I love the Thai tea :S the service is very nice and prompt, didn't have a hard time at all. read more

New Thai Elephant - Pad Thai, roti, chicken skewers - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

Thai food was excellent definitely a place to go wait was a little long service was spot on and the atmosphere was inviting with friendly patrons read more

New Thai Elephant - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

Really enjoyed the yellow curry with shrimp and the pad Thai came with shrimp naturally!

Great food, great service and shareable portions. The restaurant itself is well decorated and inviting from inside and out! My absolutely favorite was the papaya salad. All the flavors were there and thankfully, medium spice was manageable for me! I may have found my new favorite Thai spot! read more

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Very disappointing experience. I ordered the Pad Thai with tofu, and the tofu was completely inedible it tasted old, dried out, and was so hard it was difficult to chew. When I brought it to the waiter's attention, instead of offering to remake the dish, he simply brought me more tofu. Unfortunately, the replacement tofu seemed raw and was just as unappetizing. At that point, I completely lost my appetite. I'm honestly surprised that a restaurant would serve food in this condition. Where is the quality control? Customers are paying for a properly prepared meal, and the freshness and quality of the ingredients should be a priority. I left extremely disappointed and disgusted with the experience. read more

Recently visited this restaurant for a work lunch. We were ~15 people and we had reservation so we were immediately seated after we arrived. While we were ordering the waiter did not bother to take my order and just moved to the next person and then left! We had to call him back so that I could place my order. I ordered yellow curry (chicken) and chicken fried rice. Once the waiter started bringing our food, everyone got their food except me. All the people on my table finished eating their food and I hadn't even received my food! Eventually, I got my food which was fine. This is the worst service that I have ever seen at a place. Would never go back again. read more

Great Thai food with authentic flavors! Everything was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. Friendly service and a cozy atmosphere. Definitely would come back! read more

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We ordered 3 items which we all loved: papaya salad (our goto whenever we visit a Thai spot), red curry (same), roast duck fried rice (kids loved it). All are flavorful and quite affordable. We came in before 12pm on a Sunday and it's already mostly filled. Service was enough -- no phony "how's everything" interruptions lol. Bright and plenty of sunlight. Note to the owner: might wanna throw away some of those broken utensils. Detail matters :) read more

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Alright Thai spot located in downtown San Mateo. Gave this spot a try because the high reviews but was disappointed. The inside has a good amount of booths and tables. My husband and I got there right when they opened and were first ones there. We started with the curry puff and the crispy chicken wing. Both were alright, probably wouldn't get the chicken wings again because it was thick with batter but enjoyed the sauce it came with. The pad kee mao was ok, not the best nor worst I've had. Flavor was a bit lacking and there was no spice. The ka na moo krob was the highlight but some of the pork belly was overcooked and hard while some were nice and tender. Wish it was more consistent. The pickled jalepenos were probably the best thing I ate. Overall, good location and pricing but thought this place was just alright. Probably wouldn't come back again. Service was just alright as well, could have been better as it wasn't busy but we had to go to the counter for the check and boxes. read more

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Tried this thai spot a few times and its fairly decent thai food. I love their coconut curries, yellow and green, and i like their noddles. The place is on the oily side hence deducted 2 stars but its fairly decent food read more

Hubby and I needed a late dinner around 9 p.m. on Sunday and decided to head to ZhangLiang since we hadn't been there in a while. The place was packed. We joined the waitlist and were somehow number 23, even though they were closing in 30 minutes! Since we weren't about to wait around, we decided to give this Thai place another try. It had been at least two years since our last visit, and they had a table available right away. I remembered liking their Pad Thai, so that was an easy choice. Hubby ordered the seafood salad because papaya salad felt a little too predictable. Big mistake. The "seafood salad" turned out to be a plate of boiled snow fungus (雪耳) mixed with a bunch of random frozen seafood and fish balls. I would not recommend this dish under any circumstances. -100/10. The other dish was chicken with bell peppers in a very sweet sauce. We were surprised to find that it was made with ground chicken. The flavor didn't work for us at all. Maybe 1/5. The Pad Thai ended up being the best thing we ordered. It's not amazing, but it was decent and easily the highlight of the meal. Unfortunately, this visit reminded us why it's been two years since our last one. We probably won't be coming back. read more

New Thai Elephant - Do NOT order the A01. Spicy Seafood Salad - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

The price point for the entries was fair for the portion size. The good: The place is clean and the staff is friendly. Prices are fair and the food is tasty and fresh. The bathroom is clean and stocked. Wait time was short for busy day. The bad: My duck over rice was cold I did not send it back because my wife objected. Satay appetizer arrived close to when we were done eating over 30 minutes from the start of the meal. Two issues with the order read more

