**5 Stars because the Chicken Wings** Saw a TikTok online about Tarah having the best Thai chicken wings in San Jose, so I had to try. The Laab Chicken Wings were truly the star of my meal. The savory, tangy, salty, limey flavors were dancing on my tongue. The wings also reminded me of tom yum and I never had a dry rub wing taste that good before. It's such a unique flavor. The meat was also tender as well. I also tried other dishes: Old Style Pad Thai (loved the crunchy pork grinds), Panang Curry with Roti, and some beef plate my partner got. Overall, we enjoyed these items and rate them 4/5 stars. Ingredients were fresh and cooked well. I only had a few nitpicks, like the roti was more doughy instead of flakey. Additionally, the pad thai did not come with lemon, so it felt like something was missing from the dish. However, I was able to ask for chili sauce which enhanced the pad thai. This restaurant is located in Willow Glen area and it is a tiny place! I would not recommend large parties here. It seems they receive many take out orders because of the small dining space. Other than that, the workers were polite and service was timely. read more

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Stopped in for a quick lunch and got the tom yum soup bowl with chicken, which was among the best I've ever had. This site mostly focuses on to-go orders, so the dining area is small (6 tables) but is is well decorated and very clean. Service was was fast and friendly. read more

The thai food tastes great, consistently. This is my favorite date spot, small but nice ambiance to feel relaxed yet still lots of wall decor to look at, maybe it's just me, but it's just my style. The food being tasty helps too of course. Im glad it's not a big restaurant, but you can tell their kitchen is busy with lots of take out orders. I don't think this place is much of a secret! And they also have a kiosk to order and walk around willow glen which I haven't done but can see if the tables were booked, it would make sense! This date spot never disappoints, i love the pad kee mao with vegetables and if you are vegetarian they are clear not to add fish sauce. Their roti and their curries are wonderful, always leave with a little take home box to enjoy the rest at home, the service is so friendly and kind. A nice experience every time! Thanks Tarah staff, I am a fan & always find my next visit a treat! The drinks menu is nice too, but usually the food is enough for me. Writing this however reminds me to frequent the downtown WG stroll when it's warm and would enjoy a nice iced drink from here! read more

I came here today for brunch with my friend and her daughter. We ordered the Laab chicken wings, tom yum wings and Pad Thai. The Laab wings were my favorite, and the service was great. They have about 4-5 tables of seating indoors and we had a great time. Definitely recommend trying the wings if you come here! read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - Chicken Wings Laab Flavor - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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Cute small restaurant- very nice staff. Got the Basil chicken fried rice - rice was mushy and soft and the veggies and chicken had a burnt taste to them. (Wouldn't get again) Also got stir-fry Broccoli and chicken which had a nice taste and crunchy veggies - which I love! I'd be interested in coming back to try some Curries. read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - Basil chicken fried rice - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

Our first visit since the change in ownership +/- a year ago. The indoor has changed slightly, service continues to be fantastic. * Order was taken quickly, dishes came out quickly * Waitress continually checked in on us to make sure we had everything we needed * Everyone was a fan of their dishes, esp. the roti read more

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I enjoyed this place! Super cute. Small intimate dining. Food is great. Service is really good and quick. I enjoyed the Thai tea and food a lot. I wanted dessert but was too full. The restroom is next door. read more

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I met up with friends for dinner and decided to check out Tarah Thai Kitchen. I guess I never saw this place before and I've walked by many a times and never noticed this unassuming place. My bad. AMBIENCE: It is a very cozy and intimate setting. Simple decor yet modern. Inside dining only with several small tables (2 people) and a couple of medium tables (4 people). The restrooms are outside in the courtyard, er... old theater. FOOD: Roti Panang Curry (Vegetarian): Pan-fried puff Paratha with a side of curry sauce (4/5). Thick and flakey. The sauce was delicious with the roti. Thai Ice Coffee (4/5). Good, sweetened and creamy. Basil Fried Rice (pork): Stir-fried garlic with jasmine rice and sauce. Served with protein, bell pepper, yellow onion & basil (4/5). Savory, sweet, with a slight spice. The flavor of this rice is spot on! Pad See Ew (chicken): Stir-fried flat noodle with egg and sauce. Base with protein, carrot & broccoli (4/5). This version was slightly spicy and not as much gravy as I am used to but this was good! Yellow Curry (with Pork): Yellow curry paste cooked with coconut milk. Served with potato, yellow onion & carrot (4/5). Creamy with a nice consistency. If you have any curry dish, you MUST order jasmine rice to fully appreciate curry on steamed rice. YUM! Everything was delicious! SERVICE: The staff/owners are friendly. Though, it seems most of their business is takeout orders, and it was busy on a weeknight. So table service was lacking a bit. But she did refill our water a few times. We thought the flavor of each dish was good and we will definitely be back! Come support your local business. read more

