This is my favorite restaurant in San Diego and I'm not even vegetarian! Today I ordered spicy basil level 2 and I'm glad I did. I was getting full from appetizer sampler and tom kha soup. My friend had Khao soi and it reminded of ramen with creamy sauce wand crispy noodles on top. It was fun food to eat having different textures of the noodles. Tip: try their fried mock duck on any of their dish. So good.... You wouldn't believe it's not even real because it looks real and shaped like duck meat. Too full to eat dessert? Ask for vegan ice cream to go with spoon and eat in car. Everyone did it on our table and people next to us copied us. Their vegan vanilla ice cream looks homemade and you can see specks of real vanilla beans in the ice cream. read more

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Love coming here! The food and the service is amazing! We took my husband here for the first time and he didn't realize that it was vegan and was so amazed on how delicious the food was. We came around lunch time and it wasn't busy at all. We enjoyed sitting outside since it was a nice sunny day. read more

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Plumeria in University Heights offers patrons the opportunity to try authentic Thai with a delicious plant-based twist! The Appetizer Sampler is a must! While every item featured is delicious, the Satay Chicken is the star of this dish! The warm peanut sauce and cucumber sauce are beyond flavorful and the perfect accompaniment to each sampler item. The appetizer came out insanely fast both times I ordered it, which was amazing considering how hungry I became after smelling the aroma coming from the kitchen. Since the entire menu sounds so appetizing, I brought my boyfriend with me so that I could order two dishes that I wanted to try (for us to "share"). The Tangerine chicken was phenomenal, perfectly sweet and the vegan chicken was perfectly crispy. The See Ew was out of this world! Beyond flavorful and the vegan duck was unbelievably good! I would highly recommend both of these dishes, however based on my experiences here I am pretty sure everything is equally as delicious!! Can't wait to return and try more entrees! read more

Plumeria - See Ew with vegan duck - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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Delicious food and terrific service! The eggplant was amazing, and the crispy vegan duck was perfect! read more

Plumeria - Crispy vegan Duck Eggplant - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

My favorite vegan/vegetarian restaurant. This is Thai food and their mock duck is the best anywhere hands down. The taste and texture are perfect. I swear sometimes I think its real duck. I tried the Khao Soi special with mock duck of course. I absolutely love Khao Soi and was introduced to it in Thailand. Plumeria's Khao Soi was on point. The desserts are also good here. Service is really fast. read more

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Unfortunately, this visit wasn't as good as I remember 3 years ago. The service was ok at best. It seems like no one wanted to be there. We overheard our neighbor next to us who waited for 10 minutes and didn't get any attention whatsoever. We got level 3/10 spice which they said is their medium and it wasn't spicy at all. It was more like no spice. We ordered the pad Thai, papaya salad, and tuna cup. The tuna cup was the only thing that tasted similar as before. Everything else wasn't as good. The food lacked flavoring and I definitely had better vegetarian/vegan Thai places around SD. Unfortunately, I will not be returning here. read more

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If you don't like eating SUGAR in all of your food, tell them. It's even in the rice. $48.98 read more

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An interesting factoid is the Plumeria flower is used in thai food, specifically the thai chili paste... Plumeria is a Vegan Thai restaurant in the university heights area of San Diego. For reference, it's across the street from its OG sibling restaurant Bahn Thai. I used to be a hard core vegan years ago but not so much now. I love vegan ethnic foods, and thai vegan is among my favs. The restaurant has outdoor seating and the lovely window box of flowers was a nice touch. Service was helpful and accommodating but could have been nicer. Perhaps, the staffers were inundated by the lunch crowd, but it's still no excuse to not be nice or fake it :) service attitude can always affect your dining ambiance and vibe. The menu offers faux/fake/mock meats: beef, chicken and pork but I don't like said fake proteins and always order tofu with veggies and was not disappointed. I've only dined here during lunchtime and every dish I've ordered were presented and tasted delightful. Whether or not you like fake meats or just want a thai vegan meal which may include the flower petals of Plumeria, this same name restaurant: Plumeria is worth a visit. read more

