The Great Thai BBQ

This place has been delicious from the moment it opened! good pricing, delicious food and great portions! Their Thai iced tea is even on steroids. However, every time I come in, it seems they’re either really slow or maybe just missed the rush hour. I don’t know why they don’t receive the recognition they deserve because the food really is THAT GOOD.
I used to live down the street on plaza and walk over but since I moved more north… I still come here when I’m in the area.
My favorites:
Combination fried rice level 7
Pad Thai level 6 with chicken
Yellow curry with extra chicken no spice
Pineapple fried rice is my personal favorite with spice level 7
Give them a try!

Super nice little place! A little hard to find it is back in the corner next to some other stores and can’t really see it without walking right up to it. But the inside is immaculate!!! Everything from paint and décor to the seat and the floors! Everything is super clean and nice. Feels very upscale. The food is awesome! We had the calamari appetizer and their sauce is heavenly! Not sure what it is but is sweet and smooth and crisp tasting! My wife got the BBQ ribs and white rice and the portion was gigantic! The meat fell off the bone on every piece and had amazing flavor. Good marinade of some sort and just a little chat on the outside to crisp it up nicely! I had seafood pad Thai and it was also delicious! The best pad Thai noodles and sauce I’ve had in the states! Rivals that I’ve had in Thailand! Do yourself a favor and give this place a try! If you enjoy Thai food it will be perfect!
Also: food is not made spicy unless you ask for it that way which is nice for those who don’t like spicy food but want the flavor!

Stopped by on a weekday for a late lunch, around 1pm. The general area was a little busy with limited parking, but the restaurant itself wasn’t too busy. Only a few other diners scattered inside.
We were greeted right away. The lady helping us was busy because she was the only one working the dining room. Not overly friendly, but she still checked on us throughout our meal.
Phad Thai– sweet and peanut-​y. The noodles were a nice chewy texture. A good combination of toppings.
Thai fried rice– the flavor got masked a bit by the phad Thai if eaten together, but had a good sweet flavor on its own too. Generous portion.
BBQ chicken– didn’t have a huge amount of flavor on its own, but it was very tender, «fall off the bone». It has that nice grill taste. Add flavor to it by dipping it into the sweet sauce it comes with. The lunch combo comes with a large scoop of red rice and a small salad.
Also ordered chicken Panang curry. Creamy and slightly spicy (we went mild). It’s very soupy with bite size pieces of chicken and strips of green bell pepper.
We really enjoyed our lunch here. The food was all served hot and ingredients seemed fresh. Overall, a lot of what we ordered had a sweetness to it. So their Thai food may be a bit to sweet for some.
Thumbs up!

I came here after reading the same reviews you’re checking out. Good portions and super nice staff. I definitely would come back.

Love ALL THEIR FOOD!!! And price is very reasonable! Staff is friendly and nice, always checking-​up on us what we needed and make sure our water was filled. It was such an amazing experience and food!
Loooove the PAD THAI!

Beside the loneliness and emptiness of the restaurant the food is pretty great (:
It’s not a everyday thing to go to but for Thai food yaaasssss (:
For the entry I got would be
Red curry ⁵⁄₁₀ on the spiciness
| which was very good and pleasing and I just love it. If you haven’t have Thai curry this is something to start with (:
Teriyaki chicken was also bomb I had this twice and the second time they made it way better, and I believe I got the combo plate which was G7 I believe. But wasn’t that much please with the shrimp rice~ but overall I still came to eat everything.
Customer service I would rate it ⁷⁄₁₀ because we didn’t receive a greeting upon the door, we sat ourselves and didn’t seem like she cracked a smile :0 but it’s alright I was happy with the food (:

Omg! ! Absolutely delicious! !! Recommend to all! I wasn’t sure what to expect but it definetly surpassed anything I’ve had in the past!

