A nice spot for Thai in alameda. I frequently pass by on Park street but I've never really noticed the establishment before. Good thing for yelp, right? Even when I was driving here for dinner I couldn't really tell where it was. Seems a bit hidden but it doesn't seem to affect the business because it was busy. The decor is really nice. Very new and modern. We were seated and served very quickly. We sat at the very front end of the table with the booth seats. After we sat a group of five were seated next to us and their table was pushed closer to us to accommodate their group. It was really really close and felt uncomfortably cramped. I had to hear their dreadfully uninteresting conversation of figuring out the diameter and radius of a vase and formulation of the volume from an awkwardly annoying know-it-all teen to his family for like five minutes. I was so over the conversation but somehow they kept it going for so long.. Shoot me now. We ordered a beef garlic and pepper and a drunken noodle. The taste of the garlic and pepper was good but I didn't like the texture of the meat. The drunken noodle was really good though. I would recommend that. The wait staff was on top of keeping our drinks topped. Excellent as I can be a very thirsty girl. Two plates for just under $20. Not bad. read more

So my party of 6 was basically left with no choice but to abandon our attempt to try out a restaurant down the street last night (Monkey King- see my review for details). My sister said she had tried Spice I Am before and that the Thai food there was tasty, so we decided to go there and have our dinner. SO glad we did! Spice I am (SIA) was such a wonderful dining experience. First the place has a wonderful atmosphere. Good soft lighting and background music. The place is very clean and the staff was so welcoming and warm. The kids were very hungry and they were able to seat us right away. Before we even looked at the menu, we asked the hostess if she could put in an order of Pad Thai noodles for us, so the kids could have something to eat real fast before we ordered all of our other dishes, to share family style. Before I could even look over the menu, the pad thai (chicken) dish came out and it looked great! So fresh and smelled great. The kids thought it was delicious. I ordered the crispy calamari app, which came out first. Very crunchy and yum. The sweet dipping sauce (thin liquid) was very light and complimented the calamari very nicely. Next we had an order of Angel Wings come out. This was very unique. Chicken wings, stuffed with minced chicken, silver noodles and mixed vegetables. It was deep fried with a panko like crust and was so tender and crunchy! Very nice. The pineapple fried rice is a must order. It came out in a half cut out pineapple and was so unbelievably tasty. The pineapple was obviously so fresh and the hint of coconut and prawns/chicken and cashew nuts made this a real treat. The yellow color from the curry was inviting and I'm glad to say the curry was very light and not overbearing whatsoever. We also had the grilled short ribs with herbs. Man, talk about tender kal bi type short ribs. The fresh herbs (mostly basil) on top of it made my mouth water. I had to give up my share to my kids cuz they couldn't get enough. HA HA HA! Oh well, part of being a dad, sacrifice. The other entree we ordered to share was the Drunken Noodles. Basicallly really large rice noodles, with fresh vegetables (green beans, bell peppers, cabbage, basil and tomato). The fresh basil really pops and it was my favorite. The menu says it is a spicy dish, but it's so mild (if you like hot food). Dessert was a couple of orders of their fried bananas with honey topping. So incredible. Crunchy outside and soft velvety bananas on the inside. Not too much honey which made it just the right amount of sweetness. They also had the same dessert w/ice cream, but we chose not to order that since it would likely just melt the ice cream before anyone got to enjoy it. It was a wonderful way to top off a perfect meal. A def have to dine experience if you are on Park St. in Alameda. read more

Went with a large group of 8 (with kids) on a pretty busy Friday night. The hostess was pleasant and accommodating. Unfortunately, our waiter was a poker face most of the night and so made my first experience a little sour. The ambiance is modern with a lot of dark wood. Although, the wait was a little long (arrived around 8:30pm) the food was delicious! My favorite dishes were the Chilean Sea Bass, Tom Ka Gai soup and (kids loved) Pad Thai noodles. Will definitely be back to try more of the menu. Overall, I'd like to rate this place with a 3.5 stars with 3 for service and 4 for food...but i don't think that's an option. Thanks for reading! :) read more

It was my Birthday today and my wife wanted to surprise me with Thai food. After reading the reviews, I was excited to partake in my birthday meal. Boy was I disappointed. First, the portion sizes were inadequate for the price they charge. The food was barely edible and being of Thai descent, I was deeply embarrassed by eating the food I love and grew up with. I strongly do not recommend this place to anyone, period!!! read more