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Love this place!! It's all vegetarian but don't let that stop you if you're a meat-eater. It's one of the best Thai places in SD regardless of vegetarian status. I've been many times and have tried a few different items and have loved them all. I love bringing friends here and they always come away saying how much they love it and even begin raving about it to their friends. This time I tried the khao soi with mock duck and got my personal favorite dish, the spicy noodle, with mock chicken. I get spice level around 4 and it's perfect for a little kick but nothing overwhelming to overpower the dish and its other flavors. The spicy noodle was both of our favorites but the mock duck was amazing in the khao soi dish. I'd recommend having the mock duck in any of their dishes. For the khao soi, go for a bit of crunchy noodle on top of some of the soft noodles and broth and a piece of duck for the perfect bite. read more

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We have been coming here for 6 years and always loved it. Unfortunately this place has gone downhill. A spice level of 2 is more like a 7 and they r unable to adjust the dish or even offer to take it back. They gave us a Togo cup for my toddler then told us that's not a Togo cup and can't be taken away...we were so confused. Lost me as a customer. read more

Started off with some cheesy wonton. Deliciously crunchy and cheesy. Great dipping sauce. We ordered the Zen soup next and on a rainy day was very comforting. Tangerine duck was next which was very flavorful yet I find all the veggie protein tastes the same. Duck, chicken whatever yet the sauce is delicious. Too full for dessert though plenty I wanted to try. Service was off a bit. read more

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I don't usually stand up for a chain restaurant but the food here is objectively good. Plumeria makes eating vegetarian/vegan accessible and delicious. The location in university heights gives casual vibes but it's always packed so you know it's good. Takes a big contender to keep up with Bahn Thai across the street but they're doing it well. I go here for noodles and across the street for curry. read more

Great Thai spot in San Diego that's also fully vegan! Generous portion sizes, fast service, and a nice ambiance as well. The Red Curry was my favorite dish here, but the crispy (vegan) chicken satay was a great starter! read more

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Another great vegetarian/ vegan spot that will keep a non-vegan satisfied! The decor and artwork in the restaurant is adorable. I had a curry special with mixed beans for my protein choice and it was so good. The curry was delicious. If you don't enjoy spicy, be mindful of the spicy level you order. I enjoy spicy and only ordered 5/10 spicy level and it definitely was a solid medium spicy. I'm glad I didn't go with a 7/10. The staff was friendly and service was quick. read more

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Plumeria was a soul satisfying Thai food, when ordered using the right spice level. Luckily I had a few seniors who recommend the right spice level to my taste pallet. They have a different spice scale 1-10. I chose a 6 to make sure I don't miss the fun. My order: Spicy basil fried rice Yellow curry Appetizer sampler Pad see eW Samosa Loved the appetizers, especially samosas and the flower cups. Yellow curry was one of the best. Had the right flavors and loved how great the vegetables had been cooked. Spicy basil fried rice was my favorite. Perfect consistency , spice level and how great the rice was cooked. I would recommend going early since tables are limited and get filled faster. Parking is a little complicated and especially around the weekend but you could always drive around and park somewhere really quick. Lots of street parking available! read more

Plumeria has been on my list to try for years but I never got around to it until recently. I've been a loyal Bahn Thai lover (right across the street). Plumeria is a really cute authentic Thai spot with cozy seating and really great staff, so I can see why it's popular. I opted for one of their most popular dishes, The Spicy Noodle with fried tofu medium (3) spice. Be aware, the level 3 could be considered extra spicy at other places. It was really spicy for medium! I enjoyed it but I was not blown away. The fried tofu was room temperature and soggy. The mango sticky rice was really great though. Overall I'd probably still prefer Bahn Thai, but this is a solid restaurant. read more

Plumeria - Spicy Noodle with fried tofu and Vegan Duck with rice - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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Was looking for vegan Thai while in the area and boy did I find it! The location is prime, with a nice area to walk around, with a lovely atmosphere inside the restaurant itself. The friendly staff allowed us to choose inside or out, and since it was nice weather, we chose out! I ordered the appetizer sampler plate with spicy drunken noodles--and no complaints there! I specifically loved the cheesy wontons from the sampler. If I were to go again I'd skip the sampler and go all in on the wontons. They're just that good. The noodles were great of course. Next time I could probably even go spicier. If you're a fan of Thai, you definitely have to check out this place for yourself! read more