A friend of mine told me about a new Thai place on Plaza that’s worth checking out. Came here on a Saturday afternoon and it was fairly empty with one other table occupied. There was only one server but she was very nice and attentive.
We ordered:
Thai Iced Tea with boba — For the price, this was excellent! The cup was huge and the amount of boba was plentiful. The thai tea was very concentrated which I love! This is a must order!
Spicy Beef Salad — Spicy and refreshing! This salad was a surprise since it was very delicious with a generous amount of beef slices.
Tom Kha Soup — Possibly some of the best down south has to offer.
Sate Dinner plate — The Sate plate came with 6 skewers. Opted for half chicken and half beef. Chicken was a tad on the dry side but nothing the accompanied sauces didn’t fix.
Pad Thai Shrimp — Good amount of pad thai with jumbo shrimp mixed throughout. Very good, especially with the scrambled egg.
BBQ Pork Spare Ribs — The ribs was the winning dish of the night. Extremely soft and fall-​off-​the-​bone meat! The flavors were ridiculously good and the sweet dipping sauce was awesome! Loved it!

I wanted to like this place, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back. Honestly, it wasn’t even the food that was bad, but the environment and accommodations.
My family and I always go to the restaurants that are in this plaza, and didn’t even realize there was a Thai restaurant! My parents and I decided to go here for a late lunch/​early dinner one time, and it was completely empty. The only worker on the floor lacked in customer service. I don’t believe she smiled once, aside from when giving us the check. She wasn’t necessarily rude, but she wasn’t nice either.
Also, even though the restaurant is quiet and empty, that doesn’t mean you can make a phone calls. I’ve never been to a restaurant where the workers make a personal call on the phone until now. She was talking to her friend about the Super Bowl, and my parents and I were just shocked. It was just funny to us.
Aside from that, the food is alright. My dad ordered the shrimp wonton soup and it didn’t look like there was shrimp in it at all. It didn’t look too appetizing. My mom ordered the panang curry, and it had an extra sweet taste to it. This is also the first Thai restaurant where the rice doesn’t come with the curry, so rice was $ 1.50 extra I believe. I got the chicken pad Thai, and I think it was my favorite part of the meal. It was spicy for a 4! I wish there had been more egg in it.
I eat pad Thai and panang curry at every single Thai restaurant, so I have high expectations. Our experience would’ve been better if the waitress was nicer and not so unprofessional. I also don’t like how rice costs extra.
Side note: the restaurant looks like a hookah lounge to me.

I love this spot! I’m so glad they opened up this restaurant here in San Diego it reminds me of The Original Thai BBQ spot in LA and it tastes just as delicious! The restaurant is always clean & the workers are always very attentive. The food is fantastic! I have been here a couple times and so far here are the items that I have tried:
G5 Beef Satay with Shrimp fried rice-​MY FAVE!
Pad Thai noodles-​delicious!
Thai iced tea-​creamy and refreshing!
Pork ribs with shrimp fried rice-​Tasty!
Crab cakes with shrimp fried rice-​Yum!

First time we eat here. Everything was awesome!!!
We are a family that likes to share so I tryed about 5 different things on the menu. They were all delicious!
Totally making this a usual spot.

I should’ve known not to return when they wouldn’t let my small group and I into the restaurant (they physically stood at the door and wouldn’t let us enter because they were «short staff and the food was going to take a really really long time to fix» even though they had a restaurant full of people and a small group walked in immediately after us). You’re probably thinking why would you go back to a place that wouldn’t even let you inside but we were really hungry this night and it’s super close to where we live.
We made a mistake. We ordered to go, they got one order completely wrong and the other order was fried rice with shrimp. It was tasty, they didn’t skimp on the shrimp however, there were barely any vegetables in my fried rice. The top of it looked great but as I started to eat it I realized that they gave me a to go order of hella rice. I would’ve been happy with hella rice and onion but barely any onion or any other vegetable that comes in fried rice. Smh. The flavor is on point, so they’re doing that right but everything else they’re doing pretty bad at.
I tried to give them another chance (even though I really shouldn’t have, I mean it’s 2016 and I can’t come inside your restaurant cause service will be slow even though you have a restaurant full of people. Seems sketchy. But Whatever.) If you’re starving go on in, if they allow you to come in, but I’d go somewhere else.
Ps. The fried spring rolls here are SOOO GOOD.

