3TA

It appears that this place is now CLOSED.
It shouldn’t be a total surprise. The total rating here was less than stellar and I’ve had friends complain about dinner service. I loved coming here for lunch because it was a hidden gem for me and my coworkers. Prices were decent and we had dishes we loved. Service wasn’t always the best but we simply enjoyed the the sun with their outdoor seating.
It’s a real shame. With some better run operations and maybe more competitive dinner pricing, they could’ve done really well on Castro. I’m sad to see them leave.
I’m just hoping it’s not really closed. I came back here after the new year and they had a sign saying there were to come back the following week. I went there yesterday and they were just closed with no sign. Unilocal says they’re closed. Tell me it’s not true! Where else am I going to get my salmon with chef’s sauce?

Great venue, good drinks.
They have one that had 3 different shots side by side and it was a great way to start the night.
Very casual relaxed environment. I felt very comfortable here.
–Rob

I was here for lunch today. Not bad! My wife’s posse ends up here a lot of drinks and food. Drinks are good, food is good. I recommend coming in with a group so you can order more dishes.
Pricing is decent for castro street.

I was just introduced to 3Ta about 2 weeks ago and decided this is where I will always grab lunch from now on when I’m sent to our Mountain View office.
It was a gorgoeus sunny day, my girlfriend and I scored a table outside and immediately grabbed an ice cold beer. I love the quaintness of Castro Street, and what’s better than adding some delicious Thai food into that mix? We ordered up some chicken curry with coconut rice, pad thai and another delicious noodle dish that the name escapes me. All you need to know is it rocked. I love spicy food and it was perfectly spiced to the point where I hardly needed to add any sriracha.
The only downer was we could not choose our table even though it was 2pm and there was only one other couple dining. Not a big deal, just odd. Also, the staff was a little pushy with us finishing and paying the bill. Maybe they were just bored by the late afternoon lull in customers. Oh well, it was cheap and tasty so I didn’t mind the rush.
I will definately mark lunch on my calendar for next week when I travel to the south bay again. You should do the same.

I was here Wed. night for a group event. I was impressed that they closed the entire restaurant for our group, but I guess that’s what you have to do if you have a small space and a group that wants it and pays you enough for it.
Since it was a large group, we each paid $ 10 for all-​you-​can eat of three different appetizers: samosas, firecracker balls, and some fried spring rolls that I can’t find on the menu. While all were crispy and flavorful, I wish that the vegetarian/​tuna options at our gathering were not all fried. It would have been nice to have a healthier option for the more health-​conscious attendees.
That said, the staff was warm and friendly, and they kept smiling even when I only asked for water.
Maybe it would be worth returning to try their entrees another time?

Service — great
Food — yummy!
Presentation — awesome
Drinks — good
We had;
Salmon firecracker balls for starters– it was SOOO good! I would come here just for appetizers and drinks.
Lemon Grass Chicken — note its VERY spicy but yummy if your into spicy foods
Tamarind Salmon — delicious
Black Rice with mango dessert — YUMMYYY
Overall it was very good. Def will be back

Laaaaame!
Slow service & bad food. We waited for what seemed like an eternity for our food and when I got my curry it was cold… like refrigerator cold. I had the duck curry… interesting flavors, but too salty and the knife work on the vegetables could use a lot of work. tried my buddies garlic chicken dish and had to drink a glass of water. The tempura vegetable appetizer had baby carrots from the walmart veggie value pack. I’d put in a dinner bet that this is a canidate for Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares.
Our servers were less than knowledgable about the menu and could not get the food to the right people. Glasses were constantly empty and the restarunt wasn’t full.
I think I’ve said just the facts… my opinion is this place blows. If you have the money and time to spend on less than ok food this is a place you should check out, otherwise try a real thai restaurant.

if you want typical thai food. this place is a big no no. i wouldn’t come back here. my friend Unilocaled this place out. and ehh both of our dishes and everything was so plain and normal. not a busy place for lunch when we went. service was nice though.
thai fusion they were trying? they need to learn to cook good thai food first or at least decent…

I had dinner at 3ta on a recent Saturday evening at 6:30. Besides my companion, there was nobody else eating at this restaurant.
The restaurant has a decent menu and caters towards vegetarians with a special vegetarian menu as well. That said, the structure of the menu itself is odd. With titles such as starters, entrees, etc. the execution of the dishes themselves feel like a traditional multi-​course meal, yet the nature of the dishes themselves seem to lend itself more towards the tapas format or family style. For myself, I tried their duck which came in a healthy portion that included at least a duck thigh’s worth of meat and then some.
The drinks come in healthy sizes — I was served a mojito in what seemed like a beer glass. In fact, the drinks menu seemed to almost cater to the college drinking crowd with such fine selections as «Home Run Challenge» and other binge drinking offerings.
After we left, I couldn’t help feeling a bit conflicted. Here we have a generally good restaurant with good service that seems to lack an identity. It attempts to cater to the vegetarians through a separate menu, to the tapas people with an eclectic entrée and inconsistently themed selection, to the family style people with large portions, and to the college drinking crowd with a sampling of binge drinking options. The execution just doesn’t seem right. When you’re trying to be everything, you’re essentially nothing… and I think the lack of other patrons seemed to support this thesis.
Oh, and for an establishment that seems to be striving for the high end, the bathroom is an astonishingly poor condition; uploaded pictures to illustrate. Perhaps, this is just another example of 3ta’s identity crisis — a restaurant that tries to be both high end and middle end at the same time.

