Rate-A-Restaurant #178: Osha Thai

Restaurant: Osha Thai

Location: 1149 2nd St. (San Francisco)

Type of restaurant: Thai

They stipulated: With parties of six or more, tip is calculated in. We almost didn’t notice that they’d done so, apparently counting our 3 year old and the 1 year old with the couple we were out with as well.

Yellow sea.

We stipulated: Meeting pal Lisa, her hubby Max and their little one Matthew, they were kind enough to come our way. We mentioned Thai or Chinese as something we hadn’t done on the trip yet, and they suggested Osha. It was walking distance from our hotel, so we were sold.

Yin-Yang sea bass.

What we ordered: Yellow sea: Prawns, scallops, calamari and crab claws stir-fried with yellow curry powder sauce, egg, green onion, red bell pepper and celery ($18); Yin-Yang sea bass: Steamed Sea Bass fillet and Napa cabbage over thick red curry and green curry sauce ($18); Spicy eggplant: Choice of sliced chicken, beef or pork stir-fried with eggplant, basil and red bell pepper ($13); Pad see you: Rice noodles pan fried with Chinese broccoli, egg, black soy bean sauce and choice of chicken, beef or pork ($11); Tom Yum soup: Hot & Sour soup with lemongrass, galangal, Kaffir lime leaf, mushrooms, and tomatoes ($10). Also, drinks included a lychee martini ($9) and a Thai tea tini ($9).

Pad see you.

High point: Considering the hip surroundings, Osha is surprisingly kid friendly. Evan was demanding to see cable cars, and put on a bit of a scene, but luckily wasn’t really noticed. Other families at the restaurant also had kids in tow. Food wise, the spicy eggplant was nice.

Low point: Other than that automatic gratuity, there really wasn’t one.

Spicy eggplant.

Overall impression: Osha is actually a mini-chain of five restaurants in the SF area. Yet this one felt like it was one of a kind. Sometimes the food can be too dumbed down and Americanized at places like this… but that Tom Yum soup definitely tasted authentic, and the rest of the choices were winners as well. Good choice by Lisa and Max, and just what we were looking to eat on night three of our journey.

Tom Yum soup.

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