Funky Elephant

Hands down THE BEST Thai restaurant in SF!!! The flavors are incredible! Divine! Every single thing on the menu is 5 star quality. The service is excellent. The ambiance is fun and cool. It looks like a nightclub in there. I'm glad I discovered this gem before it becomes Michelin star restaurant*****I'm pretty sure all the bad reviews are from It's competitors because this place is perfect on every level.

Decent Thai food here. We had the fried egg salad appetizer, and the pad thai and the gang rawang beef for mains. The fried egg salad was really great flavor wise and the shrimp was really tasty. Would have been nice if it came with more than one shrimp. The pad thai was perfect, except for only having two shrimp on it. The gang rawang beef was a little disappointing. Really small portion of beef and came with a side salad that didn't really complement it. The beef didn't taste bad, but it didn't feel like thai cuisine. I think this place could be really great. We really enjoyed the fried egg salad and the pad thai, but we were put off by the tiny portions compared to the price. Probably won't come back again for that reason alone.

Walking toward Funky Elephant, you're greeted by the soft glow of neon lights and it feels like a portal into a busy night market. In the same way that the exterior is super visually stimulating, the flavors are insane and my tastebuds were definitely awake! We tried:- fried egg salad/yum khai dao: the egg itself was fluffy and had the most crispy lacy edges, but what made this dish was the perfect combination of flavors from shallots, cherry tomatoes, garlic, Thai chili, fish sauce, and lime - the interplay of bright, sweet, sharp/acidic, a little sour made the taste so fun. I wish it came with more than one shrimp though! - pad thai old skool: I LOVE a basic solid pad thai and was excited for a maybe more amped up version. This was good but didn't feel like the pad thai that I've come to expect - instead of the forefront being a sweeter tamarind sauce flavor the main note was actually dark soy sauce - not unpleasant but just unexpected! (And I mainly associate the dark soy sauce flavor with Chinese cooking. But maybe this is actually more authentic?)- gang rawang beef: the butteriest tender steak. The curry sauce was also so punchy but then balanced out by a refreshing watercress salad. Overall, I loved the bold flavors and getting to experience a little more modern/elevated rendition of classic Thai dishes!

Really solid spot for Thai food! My friend and I came by on a Friday night for dinner and shared the Pad Thai and Motherland Curry with cod which ended being a good portion to share between 2 people. With the curry we substituted vermicelli with the butterfly pea jasmine rice. The Pad Thai was definitely the star with a nice spicy kick. The prawns were great as well and I loved the crunch from the peanuts. The Motherland Curry had good flavor as well but I wish the portion was a bit larger for the price. We also got a soju cocktail each. Overall, it's a fun spot for a casual dinner but watch out if you can't handle spicy food well as even the medium spicy pad thai was a bit much for my friend.

The decor in the restaurant felt a bit of a jumble and leaned more kitschy. The food overall also was okay; everything tasted spicier than what we're used to (the papaya salad and pad thai, for instance, gave me the morning runs). Out of all the dishes we had, I enjoyed the curry the most!

In the end, this place continues to be my favorite Thai place. A very different type of Thai food than you're used to with a very different feel. I was always a fan when they were in Berkeley, and I am ecstatic that they have opened in SF and have figured it out here as well. A large space with the aptly funky feel without losing the Thai street feel while also being a clean spot. Often not too busy, so usually easy to get seated pretty immediately.FOOD:Pad Thai. Always a classic here, with big tamarind flavor, and just the right amount of spice to kick you in the face but still be delicious. The pro move is always to squeeze the shrimp head into the noodles for the perfect blend of tangy, umami, sweet and spicy. Definitely a go to.Party Wings. Possibly some of the best wings ever. Again, big tamarind flavor with a good fish sauce base as well. Perfectly crispy with the right amount of sauce and big juicy pieces of chicken with the perfectly crisped thai basil. Another amazing piece that they have.New incredible additions are the paratha, both appetizer and dessert. The paratha is so flaky with the perfect softness in the middle. Green or yellow curry to dip it in just gives huge umami and curry goodness. A perfect treat. The dessert version is the perfect mix of sweet and umami. I have never felt so happy ordering two versions of the same dish. Also recently got the blistered vegetables and the KMG which are also so freaking good. Their use of herbs like dill, lemongrass, and coriander are showcased in most dishes like their crispy rice salad and fried egg salad.Ultimately, I have never ordered anything from this place that I did not love. Big time flavors with big time quality food. You cannot go wrong with anything you order here. Friendly staff and they are now expanding their drink menu, so you can bet that I will be back often.

