We remember what came first in this space. Delish and stands on its own as an Asian gourmet restaurant. Always pleased with what I have ordered. Do yourself a favor and check this place out. read more

3 stars is too generous!! The chicken ordered in Panama green curry and a soup with chicken I had ordered was GROSS. It tasted tough and gamey..not fresh. The flavors of Thai were just okay, nothing to write home about. I really wanted to like this place, but honestly for me and the fam...it was a "no way!" The owner was nice and well meaning. It also took forever to get our food and it wasn't even busy on Mother's Day. read more

Good was excellent. Had bbq chicken, squid curry and a few other dishes, all well prepared and service was excellent.

Lovely atmosphere and great food! Perfect spot for a date, first or 50th. My partner and I love coming here especially since I have a lot of dietary restrictions and she does not and White Elephant's menu is varied as well as allergen-conscious. The staff here is so kind and welcoming as well. read more

White Elephant is a memorable small restaurant a block off of University Avenue in the heart of Hillcrest. Street parking is easy. Dine inside or out in an open air patio. The restaurant is operated by a lovely young couple who are eager to please, friendly and quite adept at serving well prepared and delicious Asian food. It can be quite spicy. If you usually order a 5 you might get a 2 when here. I ordered chicken garlic pepper (no spice) and received a huge serving of breaded chicken in an excellent and powerful garlic sauce. A few vegetables would have been nice. I'll ask for them next time. But there was plenty of chicken, enough for lunch and dinner that evening. My friend had drunken noodles with chicken, spice level 3 which would pass for a 7 elsewhere. He loved it and pronounced it one of the best. Again, the serving was large enough for two meals. We shared home made crispy egg rolls with lettuce and herbs. White Elephant offers more than traditional Thai entrees. Take a look at their menu. And don't be put off because they don't offer lunch specials. You will get more than your money's worth due to the large portions not to mention the excellent quality. read more

Chicken Satay was outstanding. Level 6/10 spice was completely inedible! Hot is good. Painful and tasting nothing but "heat" is not acceptable. Pho which tastes like warm water with soggy vegetables in it is never ok. The time required when we ordered was 20 minutes... almost 45 minutes later we were told we needed to wait for our soup (meaning the Pho). With so many amazing restaurants in this area, no need to spend your time, money or calories at White Elephant. read more

unfortunately couldnt dine in because it was too late but the scenery was very cozy and home like. the mango chicken was flavorful. my friend had extra sticky rice and mixing it either the mango chicken sauce was a good combo. would highly recommend. read more

The best thai food. Excellent service very relaxing environment and Soothing music And reasonable price especially during pandemic inflationVery clean spacious environment and the food is amazing and perfect read more

White Elephant - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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I have been here a few times and the quality of the food has always been excellent. It's a quaint restaurant but definitely a cozy vibe with great food read more

My husband and I were in search of a authentic Asian Restaurant. Wow we found it. Service amazing and the food was super amazing! I got the Thai Basil. So unique have had it many times and the flair here was great. My shrimp cooked perfectly and the vegetables were cooked to perfection. My husband got the Curry Soup can't remember the menu name it was amazing. You have to check this place out. And yes, get their egg rolls served with lettuce and fresh mint to wrap the egg rolls with! Definitely going back read more

Food was amazing!! We had the vegetable pineapple curry, pad see ew, and the crying Tiger. The two ladies at a neighboring table got the salmon curry that looked delicious as well. Restaurant is small but very cute and clean. It's my new fav Thai place! Can't wait to go back read more

Perfect! If I could give this restaurant 6 stars, I would! Delicious food, cozy and welcoming dining room, great service. Wow!

I went here with my teenage son. We loved the food, everything we tried was fantastic. The service was great. Definitely worth going back to. read more

Excellent food. First time I tried Laotian food. It was very fresh and very unique tasting. Not Thai and not Vietnamese - definitely a taste that stands on its own. But, like a lot of Asian food, be careful with the spiciness. 5 Laotian is more like 8 Thai. I plan to return with friends. Plus, it is very pet friendly. read more

White Elephant - Sausage appetizer. - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California

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Ordered take out while visiting SD. Got the pineapple curry and some soup. Very happy with the food which was very tasty and spicy, and it was ready when they said it would be. Happy with the portion size as well. Will go again if I'm back in the area. read more

I cannot say enough about how much my husband and I love this restaurant. First, the chef is amazing. She is a culinary artist. I am a pescatarian and there are so many delicious options. I have had the basil eggplant, three flavor fish and the crab fried rice. The flavors were out of this world good. My husband has had the mango chicken and crying tiger. He loved them both. We've had the calamari both times and consider it one of the best we've ever had. Second, the ambiance is just right. It not too pretentious but still elegant and comfortable. Third, Devin had helped us all three times we've been there. He has a great personality and has given us great tips about the food. We have already taken friends here and plan on bringing more. Truly one of our new favorite restaurants in SD! read more

Had an absolutely wonderful lunch after a morning at the San Diego Zoo. The food was fantastic - so fresh, high quality ingredients and a mile above typical suburban Thai food. Devon, our waiter, was fantastic. I will definitely be back read more

We order 4 different meals and 4 of them were the most satisfying food ever eaten in San Diego. Specially mango chicken and eggplant shrimp. No one has to miss this cozy Resturant. Quiet and relaxing after long day. read more