It's okay -- nothing particularly stood out, but the food was decent. What really surprised me was the price. It's actually quite affordable, especially compared with a lot of Thai restaurants these days. For the price, I'd say it's a pretty good value. But probably wont come back, there are a lot of different options in downtown San Mateo. read more

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We stopped here with a party of 8 on Friday evening for dinner. It was a long wait but boy was the wait worth it. The entire unanimously agreed that this restaurant has really delicious Thai food. Food 5/5: We ordered a number of items green curry, pork curry, veg pad kee mao, pork fried rice and Thai iced tea with a panda on the top (it was a showstopper and everyone was intrigued to see it - great conversation starter) We were disappointed by crispy tofu - that's a really bad dish - bland and simply not worth the calories Ambience 5/5: it looks nice. Ambiance is functional and interiors are really good for the price group $$ sign yelp restaurant category. They maintain cleanliness and hygiene Service 4/5 - service was good. People were friendly. It took a relatively long time for them to bring fried rice dishes compared to everything else and they missed to add one item during ordering. But also the restaurant was really busy and a long wait list with only 2-3 staff members, so understandable Parking was easy to find in the downtown parking garage Definitely recommend trying it read more

New Thai Elephant - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Located in San Mateo. The Pad Kee Mao is my go to and I wasn't a fan here unfortunately. I tried it with pork this time and will definitely be coming back to try the chicken next time. I wasn't given a spice option, it was very bland. Next time in person I will see if I can do a 4x spice option as I LOVE spicy pad kee mao. Thai tea is yummy they also have ice cream. The atmosphere is also really nice with plenty of seating, and they even have a fun photo op wall that adds a nice touch to the dining experience. read more

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We have passed by many times while walking around this busy part of San Mateo, but this time we decided to give them a try since we haven't had Thai food in a while. We got here for an early dinner, so there were many free tables available, though all the booths were taken when we arrived. Modern interiors and casual vibes. ***OUR PICKS*** MANGO SALMON SALAD ~ deep fried salmon, mango, cashew nut, and onions in spicy lime dressing, served with sliced cabbage. The salmon was fishy and didn't taste fresh. The cabbage was so minimal that you could count the shreds, and it looked like pre-cut slaw from a bag?! It looked O-L-D. This was supposed to be a salad. Not much greenery on the plate. What stood out were chunks of mango and fried salmon. The only thing good was the mango. 2.5/5 CRISPY CHICKEN WINGS ~ deep fried chicken wings marinated in a house specialty sauce flavored with salt and pepper, served with sriracha sauce. The chicken was breaded and fried. I guess I wasn't prepared for that kind of chicken, and the menu didn't give a detailed description of how it was made. I prefer the chicken to be coated in flour versus a bread crumb coating. The chicken meat inside was flavorful even without a sauce. I believe the sauces I got were sweet Thai chili and a salsa. Nothing spicy. 3.5/5 ROASTED DUCK CURRY ~ Slice roast duck with pineapple, bell pepper, Thai basil, and tomato with red curry. My guy ordered this dish, and I just tried a sliver of duck. Tasted like Chinese roasted duck, and there were maybe 4 small pieces of duck. You get a bowl of rice, but this should be listed as an appetizer. 3/5 SPICY EGGPLANT WITH SHRIMP ~ sautéed shrimp with eggplant, bell pepper, basil, and Thai chili. Lots of flavor in this dish! Probably the best dish out of the 4 we had. 4/5 Maybe we ordered wrong. We didn't want the typical Thai dishes like Pad Thai or Pad See-Ew, but maybe those were the dishes they do well here. read more

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3.5 stars. I think the main reasons why this average Thai restaurant has such great reviews and is always busy is because they provide an incentive for people to write reviews (free Thai tea for yelp review and free ice cream cup for Google review), they are a small sized restaurant with limited seating, and their affordable. For those reasons, always expect a wait. There's an iPad wait list and they will text you when the table is ready. They only take reservations for parties of 5 or more The food is decent taste wise. Prices are pretty good for the quality and portions. It's nice that the curry dishes come with rice. We ordered the red curry $13.75, yellow curry $13.75, pad Thai $14.75, and spicy eggplant $15.25. Everything is on the sweeter side and not very spicy despite my request for spicy. Food is not bad, but didn't quite satisfy my Thai food craving, which is not a good sign... read more

New Thai Elephant - Red and yellow curry - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Located in the heart of downtown San Mateo this Thai restaurant is colorful, well lit with natural sunlight, open space concept. Come at night to see the lights, good food and drinks! Parking is a bit hard to find but, well worth it! read more

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Great food and drinks! I love the rice. Best fried tofu in California. Thai iced tea comes with a little frozen bear. So cute.