I came here with friends who were visiting from out of town. Unfortunately I am unable to give a review on the food here (even though Thai food is my favorite) because we were refused service before even making it into the establishment.
When my three friends and I arrived, the door was locked even though it was clearly a few tables of people seated already. Then we were told at the door by a server that they had a big party coming and they only had two employees so the wait would be slow. The female server sternly implied we were not welcome and shut the door (could this be discrimination based on the fact that we were poc or LGBT?)
Still standing outside surprised, we saw a group of 6 (of Asian descent) openly being welcomed and sat down without a problem. I would NEVER suggest anyone to come here who fears discrimination of any kind and ultimately poor customer service.

Cup of jalapenos was super old and orange and there was a dead fly inside. Waitress took 10 min to take our order. Food took literally 45 min to get to our table. 2 of us ordered pad tai and green curry. Both was very gross. Didnt even finish my plate. The pad tai smells like wet dog fareal. And the tai tea wasnt good either. First and last time i will eat here.

Had the Lunch Special. we had the Tai BBQ and Spicy Basil Chicken it was good. Had the Tai Ice Coffee it was good. Service was great place was empty but it was good. I defiantly be back to try something more off the menu.

Our first time trying this place since it opened, and I must say they left a lasting impression.
I’ve been craving for Pad Thai so I ordered a Pad Thai with fresh tofu, and Panang Curry for my boyfriend. My boyfriend said upon picking it up, the hostess realized they had put fried tofu in my pad thai instead of the fresh version. She immediately apologized and insisted that they fix it. In addition, she offered my boyfriend two complimentary thai teas for us to enjoy – he insisted there was no need, but she still insisted she would like to do so for the inconvenience.
The portion was very generous, and my boyfriend said it looked really clean and nice inside, so hopefully I can try dining in next time!
I genuinely appreciate the warmth and hospitality, hopefully more people get to try this place out!

Love, love, love the spicy Basil beef! Lunch combo with rice and salad ~ $ 7.95
I order pick-​up during my lunch break — it’s always hot and ready when I get there.

Ordered take out and was slightly dissatisfied! I ordered a Pad Thai level 5 spicy and the Satay BBQ Chicken w/​fried rice — spent $ 26.96 + $ 2 tips. The entrees where large portions. I like my pad thai spicy! But they failed to get my order right. My pad thai was very mild, over cooked, and sour, ³⁄₅ stars. The pad thai noodles where hard to pull apart. It was stuck together like glue. The BBQ chicken was good. The place was empty when I picked up my order. I don’t understand why they got my order wrong. Mind you not, this was my first time here. :(Management please double check the orders before packing it for your customers. Maybe they’ll get my order right next time.

San Diego! I don’t think you know what we finally have available now. we dont have to go to LA Thai town to get «the Original Thai BBQ». grant it, its not the same name but the BBQ is exactly the same if not a little better especially their chicken sate than the ones in LA. the owner ran one of the operations in LA and wanted to open one up in SD but didn’t want to pay the hefty fee for the franchise. so we get the Great Thai BBQ instead.
its a Thai place for sure but angelinos have been going to their multiple spots since the 70s for their BBQ.

if the people in National City or SD says we already have a BBQ spot in Manila Sunset and L&L Hawaiian, its not the same. try their half chicken bbq and while some flavors may be similar its different enough to make you a regular. its moist, juicy, sweet, sticky and comes with the infamous Thai BBQ shrimp java fried rice with scallions. the sate might look like manila sunset next door but Thai sate bbq has a different taste and texture compared to Filipino BBQ sticks.
you can order Thai dishes but you have to try their BBQ first. especially the great combinations which is in the back menu with their java rice.
* to the Filipinos in the area. punta kayo, ma bu bu sug ikaw talaga. hope I spelled that right.

Good thai food. Fast service.
You might not notice this reastaurant outside because its like a hole in a wall. But its where manila sunset is, and exactly beside the shirt store.