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The food is delicious every single time! So many wonderful flavors! One of the best Thai spots is Willow Glen, we mostly only order to go due to the very small dining room. read more

The food was bland and lacked a lot. There was barely any crab in my bland fried rice yet I paid nearly $30 for it. My friends food also had no taste and had to add sauce to make it taste good. It's expensive and not worth it. Definitely regretting it. I bet it gets stars because of its location... read more

I always order yellow chicken curry and it has the best flavor. Serve it over rice with a Thai iced tea drink and you're good to go

service is always wonderful, food is filling, flavorful and warm. The wings are incredible. Their presentation varies but the flavor is ALWAYS there!! read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - Pad See Ew & sip Thai Sukiyaki (Spicy) - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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We were craving for Thai food and decided to try Tarah Thai in San Jose. It was a small cozy place with chill ambience. The best part was the food, we ordered panang curry and green curry. Both were really flavorful. It was very comforting and will definitely visit again. Not to forget the service was pretty quick. read more

Really good Thai food- one of the best in South Bay. Very nice courteous staff as well. Place is nice and cozy- generally takeout food.

Went there a couple of times in the past few months. Apparently they had an ownership change... They stripped down everything in the dining room. What used to be a warm cozy spot now has all the ambience of a medical office waiting room. The walls were bare , just a tv and a "Tarah Thai" light sign. They do a brisk take-away business... maybe working to discourage dine-in and strictly focus on their take-away. The food quality had gone down as well. Ordered the chicken satay, it had good flavor, but it was dry and rubbery (sitting out for a while and reheated?) The Tom Kha soup was super vinegary .. almost inedible. Then I asked for hot spicy in the green curry, but it was almost flavorless (should have ordered "Thai hot"...?) and the vegetables were limp and soggy ... not very fresh. Upside, the Pad Thai, Panang curry, and Roti/curry were very good. Likely not returning anytime soon... read more

Just average like other reviews have said. I wanted to try a new Thai place instead of my go to, but this made me wish I went to my favorite. The pad thai shrimp was the best of all the dishes, but that being said it was a bit bland. The pad see with beef was okay. I've never seen this dish with egg so that weirded me out, and I wish the noodles had more of that signature wok flavor. The green curry was disappointing. We ordered this one for the eggplant, but when it arrived there was no eggplant. We sent it back and it came out with three pieces of eggplant - not very generous. If you live nearby, it's a good local Thai place, but driving from Santa Clara area, I likely won't be back. read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - Green Curry (missing the eggplant) - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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I went right when they opened on a Saturday and they got really busy after! It was our first time here and food was AMAZING. As someone who loves Thai food, the food here was richer and tasted delicious. We ordered the chicken larb, the pad thai, and green curry. Everything was 5/5! The flavors were perfect - tons of flavor but nothing was overpowering. The green curry was our personal favorite but would totally come back and try more! Service was amazing too! read more

I think I've found my new go-to Thai spot in San Jose. Tarah Thai Kitchen is a total gem! I came in specifically craving comfort food, and their Tom Kha Soup delivered 100%. It's honestly one of the best versions I've had in the Bay Area--perfectly creamy coconut base, but still light and citrusy from the lemongrass and lime. You can tell they use fresh galangal and herbs because the flavor is so layered and authentic. A few things that made the visit great: * The Service: Super attentive and genuinely welcoming. I felt well-taken care of from the moment I walked in. * The Atmosphere: It's clean, cozy, and has a really lovely local feel. * The Quality: Everything tasted fresh and made-to-order, not like it had been sitting in a pot all day. If you're a fan of Tom Kha or just want a solid, authentic Thai meal, do yourself a favor and check this place out. I'll definitely be back to work my way through the rest of the menu! read more

A cozy hidden gem tucked away in Willow Glen! The interior has a brick pit stop vibe to it. Each table is small, so probably don't bring more than 4-6 people here. The Thai Iced Tea. was really good! Very fragrant and perfectly creamy. Not overly sweet either. The Basil Fried Rice was pretty decent! I like the texture of the rice and it had good flavor. Could be better if it had more bell pepper instead of carrots I think. My favorite was the See Ew! Though the chicken was dry, the noodles were QQ and packed with flavor! Not too salty and flavored how I like it. read more

