Marnee Thai, San Francisco

Steven and I have been shopping for Asian and other international food products in the Sunset area of San Francisco for quite some time now. Think Sunset Super and 22nd Ave and Irving Market. We never actually eat in that neighborhood.

Marnee Thai interior

Marnee Thai storefront

Marnee Thai is located on Irving between our two favorite food stores. Every time I pass by it, I think to myself that I want to try it. The thing is that whenever we’re there shopping, it’s always in the middle of the afternoon. We’re never hungry then. And when we’re at home ready to go out to eat somewhere, I always wonder if it’s worth the schlep.

Well that changed last Saturday. We were in the Castro for a pre-Paint-the-Town-Pink party for Gay Pride weekend at my workmate Dan’s place. The party was really fun but since it broke up around dinner time, we were hungry. Since with rare exceptions, restaurants in the Castro are less than exciting, we decided to go the last little ways by car to Marnee Thai. Steven thinks that people go to the Castro for reasons other than food.

Marnee Thai detail

It’s located at 2225 Irving Street, between 23rd and 24th Aves in the Sunset with another location on 9th Avenue. It doesn’t look like much from the street: just a hole-in-the-wall kind of spot. Inside the décor is very nice. The ceiling is peaked in a V-shape and covered with straw mats. The walls have lots of interesting Thai decorations, including elephant paintings, small shelves holding Thai orchids, Wat temple paintings and of course a picture of the revered King of Thailand.

The walls are also covered with various awards that the chef and restaurant have received over the years. And they’re well earned as the food was amazing. With the possible exception of the incredible food we had when we were actually in Thailand few years ago, I think that Marnee has the best Thai food anywhere I’ve ever been. Wow! I even like it better than Thai Pavilion in Astoria, Queens, New York, which until finding Marnee was my favorite anywhere.

Singha Thai beer

Since it was just the two of us, we shared everything. We ended up ordering four dishes which all came out one-at-a-time. We started with the special super fresh panko fried soft shell crab mango and lettuce salad dressed in a sour, sweet, tangy and slightly spicy sauce made with tamarind purée, lime, cilantro and fish sauce. It was simply amazing.

Next was marvelously fresh and light vegetable tom yum soup that was perfectly balanced with the flavors of kafir lime, fresh galangal, lemon grass, pepper and lots of vegetables. The broth, like a good soup consommé, was perfectly clear. It did have a bit of fish sauce which I don’t oppose. So it’s not vegetarian. However the wait person suggested that it could be made without it. I make tom yum soups at home, like this spicy Thai vegetable soup and this poached king salmon one. It’s magical when all the ingredients are in synch.

soft shell crab mango salad

vegetable tom yum soup

We took a risk and shared another salad after the soup made with gluten, iceberg lettuce, fresh mint, and cilantro dressed with a light delicious sauce. We’re ambivalent about gluten strips but here they were really good. They were flash boiled and then dusted with a spice powder mix that I cannot quite place. The texture was not rubbery or overly gelatinous; it was more like a slightly less firm chicken breast if you can imagine. Delicious!

Marnee Thai gluten salad

Marnee Thai vegetarian pad thai

We finished our dinner with a vegetarian pad Thai which was also cooked to perfection. It tasted savory, sour and sweet with some crunch from the bean sprouts. For this one you had the option of selecting how hot you wanted the dish. We requested medium as we weren’t sure how hot “hot” would be and we’ve been burned before. It was a bit too mild for us so next visit we’ll try for hotter. Even so, the dish was yummy.

We want to go back there soon to try some of the other dishes on their extensive menu. There’s a whole range of vegetarian, fish and even meaty dishes. Check Marnee Thai out! You will not be disappointed.

The chef, Chai Siriyam, has published an exciting cookbook: Thai Cuisine Beyond Curry, available only at the restaurant. Look for it.