Nicely decorated interior gives way to solid menu.
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1012
Reviewed: 6/18/2005
Rating: 8
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We initally were on our way to Willow Street Pizza but parking over there is hell. Having been in the area a couple of times, we knew Amarin Thai was on our places to go so we figured we'd make it today. The outside is a mirage of sorts, it looks like your rubber stamped restaurant front but the inside is one of more beautiful places weve seen. It took awhile to order the food and Im a firm believer that people should order in the order they sat down. We arrived a good 5 minutes before the people next to us and they got to order first.
soup - different than the spicey soup we normally get at thai places. Flavor wasnt as bold and probably because it was a non-meat broth.
Spring Rolls - extra crispy and right out of the fryer. Served hot with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. I believe it was vegetarian and quite tasty.
Pad Thai - noodles were a little sticky, good mix of shrimp and chicken, although they definitely had more chicken than shrimp. Flat noodles, wasnt spicey, more on the sweet side, but just enough to fill my stomach up. I would order again.
With a comforting atmosphere, good prices, and tasty dishes, Amarin Thai is definitely a place I would visit again for lunch. My tiny tiny complaint is the service. For a lunch rush, they had 1 waiter and 1 busboy bussing 25+ people. I think they were overwhelmed and could tell when it came to ordering.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 738
Reviewed: 6/18/2005
Rating: 8
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Its really hard now for me to find a Thai restaurant that I don't like. It is quickly becoming my top cuisine, neck and neck with Mexican food. The spicier the better.
I went with the standard Thai Iced Tea (which tasted normal, nothing special, no refills). I then looked at their Vegetarian menu (kudos for supplying a separate menu) and ordered the Sizzling Tofu in Peanut Sauce, which was under the Spicy Curry section.
The waiter took forever to take our order. It was a noticeably long wait that definitely got us down. It wasn't too too busy, just normal lunchtime crowd. I was disappointed. I told him I wanted it spicy. He obviously didn't understand me as it arrived (looking quite nice I must say) and tasted like MAYBE a traditional spicy level at Cluck U. As in, barely even registering any spice. And I'm not just being a spice-snob. It really had no heat at all.
The dish, though, tasted fantastic. It probably was not very healthy at all with all that peanut sauce, but it tasted so good. It filled me up, I ate it quickly because it was so delicious, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone. In fact i would have rated my meal an 8.5 if the service didn't suck so badly. What was supposed to be an hour lunch, turned into a 1.5 hour lunch.
Reviewer: Lainie
Total Reviews: 41
Reviewed: 7/16/2006
Rating: 7
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The service and atmosphere were great here. The staff kept your water glass full and were accomodating. However, the food was just 'okay'. There are lots of other Thai places around that I prefer becuase you taste more of the authentic spices of the food. The food here tended to be a bit saltier than necessary (that's where I'd prefer to taste more spices and herbs than salt) and the meats a bit tough. (We had a beef and fish dish and both were on the slightly overcooked side.) The crispy spring rolls were also a tad hum-drum. Maybe it was a bad night, but I'd only visit this place if I had to. I think the Thai place just 2 doors down is a lot better. It's a bit more style over substance at Amarin.
Reviewer: ne00
Total Reviews: 173
Reviewed: 4/13/2007
Rating: 8
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Parking is impossible to find during peak lunch hours around Castro. Our destination was Amarin Thai on Castro Street, down on the other end towards Central Expressway. A few of our co workers jumped out the car to put their names down as there seemed to be several people waiting for seats. The remaining crew drove up and down the main streets and side streets in search for parking. We lucked out by parking next to the post office.
Amarin Thai has outside seating as well as indoor table seats and those seats where you take off your shoes. Well we, because we were party for five, we lucked out sitting at a platform table. Wear clean socks as chances are good your large group will end up sitting without shoes if you come for lunch during peak hours. I heard from a co worker Amarin is a good 20 to 30 min wait during Friday dinner as well. This place is popular, I wondered why.
Our table received two menus per person. One menu contained strictly vegetarian dishes, and one contained the lunch items that could be converted into a vegetarian item. Both menus spanned 4 pages. Nothing fancied my interest so I planned to order the Pad Thai but the crab meat fried rice caught my eyes at only 8.95. The remainder of our group ordered various chicken dishes, pineapple fried rice, and the fried catfish in curry sauce. Amarin seems to serve up their version of brown rice too as many lunch plates offered choice of brown or Jasmine rice. We also ordered five orders of chicken satay (2/3.50).
Service was efficient as waters are promptly filled when asked. To save time they even brought out a vase of ice water with wedges of lemon. These vases typically are only enough to fill four glasses of water.
Our free soup came out first. Small bowls of chicken stock soup with chopped veggies. Not bad, not something I would order but its free. Next our satay arrives with peanut sauce and pickled cucumbers. Peanut sauce taste store bought but chicken satay was excellent, oily but tender chicken.
Shortly after our appetizers are done our meal arrive. First the fried cat fish with a large heap of rice. The cat fish looks spicy, but the person who orders it doesnt seem to mind. Next my crab fried rice arrives. Its basically a plate full, huge portions and definitely worth it. Difference between Thai fried rice and Chinese fried rice? Thai fried rice has more fish sauce, so it tastes a bit different from Chinese fried rice. The fried rice has bits of real crab meat, eggs, and broccoli. After eating it all down I was stuffed. The pineapple fried rice was also huge and wrapped in tin foil; all other curry items had nice generous portions. I lucked out, as my dish was the only one not spicy. All other items were spicy as some people in our group started sniffling but couldnt stop eating as everything was so good.
Over all service was quick, and staff was friendly. When the bill arrived they added a 15% tip for party of 5 people. Final bill came to $72 with tax and tip. I want to come back and try other items but considering there was no choice of spiciness and the items served were all spicy, as everyone within my group said “this is spicy, but for you it would kill you.” Ok I get the point!
Arrive early for best seats, decent lunch prices for the portion and quality of food. Great service staff.
Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 147
Reviewed: 1/22/2008
Rating: 8
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I swore I'd never come back to this restaurant due to its lack luster service and professionalism. Short story a patron refused to pay for a dish cooked too spicy, the restaurant called the cops instead - everyone felt awkward.
Anyways swung by the Castro St. location today and grabbed a basil chicken over rice and a thai iced tea. The chicken definitely had heat, I had sweat rolling, but enjoyed every bite. The ice tea was sweet, creamy and calmed my taste buds.
Seated quick, served quick, and check presented before we were half way done - however this was expected. At least we didn't get booted out as soon as we wrapped things up.
“Like an Alzheimer's patient, I keep returning here even though I've sworn over and over again I'd had enough. These are the rudest servers I have EVER experienced! The spicy corn cakes are amazing, but the cashew tofu is the worst I've ever had”