A little disappointed at the level of service my friends and I received. Have to say it is a GREAT atmosphere and I really like what they've done with this small space, but my overall rating has to go with the expectations I had with the food. The overall feel is they need to come up with an identity. Prices on the menu are reasonable, but it really seems they are trying to mesh this with some type of Asian fusion. The green curry is a lot spicier than it should be (yes, I get the restaurant name is Spice I Am) but really, they need to find an identity if they want to be known as an authentic Thai restaurant or a mix of fusion. Portions are not very generous for the prices on the menu either. The only thing going here is the interior design, sad to say. read more

The food here is more like 3.5/5 but this restaurant has a nice bathroom and nice decoration which is the reason i rated this place a 4/5. This place feels clean and modern. It's a perfect place to bring a date. read more

My friends and I like to walk around and try out a random restaurant. This is one of them that we happened to come across. We had been craving Thai food and noticed that the prices weren't too bad. The decor was very nice and modern. It had an upscale, contemporary feel to it. I also enjoyed their presentation as well. The waitress poured our glass of beer in front of us and left the rest of the bottle with us as well (for some reason, I thought that was fun and unexpected). The plates that the meals came on were uniquely shaped and my Pumpkin Curry has a mini tower of rice. The portions were at an appropriate size where I wasn't too full or too hungry afterwards. The food wasn't extraordinary, but it also wasn't bad. Personally, it isn't a restaurant that I would probably return to that often. However, it was definitely a nice experience and I'm glad that we decided to try it out. read more

I really can't tell you how much I adored this place, but I'll try. My father in law is visiting from NJ and - even with limited time to see everything - we ate here twice in two nights! The interior was designed very well, with dim lighting, modern fixtures and wall textures, and dark romantic wood. The service - especially Don (she only works on Thursday nights) - was super friendly and welcoming, everyone I saw had a smile on their face. We ordered the crab fried rice ($10) - which was unanimously the favorite - with nice juicy bits of real crab. We also got the sweet thai basil dish ($8) - so amazing with a side of their coconut rice. The east-meets-west salad was a nice combination of avocado, cranberries, spring mix, and flash fried tofu with homemade peanut sauce. The mango prawns were awesome with big chunks of fresh mango. I will say that their pad thai ($8) wasn't leaps-and-bounds beyond what I've had before, but was nonetheless a solid dish. That being said, the others outperformed so seriously that I wouldn't choose it again. They have a small but respectable beer and wine selection, and from our experiences (Friday and Saturday night) it was relatively easy to grab a table for three. I feel very lucky to have this place right up the street. read more

I love this place. Second time I have been here in a week. Friendly staff, good wine, nice hip urban environment only enhances the bold flavors of the food. read more

Spice I Am - BBQ Thai Ribs. Delicious! - Thai Near Me - Alameda, California

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Came here on a Friday during lunch special. The interior is exquisite. Great for dates. The bathroom was a bit hard to find but good interior in there as well. The service was good but we were the only ones there plus one other table so I cannot tell for sure on a busy day. We ordered: 1)Screaming XO Prawns and Scallops w/coconut rice 2)Crispy fish, steamed vegetable topped with sweet garlic sauce w/brown rice Coconut rice was awesome. Not too sweet and goes well with the sauce they put on the plate. The crispy fish was amazing however the vegetables ruin it. They just steam the vegetables. There's no taste to it and it's way too rubbery and hard. Restaurant has a lot of potential. read more

Passed by here with E who told me it was a good place. Came here with J and A, and it was pretty decent. I liked the flavored water and the food was your regular thai affair. Nothing shocking there. Also, our server was so smiley. I forgot about all that though... however when I had to plan a large birthday dinner, I immediately thought of Spice I am because 1) it wasn't very crowded and 2) the prices weren't unreasonable. It was a really seamless process. I called in with the number of people and a few kids. Then I skimmed their menu online and ordered ahead as well. It was very smooth. The service was great. For example, I ordered 4 "individual" sides of jasmine rice, since that's how they price it, BUT they put it into a large serving bowl. They also gave me suggestions for various food limitations and made sure to take stuff out, etc. I told them it was a friend's birthday and they said that there'd be a complimentary dessert. I mentioned there would be toddlers and they had a special plate and a high chair for them. The food came out quickly and they had a large table all set up. The whole party didn't get there in time, but it was still okay. The same smiley server helped us at our table, and she just made you feel SO good. Then at the end, when they noticed our food was almost gone, they hit the lights and the whole restaurant sang happy birthday. They brought extra plates for the whole table and we split a rather large dessert of fried bananas and dELICIOUs coconut ice cream. In the end, for parties of 6+, they automatically add a 15% gratuity.. I definitely upped it to 20%. It was totally worth it. I accidentally overordered (I thought 9 adults would be there, instead of 8) and it came out to be ~ $17/person (minus the birthday girl) with lots of leftovers and full bellies. That's a steal. Food quality: Everything was good... some highlights: The Pineapple Fried Rice is BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS the Pad Thai and Pad See I are great also. I'd bypass the beef w/ garlic and pepper dish... read more

