Krung Thep

Went for lunch. 1 pm and I was the only one in the restaurant. Noted that my table cloth edges were dirty. Asked for another table. Then noted that all other table cloths were dirty as well. Thought about leaving. But against my best judgment, I decided to stay. Ordered the eggplant with shrimp. Food looked horrible and tasted alright. End of story was an upset stomach for the rest of the day.
Not recommended. Stay away.

I ordered the pineapple fried rice extra hot and the dish was excellent in flavor and in heat. I think the elderly woman who cooks really knows what she is doing. I think, unfortunately, that her and her husband tell their sad story of how they want to sell the place because they are old — –you feel for them, but it is rather sad. He filled my water up many times. But I was annoyed that the overhead TV was on and he was watching it — –I hate TVs in restaurants. I haven’t been back because of the odd vibe, not because of the food. The next time I go — –and I will — -I will just ask if they could turn off the TV. A lot of people like the curries here, so that is what I will try next time. By the way: they close two days a week — -I think it’s Monday and Tuesday.

Food was OK. Vibe is too weird.

Hit or miss upon repeat visits :(We stopped going.

I love this place, and I love the people that own it. They are very friendly. They bring old-​school hospitality which I personally find refreshing. At the same time, in my experience, they have always been respectful.
I dine in and get takeout from here quite often. They always give generous portions, especially for takeout, which is appreciated. I have tried various dishes, and I can honestly say that my stomach has never felt bad after eating their food. I can’t say the same for other Thai places in the area. The cook is very conscientious about health and it shows.
Personally I am glad that not that many people come here. Sometimes I have the place to myself with my wife, and some times we have good conversations with the owners. It’s true, I would be wary of restaurants with no one in them in crowded areas like downtown Berkeley, but it’s not like people are out restaurant hunting on San Pablo in El Cerrito.
I can highly recommend the yellow curry chicken, and the BBQ pork, my two favorite dishes.
I really can’t say enough good things about this place. If in doubt, you may as well give it a try. It promises to be a memorable experience.

Wasnt that good… Never coming here again this place was WACK WACK WACK!!! I didnt like how they put too much lemon grass in my noodle thats ALL I tasted never coming to this spizznot again!!! Sorry guy!

The owners Victor and May are so sweet! They have been in business for over a quarter of a century and the food explains why. I love the drunk noodles as well as the pad thai. I definitely recommend people check it out.

In a town where there is Thai restaurant on almost every block, this place delivers great food. The Mom and Pop owners are very genuine, warm, and funny to the patrons. That only goes so far, these folks consistently deliver great food. I have eaten here about 3 times and ordered «to go» twice. I have to recommend the Green Curry, it has a nice balance of sauce consistency, and a prominent lemongrass and Basil flavors. The combination Thai fried rice which can be a meal in itself comes in with generous portions of shrimp, and is about one and half times larger in amount than other Thai restaurants. I also enjoy their Pad thai, and their Duck dishes.
Its a hole in the wall but easy to find and parking is always accessible.

Let me begin by saying I wish I hadn’t been so lazy and had reviewed this place before the incident of June 15, 2012. If I had, I would have given them 3 maybe even 4 stars mostly based on hospitality not the food.
First off the food is good, not great as some people on here claim (the ones that say they’ve been to Thailand and that this is just AS GOOD hella crack me up).
Big plus… I will say I loved their chicken satay the first time I ate at the restaurant and that their dipping sauces were wonderful. Big minus… the wine in the little individual serving bottles were so OLD that there was major sediment in them super gross. I actually had a stomach ache the first night after eating here. I don’t know if it was the super old gross wine or if I was so grossed out by the super gross wine that my body «thought» itself sick.
Anywho…like everyone else that has come here the wife/​chef told me over and over how beautiful I was, went on and on about the woes of the history of the restaurant (how they used to bring in thousands of dollars a night in business and had many cooks), asked if I knew anyone interested in buying a restaurant business, etc etc.
The husband with the strange high pitched girly voice is always pleasant and attentive if he was on the floor and not back in the kitchen.
Back to the point. I always very much want to support small mom & pop businesses even if the food isn’t top notch. Even though the wife rather weird-​ed me out because she always touches my face every time I come in and fawns over me I still frequented this place.
So I ate here many times and was content… blah blah blah.
Fast forward to June 15^th. I placed an order for pick up at 8:21pm and gave them my mobi #. The husband told me 20 minutes. Great!
My friend showed up at 8:46pm to pick up the order. The restaurant was EMPTY and yet the husband said it would be 15 minutes before the order was ready. WHAT?!? That means they are doing the lame routine that some small Asian restaurants do on pick up orders and not COOKING it until the customer shows up. HELLA HELLA LAME.
So my friend calls me and because we have to be somewhere and are on a time-​frame I tell him to tell them we can’t wait and cancel the order. He does and leaves.
9pm the husband calls and acts like nothing happened and says «your order ready you pick up now». WTF?
I get into a confrontational conversation with him and tell him that telling a customer 20 minutes when it’s actually going to be 45 minutes is NOT okay. I tell him that he should have been honest and stated that it would be 45 minutes. He tries to counter retort with «We were very busy.».
Errrr keep in mind when my friend showed up there was NOT A SINGLE PERSON THERE other than him and the owner. So I get so frustrated with him because he’s insisting that I come pick up this order that was canceled that I finally say to him «I will never come to your restaurant again!». He responds with «Don’t ever come back!». Apparently he didn’t HEAR me. Anyway I hang up and think I’m done with the flaky average Thai food restaurant.
No no no…9:05 my mobi phone rings and I see that it’s the restaurant. I ignore the call because frankly I can’t imagine why in the hell they are calling me?
Turns out the wife leaves a message. She’s SCREAMING AT ME about PICK UP YOUR ORDER… And then goes on to curse me out in Thai… used to live there, yes I understand it… for several minutes.
Guess what crazy have the need to feel up an touch every woman lady… F.U.

