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Categories: Thai, Asian Fusion [Edit]
Neighborhood: SOMA
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"Hi, uh, can you do lunch for 40?"
"Sure."
"For today?"
"Sure"
"How long would it be until pick up?
"About an hour."
"Really? Well, I'd like..."
And then! The food was delicious. Everything was hot and fresh and very good, and my office seemed extremely pleased.
I've been over for take out and dine-in as well and they've proved consistently pleasant, quick, and delicious.
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I had a great time for dinner, the food was satisfying!
We ate an entire fish deep fried over brown rice and it was delicous!!
Very Yummy!!
Try it!
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My companions and I had an impromptu lunch at Grand Pu Bah. Contrary to other reviews, our service was good. The host was easy going and the wait staff was friendly. Service was a bit slow, but that seemed fine considering the place was packed!
The space is quite attractive, but a bit noisy. The bar is well appointed. Unfortunately, the cocktail I ordered (Flash) was overly sweet and (save the sweetness) pretty tasteless.
The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. There are restaurants with better Thai. The iced coffee was tasty. Despite being pre-made, it was sweet and strong. The Spring Roll starter was fine. The pineapple fried rice was adequate and the eggplant with chicken which was ordered "Medium spicy" was much more mild than than I'd expected.
All in all, I'd say, "Eh."
I would call this fancy concept Thai.
Definitely delicious, fancy plating, cool atmosphere, fabulously looking bar, and definitely friendly owner and staff. (I think it helped that I was there with a frequent diner who knows the owner and sends drinks to the chef!) We got some items that were 'off-menu' or were slightly different then what was being offered.
Crazy Crab -wok-tossed with spicy Singha beer Thai herbs. This was a thing of beauty, but damn and hell-nation it is WORK to enjoy this dish. If you didn't grow up cracking crab with your teeth and working for the flesh you probably won't enjoy this meal. BUT...if you enjoy the lip smacking, finger licking, and the sheer enjoyment of pulling perfectly formed crab leg meat out of its shell then you'll probably love eating this dish.
Salmon Sashimi Salad- lemongrass, shallot, mix greens, spicy sesame lime vinaigrette; light and fresh, nice tasty app
Pan-Seared Scallop over a bed of squash served with purple cauliflower and other goodies; visually stunning with the yellows and the purples and good to eat.
Seafood Tom Yum hot & sour soup lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, onion, mushroom and , loaded with shrimp, calamari
Gnocchi and mushrooms - definitely a non-Thai tasting dish, but delicious nonetheless. The gnocchi was incredibly soft and tender and tasted fresh. The mushrooms - completely amazing I think there were at least three varieties.
Chicken red curry - probably the most "traditional" Thai dish that we had, also well cooked but nothing stand out about it. It was fairly overshadowed by our other dishes.
Overall - a delightful meal served with excellent company
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Fantastic cocktails. I mean, they really rock em. Food was good but a bit pricey.
The foie gras wasn't all that amazing - and I tend to be tolerant as I'm into foie gras in a bad way. I mean, I picture it when I'm having sex. The "American Kobe" - why can't we just call it what it is: a Wagyu/Angus crossbreed? - was decent, but the star of the evening was the duck breast with gnocchi. That dish was fab-u-quacking-lous.
The waitstaff presented a range of attractive phenotypes that managed to fulfill our rather heterogeneous group's tastes. I have a crush on the hot waitress: she wasn't just exotically cute, she was able to handle the antics of one of my rather hammered friends. Check out Grand Pu Bah - I'll be back.
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Kinda confusing to rate this place again. But here goes. 5 stars for their cocktails, 4 stars for their ambiance, and 1 star for giving service with an atitude.
08/23/2008
Five stars surely not enough for this place. We had opentable reservations for this place and… Read more »
To summarize the below reviews in ten words or less: good food, great drinks, and relaxed atmosphere, but HORRIBLE service.