Came here on a Saturday night and we were able to get seated immediately. Interior is nice and makes a great date night spot. They serve wine or beer -no cocktails. The service was great and the waiters were attentive. Food came out quick as well for the restaurant being about 75% full. Food was great! Everything flavorful. We ordered the specials: -Mango soft shell crab rolls -XO Scallop & Prawns w/Coconut rice -Sea Bass in Garlic? (Cant remember full dish name) 5/5 Stars :) read more

The food was really tasty, the service was really creepy. We had the coconut soup thingy appetizer. I didn't think I was going to like it, but it was great. We ordered it with tofu and it came out with chicken. It was just one bowl and a spoon. Tough to share. We ordered the drunken noodles with tofu and that came out correctly and was super good with a little bit of a kick to it. We ordered the yellow curry chicken and it came out as yellow curry beef....sigh. Then our silverware came out...which was nice. The server lady had the biggest, creepiest, plastic-iest, bracesiest, smile of all time. She didn't write anything down and repeated our order to us correctly. Another weird observation...the water was really good. I would try it again. read more

Went in Saturday 7:30 PM...got one one two tables left. seated immediately, got menus and drinks within 10 minutes. Ordered apps and dinner. HAd apps in another 15 minutes and dinner items 10 minutes after the apps. Food was very good, from green curry, fried crab rice, pot stickers and vege rolls. MY only complaint was fried pot stickers were a little over done...one tasted burned....but rest were quite tasty. Three people with two beers, one glass wine and 5 items...$71.00 plus tip All in all a very nice meal and great service and the place was packed...every seat taken...so kudos to them read more

Nice cute restaurant, great Thai iced tea! Some things I liked some I didn't..... For starters we had the calamari! Nicely fried and lightly battered and seasoned. Didn't care too much for the vinegar dipping sauce, but it worked. Duck and mango spring rolls was the best thing that I ate. The peanut sauce could've been a little better, but I won't complain. Had the roasted duck over bok choy....I've had better. The worst dish for me was the "phat wun sen" noodles with shrimp, chicken and veggies. It reminded me of a bad rendition of pancit , it was dry and lacked flavor. read more

Really enjoyed the food here.. One of the better Thai places in the area. Staff are great, atmosphere is very nice and low key. Try the tofu fries with peanut sauce! read more

Spice I Am - Tofu fries! - Thai Near Me - Alameda, California

Pretty decent Thai restaurant in Alameda. My friend and I shared the spicy eggplant and some noodles (forgot what it was called). The portion was good, the food was good, the service was good. Had a very positive experience. The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is because I couldn't find anything spectacular about this place worth raving about. read more

I ordered food to go on a Saturday night, I ordered the crab fried rice, pad thai, spicy string beans with chicken, and the chicken wing appetizer....I was disappointed with everything... the rice had plenty of crab, just no flavor, pad thai was sticky, string beans were over cooked so you couldn't chew them, the chicken wings were alright, but I was expecting more and got less. read more

Their larb "laab" is good. Duck fried rice and mango chicken is so-so. Angel wing fried in really old oil. Their black sticky rice dessert is not fully cooked. Either their dishes are small or I'm having a bigger appetite since I'm eating for two. But between my husband and I, we shared two appetizers, two entrees and a dessert with no left over. Usually if I'm spending almost $60 for dinner, I hope to have some left over so I don't have to worry about tomorrow's lunch. read more

Awesome meal here. We tried to go to the Burmese place sownr the street but was booked SO we walked a few doers down and wow! This place was really great Thai food. We have the xoxo scallops and shrimp. Dish with the basil chicken. All the flavors were really on point here. The coconut rice was kinda bland but great lunch. Will definitely be back to try the other plates read more