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Came into this cute restaurant while walking in Willow Glen on a Saturday for lunch. We didn't know what we wanted to eat, but saw this place and decided to give it a try. The server was totally friendly upon entering and having us sit. She was attentive throughout our whole meal. It's a small place with only room for about 16 people, but the food was good with flavor. I didn't need to add more spice to my plate even though we ordered mild (my hubby spiced up his dish though) since I can't enjoy my meal when it's too spicy. A good menu to choose from, and we went with a few of our fave Thai dishes. They didn't disappoint, and we enjoyed every bite (and of course had enough to take home). read more

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Great find in Willow Glen downtown ! It's a small place with few tables but serves one of the tastiest Thai food I have eaten in the bay area. The curries are well rounded with flavor and taste, and taste very fresh. They also don't seem to use excessive oil in their dishes. We ordered pineapple curry, pad kee maw noodles and mango sticky rice. All of them were delicious. They have a decent selection of Thai beers and some wines. Service is also great. Will certainly dine there again read more

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Would probably return but not my favorite. Food was flavorful, but small portions compared to other Thai spots. It's a small cozy restaurant located in downtown WG. You can access from the main street or through the shopping mall back entrance; where the free public parking lot is. Indoor and outdoor seating options. Great staff, friendly and attentive. Our server forgot to put in one of our dishes but quickly got it out when he realized and he gave us a discount on our final tab. So thoughtful! We had veggie tom kha soups and veggie pad kee mao. I enjoyed that they do not fry their tofu. The tom kha was alright. Probably wouldn't order again, it was very basic. However, I really enjoyed the pad kee mao. It was so flavorful and packed with veggies! Didn't even need to add any spice to it. read more

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This place was like a hidden gem, cozy corner serving comfort food with a smile. The curry puffs were very well made and delicious. Pad Kee Mao was like a warm hug in the bowl. Very flavorful and served hot. The basil fried rice was made to perfection. Our server was really sweet. We had a small glitch with our order and she made it right with a smile. You should try it out if you like Thai food. read more

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Delivery only- amazing pad Thai. The pad see yu was pretty good but unevenly seasoned, some of us found it quite spicy and others said it had no heat and we generally have similar spice tolerances. The masaaman curry was delicious but more like a panang than the typical (unless we just had a mistake in the order and actually got panang in which case I would say delicious). read more

This place was super yummy! Their pad see ew is very good and so was their milk tea. This place is very clean and small but the ambience was very nice. I will be returning! read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - Pad See Ew - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

Found this little gem in willow glen. Everything is cooked to perfection and tasty . Roti -- it was a bit doughy inside but the dipping sauce was excellent. Green chicken curry -- soo tasty! The waiter said it was the most popular dish and I can see why. I love that it has eggplant which is perfectly cooked. See ew with beef -- the noodles were perfectly cooked. Basil chicken was also solid. Service was excellent and friendly. Ambience is casual but clean and inviting. If you are in the area, must try! read more

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This is a small restaurants with around 10 tables but the food is served hot and it's very filling. The chicken satay wasn't the best I have had but the panang curry + roti were excellent. I have also had the pad Thai here which was very good. I judge a Thai restaurant by the quality of their pad Thai and this one is up there. A great place for no fuss quick tasty meal. read more

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the food was amazing and the service was phenomenal. They overheard us saying we wish there was more chicken and brought us a whole new batch of chicken for free! They also refilled our water whenever it was empty without delay. It was a very pleasant experience and it had a great vibe to it. read more

Overall rating is based on food as some items were quite tasty, and some just missed the mark. We also did takeout, since we had the pups...ate in the patio area (park-let on Lincoln), so interactions with staff was quite minimal. We ordered: 1. Milk tea (1 star, tea was ok, the boba balls were gross!) 2 Satay chicken (4 star, tasty and tender) 3. Curry puffs (5 star, these were delicious!) 4. Mixed veggies with tofu (2 star, pretty bland, although my mouth was on fire) 5. Yellow chicken curry (2 star, watery with very little toppings) 6. Lark salad (2 star, this was way too spicy for me. It was also more of meat dish as opposed to a salad) We initially ordered 1 each of the satay and curry puffs, ordered a 2nd of both since we enjoyed them. I would like to give them another try and see how other dishes are.... I've heard great things, so was surprised by some of the misses! read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - My plate with everything.... Curry Puffs and Satay were the best items! - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

