Thai Spice Restaurant Review

Not just another Thai restaurant!

Thai Spice
1730 Polk St (between Clay and Washington), 775-4777
11:30am-10pm, 7 days.
Special Lunch 11:30am-3pm, 7days.

San Francisco is now chock full of Thai restaurants, but a dozen are really elegant, with tasty Thai artifacts, colored cloth napkins and tablecloths, even Thai cutlery, and often with waitresses in native-style, colorful long gowns. Thai Spice is one of the elegant ones. The food is equally exotic, with many components for each dish.

For an overview in color of the restaurant and its food, one can visit the Thai Spice website. It’s imposing.

Free entree. A coupon available on the Thai Spice website allows you to receive a free entree (up to $8.00) by buying an entree and appetizer.

Special Lunch, $7.50, consists of Thai soup, rice and two dishes chosen from the following: chicken or beef curry, basil chicken, mixed vegetables, stuffed roll (also vegetarian).

Appetizer (choice of 13) includes various rolls, some vegetarian, some stuffed with chicken and shrimp $5.95, spinach leaves with lime wedges, ginger, toasted coconut and peanuts, served with herb sauce $6.95, fried fish cake with green beans and cucumber salad $6.95, appetizer combo of spring rolls, fish cake, shrimp-in-a-blanket, deep-fried tofu, curry puff, served with peanut sauce and cucumber salad $8.95.

Soups and salads, include silver noodle soup with chicken, prawns, mushrooms $6.95, shrimp hot-and-sour soup with mushrooms $7.95, mixed seafood hot-and-sour soup with mushrooms $8.95, green papaya salad with green beans, lime juice and palm sugar $6.50, silver noodle salad with shrimp, garlic, lime juice $6.50, country salad with choice of chicken, pork or beef, and chili $6.95, charbroiled beef salad with chili, lemon juice and cucumber $6.95, charbroiled prawn salad with red onions, chili, & mint leaves $8.50.

Poultry, pork, beef dishes include Thai-style BBQ chicken with sweet-and-sour sauce $7.50, sautéed chicken with ginger, onions, black fungus $6.95, honey roast duck on bed of spinach $8.95, pan-fried marinated pork with garlic $7.50, sautéed pork with Japanese eggplant $6.95, beef with peanut sauce on bed of spinach $7.50.

Seafood (12 dishes) includes sautéed prawns with garlic and chili $9.95, silver noodles with prawns, onions and cabbage in clay pot $9.95, pan-fried calamari with garlic $8.95, fried whole fish with spicy sauce $10.95, sautéed assorted seafood with curry paste $12.95.

Vegetarian (13 dishes) includes deep-fried tofu with tamarind sauce topped with ground peanuts $5.95, vegetables and mushrooms in coconut soup $6.95, pan-fried spinach in garlic and spicy-bean sauce $6.75, sautéed assorted vegetables and mushrooms in Thai Spice’s sauce $6.75, spinach and tofu topped with peanut sauce $6.75.

Noodles and fried rice dishes include “pad –Thai” — pan-fried rice noodles with shrimp, tofu, peanuts, egg, bean sprouts $7.50, pan-fried rice noodles with choice of beef, pork, or chicken, garlic, egg, broccoli $6.95, with shrimp $7.95, spicy fried rice with choice of beef, pork, or chicken with chili, onions, tomato, garlic, basil $6.95, with shrimp $7.95, pineapple fried rice with shrimp, calamari, pineapple, cashew nuts, carrots, peas, egg, onion $7.95.

Desserts, beverages include fried banana with ice cream $4, roti with ice cream $4, ice-tea or ice-coffee $1.95, imported beer $3, glass of wine $2.75, 1/2 carafe of wine $4.95, carafe $9.

Summation: Elegant dining.

Two can eat well by sharing two dishes family-style. If very hungry, they can add an appetizer, soup, or salad. In general, Thai Spice’s dishes are $1-2 higher than in some Thai places, but considering the quality of the food and the ambience, well worth it.