Spice I Am - :) specials - Thai Near Me - Alameda, California

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came here a while ago at the request of the manager regarding my review. she's wasn't in when i came, the manager of the day offered me an iced tea. i declined since i wasn't interested in freebies but just in what she wanted to say. nice to see lunch specials are displayed on the front desk now. drunken noodle was one of the specials. maybe someday i'll try it. there's also free deserts when you dine on your birthday. (need to show proof). read more

Kudos to people running this place. This is my new favorite Thai restaurant and IMO one of the best in the bay area. Food is delicious and service is great even though they seem to be short on staff at times. Pumpkin stew is amazing...& their fried rice has great flavor!! read more

Came here twice in one week because I loved it so much! This is a hidden gem in Alameda. The atmosphere is very cool and hip, almost like a restaurant you'd find in SF. Prices are really decent and portions are big - gotta love that! Totally recommend any of the fried rice plates - I've tried the crab fried rice ($12), pineapple fried rice ($10) and chicken fried rice ($8) and all were very flavorful and delicious. And as mentioned, each one was a big plate, great to share! I've also tried their noodle dishes (Lord of Spice I Am $8) and their soup (Famous Thai Boat Noodle Soup with silver noodles $7) = everything I had was tasted, but still preferred the fried rice, IMO. Friendly service, great value, and awesome food = no complaints from me! If you have a big party, be sure to call ahead and make reservations. It's not a huge restaurant and there's usually a good flow of people during the lunch/dinner rushes. Great date night place in Alameda! read more

On the pricy side - Decent food and good portion. Service could be better! I'd recommend their curry dishes, but skip the beef and go for roast duck. Also: Skip the corn fritters. read more

4-star for flavor 2-star for portion size 3-star for environmentally friendly take out Many of the flavors were very good. At the top of our meal was the yellow curry and the beef salad. Both were also the expected portions. The crispy wings were good, but the value just wasn't there. 5 wings for $9 is not worth it. Throw a couple more in there and nobody complains. Pad see I we got for our kids was good, but surprisingly small in portion. I guess I'm used to having leftovers and this container, while in a compostable cardboard box, was under sized. The Tom Kah soup lacked a richness of flavor that I have grown accustomed to enjoying. The soup base seemed watered down. Finally the tofu fries. Well, they're a fun idea, but need salt for sure. Oh I almost forgot, the side of sticky rice is about the size of an egg roll, and it's wrapped in tinfoil. Bummer on both accounts. Might be back - might continue the search for the new favorite Thai spot in Alameda since ours closed a year ago. read more

I have been to this place three times in the last two weeks. I love this place the ambiance is fabulous the service and food are in a timely fashion. No long wait each time I went. Definitely will be back read more

This place is FANTASTIC! I work on Park St and there are many options for where I can grab a bite to eat on my lunch break. Ever since I discovered this restaurant, I rarely eat anywhere else! Toey and the rest of the staff are super friendly, and the cooks know how to cook a mean meal. Lots of variety in their menu, great use of spices in their dishes, and all healthy. Finally, somewhere when you ask for "spicy" they give you SPICY! be still my heart, just talking about this place is making me hungry. They offer great lunch specials, and their Phat See I is to die for. Eat here, you won't regret it. read more

My wife and I still love the food at Spice I Am, but the acoustics there--combined with the close spacing of the tables--are problematic for us: when the restaurant is full, especially if the parties nearby are being a bit boisterous, we have trouble hearing each other and carrying on a normal conversation. The food is still just as authentic, creative, and tasty as ever, and the service is very good. It's just the problematic acoustics when the place is busy and full that may keep us away in the future. read more

The amazing food is only eclipsed by the amazing staff here! Best Thai food in Alameda. Maybe even oakland. If I had one suggestion.. It would be better storage of their wines. They seem to always be off. The atmosphere is great and the desserts are worth saving room for! read more

Just recently found this hot joint and can't stop going back. In two short weeks I've become the Yelp duchess. I am not the biggest fan of Thai tofu in noodle dishes most of the time because the tofu fried shell is usually disgusting but they do the tofu so well here. I've ordered the drunken noodles, pineapple fried rice, Phad Thai, phat-see-I and the yellow curry thus far and all of these are dishes I would order again. So far no strikeouts at this restaurant. read more

Spice I Am - Pineapple fried rice - Thai Near Me - Alameda, California

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The meat was tough. The food was alright. We got the Mango crab roll. Flat rice noodle soup and this pan fried noodle with silver noodle chicken meat. Not flavorful and tough meat. read more