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Plumeria is the perfect restaurant for all eaters. They are a vegan/vegetarian Thai spot with a lot of different protein options from veggies to plant based meat options. Even if you've got someone who is weary when they hear vegan and veggie, those faux meats are natural replacements! I ordered the panang curry with soft tofu. I was impressed. I thought it was really flavorful and stacked up with a lot of my other favorite local Thai spots. The dining room is comfortable with good service. It seems like they might be slightly in transition with the space, but we had a pleasant experience. Parking in the area isn't too bad if you start heading to some of the side streets. read more

QUICK TAKE// A really solid vegetarian/vegan thai spot in SD with a ton of options! FOOD// For Appetizers I really like the TUNA FLOWER CUPS - very refreshing and you get 8 little cups. Entres wise I got the BEEF PAD SEE-EW, CHICKEN GREEN CURY, and DUCK PAD THAI. All were super flavorful and we liked the variety of meat options we chose to try out different proteins. I felt like spice wise they are a little more forgiving on the scale - so if you like spicy don't be afraid to go a little higher. I tried the GAY LE CHA as my drink and it was a little too sweet for me personally. SERVICE// Very nice attentive waiters and checked in often. No complaints! VIBES// Comfortable and tons of seating. Looks pretty great for bigger parties too! ETC.// Parking in University Heights can be a little limited so just account for that since the area has a ton of food and beverage options. read more

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This used to be a great Thai Veggie restuarant. When back just yesterday. Order fried tofu, veggie soup, pad thai, and rice dish and vegetable with veggie meat. Fried Tofu, no where as good as it was the first time. A major fail. Subpar to many Thai resturants. I'm surprised this is the same resturant. Veggie soup. Didn't use real sauce. tasted pretty bland like it got it out of a sauce packet. Missing major real ingredients. As one of the servers about it. What just ignored. Useless. They didn't bother to make the very expensive vegetable dish any good. We ordered a large size and they gave us a small size and charged us for a large. This dish is a major fail. Pad Thai - the noodles were thin like the vermicelli noodles, and the vegetable meat was not like the last time. So fail on this dish also. Rice dish - the rice as all clumpy and mushy, like they didn't care to make it any good anymore. The sauce they pour over the dish make it all wet and mushy. Another fail. This is no longer the five star restuarant my mom and I remembered it to be. All the dishes that we ordered were the same or similar and all failed. I think it may be under new management and/or they replaced the superstar cook with a well below average cook. I do not recommend this place anymore. I feel like they used old stock and recooked it again when it should have been thrown away. I gave them a 25% tip when they cooked it right the first time. This time, all dishes cooked wrong and serve subpar food, and not wanting to do anything about the subpar food and pretend they didn't hear our complaints, a zero tip is required. Not going back to this place again. Going to find replacement Thai food next time I'm in San Diego. I can't recommend this food as it is with our visit yesterday. read more

Two words.... IN LOVE! We went here for dinner with friends a few days ago and were blown away at the variety of gluten-free and vegan options! The menu is SO transparent down to every little detail about what's in their food and what isn't. As someone who is gluten-free and vegan this was GREATLY appreciated! I LOVE Thai food so this was so exciting as I could actually enjoy real Thai food without the worry. The staff was so friendly, accommodating, attentive and transparent with any allergen questions I had (i.e peanuts). The space is actually really cute, comfortable and elegant considering it's supposed to be casual Thai. In terms of the actual food. HEAVEN..... just pure heaven. I'm a major foodie and so is my boyfriend and we were so obsessed we came back the next day. We ordered the flower cups and Tom Yum soup to start which were great and so flavorful. We also got the See Eew (which is one of my favorite Thai dishes) and the Tangerine with crispy chicken (all of which was gluten-free and vegan; soy based) and both dishes were incredible. The amount of food you get for the value is exceptional. I simply cannot wait to come back to SD just to be able to stop by Plumeria. read more