I had been to the Funky Elephant in Berkeley, and it was for one reason and one reason only, their Kao Mun Gai (review: https://yelp.to/LHfJdAq4sk). Y'see, I'm rather obsessed with poached chicken rice. You could imagine my excitement at the prospect of Kao Mun Gai when I saw they opened another location on Valencia near 24th Street. Alas, when I stopped by the other evening, I faced major disappointment. It wasn't on the menu.You could've plucked a feather from my tukus. My disappointment must've been palpable because the server asked the manager to come out and explain they make it only on certain days. I'm sure I let out an audible sigh when I ordered in its place, the $21 Pad Thai Old Skool with gulf white shrimps, HODO tofu, egg, Chan noodles, tamarind, peanuts, fish sauce, bean sprouts, garlic chive, and chili (photo: https://yelp.to/7dwFr29BU6).It was definitely packed full of familiar flavors with the bean sprouts wisely left to the side of the mix. I also went for the $12 Blistered Market Green, which consisted of Chinese broccoli flash fried in a wok with roasted garlic and basil (photo: https://yelp.to/7dwFr29BU6). It was a good, crunchy offset to the pad thai. I had a puckery $5 Singha Lemon Soda to wash it all down, a questionable choice (photo: https://yelp.to/UuFoHcBxcs). It was all solid Thai food, but I'll come back when they're serving Kao Mun Gai.FOOD - 4 stars...you don't have to have a hankering for poached chicken rice to like the food hereAMBIANCE - 4 stars...stylish spaceSERVICE - 4 stars...no complaints in this areaTOTAL - 4 stars...solid Thai food even without my favorite dishRELATED - Exploring the Mission? Here's my collection of places I've patronized and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2NHtst6

I ordered the pad Thai, mango cocktail, and sour cocktail. The cocktails were the best part I really enjoyed the sour one. I found my pad Thai to be on the saltier side so I got tired of eating it halfway through. It only comes with two shrimp which explains the option to add shrimp for $3.50. I didn't like the shrimp-- I could taste the fishiness. There wasn't a flavor to it other than an overwhelming taste of the fat that's found in the head shell. For the price, I would expect better balanced flavor, more and better shrimp, and also unfortunately I pulled a long hair out of my mouth which really grossed me out. (Which certainly wasn't mine because my hair is red).The service is great and so is the ambiance, but the food didn't impress me especially considering the prices. My friends' beef spicy curry was difficult to chew but at least better flavored.

Had my birthday dinner here with my friends and I would say it's good to try but I'm not sure if I'll be back. I'll start off by saying the food here is good and flavorful but the portions are pretty small and prices are pretty high for what you get. Items we ordered:- pad Thai: fairly spicy but not a ton of protein, still pretty good though- brussel sprouts: super crispy and one of my favorite items of the night!- crispy rice salad: it was good but nothing spectacular - wholesome noodles: pretty plain I'm not sure if I would order this again- papaya salad: standard papaya salad and you can't go wrong with it- motherland curry: second favorite of the night since the coconut milk make it so flavorful and creamy! Loved the catfish in it tooLike I said the food is good but it doesn't justify the price point. I would say check it out since it's on a lot of "must try" restaurant lists online but just be prepared to spend a little more than you would at your average Thai restaurant.

Came here with a friend and were seated immediately! Good:- Great ambiance for catching up, a little dim inside - The Pad Thai was amazing, a ton of flavor and the shrimp inside was jumbo sized- The crispy tofu came with a really tasty sauce- The rice salad was great too! It had a lot of crunchy flavor and it was fun to eat Bad- Took a bit of time for the food to arrive to our table - A little hard to flag down the serversOverall the food was excellent and thought that the only downside was the service.