Blarg. Small portions. No family style option, all individual servings. It's like an Americanized version of Thai, with some froo froo decor. Price is way too high for what you get. Better off at King of Thai down the street. read more

So far this is the best Thai I've found in Alameda. The decor alone is great, but the food is really yummy as well! We've been here twice and the food and service were consistent each time. The portions could be considered a little small, but I usually like some leftovers. Dishes we liked: (In order of yumminess) Spicy Eggplant - Beef Spicy String Beans - Pork Crab Fried Rice (This is a super simple fried rice, crab, egg and rice, but it still tasted pretty darn good!) Chicken Satay Cashew Nut Lover - Chicken Dishes our friends liked: ( I didn't try it) Mango Chicken Dishes that didn't suit our tastes: Thai Corn Cakes Phat Thai (Also did not try) The cost of dinner here has been more than reasonable both times. The service friendly and the water refills plentiful. I will definitely be back when craving Thai. read more

Got the chance to finally try this place this past weekend and it did not disappoint. Friends of mine come here often so I was looking forward to it. It was actually smaller than I thought but it had a nice ambiance. To get to the restrooms was quite a maze and it was only one unisex bathroom but it was clean. I ordered the Som Tum (Papaya Salad) in mild because lawd knows I can't do spicy food. The portion was good to share between two people, for us it was between three but I wish I had more of it cuz it was delish! Then I ordered the Crab Fried Rice as my entreé and yes, it was all for me and did not share! Portion size was pretty decent, good for at least two people unless you're like me who can live off fried rice then set the plate in front of you and have at it! They definitely didn't skimp on the crab. My fiancé ordered their rice plate with Grilled Lemongrass Chicken and he said it was good but the portion of the meat wasn't that much as the other rice plates that our friends ordered. Good thing he was able to take some from our friend's plate since she couldn't finish hers. We'll definitely be back in the future! read more

My new favorite Thai spot! When you walk in for dinner, the lights are a bit dim so it has that intimate feel when you settle in. The staff were very friendly and the service was exceptional. My favorite is the Crab fried rice. Its basically, fried rice with crab meat, topped with more chunks of crab meat over the rice! The curries were like other Thai places, not so special but still good. read more

Great place to chill out! It's been a long time since I've found good food and a good atmosphere Thai restaurant in the East Bay. Fortunately the SPICE I AM owner contacted us at Jeon Design to do a start to finish restaurant project. Together we created a place we always want to be. We have been there many times already and tried so many dishes. The best way is to ask the for a suggested dish you will be satisfied with it's deliciousness. I love all the seafood dishes and has a very authentic flavor. Rau style green papaya Salad is amazing! Great fusion presentation. Service was wonderful! I recommend this restaurant to everyone. Enjoy! read more

We had a generally lovely time here last night. I got the pumpkin curry with brown rice, and my wife got the pad thai. We both found the food to be extremely flavorful and spicy (the name of the restaurant is quite appropriate) and really enjoyed our meal. We had a slight snafu with the specials menu, as the ingredients weren't listed and we tried the crispy california rolls. I was expecting rolls with veggies and rice and maybe some meat, but what I got was deep fried cream cheese with a little avocado in the mix. It was ... kind of inedible. When I returned the dish, the server protested at first saying that the ingredients were listed... then came back with a menu and apologized because the ingredients clearly were *not* listed and she offered us a replacement appetizer. We got the pot stickers which were indeed very good. So, we'll definitely go back. I'll just be a bit wary of the specials menu, and will most certainly grill the staff before I order anything that looks tasty but vaguely described. read more

I don't normally leave reviews. but when I do it is because the place is top notch. Great Thai food and friendly service in a clean and modern restaurant. read more

I don't understand why the other thai restaurant in Park St. has better reviews than this one. Spice I am is modern, has an upscale vibe without paying the price and the food is outstanding. I've taken several guests here for dinner and they all love it. The veggie springrolls appetizer is a must. I also like that you don't feel that crowded. You are not close enough to the next table to bump chairs, but you can still peak a bit to see if what they chose looks appealing! ;) read more

Great place to grab dinner. My boyfriend and I grab dinner here a few times a month. The staff is lovely and responsive, the food is great, the prices are very reasonable, and the decor is modern and sleek. Make sure to try the tofu fries! read more