The wait at Cascals was way too long and Doc was getting hungry. So we headed down the Castro for a new adventure in food. Boy did we find a gem. 3TA gave us a fusion of bold flavors that weren’t pretentious. The staff was friendly and helpful as well as leaving us alone to enjoy our food. We ordered a couple of appetizers and shared an entrée. Plenty of food for two people. We started with the calamari which was fried to perfection served with a spicy cocktail sauce. The Duck and papaya salad was light and refreshing. The crab cake was moist and crispy at the same time!
and finally the dancing prawns were sweet and tender. Only complaint was the hoisin sauce used was over powering the fresh veggies on the entrée plate. Other than that, Doc is willing to come back and sample the other dishes. hooray for 3TA!

I got drunk during dinner here by accident. We ordered several appetizers, but thanks to the killer drinks, were long gone before they even arrived. Thus, I can’t say much for the food except the Firecracker Balls were delicious. What I’m really here to do is advocate «Home Run Challenge» on the alcoholic beverages menu. The 3TA shots may taste like syrupy-​sweet cherry kool-​aid, but trust me, they will fuck you up big time!!!

I came here with 2 other people on a weekday night during a time that I thought was normal peak dinner hours (7pm), but the place was empty. Maybe people dine later than 7 in Silicon Valley, but I think 7 is already pretty late. Anyway, we ordered the Seared Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna for starters, then got the Drunken Lemongrass Chicken, the Wild King Salmon, and the Creamy Yellow Curry to share family-​style. Here’s what I thought of the dishes:
Seared Ahi Tuna — this was my favorite dish out of the 4 we ordered. The salad was very refreshing and had slices of fruit (tangerines and strawberries?) along with it. Very refreshing.
Drunken Lemongrass Chicken — pretty good, but where was the wine and lemongrass flavor? All I tasted was soy sauce… but traditional drunken chicken doesn’t even have soy sauce. And some parts of the dish were extremely spicy, while other parts lacked flavor.
Wild King Salmon — smelled and tasted like a sock, and didn’t look like salmon either. What was I eating?
Creamy Yellow Curry — why does it come on a plate? Isn’t that counter-​intuitive to how something liquidy-​in-​nature should be served (i.e., in a bowl with a spoon…)? Other than that, it was pretty good. But it’s hard to mess up curry.
Rice also costs extra, and they bring them out small individual bowls. But they have the option of brown or white rice, which is nice. While their food didn’t really impress me, I really liked the décor inside — modern and trendy with a touch of elegance. And they have outdoor seating. Probably a good place for a date, but don’t bring a date that knows food.

I love the mix of flavors at this restaurant! All the ingredients are really fresh. There are so many great things to choose from. Enough choices for both picky eaters and vegetarians. There’s actually a whole separate vegetarian menu. A lot of seafood options, but there are ribs (friend ordered and enjoyed them) and steaks (pricey!) for red meat people.
I give this place 4.5 stars, but I’m rounding up b/​c I like it here so much. It’s only minus .5 stars because when you’re sitting on the bar side of the restaurant you can hear the LOUD Mexican music through the wall and it even vibrates if you lean against it. So don’t sit on that side!
Tons of different appetizers, so it’s tempting to just order a bunch of those to split as a meal. I recommend the firecracker balls.
Wide variety of mixed drinks too, especially girly ones. My personal favorite is the white gummi bear martini! Mmmm… tastes just like one!
I’ve had a bunch of the entrees and they’re all good. They got rid of my favorite calamari (not fried) one, though.
Save room for dessert and make sure you try the banana macadamia nut rolls! Sorbets are good also and presentation of everything is beautiful!

