For what it's worth, this place is not so bad for Thai food! A bit pricey in my opinion though. For one box of pad Thai and a medium sized bowl of chicken curry, my grand total came out to be $35 (including tip). I found the yellow chicken curry to be flavorful and creamy with their addition of coconut milk and curry spice, but a tad on the salty side. I'm typically not so picky when it comes to salt, but their yellow chicken curry was too salty for me to drink the soup alone. I guess I should've ordered some rice or accompanied the curry with some bread to soak up some of that sodium, lol. The chicken was thinly cut and paired nicely with the soup! As for the pad Thai, it was sweet and slightly savory. I enjoyed how they sauced the noodles nice and consistently, but I wished that the bean sprouts weren't included on the side. I frankly like my new sprouts to be cooked with my noodles, but I guess it depends on each place! The noodles had a nice chew and weren't mushy or over cooked, so that was nice too. The peanuts were also a nice addition and an extra crunch factor to everything going on for the dish. My overall score for this place is a 3.5 since the taste was okay, but I round it up to a 4 for the relatively quick service and hot served meal. I found it enjoyable that they don't have their pad Thai sitting around under a heat lamp, but cooked by order. The curries they serve, on the other hand, were placed under a heat lamp, but I got lucky in ordering curry right when they finished preparing a fresh new batch, heh. I'm definitely curious for the other a la carte items they got going under the hot bar, but it's gonna be awhile before I crave Thai food again. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Yellow Chicken Curry - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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I'd say mid tier Thai food. I come here for convenience and quantity. Its nearby and they provide a lot of food for the price. Other sit down Thai places are better than this but also charge more. I appreciate that they will return your phone call if you call for a phone order but they don't pick up. read more

Excellent food with fast, professional service. Staff was polite and the portions were incredibly generous. Bang for your buck. 11/10 experience. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Garlic chicken and tamarind fish. - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

My Buddha, I forgot how good Thai Elephant is! I haven't been here in years just because I moved away then since I've moved back, I mainly cook at home. Finally got some yesterday and remembered how good this Thai place is especially for an express restaurant. We got the Thai tea, steamed rice with two sides (coconut curry chicken and tamarind fish) and pad kee mow. The tea tea tasted exactly how you imagine it to taste like, it wasn't too sweet either which I really liked. My boyfriend got the steamed rice with the two sides. For his two sides, he usually gets the tamarind fish and coconut curry chicken. I like that they pour the sauce of the curry over your rice when scooping it to make sure the flavors seep into the rice, so you get an enhanced meal. I decided to try something new, so I opted for the pad kee mow which is stir fried flat noodles with chicken and mixed vegetables. The lady asked me how spicy and I chose spicy. I'm glad I did because I'm someone who only finds foods to be delicious if there's spice involved. There was definitely a kick to it! Definitely a staple in San Jose. read more

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Interesting concept- the Thai version of Chipotle or Panda Express :). From the reviews, I thought you could pick a few different items. However, it's basically a one or two item box w/ white rice. I believe it was about $14.99 for 2 items. A little pricey, since it's more cafeteria style. Big servings though, good for two meals. I chose the garlic chicken and red coconut chicken (not spicy). They put tons of sauce on the rice too. Both had strong fish sauce aftertastes, but were thinly sliced and deliciously marinated. Good balance of sweet, sour, salty, spicy. Chicken was a tad over cooked, but overall, very tasty. Nice to have a different option for "fast food," Thai :). read more

Thai Elephant Express - Menu - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

Thai Elephant Express has been in my life for almost 15 years now. That's practically the age of a teenager. Their sweet basil coconut chicken is the best dish there. After reading my very old and outdated review, you can see that the price went up by $5 or more during the last 15 years. If you have no idea of what to eat for lunch or dinner and have no time and have only $15 in your pocket, head over to Thai Elephant Express and you won't be disappointed. I've probably been here more than 100 times now because it is that good! Pretty much everything there has lots of flavor and it's really good. My other favorites are the tom kha soup, ground chicken, panang curry and the Thai iced tea. I've bought many items here and I have always felt like I'm getting the best bang for my buck. Fast, simple, lots of flavor and great service. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