This place has decent food — not as good as Heng Heng Heng, or as fast, though.
Both times I ate here, it was empty. Except for the husband/​wife/​owners/​chefs/​waiters/​entertainment.
They are EXTREMELY sweet & will try to adopt you — we all got hugs on the way out.
They’re a bit slow, but everything is cooked to order.
And be VERY clear when you order — I ordered steamed fish, described as sole on the menu. They brought me steamed salmon.
Next time I have a couple of extra hours to kill, I might return.
Oh yeah — cash only, no credit cards!

I have been to many thai places, but the Pad Thai and the green curry here are outstanding.
The service is excellent, and the décor is clean and nice. The neighborhood is safe in comparison to Oakland and Richmond and parking is a breeze.
When my gf and I went we were the only people there, but I guess you have to blame the economy. If you want affordable ($ 33.00) with tip for two people authentic Thai cuisine with zero MSG, then this is the place for you.
Please support your local business, the other 5 star reviews of this place are spot on.
Oh yeah, they are CASH ONLY. The menu might say this and that about a small charge for debit and/​or credit cards but I will repeat the only way to get this delicious food is CASH ONLY.
By the way I have tried Thai Spice in Pinole, California Thai in San Pablo, and some nasty joint with a huge parking lot in Richmond on 23^rd st., and Krung Thep’s food
blows theirs away. Out of those restaurants, the only authentic thai chef is from Krung Thep. The others are all wanna-be’s with hella MSG in it. Yuck to the tingly tongue!
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this one.
KRUNG THEP = NO MSG THAI GOODNESS. God Bless, and please support. Owners are really nice.

Being a Thai person who was born in Bangkok and visit the country almost every other year for the last 30+ years, I’ve been searching for a Thai restaurant in the Bay Area that can achieve the flavor authenticity as those I’ve eaten in Thailand itself. So far, only a few came close. My wife saw the good review for Krung Thep and suggested to we gave it a try. The place may seem quiet and run by only an old married husband and wife, but the food blew me away in matching exactly the flavors of the country!
We ordered just three dishes to give the place a try: beef salad, pad kra pow, and pineapple fried rice (my favorite dish from Thailand). All of them were on the spot. The best part is that there is a prominent sign in the back of the restaurant stating that they DO NOT USE MSG. Considering the great flavor of food at Thailand all uses MSG, I was very surprised that Krung Thep was able to match the tastes without using any MSG.
I highly recommend this place for anyone who lives in or near El Cerrito (we also live here) and looking for authentic Thai food. Sawooi (another Thai restaurant nearby) is pretty good, but this place is even better. It is a jem waiting to be discovered in this little quiet part of the town.

I came into the restaurant kind of reluctant about the kind of food and service I was going to get. It was almost uncannily weird that a restaurant with such amazing Unilocal reviews would be empty at dinner time on a Friday night. Nevertheless, the food was REALLY good. They gave us free rice and were very very very nice. I can’t even emphasize enough how I love the old lady cook. She came out beaming after the food was served and seemed very happy to see us. We got plenty of compliments about our looks (which is something anyone who’s ever had a doting grandparent have experienced before) and great service. They even refused to take the tip we were about to give them after the meal because we are students.
Afterwards, they sent us off with a hug goodbye. The place seemed really homey and the food definitely seemed like a legit home cooked meal from Thailand.
This place should really get blown up. The food and the owners are amazing and they should get a lot more customers coming around.