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Came here for one of our first dates, years later we came back and the food was still as good as it was then! Parking is hard to find depending on the day. Ambiance is decent but lots of loud noises to talk over. Service is kind and prompt. Even if you're not Vegan, food is delicious! read more

Plumeria - See-ew - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

What a gem! As someone with a wheat allergy and a love of Thai food, Plumeria checks all the boxes. To start, we got the appetizer sampler. Only the flower cups and salad rolls are gluten free. But if you are not wheat free, try the satay. It's incredible. The "samosas" are great too. For my main, I got the eggplant with fried tofu. My go to order at any Thai and this was one of the best. My dinner partner got the pumpkin curry with "chicken" and she raved about it. I'll definitely be back. The service was lovely. Just enough water fills to feel cared for. The ambiance is your traditional Thai with not too much. read more

Plumeria - Eggplant with Crispy Tofu - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

My GFVeggieFriend and I went for dinner on Saturday night. I love this neighborhood!! It's super cute to walk through. Parking can be tough, if you're not accustomed to city parking. But, the walk from most anywhere is flat. So, if you have mobility challenges especially, you should be ok, not a lot of obstacles. We walked in, we were immediately seated at a lovely quiet table. GFVeggieFriend has zher tried and true favorites, but it was my first time here in a long time. So I wanted to try it all!!!! We started with fresh spring rolls. Omg! The best or second best I have ever had. Love the peanut sauce too. For our entrees we ordered Tangerine Chicken and Spicy Noodle. We ate our meal "family style", each having both entrees. And this was an amazing combo!!! So tasty, great textures and combinations of flavors. If you didn't know it was vegan and GF -- you wouldn't know. We shared a pot of tea, Cocount Crème. This was a gorgeous tea. So aromatic with a beautiful flavor to match. I would recommend all of these selections to anyone! Our servers were attentive. The food was out super quick!!! And the ambiance was perfect for our gals dinner out, but would also be good for dates, and dinners with family. read more

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See-ew: very close to the spicy noodle. Probably would choose the spicy noodle u less feeling like broccoli Special Item Khoa Soi: fun but might have been a little allergic. Might not get again just to be safe Gay le Cha: fun, sweet, and liked the lychee flavor. The Thai ice tea is still my fave drink and may need two Thai ice teas instead of this as a secondary option Jasmine Vegan Milk Tea: with coconut milt. Also fun but would choose two Thai ice teas over this as well Today me and my daughter felt a little bit allergic so not sure if they changed their ingredients... read more

An all vegetarian Thai spot with delicious fake meat options. We were visiting from out of town and would 100% return if back in San Diego again. We tried the Tangerine with crispy chicken, ka pow with mock duck and mock duck noodle soup (all were delicious). The fake meat options were flavored and sauces/broth for all the dishes were tasty. The portions were large enough to take home for lunch the next day. Parking was tough, there is street parking only so you may be driving around trying to find a spot. We came on a weekend and did have a short wait when we visited. read more

Really yummy place for vegan/vegetarian thai food! The service was friendly and pretty fast (visited at night time close to closing). On this night, decided to try the Special Menu items since they both sounded yummy. I was so happy with the choice, as both the Coconut Crispy Rice Salad and the Duck Noodle Soup were DELICIOUS. Though the soup was great in that cold evening, the star of the night was definitely the Coconut Crispy Rice Salad. It had the flavor, the texture, and the portion size! I will definitely be coming back to try other items from their menu! read more

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Oh my God I love this place I could eat here everyday. It's not the cheapest Thai but everything I've had from here has always been delicious the service is good although I did have an issue last time but I'm guessing she was just having an off night because normally it's fine read more

The food is so good here. It's always a must when we come to San Diego. Spicy food made just right. Service is always so nice here. The restaurant is nice and in a good location plenty to do around here as well. read more