I grew up always begging my parents to get me pad thai whenever we were on the way home from somewhere. It's definitely been a while since I've eaten here even though I am always in the area. After reading several reviews about the long waits, I placed a phone order around 5:45pm on a Friday and was able to pick up my order ~30mins later. There are two separate lines -- phone order and walk-in order line. The sweet lady in the front takes turns attending to those in the phone order and walk-in order line, all the while taking orders over the phone. Definitely something I could never manage all at once so kudos to her. Appreciate the great customer service. Papaya salad (spicy): I wasn't expecting this to be such a huge portion but glad it was for $10. A refreshing cold side to have while eating the main entrees. I didn't think it was on the spicy side but it was definitely tasty. You can never go wrong with papaya salad. They give you fish sauce on the side but I thought the dish itself was already flavorful. Pad thai with tofu and shrimp (spicy): I was super excited about the pad thai since it was my go-to growing up, but I was a bit disappointed because it was really dry.. I remember it to be differently. It was hard to eat since it was both dry and without much flavor. Portion wise is very generous. Basil tofu fried rice (spicy): I haven't tried the fried rice here before but I wish we passed on this. Like the pad thai, the basil fried rice was also not very flavorful and incredibly dry. Pad see ew (spicy): Pad see ew is usually my favorite everywhere I go; however, at Thai Elephant, the pad thai is. Since that didn't go as expected, this was definitely the highlight of our meal. The noodles were moist and well-seasoned with a lot of flavor. Garlic chicken (medium): If you like sweet tasting chicken, this is for you. I am not a fan of sweet savory food as I like my food on the spicy savory side, so I wasn't a fan of this either. Portion was generous. Spicy fish (large): The fish was also on the sweeter side, but I did enjoy it. There is a lot of oil in both the garlic chicken and spicy fish. There is also more breading than the actual fish, which I was totally fine with. I can't imagine how sweet the tamarind fish is given the spicy fish was already sweet.. Yellow tofu curry (medium): Alongside with the pad see ew, this was my other favorite. It was delicious.. not too much coconut milk taste, the right amount of savory. The tofu and potatoes were cooked to perfection as well. Thank god for this curry as I poured it over the basil fried rice to moisten it... Mango sticky rice: Can't pass on a classic Thai dessert! read more

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Super homey, comforting, and most importantly, convenient, Thai eats! They're a staple whenever I'm in the area and am looking for a quick bite, but don't want to compromise taste, health, or heartiness. Their combo deals and boxes are super affordable if you're considering the quality and variety in dishes you can mix and match with! Absolutely delicious. Their portion sizes are also very generous, so be prepared to have some amazing leftovers! read more

I love the pad Thai here it's delicious! You can pick the spice level or just do mild. This place can get really packed but it goes by quick. My favorite is green curry, yellow curry and the tamarind fish. They have combos where you order rice and 1, 2 or 3 items. They do have chairs and tables to eat on but most of the time I take it to go. read more

I've been coming here for over 10 years now and it's honestly one of my most favorite places to eat. My favorite thing about being able to grab Thai food from here is that you don't need to order a huge dish and you are able to make your own plate with different types of entrees. So you get to try a little bit of everything if you wanted. This restaurant is more of a grab and go type of place but you still have the option of sitting and eating. They do have a good amount of seats to choose from. The workers here are so nice! It does get busy so it might get a little overwhelming for them but you can see they try their best. It's great cause once they remember you as a regular, they do remember your order. My go to order is pad see ew with baby corn. The flavors on this is perfection, with the perfect amount of spice. I love the tofu in it, I've never been a tofu person but this completely changed my perspective. When I am in more of a rush, I grab a 2 item with coconut chicken and green beans. The green beans here always have been super fresh and crunchy. The flavor isn't overwhelming and perfect balance of kms sauce. The coconut chicken is not spicy but it has a good balance of coconut and other flavors. I like to add extra sauce over the rice. Overall, this is my favorite takeout place and I will be coming back for as long as I can. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Pad see ew, replace broccoli with corn - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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Food quality has gone down. The pad thai is now lathered in ketchup. The crab fried rice is very salty. The pad see ew is the only dish we have had over the past decade that kind of tastes the same. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

