appetizer. Then, the magic happened. HOLY PAD THAI this is amazing. The portions initially did not look that impressive, but I ended up taking a good sized portion of it home with me. It was mildly spicy, more spicy than pad thai is at other places, but it worked well and did not take away from the task at hand. Or, rather, the taste at hand (Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm a sucker for bad jokes). Papa had the spicy seafood, which he was very pleased with. Portions are decent, not generous, but not stingy. They are very spice friendly, just as a warning, but it is not over-bearing or gratutious. It's goldilocks status- just right. I'll be swinging by to get my fix on Shattuck, once I tear through the rest of the pad thai I had left over. Oh, and one more thing: Thanks again, Plearn. You are a badass. read more

Little Plearn Thai Kitchen - Spicy Seafood - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Great food, great service and perfect ambiance! Went out with friends and family and we loved it

Uhm, you should walk away from this place fast. This place is a hole in the wall, super small. The waiter did not greet us right away and we thought we had to seat ourselves, but when we walk in he stops s and tells us to walk back to the entrance to wait while he set up a table. Really, all he di was take 2 tables that were together and move them apart. I thought his attitude was a bit rude. We ordered the pumpkin chicken curry and spicy eggplant with beef. The curry was so watered down! The pumpkin was good though. I was just really upset with the curry. I might as well be drinking soup. The beef dish was bad too. Some of the pieces of beef were over-cooked and tough while some pieces were tender. WTF?! Waste of money coming here. Go elsewhere! read more

First off I found their safety excellent. The person who took my order kept her distance and was very pleasant. The lunch was perfect, hot, tasty. Squash lunch special. I've eaten here before and it's fairly standard Thai but with the nicest little fusion edge. Haute cuisine? No, but that's not what I was looking for: I got a hot meal from a sweet place with friendly service. read more

We've been going to Little Plearn for close to ten years and it's our favorite Thai place in all of the Bay Area (we now live in SF and will come to Berkeley just to get it). The portions are very generous for the $$ - it's also family owned and the staff is so friendly! They just started accepting card during COVID as well. read more

Love the food here! I'll be a liiittle slow, but it's totally worth the waiting! Love the pad kee mao! The green curry! And the mango sticky rice!! And the price is very reasonable! It's like my routine every week now XD read more

I highly recommend this family owned Thai spot! I came during Berkeley restaurant week last month and we had a meal for two around $30 and it was so worth it! Their curry and also papaya salad was really good! The service was extra friendly and if you love curry I highly recommend the green curry! The right amount of spice and kick :) read more

Four stars for this price range, I think (around $8 per dish) Friendly place with gentle vibe - It's very quiet most of the time, so don't expect any buzz. Good veggie dishes are the Pad See Ew and the Pad Puk. Fried rice also very good. Good place for a quick pre-movie meal. read more

Having moved to Berkeley over 2 years ago, I've walked by Little Plearn at least a couple dozen times but never thought much about it. But I was craving Thai and wanted to try something new so decided to give it a shot. I have to say - the inside experience does not match the outside experience! It looks rundown and not super inviting from the outside, but the inside is bright, clean, and welcoming. Service: quick and friendly Suitable for: date night, family, friends Food: 1. Chicken pad thai: 4.5/5 - We enjoyed this dish! The noodles were cooked exactly how pad thai should be, the sauce was delicious, and the chicken was cooked well. 2. Moo Dang over rice (kitchen favorite): 4.5/5 - Excellent curry! It was a tad spicy for me so I would pass if you're really sensitive to spice. The beef we had with it was excellent. We got the $2 dinner combo added to it, which was salad, rice, and a spring roll. I would definitely go to Little Plearn again. read more

Usually when we get Thai food we go to the place on University (I think they're different owners). This time we decided to try this place as it was right next to Beckett's. We've been meaning to try it, but the fact that they don't take credit card has always sent us to the other place. Yesterday was one of the days we just happened to have cash. We ordered the Pad-Kee-Mao extra spicy and the Spicy Basil (extra spicy). Neither were very spicy, but both were still very delicious. We'll definitely go back again if we happen to have cash on us. read more

What we got: pad thai with tofu pad see eew with beef yellow curry with beef plum duckling rice mango sticky rice fried banana ice cream Food came out quickly and we enjoyed every dish. read more

I love this damn place. I order the same thing every time and it's always good. I drive 45mins away to enjoy their food and it's always worth it. The service is great and they're always nice. The yellow curry and pad Thai is to die for. read more

Yikes, this is probably the worse Thai food experience I've ever had. The Thai specials were very generic looking so I picked the chicken with prawns and green beans. All their lunch specials are 9-10 dollars each. The food looked pretty but the green beans were old and hard (there were very little), the three prawns were nice, but there was lots of chicken. The chicken was dry and cooked to death. Finally, the flavor was the worse part. They added what tasted like bottled sweet Asian sauce and it was extremely artificially sweet like corn syrup mixed with lots of salt. I would say that it was inedible. I ate some because I was hungry but left half of it on the plate. The server asked me if I was done but didn't ask if everything was okay. The servers were cold and unfriendly. I won't come back. read more