When coming here, if you want spicy, make sure you tell them that you 'really' want it. We asked for it, and it wasn't spicy enough for us. It disappointed me a little, the food here is either hit or miss... We ordered several items and some of them were delicious, others were meh... I can't remember which one unfortunately... We tried to go back here for lunch and it was packed... so we skipped it.
I've read mixed reviews in Yelp about this place that really piqued my curiosity. So when my friends at work (tired, beat up nurses) decided to go out one night and asked me to pick up a place, I just went to the jugular!
I made reservations which I must last minute but they were able accommodate all the 12 hungry souls in us. I told the guy over the phone that we have 2 people celebrating a birthday and one has allergies to peanuts.
When we went there, the two waitstaff are very pleasant and they always tell us if the dish(es) we are interested in have peanuts etc. Very considerate of them.
We ordered a bunch of stuff and we all love the food. The servings is ample and reasonably priced size- and taste-wise. Te most memorable dish is the pineapple fried rice and Thai snapper...HEAVEN!!
We tried a cocktail which I think that's the Thai version of mojitos and it's orgasmic!
The decor is classy and the place is clean. Service is outstanding.
I'm inclined to give it a 5 star but since I'm trying to maintain a certain standard...LOL..I would give this place 4 stars and would definitely recommend this to everybody.
Will definitely go back if ever I finally found a date...
Ciao!
Food was decent. Service was adequate. Tables were too close together...so close that the strangers sitting next to you look and feel like they're part of your party. I think the stranger sitting next to me was closer to me than my girlfriend sitting across from me.
We took a good friend for dinner here last night and it was awesome. We were a bit leary of having someone's birthday dinner somewhere we hadn't been, but the reviews were promising (after filtering out the ones with petty issues).
The space is beautiful with a striking bar area, the staff is beautiful and very friendly and attentive.
This is a "Cali-fusion" ultra-modern chic Thai restaurant, although a portion of their menu does offer some of the more traditional Thai dishes. The food was delicious. Among the notable items we ate: spicy prawns, a whole tai fish, rack of lamb (tender and juicy, done perfectly). Yummy
The only slight drawback was it was pretty noisy.
We will definitely come back.
Another plus is that it's fairly easy to find parking in this area.
"Flintstones, meet the Flintstones, they're the modern stone-age family"
"From the town of Bedrock, they're a page right out of history"
"Someday, maybe Fred will win the fight"
"Then that cat will stay out for the night"
"When you're with the Flinstones, have a yabba dabba doo time, a dabba doo time"
"You'll have a gay old time!"
(musical bridge)/ (cat leaps through window, then places Fred outside)
"You'll have a gay old time!"
Fred:(pounding on front door) :"Wilma!"
The Good News - I think "that cat will stay out for the night".
The Bad News - I think this is because I ate him for lunch today.
I have only had delivery from Grand Pu Bah, because some of the people who order the food for meetings at my work really liked this place when they first tried it, but I think today after the order was really late (Again) and they had forgotten part of it (Again) and it wasn't all that great (Again) - we may finally stop seeing so much Gran Pu Bah around the office.
I will say that from what I hear this is a really nice space and good, bad or incomplete, the food has always been hot when it arrived.
Had the pleasure of dining here a few nights ago. It was a rough start - I think they forgot about us for about 10 minutes but made up for it with wonderful service and refilled water glasses after every sip.
We went here for the cocktails (big fan of Carlos) and certainly enjoyed the watermelon cilantro drink and the lime virgin drink (bad with names... sorry) but the $12 one in the coconut was just strong and not very delicious. Plus the coconut was a little soggy.
The food was super fresh and delicious. The pomelo "salad" was deconstructed and didn't need to be, because you just have to combine it all on your plate anyways, but the flavors (citrus, nuts, romaine lettuce and rice strips for crunch) were fantastic. Tartare was decent - I've had better but I've also had way worse.