Unbeatable prices for delicious Thai food. Best part is that their curries come with rice and it's not an extra fee. I think that their Roast Duck Curry is by far the best dish, but they have an extensive menu. What's also really nice is their bear-shaped ice cubes that come with their Thai Iced Tea. Service at times can be slow, but the staff are very friendly. We also enjoyed the fried bananas and ice cream, but it was more ice cream than banana as we had 4 pieces of fried banana read more

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Came here for lunch and had a delicious meal! The appetizers were okay, the roti wasn't very fluffy and the satay was decent. But the entrees were delicious! The pad see ew with crispy pork had tons of protein and was super tasty. We ordered the roast duck curry medium spicy and it was very spicy but very yummy. Portions for everything were pretty good but would skip the roti and chicken satay next time. Came on a Sunday for a late lunch and there was still a wait, so it can be pretty busy! read more

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We had delicious takeout from New Thai Elephant. It was amazing! We had roast duck fried rice that had a delicious roast duck flavor. We had pad see ew moderate spicy noodles that were delicious. Finally we had Penang curry with extra broccoli that had a rich, thick peanutty taste. The food was amazing! read more

We decided to try New Thai Elephant for the first time. The first dish served to us was the main dish -- rice with pumpkin curry --instead of the appetizer/salad and a couple of minutes later the papaya salad arrived. The chicken wings came next, and the eggplant dish was served last. The papaya salad was awesome and perfectly done! I loved it at the medium spice level. The chicken wings were okay, but nothing particularly special. Since the main dish was served first, it had already gotten cold by the time we started eating it, and the rice was a bit hard, probably from having less water when it was cooked. The flavor was really good though -- very tasty. I was just hoping the curry sauce would be thicker and creamier instead of watery. For the eggplant dish, we chose duck meat, but unfortunately it was too salty for us. The eggplant itself and the bell peppers were good though. The experience wasn't quite what we expected, and there are a few areas that could use some improvement. I hope the team can look into this. read more

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I've only been here once, but it was a good experience. My wife lived in Thailand for 8 years and says this place is legit. And for a decent price!!! read more

Ambience is very nice and customer service was quick, and friendly! Very considerate. Food presentation was outstanding. read more

New Thai Elephant - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

Messy, dirty, sloppy: I visited around 7pm on a weekday and waited quite a long time before anyone acknowledged me. I was put at a dirty table and excused myself to go to the bathroom. I passed the kitchen and it smelled of garbage. The bathroom was atrocious (see photos -- I mean, if you can't clean your toilet or the space behind the bathroom door, what else are you missing? When I returned to my table - it had puddles on it and had not been wiped off. The server brought me tattered menus and apologized for the table being wet and said he'd return but then attended other tables. After another 10 minutes - I just left. Abysmal service and cleaning standards. read more

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Second time ordering from here. It's always busy & has a good flow of foot traffic. The restaurant has a good layout of the seating arrangements. The food was tasty. Great costumer service, employee Awn was super attentive & nice. read more

New Thai Elephant - Thai Tea - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Went out with a friend for a quick dinner, and this place was such a great find! Wow! read more

New Thai Elephant - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

We were quite hungry after running some errands, and based on the reviews, we decided to give this place a try. It's a fairly small restaurant with only three booth-style seats and mostly small tables. Honestly, the tables for two felt a bit cramped, so we were lucky to get a booth. We ordered a vegetable broth soup, which had a light, clean flavor. It was good, especially since you can adjust it with spices provided. I also had the pumpkin curry, which was good and came with rice which I appreciate as most of the time, the rice is not included. It wasn't the best pumpkin curry I've ever had, but it was good. The pad see ew was good as well, though nothing particularly memorable. The fried rice, however, felt a bit too oily for my taste. Overall, it was a good meal, though I think our hunger definitely played a role. I'm glad I tried it, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to return. read more

We weee seated right away. But the food took forever to come. We ordered Pineapple Fried Rice, Pad Kee Mao with vegetables ,, Basil with chicken over rice. Only the pineapple fried rice was okay. There was barely any vegetables with Pad Kee Mao. The basil with chicken and onion looked sad and unappealing. Then the bathroom, it was dirty and disgusting . No more! read more

Very solid Thai food spot on the Peninsula. Although the place is a little small, the ambiance and vibes are pretty modern and up to date. They try to make it more romantic with dimmer lighting and candles as well. I love how close it is to boba shops in downtown so you always have dessert options without driving. Definitely come earlier since there was already a 5min queue time on a Saturday around 5:30PM. I ordered a Pad Thai and Pad Kee Mao, and both are really good and flavorful. The Pad Thai was sweet and a little stinky (according to my wife) from the fish sauce but I found it to be a good balance between sweet and savory. I just wished the beansprouts were cooked instead of raw, but they still paired well with the dish. The Pad Kee Mao was a little spicy with an amazing flavor profile, but it came with ground beef when we were expecting beef slices. I think ordering chicken next time would be better. The portions are generous, especially at this price point and ambiance. Service was pretty attentive but it can get very busy, so a little initiative never hurts. They do try their best to tend to every table, but the high turnover rate and small restaurant can be a challenge. This is overall a very solid spot for and affordable date night, and we are definitely coming back! read more