My jaw is still sore from lunchtime. I thought I came into a restaurant, not a mouth gym.
Mouth gym? I’ll leave that up to your own interpretation.
I had never heard of this restaurant before today. I didn’t know it existed. I was better off not knowing it existed rather than knowing it did exist and having to endure such a disappointing time here. Plainly put, it wasn’t my choice to go here to eat.
The service lacked a je né sais quoi. The waitresses didn’t remember who ordered what so they just yelled out each dish and basically handed it over to whoever raised their hand first. I could’ve taken someone else’s food if I wanted to be a total ass. But luckily, I’m just a semi-​ass.
The grilled honey beef with pineapple fried rice sounded appetizing, so I ordered it. Words on a menu can be so deceiving. The beef was so incredibly chewy. I literally had to chew each piece of beef at least 25 times before it was good enough to swallow. Wooo! What a workout for your mouth! It was definitely not my kind of workout, especially when it involved eating food. Please avoid ordering this dish. Instead, I highly recommend… eh, I don’t know and I don’t care.
The only reason this place doesn’t get 1 star is that they have what seems like a fully stocked bar. Alcohol is always a positive for me… ALWAYS!

The Wave brought this restaurant to my attention. We thought we would give it a try. We regretted it.
First, the acoustics in the place were terrible, through most of our dinner we had to listen to the shrill laughs of some girls on the opposite side of the floor. And the 70s/​80s rock on the speakers only encouraged the guys sitting at the bar to sing along in their best falsettos. Very annoying after the second and third song.
Also, the service was very unprofessional. The hostess/​server seated us and brought us our menus. After asking us «you didn’t want to see a cocktail list or a wine list, did you?» (How encouraging!) We ordered a couple of cocktails from her. I had a martini and my man had a mojito. I watched in awe how the clearly untrained bartender had to be shown by a patron at the bar on how to «muddle» the mint for the drink because neither she or our server had any idea. And wouldn’t you know, the appetizers came up before both of us had our drinks. That burns me.
I was not that impressed by the food, either. It wasn’t bad, just not that great. We started with the roti, which I am pretty sure was an elaborately folded sheet of puff pastry, as opposed to «griddled flat bread» like the menu says, and the peanut sauce just tasted like thinned peanut butter.
For my entrée, I had the yellow curry with vegetables. This was kind of a disappointment. It was just simple vegetables with a very thin sauce over it. Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Zucchini, Potatoes. With Sauce. And the cost was $ 12. I really resent paying this much for food that I could easily have prepared for my self.
After leaving with a wallet $ 60 lighter, I knew I would not come back again. The only reasons for the second star: They have a full bar, and the vegetables on my entrée were perfectly cooked. And I don’t have anything bad to say about their plate presentation, either. Plates of food were very attractive.

Very good! I was very biased when I read the reviews but knowing me, I have to try for myself. I am rating based on lunch and selection. Prices were not bad at all considering some ppl go to Applebee’s and pay $ 13+ for crap food.
For $ 15, I would definatley come back for lunch. Fortunatley I was able to sample various dishes my friends ordered and ironically mine was the worst! I am going to come back for:
Honey Beef — they give you nice big chunks of meat that have great flavor.
Duck Curry — Smokey and very good with their curry sauce
Tamarind Salmon — Wow! Very tasty!
Pad Thai — Yes. it was yummy!
Don’t try the spice beef. it wasn’t what I imagined. It was just too ordinary.

Damn good Asian fusion tapas-​style-​if-​you-​want-​it yumminess. I came here in a group of four including the gf, bff and his gf, and we asked our server to pick some of the best things on the menu. She did.
We got the cowboy rolls and the firecracker balls, which were both served served maki sushi style, the firecracker balls crunchily deep fried and with a bit of kick. These were perhaps my favorite item of the meal and the cowboy rolls were a hit too.
Thiey also brought us honey-​glazed baby back ribs and a salad with seared ahi tuna. Both tasted as good as they sound, though I managed not to wet my pants. There was also chicken served in a pineapple that looked cool but was just OK. The check wasn’t too bad (about $ 100+tip for the four of us) and we enjoyed the modernist décor. Definitely want to go back.
Oh yeah, I couldn’t help but notice that this place has the best looking staff — male and female — that I’ve seen on the peninsula. I know it’s a bold claim so let’s start a flame war or something.
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Update:
— Went again recently and asked for staff recommendations from the local cuties again. That led to an order for firecracker balls, the roti, coconut prawns, and the honey glaze baby back ribs.
— Holy crap, the roti was magical. It included some super rich super nutty sauce that worked perfectly with the slightly flaky bread.
— The coconut prawns were also a real winner… they were presented as you might expect from a «tasting menu» type place — which this isn’t otherwise… three small pieces that each included a large prawn, some peanuts, and a special sauce on a leaf of lettuce. We made the mistake of keeping one for later (it didn’t) but they were great at the table.
— Again we had the baby back ribs which were rich and fatty like they are supposed to be, and the firecracker balls, which looked cool and had some nice variety. Both decent.