This place is absolutely delicious. First and foremost this is a family business both the wife and husband were so attentive with us, and they made sure everything was great. We order crying tiger, friend calamari, chicken wings, curry and all of it was amazing!!! According to the owner this place just opened but I'm glad we tried it. The atmosphere is great and the decor is amazing! This place is a gem. read more

OMG!! The food is so good, the service is excellent. The crab fried rice and curried duck are the best I have ever had in my life. If you have not been to the White Elephant you are missing out. read more

The service was excellent and food was fantastic! I ordered crab fried rice and it was very flavorful! Definitely come back soon. Thanks for making food good! read more

White Elephant Asian Bistro is a recent addition, and a much needed one, to the Asian food offerings in this area, and it is has immediately shown itself to be one of the most delicious. We had one of the dishes we love most from the Southeast Asia, the fillet of fish, lightly fried, with a chunky vegetable sauce. In the past we have had Cambodian versions of this dish, and a few others, but this one with a Laotian twist was easily the best we ever had. First of all, the fish was super-fresh, and not the least bit fishy, and very delicately fried so nothing obscured the equally delicate taste of the fish. Then the sauce had a subtly fruity, piquant taste that was the most elegant balance for the fried fish. It was utterly marvelous, and when we had finished the fish, we loved the sauce so much that the ate every bit with some of the white rice. Yum! We started the meal with a home-made noodle soup with Chicken, called the White Elephant Soup. The noodles had an amazing texture that delighted the mouth, and the broth graced everything like a perfect partner. We also had some very fine Cha Gio, which were actually bigger than most, and that was good because they cost a bit more than is usual (8 bucks). They had mostly cabbage and pork inside, and did not have the little glass noodles, which is commonly seen in them. Lastly we had some quite righteous Drunken Noodles. This was a quite solid version of the classic dish, and a fine counter-balance for our fried fish. White Elephant is slightly more expensive than some other Asian options in the are, but it is so fine, and consistently delicious that we were left with no doubt that it was worth it. Certainly the fried fish dish with the special sauce must rank as one of the very best things we have ever had in Asian cuisine in this area. We are so glad to have them in the neighborhood. The atmosphere is very pleasant, and the service very friendly and appropriate, and so this place seems like a special gift of the gods for Asian food lovers in San Diego. read more

So excited to have this place open. The food is great. Spice levels on point! My kids think it's the best Thai Food they've ever had.

I love White Elephant. The food and service are amazing, the ambiance is great. I have a couple of serious food allergies and they go out of their way to accommodate me. They have only been open for a few weeks and I have been there several times already. A fantastic small business to support! Waiter Devon is very friendly and always remembers our names! read more

Cute and lovely place. Enjoyed the variety of foods. We had larb, shrimp and Calamari,fresh spring roll. Tasted of foods and service was good. read more

Rarely post on yelp but just ordered UberEats from here and l needed to share. So damn good. Mango chicken and sticky rice salad were amazing. read more

Overall good food and service but not very customer friendly managment. Vegan and vegetarian options are available, but the menu does not make it easy to tell what is vegan and vegetarian. Specificaly, multiple items on the menu have fish sauce but don't list it. When we tasted fish sauce in our dish we thought was vegan, we mentioned it and our server graciously offered to comp or substitute our dish. Unfortunately, at the end of our meal, he informed us managment was refusing to do so, forcing us to pay for a dish we did not eat. This left a bad taste in our mouths. We will likely not come back. read more

My husband and I got the pad thai and mango chicken to share. Both dishes were amazing, but I will be back shortly for that chicken.

Excellent Thai food and great service. Their three flavor fish is amazing and I also love their pad se ewe!

One of the best places I've been to. The atmosphere very pleasant and everything was delicious. I had the Crying Tiger and was on point and my boyfriend had the pho, also excellent. read more

worth the money and wait, food was amazing and service was just as great. crab fried rice and basil eggplant were very tasty and thai coffee was a nice way to chase the meal. devon was great help tonight will be back soon. read more

Such great ambiance, the cutest little find in my neighborhood and the food is amazing.

I just had dinner at this new gem of a restaurant. The service and food could not have been better and the portions were very good sized. It's a cozy place, and seemed to do a good takeout business. read more

Cozy restaurant with authentic delicious food! We have been here 4 times since we discovered this gem a few months ago and are still working our way through the menu. Every time we come here we find another favorite dish. The appetizers are great, fresh spring rolls, crispy calamari and lao sausage are fabulous. The Larb, noodle soups, pad see ew, fried rice and curries are all delicious. Already looking forward to our next visit! read more

Great service and delicious food! Family owned Has a modern feel. They combined the best attributes of Thai and Vietnamese cuisine! I always get the crispy duck salad (mild - she's spicy) and sticky rice mango. read more

Loved this place. Great food!!! Had the Red Curry with shrimp and vegetables it was the best i have ever had. Great flavors and generous portions and very nice staff. Clean and nice atmosphere. I will be back. read more

Wow it's soooooo delicious I haven't had good Thai food in so long and now I know where the place I will always be going I'll definitely will be back read more

We are visiting San Diego and all I can say is WOW!!! We'll have to go back there before we leave. The service was excellent, prices were very reasonable, and THE FOOOD- amazing. read more

it's sooo good. the service was greattt, and even the water was good lol. i'll be coming here again the next time i visit San Diego! read more

White Elephant - Garlic Pepper Chicken - Thai Near Me - San Diego, California