Ruen Pair Authentic Thai Cuisine

This is an excellent Thai place, one of the few in the Bay Area that makes you carefully consider ordering something really spicy. Their 3-star is what most places call 5-star. If you like fresh and like it spicy, this is a great place.

Pros: Fresh, fresh, fresh!

Posted 06/22/09

I went there last night it's busy night but people there try to do their woork but they still do the good job. Nothing much to say Food people,service, everything damn gooddddd.I 'll go back....

Posted 09/16/07

The food was very flavorful. What the ambiance lacks is made up in great service and excellent food choices. There were plenty of vegetarian options, besides tons of general meat options. The staff was very courteous. Overall, great food for a good price.

Pros: Food, prompt and courteous service

Cons: Ambiance

Posted 09/06/07

Love this place!
I felt like I eat food at home when I come to ruen pair, The waitstuff if polite and friendly. Try the TOm Ka gooong, Pad Kee mao and homemade coconut ice crem
Enjoy

Posted 04/29/07

Awesome food and friendly service although the waitstuff a littler bit shy but they very helpfull you got to ask question green curry is very good, pad see iew , panang curry thai iced tea , and papaya salad is very good

Posted 04/26/07

I havenot been to Ruen Pair for a long times but over the past few week they made me going back and back to Ruen Pair the papaya salad is very amazing, Pad thai is very tasty , duck curry is good. parking is very bad sometimes evern their have a parking lot.

Posted 04/25/07

Ew they put the to-go rice in a plastic baggie and it turned to a gross solid mass. Ruined the meal. What were they thinking?

Posted 04/21/07

This is our favorite we keep coming back to. The food is flavorful, and unlike some other Thai food, it's not too oily. They always seem a bit understaffed, but the staff are friendly and courteous. They have a banquet room too where we had a highly successful family party. They have plenty of vegetarian options and they can make the food plenty spicy (or not) according to your taste. So delicious!

Posted 03/07/07

I love the papaya salad there. I have to go to this so many time in order to get the spicy taste I need. I always order extra spicy but they never tend to do it for me until my Thai friends say. Just say I want papaya salad ped mak mak like thailand .

Posted 03/04/07

I have ate here more than 20 times past 2 months the food is very good papaya salad, thai rice salad pad thai their Issan grill pork and tomka gai is yammy the spicy is very high beware i orer hot first times but the waitress warn but i didnot listen sooo I so spicy

Posted 03/02/07

My friends took me out to Ruen Pair to celebrate my birthday this past Sunday. It was my first time there and I must say the place is amazing. There was 10 of us in our group so we were seated in the back of the restaurant in a small private room all for ourselves. It was perfect for us since we have kids and tend to make a lot of noise. We started off with a few appetizers, Satay, Egg Rolls, Angel Wings which the kids just loved to pick up with their hands, and coconut soup Tom Ka Gai. The waitress asked us how spicy we wanted our soup and we said Medium. My friend warned me that Ruen Pair's medium is usually on the hot side, but we tried it anyways since we're used to hot Mexican food. The soup was perfect. Just enough spicy to make me sweat, but a little to spicy for the kids though so we ordered the rest of our dinner on the mild side. We had the Panang Curry and the Green Curry, I just love curries. We also ordered BBQ Chicken and Pad Thai Chicken which the kids just loved. By the time we had finished our dinner and opened all the presents it was time for the cake. The waitress brought the cake out with a sparkling candle to our table. Overall we had a great night. Great food and great service. I'll be back!

Pros: Thai Food, Parking, Decor, Clean, Kid Friendly

Posted 12/11/06

I love Pad Thai. I know good Pad Thai. In 25 years of eating Thai food both here in the SF Bay Area and 3 months living in Thailand, I have eaten a whole lot of Pad Thai. Hundreds of dishes of Pad Thai. I know good Pad Thai. What my girlfriend and I were served at Ruen Pair last night was without a doubt the single worst dish of Pad Thai I have ever tasted in my entire life. Hands down. An overcooked, gooey, gloppy, tasteless, coagulated mess that looked like something my dog might have thrown up after rummaging through the waste bin in the back alley. If the noodles had been cooked any longer they would have just dissolved, if that's possible. I could go on, but you get the idea: bad bad Pad Thai, and it wasn't just the overcooked noodles.

I politely (really!) told the waitress that the dish was not edible and politely asked if we might be able to get something else instead. She had to check with the chef and came back and explained that this was how he/she always makes Pad Thai, meaning no, I could not have something else in its place. I asked for the check, and remarked that I wasn't paying for the Pad Thai. She came back with the bill, saying they would only charge half price ($3.75) for the uneaten Pad Thai. Unbelievable. How much do the ingredients cost for a dish of Pad Thai? Maybe 37 cents? And they create this much animosity over this instead of just sucking up the 37 cents and pleasing an understandably dissatisfied customer? Welcome to the internet, Ruen Pair.

Pros: Papaya salad, Crispy fried tofu

Cons: Horrible Pad Thai, shockingly bad service

Posted 12/04/06

We went there Sat. night- so we expected it to be busy. We were patient. It was more than 20 minutes before someone came to take our order. 40 minutes LATER we had only a soda. No appetizer, or food. I asked the hostess could she see if they even started our food. She never came back to tell us. The couple next to us got their salad & appetizer, and 3 minutes later got their 3 entrees. Why not send out appitizers to several tables & then send out entrees. We got no appologies or anything ( when I asked about our food.) Also they took our entertainment when we ordered, not at the end like other places we have been. I feel like it was due to a "coupon" we had a lack of service. Oh well, we won't be needing it. After 65 minutes ( I can't believe I waited that long.) we left $3. on the table for the 1 soda and went to Jimmy Bean's. The service is friendly & the food comes lightning fast, and is always wonderful. I had the best Cioppino I have had in my life!! By far!
**next time I crave Thai food I will go to Bua Luang. never had a bad experience there!**

Pros: Place looks nice.