This place is so alpha. We ordered yellow curry, pad thai, crab fried rice, and eggplany stirfry and all of it was absolutely bussalicious. The vibe was skibidi and the server was very nice. Overall I would come back I want my birthday party to be here. Also they have crushed ice read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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Food was delicious. Pineapple fried rice is a must for pineapple lovers. Chicken Pad Thai is a good to every time. Imported beers and great tea. Cute little spot and friendly service. read more

My First Time Their, WOW Everything that was Ordered was Perfect. From the Drinks to Food. Will be returning with Friends and Family. I recommend this Place. Wonderful Place. read more

Fabulous pad Thai. Maybe the best ive had. The spicy beef special with an egg on top was pretty good. I liked the pineapple curry but want to come back to try the yellow and green curries. The staff are really nice and the food comes out fast. We really liked this spot and plan to come back soon. read more

More like a 3.5 - good but not my favorite! I was in willow glen looking for boba and then we decided to just get dinner. Worked out that this spot also has boba! Upon entering the restaurant, you can choose to dine in or order from their touch screen menu for takeout. We dined in and were seated immediately. Service was quick and efficient from there! The restaurant is small with only a handful of tables. They have some cute car themed decor and they were playing Mr. Bean on TV when we were there. I believe they also had some patio dining available which is prob really nice on a summer day! There was some live music next door that people could enjoy from those outdoor tables. As for food/drink: - chicken wings (5 pcs for $9.50): tbh, the best thing we ordered. Tasty wings that were spicier than I expected them to be. They tasted really good though and I wish the serving came with more! - yellow curry chicken with rice ($16.50): it was ok, not the best I've had but it wasn't bad. Could be more flavorful. - spicy catfish ($16.50) - good but also not the best we've had. - purple pineapple with boba ($6) - came with the agar/crystal boba; this was pretty sweet. It tasted like the pineapple juice that you'd get from a fruit cup. - Thai ice coffee with boba ($6) - strong iced coffee but surprisingly not as sweet as I thought it'd be. The boba was also not as sweet. Overall, more expensive than I'd have preferred for food that I thought was just alright. read more

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The pad Thai and Penang curry was SO good and the service was great. Would recommend!

A true hidden gem!! I have been here several times and have never been disappointed. So far I can vouch for their Tom Yum soup, Crab Fried Rice, Pad Thai, and their Pad See Ew. Can't wait to try more... Cozy and intimate space, authentic delicious food, friendly servers... what more could you want. Nice place for a solo or romantic casual date :) read more

I just came back from Thailand, so it might not be the fairest comparison. I can't help but find the pad thai very bland. The flavor is not there at all. I actually really like Thai elephant for reference. The basil beef tastes just like sweet italian sausage. It's not spicy or similar to thai pad kra pao. The mango sticky rice was actually really good. Very close to the authentic version. read more

This place is really cute and it's located in Willow glen downtown. Lots of things to do in the area. We ordered pad see ew and that was amazing, will visit again. read more

SERVICE - small restaurant in downtown willow glen - limited indoor seating but can use outdoor tables nearby - indoor kiosk to order takeout - parking available in garage for 3 hours or on street - food comes very quickly after ordering. We got both dishes within 10 minutes MENU - standard thai food with curries, stir fries, rice, noodles, etc - average price ($13-$15 per entree) FOOD - Green Curry with tofu (9/10): the first thing I liked was how this dish was presented in the iron bowl for the curry and the coconut shell bowl for the rice. The iron kept the curry warm the entire time I was eating it. I ordered it spicy and it lived up to the expectation. If you are sensitive to spice, I would opt for mild or medium. The vegetables were cooked well. I would have liked the tofu pieces to be fried since the crispiness would have added some texture to the dish. I also found the curry sauce itself to be a little runny, but it was packed with flavor. There was also just the right amount of rice for one person. WOULD I GO BACK? Yes! My friend and I found this place while just walking down the street and we thought it looked cute and was rated well. Totally lived up to our standards! I would want to come back to try their noodles read more

Tarah Thai Kitchen - Green Curry with vegetable and tofu - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

I left a review already but I feel the need to write another in respect to the curry puffs appetizer. I was unsure about ordering it so I looked at reviews and there weren't enough. If you're looking for an empanada-like, crispy but tender pastry with potatoes, this is for you. I didn't want a big meal so I ordered this as my main meal, and it filled me perfectly. The pastry is crispy yet tender, and the inside is full of tender potatoes with a curry themed taste. It has an ever so slight sweet tone to it but it's very slight. It comes with sweet sauce that you'd normally see with spring rolls which adds to it, otherwise it's a great savory dish. Not spicy at all, I was unsure if it would be so that's a good note. read more