Plumeria - Vegan Appetizer Samplers - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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I almost feel bad for giving this place 3 stars given the two people I went with really enjoyed their food and the people that run this place and all the people who work here are amazingly sweet, helpful and nice. We ordered: Thai tea Taro tea warm Gay le Cha - lychee + lemon + black tea Appetizer sampler Zen soup for the table Duck noodle soup Pad see ew with duck Rama with tofu but without zucchini What I specifically ordered was the zen soup and the duck noodle soup. The zen soup was super unique and I haven't seen it at any other Thai establishments. The zen soup contains various beans, veggies like carrots, and brown rice in coconut soup. It was very tasty, and my partner and friend really enjoyed it. I liked everything about it except my one but important issue with the dish -- just too sweet. I like my drinks a little sweet, desserts sweet. I am not super fond of my entrees being sweet. I did love how it had beans, and rice, a good amount of fat and protein. The duck noodle soup with the crispy mock duck was with pho noodles, very pho like, and super delicious -- except for the fact that the broth was too sweet. The crispy duck was AMAZING. I've had mock duck before, but never crispy and the texture was just awesome. I was adding some sriracha to try and cut the sweetness but of course that wasn't very effective. I would have loved to have added some acid to cut that sweetness, but I powered through it. Obviously my taste buds are more sensitive to sweetness since most people don't have any complaints about Plumeria being too sweet, but it was definitely too sweet for me. The gay le cha drink was perfectly sweet - which I found interesting considering the other items. It was super refreshing, just as it said on the menu. Lemony, black tea lychee taste topped with three lychee meat. This may have been my favourite. My partner had ordered the taro tea which I stole a sip of since I love warm taro milk tea - this one was actually less sweet that I expected since sometimes taro milk tea can be a bit overpowering when there is too much sugar, and it was super tasty and would love to order it again. For the appetizer items - the chicken satay had a nice texture. Doesn't really taste like chicken or have the texture of chicken, but it was still pretty good. The cucumber salad was flavorful and light. I didn't eat any of the other items as I couldn't really fit anything more at the end of the evening :) We sat outdoors, and our waitress was very accommodating and patient coming back several times before taking our order and was really nice with our requests. A lot of other waitresses dropped by to check on us and when it started raining they asked if we were okay. They were absolutely delightful. The chairs outdoor aren't the most comfortable, but I'm happy they had seats outside and really, beggars can't be choosers. And lastly, I'm happy to see any vegetarian or vegan establishment. I wish we had more of these even though I'm not a vegetarian as I could use more choices that support a vegetarian diet since we all know how bad meat is for us. Now if they could slightly lessen the sweetness of their dishes I would be a much happier camper. read more

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Food was exceptional. Incredibly tasty and great portion size. Service was friendly. Restaurant was clean and on the chill side, though we've been a couple of times and saw it get full. We ordered the basil fried rice with vegan crispy duck, the tom kha soup and fresh rolls. read more

We have been eating at plumeria for 10 years. We used to love it here, but recently the portions became smaller, the quality of food wasn't as good, and the staff were unfriendly. We never received refills and often waiting to get someone's attention for a long time. Today, we drove over an hour (we've moved up north) to come eat down here. We arrived at 235 (restaurant closes at 3). They refused to serve us food. I explained how long we had driven and asked why we couldn't order and they said the kitchen closed at 230. We were so disappointed. It ended up being a blessing in disguise because we discovered Veganic Thai just down the road. It's all vegan, organic, and the food tasted so fresh! It was also cheaper, really yummy, and friendly staff who never let our water run out. We're sad to say goodbye to plumeria but it's the end of an era. Too many bad experiences lately and today was the final straw. read more

I've been wanting to get Thai food as well as take a friend out for a casual dinner. My friend is vegetarian so I chose Plumeria to accommodate. Little did I know this was a very popular destination for your go to vegetarian authentic Thai food needs. We split the Flower Cups, Tom Yum soup, and Cashew Nut with mock chicken (vegan) as the protein. I've had some mock meats before and their chicken was not too far off the real thing in terms of texture. The Flower Cups were great appetizers and have a filling of tofu, peas and carrots served with a cucumber salad/ vinaigrette. The salad was really sweet so I didn't use much of it. The Tom Yum soup was a bit bland, but included a generous portion of beech mushroom, carrots, and tofu. My friend in addition to being vegetarian, could also not eat garlic or onion and they were able to accommodate even further with us to provide everything to us! To end we got their Cheesecake Eggrolls which I was a little surprised to see such a combination, but it was a good combination. We added coconut ice cream to it and it did help with the sweetness. It was a busy Saturday night as our wait was 30-40 minutes, but I enjoyed my meal even though vegetarian is not my standard diet. read more