Cons: NO FOOD. NO Explaination. Poor service!

Posted 12/03/06

we were there on weekend the food is very good papaya salad is amazing so strong in flavor very nice, service is good keep it up guys

Posted 07/13/06

We were amazed to discover the best Thai restaurant we've ever visited in a nodescript building on busy, industrial San Pablo Avenue. We visit again and again, wanting to try the entire menu. The fish is fresh, the authentic Thai herbs and seasonings pungent, and the staff is as nice as can be.

A caution - if you say you want your dish spicy, spicy indeed it will be!

I almost hate to review the restaurant because we like this being our secret Thai joint.

Pros: food, food, food!

Posted 06/02/06

This place is a hit for me, we came a month ago a friend recommed it so good padthai not too sweet, papaya salad is mouth flavorfull

Posted 05/26/06

The first time I ate here was for a work meeting and I was instantly addicted. I love Thai food and have tried other places in the area but they pale in comparison. They have the best Thai Iced Tea ever. It has crushed ice instead of cubes. Their Sa Tay, Ma Sa Man curry and House Special Barbeque Chicken are my favorite dishes. The latter is brought out sitting on a tray while still on fire.

Also note that you can get delivery from EZ Dine In.

Pros: Inexpensive, Great Food, Friendly

Cons: Small parking lot

Posted 04/06/06

we were their last night, the place was busy, the server still give us a big smile, food is great sooooo spicy(we ask for medium plus on papaya salad) our waitress already warn us about spicy...... we totally love this place

Posted 03/10/06

After reading so much positive reviews, we tried out the lunch yesterday. The food tastes good, and it would be ideal if you only want an extremely light meal. Both Thaifood Restaurants on Shattuck offer much more food for the same dish. We, a group of five, received no service what-so-ever during the lunch. Yet the check includes 18% after tax tip, and surely the waitress does not bother to explain it, and when the credit card receipt comes, here is the tip column again. Customer Beware!

Pros: Thai food

Cons: Service, Automatic tip, Too light for dinner

Posted 12/04/05

The place is homey and clean. The food is authentic and their presentation is unique. I always like trying new places so I only have a handful of restaurants that I would go back after the first time because I KNOW what I will get and KNOW I will be satisfied. This is one of that handful bunch. You should go!

Pros: Clean and Tidy, Great Food, Parking

Posted 12/04/05

I went to ruen pair with my first date about 1 months ago and we just notice that we want more of their food we become their regular customer now. This place is awsome, the first time we ask very hot the waitstaff warn us about the spicy but we donot listen so, IF you order hot so be warn (I am serious)next we go for medium. the waitstuff is very nice. If you live in the neighbor you will know that a lot customer are from around town, this is not a touris place. Issan grilled pork and papaya sald is very good, the waitstuff recomed to eat papaya salad with pad thai(mix withpeanut, chiliflake and a bit of lime) i thing is very good combination.

Pros: parking lot, friendly service

Posted 09/05/04

This place rocks! I find myself craving their Tom Kha Gai and their Issan Grilled Pork regularly. My boyfriend can't get enough of their curries. Basically, everything that we have ordered has been fabulous. Very authentic - spicy, tangy, sweet, but balanced. Not that late-night-noodle-house-all-sweet-and-mushy thing. The servers are very nice, and there is a very friendly siamese cat in the parking lot to help you with your leftovers.

Pros: Great Food, Lunch and Dinner

Posted 08/16/04

This place is unforgetable, food great,service is so freindly.... We dine at RuenPAir for a frist time we order PAdthai and its was great. We will be back.

Pros: Inexpensive, on site parking

Posted 07/13/04

Myself have been to Thialand and the food at Ruenpair is very good, make me feel like thailand without leaving the country. the food not sweet likethe other thai resturant and mamy varity of food. The service is nice but a bit slow when get busy.. My recomend is papaya salad all the currie, Ruen pair lemon fish are my best bet.

Posted 07/13/04

I love going to this place. My friends told me about it and I just had to try it. The food is just plain yummy! I love spicy food, but when you order "spicy" here, BEWARE! SPICY MEANS SPICY! It's not the watered down version "spicy" most of us get at other Thai restaurants. I always order the Pad Kee Mao and Issan Grilled Beef and sometimes the Tom Ka Gai soup if I go with friends. Anyone who likes REAL spicy Thai food should try it!

Pros: Real Spicy!, Cool People!, Parking lot!

Cons: None!

Posted 04/12/03

Ruen Pair became my absolute favorite Thai restaurant after our first visit and has maintained that standing on the billion or so visits I've dragged my husband on since - quite a feat as I am a Thai addict and have lots of "favorites" for it to compete with. The waitstaff is courteous and attentive, the place is nice, and the wine list is small but good, but it's the food that's truly amazing. The Jungle Curry is the best curry I've ever had, and they don't skimp on the veggies and tofu in the vegetarian dishes. I wouldn't recommend the Raw Blue Crab And Papaya Salad - my husband, who is more adventurous than most, ordered it and couldn't eat more than one bite. I couldn't even eat one. We ended up sharing my veggie Pad Kee Mao, which was fine as it was both huge and excellent.

Pros: Reasonable Prices, Great Service, Parking Lot

Posted 10/29/02