New Thai Elephant - C01. Pad Thai Noodle - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

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The food here is amazing! The service is friendly, and the ambience is comfortable as well. The papaya salad, duck fried rice, and the coconut milk curry are so delicious. Whenever I am in San Mateo, this restaurant is one of my top choices to visit, and it never disappoints. read more

New Thai Elephant - A03. Papaya Salad, E02. Roasted Duck Fried Rice, D09. Tom Kha Gai - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

Very decorated restaurant! A few booths and small tables throughout. Service was just okay. Took a while to get our order and water refills. I really enjoyed the Papaya Salad! Super funky and the fish sauce was perfectly potent. Papaya was crunchy and refreshing. Sooo delicious! The Pad Thai was tasty. No notes, but they probably have better noodle options! read more

New Thai Elephant - C01. Pad Thai Noodle - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

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The ambiance was really good as soon as we walked in! The table settings were nice and extra sauce and spices were already there. I ordered pad kee mao and it had pretty good flavor! read more

New Thai Elephant - C03. Pad Kee Mao Noodle and C02. Pad See-Ew Noodle - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

I enjoyed my dinner at New Thai Elephant! This restaurant balances both upscale and cozy vibes. Service can be a bit lacking as you will need to reach out directly to order and to get the check. Papaya salad was delicious, this was my first time ordering this dish and I don't regret it. The vegetables were fresh and the fish sauce added the right amount of concentrated flavor to the dish. The Pad Thai was delicious, our protein was tender and seasoned very well. Portions here are sizable but definitely finishable in one sitting. read more

New Thai Elephant - A03. Papaya Salad - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

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I am not sure why this place has such good reviews, maybe it's because they offer you a free thai iced tea if you leave a rating on Yelp? My family and I visited for lunch today and were not impressed. All the dishes were simultaneously too sweet and too salty, and nothing was spicy at all, which was surprising for a supposed Thai restaurant. We ordered the roast duck curry, pad kee mao with chicken, roti, crab fried rice, and crispy pork with bell peppers. The roast duck curry was far, far too sweet, and barely tasted of curry. There was barely any meat inside, and most of it was just the duck skin. The pad kee mao was alright, but also too salty and barely had any chicken in it (you can see in the picture that there were very few, tiny pieces of ground chicken inside). The roti pieces were floppy and not crispy at all, and again the dipping curry that came with it was far too sweet. The crispy pork felt overcooked, and was the only dish that wasn't sweet, but was even more salty than the others. The only passable dish was perhaps the crab fried rice, which had a fair serving of crab, but was a tad too oily (even for fried rice). I'm not sure how much sugar they use in each of these dishes and I'm not sure I want to know! We definitely won't be coming back, there are plenty of other authentic Thai restaurants in the area that are much better like Sweet Basil in Foster City or Farmhouse Thai in Menlo Park (although the latter is fairly pricey). I would recommend going to one of those instead. read more

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Cute, popular Thai restaurant in downtown San Mateo with attentive servers and cute decor. Food was good. The Thai drink is very cute. Lovely place, recommend the booths by the walls for a more intimate experience. read more

Tried this place out for the first time, and rather enjoyed myself! The Fried Rice was the best part. Savory and seasoned quite well, nice and piping hot as well. They left in some tomatoes when I asked them not to, but it didn't ruin the dish since I could just pick them out. The Fried Chicken Breast wasn't bad...but could've used more seasoning in my opinion. The Fried Shrimp Roll kinda suffered from the same issue. Awesome with the sauces (especially the Plum Sauce, first time trying it and I LOVED it), but just ok without them. Overall, will definitely try some more dishes here in the future, especially with how affordable they are for a restaurant! read more

New Thai Elephant - Fried Rice with Fried Chicken Breast and Sweet Chili Sauce, and Fried Shrimp Roll with Sweet Chili Sauce and Plum Sauce. - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California

WOWI love Thai food but haven't found a GREAT one, BUT now I found an EXCELLENT one! It is soooo delicious. Fried calamari 5/5 Pork belly fried rice 5/5 Chicken satay 5/5 Pad See Eww 5/5 ( note not the sweet kind, but still good!) Egg rolls 3.5/5 ( couldn't taste the vermicelli, so tasted like regular eggrolls) Iced tea 5/5 perfectly not too sweet just right! Loved the cute iced teddy bear! This will be my go-to Thai restaurant in the entire SF Bay Area! read more

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Delicious drunk noodles and very reasonably priced. Wait can be long but come early around 5ish and you won't need to wait for long! read more

New Thai Elephant - Drunken noodles - Thai Near Me - San Mateo, California