Our entreees featured the shrimp/duck dish, chicken/pineapple fried rice and a side of the green beans. Green beans ROCKED. Kind of like Betelnut but not as soggy and garlicky. Shrimps were good, gnocchi were interesting and the duck tasted like shredded beef jerky but somehow they were all delicious together. The fried rice was my husband's favorite - the tang from the pineapple blended really well with the cashews and chicken.
Overall, we will be going back to this interesting little restaurant in a strange little strip mall at the base of Potrero Hill. Good times.
Hubby and I went here last night to celebrate our anniversary. Nice decor and ambience. Not too crowded for dinner. Great parking for an SF restaurant.
As for food: we ordered the rack of lamb and u-10 scallops. The lamb: average, good, not as tender as we normally would like it (compared to Sapore in Burlingame). The scallops: decent, but the corn/pancetta sauce that came with it was DELICIOUS. For dessert: had the fried banana with ice cream (if you're not a beer drinker ask them to skip on the beer batter on top of the ice cream) which was average as well.
Overall: I'd come back a 2nd time to try something else.
I'm a big fan of this place. I found that pu bah really steps it up when it come to spice. Being from the south, i'm used to another level of spice from most people and i have to admit, there are a couple things on their menu that even test my spice endurance. I recommend the ribs, calamari, beef noodle soup, and any of the curries.
Drinks are very reasonable here for happy hour as well, and they have a nice selection of fine liquor.
Another thing that shines here is the staff. They are some of the friendliest around, especially the owner steve, and all of the bar crew. It probably helps that i go here about twice a week since i work nearby.
yea,yea,yea!!!!!! I love this place, I bit hard to find, as we were searching the hostess called to confirm my reservation and helped us find the place. We arrived early ant sat at the bar for happy hour....glad we did, outstanding, fresh fruit, organic vodka, I LOVE THE BARTENDA, HAHA SAID HE COULD MAKE ANYTHING I WANTED. I LIKE THAT. When we were seated for dinner, the hot and sour soup was good and the service was great. Nice atmosphere, clean bathroom, I like this place.
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We avoided this place when it first opened because it's located in that weird urban modern retail center that popped up on top of the parking lot i used to park at for jury duty. The one that has a bunch of funky furniture stores in it now.
But we gave it a try and were very pleasantly surprised. It's not your average Thai. Really inspired. Great seafood options. I think I was struggling between 3-4 options -- and I usually know what I want right away. Killer spicy green beans. Crazy "golden carrot" appetizer -- basically deepfried carrot shreds that you dip into peanut sauce. The setting is pretty cool. Modern, upbeat, bright, cool bar scene. Nice cocktail menu. A big flatscreen TV plays ocean nature videos when you walk in.
It seemed a bit pricey, but we'll definitely go back.
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New Boss man took me here the other day. I haven't had thai food in a while so I ordered my usual Chicken Yellow Curry , very tasty here but nothing extra ordinary. I was tempted to get my usual Thai Iced Tea but opted for just water since my boss was paying and it was my first day.
I'll definitely be back since its so close but the prices here will make sure it won't be anytime soon. Nice atmosphere, friendly waiters/waitresses and plenty of seating (although it looks as if there's TOO many tables - kind of a crowded look imo) Try Osha Thai in downtown sf for a similar experience
The place is amazing !
The decoration is nice and the food is good.
The spicy curry is something that you should try and the basil chicken is good as well.
Had the yellow chicken curry, it was okay, nothing special. We sat at the bar and service was very good and food came out right away.
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My food was disgusting. I got the spicy curry noodles with chicken. The chicken was dry. The noodles were dripping with grease and were stuck together. Made my stomach turn.
My roommie got green curry - which he seemed to enjoy. Except they forgot his jasmine rice and we didn't realize this till we got home (this was a take out order).
All in all, yuck!