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Came by for a late brunch with my friend. There were a few people dining. Street parking is available. They have outside and inside dining. We opted for inside dining, we looked at the menu prior to this visit. Our waitress Pink took our food and drink orders. The food came out fairly quickly and it was super fresh! We had family style dining. We ordered the tangerine "chicken", satay "chicken", spicy noodles level 10 with fried tofu & "beef" and a second order of spicy noodles spice level Zero with fried tofu. The drinks we had were Sapporo and watermelon smash martini (sake base). I wish they had liquor as an option; they only serve wine, beers and sake. The satay chicken and tangerine chicken were super crispy, great flavor and came out piping hot! The satay chicken was marinated vegan chicken; it came with peanut sauce and cucumber salad. Tangerine chicken was topped off with their sweet and tangy sauce; served with steamed broccoli and white/brown rice. Our main entree were the spicy noodles with fried tofu and beef. I ordered a level 10 spicy but it was not spicy enough for me. Spicy noodle was made with wide noodles sautéed with onions, bell peppers, basil and carrots in a chili garlic sauce. My friend can't handle spice; so he ordered the spicy noodle level zero with fried tofu. The noodles, vegan beef and tofu were cooked perfectly with great amount of flavor. For dessert we split the mango over sticky rice, it was pretty darn good! The mango, the sticky rice with sweet coconut milk on topped was delicious. We both enjoyed each appetizers and entree. The staff were friendly. The restaurant was open and airy. They also have bathrooms for customers. read more

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We really had a great time at Plumeria! I don't usually go for vegetarian food but the mock meat was so excellent I can definitely see myself going back again soon! We had a group of 8 and the staff was great about our drinks. I highly recommend the mock duck for any of the meals and I loved the yellow curry. read more

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3 years later and this place still remains my favorite. Service is still really great and the food is still high quality. My personal favorites: Spicy Noodle as well as the Basil Fried Rice. I also get those two with the vegan tempura chicken and I almost always order the vegan chick'n satay starter. The thai is very refreshing. The ambiance is always great as well. read more

We finally tried Plumeria after 4 years of being Vegan, we originally had planned Veganic Thai in Hillcrest, but it was a Tuesday and they are closed. When searching online I saw Plumeria was open, we tried it, my husband had the Tangerine with Vegan Chicken and I had the yellow curry with their vegan duck. They food was amazing! It has become one of our go to spots for sure. So many vegan options, they shouldn't say they are vegetarian when the majority of their dishes are vegan, but they have a few items that can't be made vegan so I understand. The service was great, they were fast and efficient. I loved how the decor was super accurate to the Thai culture, and it was just overall pretty in there. We make sure to go back again and again when we are in the mood for the best vegan duck ever, it's super tasty and crispy. Keep up the good work plumeria. I will take pics next time. read more

Spring rolls - tasty but oily 4/5 Soup - could have added more spice 4/5 Penang curry - 10/10 - absolutely delicious Can't wait to try more items on their menu read more

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Solid 4.5. Amazing food, went when visiting from NY. Love that it's all vegetarian, and they are very accommodating to those with dietary restrictions. Food 9/10: delicious!! wish portions were a little bigger though!! Ambiance: slightly dim lighting, calm and relaxing, and seating is spread out well and enough room at the tables. Service 9/10 waitress was very friendly, attentive and respectful when helping us. May have to wait a little for a table though so be prepared. Would 100% recommend, great place!! read more

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Friendly service, lots of variety to the menu. Food is expertly prepared. Loved the crispy tofu larb. Fresh ingredients. Nice to see local ingredients being used in dishes. Enjoy the dark and wood accents in the dining room. Seems like it'd lend to a semi quaint/romantic-like setting if you dined here for dinner. Dining room is much bigger than the encinitas location, so no worries about waiting for a table. read more

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