This is the kind of place I wouldn’t have walked into if it weren’t for the Unilocal reviews – nondescript hole-​in-​the-​wall with Jeopardy playing on the TV.
I had a red curry with shrimp, pineapple and peppers. The food was great, the portions were large, and the service was very friendly.
My only quibbles were that they didn’t accept credit cards (though the menu said there was a $ 20 minimum for credit cards), and they charged extra for rice, even though they serve it with nearly everything.

Delicious Thai food at a great price.
Came in after a long day at work, and ordered: chicken pad thai, chicken satay, pumpkin curry chicken, spring rolls and vegetables with tofu. It was done in about 20 minutes, and the owners were very nice!

* Great small business location. * Easy-​to-​get-​to. /​Near BART. * Super-​friendly & personal service. * Also: Great for take-​out! *
* Authentic Thai food, made to order (by Thai standards). * In other words, if you ask for «spicy» — then you are going to get a THAI level of spicy (not an American sense of «spicy»). When they say «hot»: they mean HOT! * Which is great if you like authentic home cooking. * Just ask for what you need. *
* Loyal & long-​term customer base. * Try a few dishes, see which ones suit you. People who go to the Krung Thep and make the effort to connect with the wonderful owners almost always go back. *
* May is an excellent cook! *
* The space is relaxed… The pace is relaxed… You go there to have a good meal, well-​prepared with lots of love in the heart… * The Krung Thep is a keeper! *

Why aren’t you eating here?
I mean, if you WANT to pay higher prices and aren’t interested in the sweetest, most lovable couple to run a restaurant ever knowing you by name and making you feel warm and welcomed every time, AND you aren’t interested in the most palateriffic, bliss-​out thai food in the Bay, I guess that makes sense.
…wait. no it doesn’t.
I say this because this is the kind of place that inspired the term «hidden gem». I have been coming to this place almost my entire life and the quality never falters. Succulent, melt-​in-​your-​mouth curries, flavorful and tangy noodles, ripe produce, tender meats… they have it all, and to top it off, they’re the sweetest restaurateurs you could ever dream of meeting, period. They greet you at the door, call you by name, and are genuinely happy to see you come back time and time again, not putting on a show. May, the cook, always makes sure to come out after you’ve eaten to say hello– with a hug. You can feel the love in the food and from the people! Outstanding!
That being said, they don’t get enough business. Walking in, eating and leaving often yields no one else coming in for so much as a takeout order. Sometimes I drive by and see one of them staring out the window at traffic, restaurant empty, and can’t help but wonder why people do themselves the disservice of not coming here. Seems Unilocal reviewers agree with me, yet it stays the same.
The moral of the story? Get yourself to Krung Thep already. They’ll love you, you’ll love the food, and everyone will be happy. This couple deserves business, period.
Note: Until the message at the top changes, they do NOT take credit cards. It’s not affordable for them right now. Cash/​Check only.

Summary based on 1 dinner:
–Thai home cooking
–very friendly service
–easy street parking
–cheap
Extra star since the mom/​pop couple running this place are so nice.

I was getting my brakes done at Midas and needed lunch. So I walked down the road and found a cute little Thai place that I might not have noticed from the car. I decided to give it a try, and by the time I finished lunch, I had adopted the owners as my new Thai grandparents.
That’s how it is. It’s as if you were eating food that your grandmother cooked for you — so much love is put into every dish, and all they want is for you to love every bite. Doesn’t matter if it’s not the best Thai food ever — the price is right and LOTS OF LOVE went into it.
The lunch specials are perfect-​sized portions for about $ 6.
I had a vegetarian dish with sauteed vegetables and rice. I asked for it to be spicy, and I think May, the cook, decided to go easy on me. I told her to step it up next time, and she did!
This is the definition of a local business. It’s been around since 1985, run by the same adorable couple. So please, give it a try! You won’t regret it.
I loved it so much, that I took by boyfriend back for dinner that same week. Like a grandma would, May asked us when we were getting married and went on and on about how he had found a great girl. Love her for that! They refused to accept a tip from him because he’s in college.

It’s always good to find a solid Thai place for take out that’s close to the house. Krung Thep fulfills this need.
It’s a mystery to me why this little place is always empty. Maybe it’s the bad location on San Pablo? Surely it can’t be because of the food or the service.
Actually, the food wasn’t anything super special. The Pad Thai was so-​so and the veggie curry was pretty good.
So why the four stars you ask? The owner is such a sweet man. It made me want to like the food. I’m not normally like that because I’m one to deal with bad service if the food is good. However, in this case, the owner chatted me up while I was waiting for my take out order.
We talked about everything from living in El Cerrito and the yummy Thai temple Sunday brunch in Berkeley to how he’s owned Krung Thep since the ‘70s.
My plan is to go back and order a variety of things from the menu until I find my favorites and then I will become a regular. Not only because it’s close to our house, but because I want to support the friendly owner and a business that’s been in El Cerrito for 30+ years.