There are many excellent Thai Restaurants in the Bay Area, this is not one of them. The food is mediocre and very bland when compared to the subtle flavors of other Thai restaurants. The "fresh" spring rolls were hard and with very little filling. The salad was a sloppy mess of ground up chicken with no hint of basil and other herbs/spices. The main course was almost a duplicate of the salad but with chili sauce. The yellow pumpkin curry was underwhelming. Not worth the money. The room was also cold because the front door did not close completely. Too many other great choices. read more

absolutely delicious pad kee mao! Very friendly customer service and great take out and delivery flow :)

I was looking for a quick lunch before my movie. They were hidden on Shattuck Ave in Berkeley directly across the street from the UA Berkeley Theater. There was a sign on the door and on front of the menu that they didn't accept credit cards. I can appreciate that so there aren't any surprises when the check comes. There were 11 tables, half of them were high tables. It would be possible to have a large group if you came early. There were quite a few single diners having lunch. I ordered off the lunch menu. There was plenty to choose from. I ordered the Pumpkin Curry with Chicken Lunch Special. It came with a small salad and a choice of fried or fresh spring roll. The food came out on a large round plate. The salad was iceberg lettuce with a sweet creamy dressing on it. The fresh spring roll was vegetarian. Very fresh served with a sweet chili sauce. The Pumpkin Curry with Chicken was a bowl of yumminess. Tender white chicken, red bell pepper and green string beans. I asked for Thai Hot, so there were slices of fresh red chilies. One thing I did not like seeing was that the owner/server sat down at a table in the back with a colander and a pile of green beans. I felt that she should have done that in the kitchen or when there weren't as many customers in the restaurant. They did not have a Take Out menu or a website. The owner/server said that they were working on redoing their menu. The food was good and I'll be back. read more

Little Plearn Thai Kitchen - Pumpkin Chicken Curry - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Good, not great. 1. They accept cash only. ....huh? This is the 21st century. Had to leave and come back with cash before ordering. 2. Very nice vibe, enjoyable atmosphere compared to most other local thai restaurants. 3. Food is okay, not bad, not amazing. Acceptable thai place to eat. 4. Customer service is okay but not great. Had to wait like 20 minutes after having plates cleared to receive a check. Not much maintenance happened during the visit. Overall: Annoying that they don't accept cards, food and customer service not amazing. Come here mostly for the vibe. read more

Little Plearn Thai Kitchen - Cute place settings - Thai Near Me - Berkeley, California

This place doesn't get the credit it deserves! It's a great hole in the wall restaurant. The staff there is very friendly and nice. Todays trip called for the pad Thai, lettuce wraps, tofu with green beans and green curry. The only thing I don't love was the tofu and green beans. It was a little on the bland side. The pad thai is a must order (I recommend with tofu and chicken). We ordered the green curry with seafood, and it was exceptional. The lettuce wraps were a flavor bomb in your mouth. They had a nice tang to them and I loved them! To drink, I ordered a coconut, and this just makes you feel extra fancy lol. Great place and I would recommend to any Asian food lovers. read more

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Love this Place! prices are great! especially $3.25 Beers --are you kidding me! had take out a few times but ate in for first time recently and the waitstaff so friendly, fast, and helpful. the lettuce wraps looked a little skimpy when served but were OH SO GOOD in my mouth. (please add more quantity fixings to the platter so the wraps can be larger) - Delicious Only improvement suggestion i could give them is fix the outside! it looks gross and dirty and uninviting - we almost didnt go in. A new awning would help a lot! But once inside its clean and new looking, food is fresh and delicious. I will be eating in more often (although the take out is good too) Dont let the outside scare you read more

I think this place is underrated honestly. It's better than the few other thai restaurants I've tried in Berkeley.

This place was awesome! I totally had a great experience here. I came here around 8 at night and it was still pretty busy. This place is pretty intimate if you ask me. Red dimmed lights, Wallpaper colors that set the cozy mood, and even the low beetles songs in the background. There was a guy taking orders and serving all at the same time. He seemed busy. He cleaned tables, greeted customers, jotted down orders, and refilled drinks all around. He's a champ. I ordered the pat sew eww which was great! Although I didn't like the portion, it still stuffed me. The flavors were all in there. I got the sweet, spicy, and eggy mix all in one. I have no complaints. They made my dish equal with broccoli, chicken, and noodles. The sauce was just poured in just right. Not too soggy! Overall, I would def come back and eat again! Props to my guy who was on point and the cook who made my meal. $9.25 for my dish was excellent! read more