Racha Cafe

Racha is one of, if not the most underrated Thai spot in Berkeley. Located on Telegraph, my friends brought me there for my birthday and what a lovely treat it was! As shown in the pictures, my order was the Tom Yum Noodle and the Thai Tea. Both were memorable in that they absolutely shattered my expectations. The Tom Yum soup wasn't overly spicy or acidic like the way other restaurants make it, and was actually more sweet and tame in flavor. Part of this is because of the added cha siu, and I LOVED IT! It's so smart because it masks any dryness of the meat, and simultaneously exploits the barbecue sauce used to marinate the pork. Not that it needed any masking, because the meat was perfectly tender, making for a heavenly bowl of noodle and soup. The Thai Tea was standard, not as mind-blowing but I always adore the different colors of the drink. It's definitely on the sweeter side, but the ice eventually dilutes it enough for me to properly enjoy it. All in all, a fantastic spot for Thai food!

Service is quick and food is tasty! Kaow soi is a big portion, lots of noodles and meat. The broth is quite thick and heavy - more like a thick curry than a soup, but it makes it cling to the noodles well. Served with lime and onion but no pickles.

Thai food!!! Ugh so good. The two times I've been here, Racha Cafe has not let me down. Service is fast, ingredients are clearly high quality, and has a friendly atmosphere where lots of groups from campus come to get meals together. I got the pad see ew which was so flavorful and satisfying!! I thought the flavors were well-balanced, but I could also see someone finding it a bit too salty, especially with the more you eat it - nonetheless do give it a try! I was really craving a wide rice noodle dish, and this HIT THE SPOT. I've also previously tried their iced tea which is amazing as well - not watery, creamy with a distinct taste of the tea leaves. Overall, solid, and will leave you full and happy.

Reliably good Thai food in Berkeley. Fast service and great food at an affordable price point. The Thai BBQ chicken fried rice is one of my favorite dishes - the chicken is perfectly cooked and falls of the bone. Love to go here regularly!

Empty, easy to find a seat, so good for big groups. We came with 8 people and were essentially able to be seated right away on a Wednesday evening (they had to scoot the tables together but yeah). IMO the food came out fast but since we had 8 people I did have to wait a bit for the 8th person to get their food. But nothing too crazy. I enjoyed my chicken satay. The peanut sauce was delicious but hard to dip the chicken skewer into the sauce due to the shape of the plate. The chicken was good and it was a lot more meat than I expected, so well worth the price. Solid, casual Thai place.

I love this place and tend to always visit when I am in the bay! Friends and I stopped by in the afternoon after a Cal game to fuel up. They had amazing service, they were able to accommodate our big party very well. I got the Thai tea which was amazing! I loved the Pad See Eww, so flavorful and delicious. I also tried the calamari and their shrimp tempura, all super tasty! My friends also liked the crab fried rice a lot. I love this place and can't rave about it enough. Great for dining in or takeout!

Racha was my go-to thai restaurant as an undergrad at Berkeley. It has a homey feel, the servers are very kind, and it's the perfect spot to grab a warm and fresh meal to fuel a late-night study session. They typically seat you pretty quickly and have lots of room for large groups, as opposed to other thai restaurants in the area where you typically have to wait 20-30 minutes to be seated. I visited again today and found the portion sizes to be significantly smaller than I remembered (no leftovers this time!) and the Pad Kea Mao and Pad Thai to be less flavorful than usual. I really enjoyed the Tom Yum's sour, tangy, and bright flavor, but wasn't a fan of the tough pieces of ginger and bamboo left in the soup. Racha will always have a piece of my heart, but I was a quite underwhelmed by my visit today.

Racha's was my favorite go-to place for Thai food in the area. It was far better than surrounding Thai restaurants and I used to bring friends here every time someone wanted lunch in Berkeley. Their dishes were always well balanced, their PAPAYA SALAD was always so fresh, and the flavors were spot on. TODAY I went in for a heartbreak to find they've revamped the menu and removed most of their protein options. All the stir-fry's are gone including my favorite, the CASHEW NUT STIR FRY (which they were the best at) and now they basically only have rice, noodles, and salad options. Their fried rice just doesn't have enough protein to be considered a full meal in my opinion and now I am saddened to say I may not come back as often. I'm not sure if they changed management or had to do this due to slower business, but I really hope they can bring back their old menu items in the future. This business was one of my favorites and I am so sad now. Thank you for holding a special place in my heart as a Berkeley favorite, I hope you can bring back the same quality options and love in each dish as you had before!

honestly one of the more underrated berkeley spots - the pad thai and pad see ew are pretty good portions for the prices, and the thai tea is made just right. the service is relatively quick, and i think this is a solid spot for thai food if you're near campus.

Great food and service. I had Pad Se Ew and it was very tasty. The sticky rice and mango was so delicious too.