A friend bought me Thai elephant takeout a couple weeks back & I haven't stopped thinking about their yellow curry and garlic chicken since! This is the second time I'm eating and definitely not the last. Lady at the counter was very smiley and friendly too. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Yellow curry, green curry, garlic chicken, Thai milk tea - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

Great place to order decently priced Thai food! I called in advance with everything that I wanted to order and it was ready in about 15 minutes. When I got there, I also ordered additional items which are packed right in front of you in containers of your choice. The food was made fresh and the lady who packed my food definitely hooked it up. They do take card, however, prefer cash. This place you can order to go however there's also tables for you to sit inside. They have air conditioning and the ambience is relaxed. I would definitely come here again. Basil fried rice was my favorite! 10/10 read more

Absolutely love the Pad Thai!! You can choose your spice level: mild, medium, and spicy. It's so saucy and tastefully sweetened. Comes with chicken, tofu, and shrimp alongside bean sprouts and peanuts! For their item combos, I would recommend Tamarind Fish, which has a nice tangy and savory flavor. Their curries and soups are great comfort foods during the cold weather! You get huge portions in the take out boxes and they would be a good size to share between 2 people. The ladies here are so hardworking and kind! The wait can be long because it's so popular. They have a separate pick-up and walk-in line once you come. Definitely pre-order by phone if you want a shorter wait. Overall, a must try spot in the South Bay! read more

Y'all don't understand the love I have for this place!!! Their Thai basil fried rice literally heals my soul. I always drive 30-40 mins just to come here. Whenever I'm feeling sick and have no appetite this is the one thing I know that Ill always eat no matter what. And amazing thing is NO MSG!!! Been coming here for so long and everything has been consistently delicious. read more

Had a good tasting food after a long time. Place was also clean and there customer service was good.

Our favorite Thai takeout! Food is excellent, I recommend ordering ahead as wait times can be a bit long if you order in the restaurant.

My favorite spot for Thai take out. Fast service, good food and decent prices. My favorites here are the papaya salad and one of their fish dishes. Ask for spicy and they will for sure give you spicy. Everything here is packed full of flavor, so you can't go wrong. read more

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Super flavorful! Very glad I found this place. It's a tiny little spot that claims they don't use MSG. Haha it made us question that sign because their food is so flavorful. If you want some quick and delicious Thai food, this is where to go. I am definitely going to come back to try more of their dishes. The location is fairly close to the freeway as well. Decent parking spaces and easy to get to. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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seems recently management changed, and qualify of food went down also how they treat customer is completly different. read more

I got the pad Thai and the flavor was on point. Just be careful if you have a low spice tolerance as they do not hold back

Never disappoints! The tamarind fish, eggplant, and tofu curry is a must. I've come here multiple times and every time I've enjoyed my meal. I get the 2 meal rice platter $15. Very worth. The tamarind fish tastes like a sweet and sour. Seasoned well and fish is moist. Tofu curry packed with flavor! And I'm just a sucker for eggplant anywhere. There is water to self-serve and eating area is clean. read more

I've been here plenty of times and I usually get the Pad Thai. I got the Crab Fried Rice with medium spice and I would get it again. I can't wait to try more and more things from here. Just a heads up, their spicy is super spicy but it's great! It's a great place to get quick Thai food. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Crab Fried Rice - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