Cruised down Castro St. before a night at the movies to find something new and yummy.
‘Grand Opening’ instantly caught my attention. 3TA it is!!!
Swung around the block to find parking in the structure and decided to try our luck at the back door of the restaurant. Unlocked!!! We were in luck. Loved the danger and intrigue of our entrance. I felt like the paparazzi were following us.
So the evening started off a little backwards. We walked past 3 other parties, the empty bar and approached a group of people huddled near the front of the restaurant. The host stand was not evident so we had to ask. They were friendly, offered us any seat in the house and the menus.
For the vegetarians out there: they have a SEPARATE menu here.
Don’t order the pinot grigio here. Go with the $ 12 riesling.
Food:
Crispy crab and caviar rolls.
Four pieces wrapped in rice paper and lightly fried. I liked the crab, but there really was no flavor. There was some aioli on the side, but tiny dots of it. Side of mixed greens with some light citrus dressing.
Scallops with brussel sprouts.
FOUR large pieces of scallops, seared, but not enough in my opinion. They were also not seared consistently, as if the chef placed them on the pan at different times. The cleaning of the scallops was not thorough, snap, crackle, pop!!! Sand. Ick. Flavor was lacking and again, the aioli was sparse.
Filet mignon cubes.
Four pieces of tough, overcooked and under-​seasoned meat. The seasoning was pepper I guess, but it was all wrong, because it tasted like something out of a bottle at the Asian grocery store. Way too much cornstarch. The sauce was actually cloudy. The asparagus and bok choy were an odd combination and tasteless.
Hey I think I see a pattern here. FOUR. In China, four is an unlucky number, meaning death, maybe they should switch up the number, preferably to a higher number, so their patrons are satiated.
Food is for the senses. 3TA does not have the taste, color, and texture to stimulate mine.
They are trying a little too hard too be too many different things, they need to hunker down, tweak their recipes and try to be GOOD. Dammit I just got my sense of taste back, I want FLAVOR!!!
Maybe I’ll try 3TA again, entering in through the FRONT door, and maybe the experience will be more enjoyable. As we stand right now, $ 25 a plate for less than titillating food, won’t bring me back for a while.
1 star is a little harsh, but they have been open for almost 2 months now. Honesty is valued right?!?

Pronounced «THREE-​tah». Why eat here when there are so many other delicious, efficient, and affordable places on Castro?
We made the mistake of going in on Grand Opening day, where we waited for our entrees so long that we ended up having a two-​hour lunch. Unfortunately, unlike Andrew H.‘s experience, our server didn’t acknowledge the tardiness until we flagged her down after waiting about 30 minutes after ordering and asked where our food was. Plus, after waiting another 15 – 20 minutes, they didn’t have the sense to comp us anything. And it looks like they still haven’t figured it out, according to later reviews.
I posted photos of our honey-​pineapple ribs and five-​spice beef noodle soup. Nicely plated, but it shows how little you get for their expensive prices. My friend ordered the honey-​pineapple ribs because he was in Hawaii withdrawal after his vacation there, and these ribs definitely disappointed. I got five-​spice beef noodle soup at Chef Liu’s down the street the next day and it was tastier and cheaper.
Surprised that this place came from the Amarin owners. It’s obvious they want to be the after-​work drinks hotspot, since the bar dominates the place… consider it for drinks, but go elsewhere for your food.

A new restaurant opening on the highly renovated part of Castro near the train tracks. My friend and I had walked by it a few weeks ago and today noticed that it was open. It occupies a fairly narrow space with a very modern eclectic décor. Multicolored and textured tiles occupy the walls and there is a nice central bar with a big screen TV overhead.
As we perused the menu we noticed a Thai influenced base with various fusion touches across it. So my friend and I mixed our choices between some traditional and new. We started with the roti appetizer which was denser than some I’ve had before and came with a peanut sauce instead of the traditional curry one. It was pretty tasty and I think we could have made a meal out a few orders of that alone. For the main course, we got a filet mignon in musman curry with gnocchi, seared seaboat scallops with fried brussel sprouts and a pepper salsa, and a traditional plate of pad Thai with prawns.
The scallops came with a good sear, very tender and fairly large. The brussel sprouts were pretty tasty but I felt the pepper salsa was a bit too cold for an other wise hot (temperature wise) dish. The filet mignon was cooked perfectly medium rare, well flavored with the curry and the gnocchi being the alternative to normally potato chunks. The pad thai was also well cooked with the noodles being firm and not mushy like I often see. The prawns that were in the dish were huge. I’m used to seeing small shrimp and I was impressed with the size and perfect texture/​doneness. Amongst all the boring Thai food elsewhere in the neighborhood, it’s nice to see a twist on the usual fare.
The service was a bit uneven and I think because they are new, they’ll be trying to iron that out. The crew checked on us often but there seemed to be a nervousness throughout. With time I think this is easily remedied. Overall 3TA had a fairly smooth première and I look forward to trying some of the other things on the menu.