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A little pricey, considering you can get top-notch Thai in Berkeley for way less. But the Pad See Ew here is definitely in my top 3! Not greasy, and delicious!
a vibey and pricey restaurant with really flavorsome food, we liked our dishes (tuna tartar was amazing) and service was attentive. It was a perfect finale to our evening, having just had a great massage at Suchada just up the road.
Not sure about the name for this place - pu bah and the 'beach cuisine' descriptor doesnt sound the most appealing.
I was fortunate enough to come here for a work related lunch today (thanks to Accelrys). We arrived at the peak of the lunch hour rush, and the 6 of us opted to sit at the bar as opposed to waiting for a table as the waitstaff seemed a bit flummoxed at clearing a table for such an enormous party (yes, 6 people is a bit much for them). While the service was a bit on the spotty side, and incredibly slow, our strategy was to order everything at once (appetizers and entrees). While we waited for our food, we sipped on sparkling Voss water imported from Norway (fancy, and beautiful bottles). First to arrive were the appetizers- the fresh summer rolls filled with tofu, glass noodles, and various vegetables wrapped up in rice paper rolls and the coconut samosas with aoili- both delicious. The remaining dishes took a bit longer to arrive and included the green beans with tofu, spicy eggplant with basil and tofu (not so spicy it turns out), the cashew tofu, tom yum kha with vegetables, pad si ew with tofu, and mango salad with fried crispy mushrooms. Each dish was incredibly flavorful, but the highlight of the meal was most definitely the pad si ew. I might have found a competitor for Little Thai's version, although I would have appreciated more broccoli and vegetables to accentuate the buttery and chewy noodles laced with rich egg and fried tofu. I also enjoyed the eggplant- how can you go wrong with deep fried japanese eggplant seasoned with fragrant basil and peppers? The soup was also flavorful, very sour and tamarind-y, almost too strong for my liking. So in summary I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Grand Pu Bah but next time I will avoid the lunch hour madness (tip: come around 2, most people are gone and you will receive more attentive service and get a table).
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Don't believe the reviews--the food here is mediocre at best.
- Pad Thai tastes like old fried noodles, ingredients weren't fresh and looks like they forgot about the whole peanut thing. These noodles were sad and old, begging for someone to put them out of their misery.
- Spring Rolls - if your idea of a good spring roll is mystery meat wrapped in greasy cardboard, you will love these.
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Very very good food! I ordered a plate that was cashew and chicken mixed (ordered non-spicy). Even without the spice it was still delicious. The atmosphere is very fun. They only server premium alcohols. I had so much fun and I stayed there for so long that I ended up eating a second dinner when they gave a last call for food. I order a 2nd plate for the chicken cashew (this time I order the original that was spicy). I am not a spicy person at all when it comes to food, but the spice they put on was not too overpowering, it was just the right amount of spice and taste. Highly recommended.
This place has its ups and downs, but I go here regularly for some very important reasons.
First and foremost is the bar/bartenders. The bartenders really know their stuff and the liquor selection is superb. They make a lot of mixers by themselves (including some unique bitters), so the cocktails tend to be fresh, unique, and delicious. If this were just a bar, I'd give it five stars. Except for certain happy hours when there seems to be an invasion of young, professional alcoholics of a certain ilk. Where do they come from? Adobe can't employ that many obnoxious people with shiny shirts and pointy shoes. Can they? [UPDATE: I've been informed by an insider at Advent Software that these folks are from Advent Software. I knew it couldn't be you Adobe!]
But I digress. So, the removal of stars relates to the food. I'd have to concur with the others who knock the food. It's not the best, and it's pricey for what you get. However, I've eaten here almost since it's opened so I can say the food is definitely improving. One way to look at it is this: the food here is on par with top-notch neighborhood Thai restaurants in SF. This just happens to be in a fancier setting with a 30% markup.
Also, at the moment you can still get a seat without a reservation and without any wait. Probably won't last for long, but that, along with killer drinks, means I am happy to go here any time and pay a little more for their respectable food.