A small thai takeout place in a (mostly vietnamese) strip mall, they knocked it out of the park with their flavors. I got a vegetarian papaya salad and a veg pad kee mao to-go. Both medium spiced. Pad kee mao came loaded with veggies and tofu. Their medium spice is probably too spicy for some people, but we loved it. Papaya salad was a little too tart, I would go back again for the pad kee mao. Prices are like a sit-down restaurant's , cost $31 bucks for the two items. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Veg pad kee mao - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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Found this place on a whim. We needed a quick grab n go lunch. Called to place order & showed up to only wait a few minutes to pick up. Convenient location off 101 & east Capitol expw. We had the pad see eew & pad thai. Both were delicious and tasted fresh. I love that they both had tofu. It was enough for the two of us to eat lunch for two days. Tasted just as great the next day, too! read more

The customer service is very rude and dismissive, and even if you have been going here for years and is a loyal customer, they will dismiss your concerns even if you bought up an issue for the first time in years. I do not feel like going here ever again after how I been treated and will never spend my money here again. read more

one of my favorite place. Foods are delicious and fresh every time i come. I love spicy basil chicken to the point i can finish the whole thing even tho i know my stomach will be on fire. But yeah definitely recommend it! Especially for gym people who are lazy to cook, this place serves alot of chicken breast ;) Additional: I love all people work here too! they're so nice and they give alot food sometimes :D read more

I'm a Thai foodie and you might think a fast-food Thai place, which you generally can't find anywhere, is probably 'meh' -- but not Thai Elephant Express. Although they do have a limited selection, what they do have is SO good, so tasty. Their Yellow Chicken Curry is excellent, as is their Garlic Chicken and their Chicken Massaman (great flavor but, coming from this big fan of Massaman, not true Massaman). Their big thing is that they have several dishes to choose from displayed similar to Panda Express and you can get a 1-item or 2-item combo (and additional items are $5) -- and, boy, are they generous with the portion size! But you can also order some a la carte items that aren't on the serving line like Pad Thai, other noodle dishes, and fries rice, and two soups: one similar to Tom Kha, the other similar to Tom Yum. And you can get very good Thai Iced Tea. A few tables and chairs are available if you wish to eat in. Really like this place and wish they had a location on the Upper Peninsula, where I live. read more

Food: Pad See Ew. I love a good pad see ew. I was excited to try this place because the curries look good when I walked in after eating vietnamese food. I thought it was a mom pop shop and a little gem that would finally make bomb pad see ew. Well, the pad see ew came out average. No wok flavor, little too much soy sauce. A good pad see eww is all about the wok flavor and it's very hard to find places that do it well. This one came out avg, just like anyone who cooks it on a pan, def not a wok. Good thing is they add a lot of chicken breast, tofu, vegetables, flavor was decent. Most people would think it's good. But I'm picky with my fried noodles (Pad see ew, drunken noodle, chinese chow fun) cause the essence of wok cooking is the wok seared flavor and this is not the place for that. It was also $17, which is on the pricer side, like a sit down restaurant. For that price, I would expect a really good pad see ew. Oh well. The hunt for a good pad see ew in South Bay continues.... *Other notes: This place serves similar to a Panda Express style setup. There's many curries and thai dishes made sitting out. You pick 1 or 2 items and add with rice. The curries do look good and they really pack in the portions for you so that's nice. They do have some dishes that are cooked to order. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Pad see eww - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

My friend and I came here and ordered the pad Thai with tofu and medium spice and the pad see ew with tofu and egg. Unfortunately they don't have soft tofu, so we both went with the fried tofu option. The pad see ew was pretty generic, but the pad Thai deserves a review of its own. Probably one of the best pad thai dishes I've had in a while, this place really lives up to the hype. I definitely am a fan of spicy basil Thai fried rice and pineapple rice so I'll come back for those dishes as well, however you have to come here to try their infamous pad Thai. It's the perfect amount of spice, noodle to veggie ratio, and overall a great flavor! read more

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Very delicious thai food. I been coming here for more than 10 years and the flavor has not changed. Fast service but always busy so it's best to take your food to go. read more

I wanted to try this place since I have been craving pad thai and this place seems to be very popular for the dish. When I got there, there was no line so I was able to quickly place my order, pay, and pick up my food when it was ready! I ordered a mild pad thai and my boyfriend got it no spicy. When I got home and opened the box, it was packed and I was super excited to dig in! I personally enjoyed the pad thai as it is what I expected and the portions were pretty big and they weren't skimp on the protein (I had leftovers for the next day)! My boy friend on the other hand only got the pad thai with the other holes/slots of the box empty (no bean sprouts, lime, or crushed peanuts :/ ). Because of that, he did not enjoy his meal as much. I am not sure what happened since we did not request for those items to not be included, so I suggest maybe checking your box before you leave unless you are okay with that. Would I go again? Most likely yes. I would stick to mild and probably check the boxes before I leave next time. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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Love love love their pad kee mao! I always get my pad kee mao (drunken noodles) from here because of the big portions, spice, and flavor. I usually get mines with chicken but I'm sure you can ask them to replace with your choice of protein. There's also carrots, big slices of tomatoes, bean sprouts, basil (not sure what the green is), onions, and baby corn for veggies. You can choose what spice level you want and they will use Thai chilis I believe. I usually get mines medium or spicy! The flavor of it is savory and the lemon they give you to squeeze on there adds a bit acidity. The service is pretty quick unless there's a super long line because they have most of the foods cooked and prepared out in front of you. However, I think if it's any other dishes like pad kee mao, pad thai, etc then it takes time for them to cook. There is a good amount of seating inside and it's a cute and kind of small place. Highly recommend this place! I should probably branch out and try some of their other dishes. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Pad kee mao is with chicken - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

My favorite go-to food place as a high school student and I've been going here still even yrs after :-) My favorite is their Thai Basil Fried rice (extra spicy)! 5/5! Pad thai extra spicy is 5/5 but I prefer getting the rice as I get a bit tired of the soft texture from rice noodles but still delicious. Thai green curry: 5/5, very flavorful & delicious with jasmine rice, i recommend! read more

Food is very tasty and freshly prepared . I go here often as they have a great variety for to go also . Would highly recommend . The service is quick read more

Lady overcharged me for soup here i ordered a small she charged me the large be careful

Every time we've walked by this place, it's busy. There's always a line with people waiting. We finally decided to try it and can see why it's always busy. It's sooo good! I love that they don't use MSG. We ordered the Veggie pad Thai. And the 2 items + steamed rice. Our 2 items were Tofu yellow curry & Green beans. The yellow curry is ridiculous! It's soooooo flavorful, satisfying, tasty and delicious. The green beans were SO flavourful as well. The pad Thai was also super good. Also, there were people infront of us and a line behind us, but the lady helping us was sooooo kind, sweet and patient since it was our first time and we didn't know how ordering worked or what ready made items they had. I really appreciated how genuinely kind she was. We will definitely be back. read more

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Classic and quick Thai food place in San Jose! I love how convenient and easy it is. You can choose a combination of anything you want. They also are very generous with their portions. My go-tos are the yellow tofu curry and garlic chicken, but you can't go wrong with anything here! read more

Thai Elephant Express - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

Located in a strip mall and hidden in almost a corner next to a larger shopping center. You walk in and the food is all presented in front of you and then you can either order individual sides and main dishes or you can order off of the menu. I ended up ordering off the menu and got a pad see ew which is one of my go-to dishes for trying out and comparing restaurants. It was a very solid dish no complaints, it had the perfect amount of spice as well as sweetness to it. Highly recommend. There was a lot of traffic in and out of the shop while I sat and ate and I think there is a good reason for it. I don't think I'll find myself in this area very often but if I do happen to come by again I'll definitely make sure to stop by here. read more

delicious pad see ew. fast service and clean place. A few seats are available inside for dine in. read more

Thai Elephant Express - Thai Near Me - San Jose, California

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