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The food was tasty, but it was a bit on the pricey side.
The carrot appetizer was very oily.
Penang curry was delicious, and the sticky-rice in banana leaf accompanied it quite well.
Insipid flavors kill this place for me.
They have a cool space and great bar, but if you're looking for well-made curry, tom kah gai with bold flavors or even phad thai with a trace of character, go elsewhere. For this depth of flavor, I expect to pay 1/3 this much.
Love the atmosphere, but the food was a tad lacking. I had their short-rib, which doesn't seem to be on their menu anymore - at least on their website. I guess that was saying something. Further, the service was crap. Next...
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What a nice find! Beautiful atmosphere, very friendly staff, good service. Food was amazing. Fresh, high quality produce. Nice blend of flavors. We didn't order the standard pad thai, but tried some new things (for us). Flower of the Sea was great. Pomelo salad, very nice, lettuce was a little wilted. Spicy Garlic Beef dish, yummy! The only minus is that they were out of a lot of things, including one of the appetizers that we wanted.
We'll be going back, for sure!
Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes,
I'm surprised at all the three star reviews. I love this place. I understand the price complaint but the truth is that they use very high quality ingredients. I've seen the quality and care that goes into this operation.
What sets it apart from other Thai restaurants?
* High quality ingredients; Free range lamb? Organic pork chop? Petaluma chicken? You want high quality, all natural, organic ingredients? Naturally, these things cost money.
* The executive chef is amazing and creates SEASONAL THAI FOOD, inspired by other regions as well as French methods. Unlike most Thai restaurants, the menu changes every few months. You will find dishes, and thai tapas here that you won't find anywhere else.
* The overall execution is superbly casual with consistency and attention to detail.
* As most people have mentioned, the bar and bartenders are fantastic. They are truly skilled and come from some very well known bars and restaurants in the city.
* It has among the nicest ambiance in the city, especially for Thai restaurants in SF. I feel as though I've left San Francisco. The Southern exposure and elegant brick work transport you to a beach vacation. (Design Center Circle).
* The food is delicious. There are great seafood and vegetarian options and, as I said, it is totally unique. Personally, I focus on the more unconventional Thai dishes rather than the common, "yellow curry" or "stir fried noodles". Yes they are both quite good, but this menu has WAY more to offer. Pan seared fois gras, coconut soft shelled crab. And the Pomelo salad is a personal favorite.
* The owner and everyone that I have had the pleasure of talking to are the nicest people ever. Everyone is super accommodating, friendly and sincere.
* As this place has yet to really be discovered, it is still a gem. It's easy to get a reservation, and walk-ins don't wait long. Psst. (I probably shouldn't be telling you this)
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10 bucks for a plate of noodles and onions...3 bucks to add prawns...and that's when my inner Larry David emereged.
Three prawns for three bucks? Are you kidding me? Even worse, not one of them had been de-veined. I didn't want to make a scene, so I pulled the shit shooters off myself, but now I regret it.
If I pay 13 dollars for a lunch noodle plate, I expect NO prawn poopoo. Unacceptable.
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I've been here a few times. The food has been good almost every time. The BIGGEST problem is that the service is SUPER SLOW! Everytime I've been, it has been slow.
Has noone else experienced this??!!
The waitor doesn't pay attention. He forgot I wanted soft tofu instead of fried. He forgot I wanted brown rice instead of white. He forgot my friends thai iced tea. Hmmmm maybe he should have written it down?
If it wasn't time that was an issue, I would have raised a concern with staff there - in person!
I would have given 1 star, but I like the food, tasty.
The decor is at once sexy and calming and is probably my favorite feature about the place so far. The pork spare ribs--not something I would normally order but watch your hand if you put them in my face--were outstanding. The wine list was surprisingly mediocre. The Tom Kha soup, a staple for me at Lingba, was small and uninteresting in comparison.
It is in the neighborhood, so stay tuned, I will be back to try more dishes.
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I came here to celebrate my brother's birthday on a Tuesday night. Fortunately it wasn't busy so we were seated right away and didn't have to deal with a loud crowd.
Unfortunately I can only give this restaurant 2 stars. I have to give this place one star for their decor because they obviously put a lot of thought and effort into it. Another star for the quality of the food. The food wasn't bad but the portions were tiny. I guess I should come to expect it when dining in SF but it was honestly very disappointing for me. I probably won't come back here especially after discovering Osha's Thai Restaurant last night. Sorry Grand Pu Bah...
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I have dined here 2 times:
First time - I remember that they were out of 1/2 the dishes we ordered
- they did have good Oysters.
Second time - they were again out of 1/2 the dishes we ordered
- they did have good oysters.
Oysters were fantastic both times. The selection of sauces for the oysters is creative and quite good. The pineapple fried rice is also spectacular. Everything else was unmemorable.
The decor is nice, the bar looks good (though the fancy cocktail menu really doesn't deliver).
3 times will not be the charm for me.
Good Bye Pu Bah. You ARE the weakest link.
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I was at once impressed by the decor - it's got a great bar area and very tasteful asian-themed decor, with vases of lucky bamboo on each table. The thai iced teas were ENORMOUS - thank god - because they're always too small everywhere else I go.
However, their pad thai was a little off today. As it's the first time and everybody else I know loves them, I won't totally write them off, but honestly - the pad thai tasted WAY too much like fish sauce. I couldn't eat as much as I wanted b/c I was overwhelmed with the icky. The tofu, however, was yummy! Everything seemed to cost in the $10-12 range, and the portions were LARGE. I have a full meal of leftovers...though I'm not sure letting those noodle soak in fish sauce is a good thing.
First impression: there's better, cheaper Thai in the city. Maybe not on Townsend. :)
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I thought the place was really cute, clean, posh and had some really good mood lighting. Perfect because I was in gym clothes! My dinner partner and I had the mango salad ( a wee bit tart but I loved the cashews), the green curry (SOOO SPICY!), and the cashew nut chicken. All were great as I haven't had thai food in FOREVER and it really hit the spot. The best part was the mango with sticky rice. Really fresh. They were out of a lot of stuff but it was nothing I wanted so no big deal. Good selection of unique drinks!
The FIRST time I came here (sometime last fall with a big group) I was really impressed with the ambiance and decor. There is only street parking, but other than that the appetizers were delicious, the cocktails were exceptional, and the staff was very helpful. I had a great time. The place was poppin'.
In May, I decided to take my future sis-in-law here for dinner (we dropped in around 5:30pm). We decided on a couple appetizers (the duck spring rolls and something else with crab) just to taste around, and the waiter told us that they were totally out of what we wanted to order. Bummer! How do you run out of stuff at 5:30pm when your restaurant opens at 5pm on the weekends? Other than that the meal was half bad and half good only because we settled on the golden carrot appetizer (DO NOT GET IT) was totally gross and oily, and the scallop asparagus risotto I ordered was pretty good.
So for my birthday last Friday I figured, why not? I thought, I've been there with a large party before, and I'm pretty sure it will be alright this time. And at first it was. Our table was reserved according to plan, we were seated right away, and at first the service went quite well. But when it came to receiving the entrees, that's when things went awry. For the longest time the waiter forgot to bring side orders of rice (like the simplest things - drinks, extra utensils)...It took FOREVER to get his attention as he was posted by the kitchen staff chopping it up with his other waiter friends. And the tip was already incorporated into the bill because of the large group. So as dinner was wrapping up, it's kind of like the work ethic went bye bye on their part.
I gave it 3 tries. Needless to say, the last two didn't live up to the first and I won't be going back. Such a shame that the food and service can't live up to the interior design.
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