Kalaya Thai Kitchen

Food was excellent. It tasted like I was back in Southern Thailand. We went on a Friday, they only had the tasting menu. You pick one appetizer, one curry, one entree, two sides, and one dessert from the menu for the table. You also get two dumpling dishes for the table. The food was served family style and portioned based on the number of people. We've been to Southern Thailand many times and loved spicy food. So, we chose dishes that reminded us of our trips. It definitely didn't disappoint. The flavor profiles were spot on. For us, the spice level was more like a 7 of 10. It was hot but still enjoyable. A lot of places we ate in Southern Thailand, the spicy dishes tend to be a 10 or 11 out of 10. I would come back. However, we would come back Sunday-Thursday. The amount of food in the tasting menu was too much for us and we were staying in a hotel, not ideal for a doggy bag.

So, I know i am an extremely positive reviewer, mostly because I only review restaurants i like, but Kalaya is SOOOOOOO GOOD! This place deserves the awards and accolades it has recieved. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and impeccable when it comes to service. The food is AWESOME. There is a lot of interesting texture and flavor going on. Tons of spices but nothing over seasoned. Everything cooked perfectly. Sticky rices are super sticky but not at all mushy. Warning: the chicken curry was spicy. It was fabulous, but it was spiiiicy. We had a passion fruit shaved ice for dessert, I didn't take a picture of it in all its glory, but it was gorgeous and full of delightfully interesting flavors and textures including what I can only describe as a sweet coconut pudding in the center. Thai sodas were also delicious. Meyers lemon especially. Go to kalaya. What a great dining experience.

What an absolutely amazing experience. Knowing how popular this restaurant is, I made reservations a few weeks in advance. We arrived early and were quickly shown to our seats. We both saw the 'Taste of Kalaya' which goes for $85 per person. It comes with a few sharable appetizers, an entree and dessert served family style. Starting off with their Shaw Muang which are flower shaped dumplings with ground chicken, cucumber and a Thai chili, these were phenomenal. Simple, but beautifully presented. The fact these bite-sized dumplings were packed full of flavor and texture were extraordinary. Next were the Gui Chai which are crispy garlic chive rice cakes with a spicy sweet soy sauce. These were also tasty, but I would have preferred a thicker accompanying sauce that coats the rice cake after each dip, rather running right off it. We were also able to choose an extra appetizer, which we opted in for Plah Hoy Namg Rom which are grilled oysters with a chili jam, crispy shallot, lemongrass and herbs. These looked beautiful, but I felt the flavours overpowered the natural taste of the oyster. For mains, we opted in for the Goong Thod Kluae which is their wok-fried river prawn in brown butter w. shrimp paste and seafood nam jim, Gaeng Pae which is a goat and lamb curry with their own spice blend and toasted coconut, and Gai Yaang Naa Por (add-on, extra charge) which is charcoal grilled chicken glazed with coconut cream, turmeric, dark soy and fish sauce. The river prawn was phenomenal. The fact this was the size of a lobster was a huge wow-factor. It's served tableside where the head butter is first removed, then the succulent meat, and finally topped with the head butter. Presentation-wise, not that prettiest thing, but the flavours were incredible. Perhaps as the server is dissecting the river prawn, they could move it onto a clean plate with garnishes to make it look more presentable. Nevertheless, this is one of the best dishes I've had anywhere. The goat and lamb curry was slightly disappointing. We found it to be overly spicy where we couldn't taste the goat and/or lamb in the dish. We're not shy when it comes to spicy food, but this set our mouths ablaze and it was difficult to take 2nd and 3rd bites from this particular dish. For the charcoal grilled chicken was decent. I found parts of the dish to be on the dry side and other parts to be tender and juicy. I didn't necessarily taste the coconut cream or turmeric, but it was a decent dish. For sides, we opted in for the Yum Makhua Yao which is marinated eggplant w. mint, galangal, fried shallots and prik nam pla, and the Moo Tod Nam Pla which is crispy pork belly w. fish sauce. The eggplant was a nice side dish to take a break from the main courses and the crispy pork belly was nice as well. Crispy, not overly fatty or oily, and would have preferred that as a main over the goat and lamb curry. For dessert, we saw a couple of our favourites but with a twist. We opted in for their Durian Sticky Rice (Great spin on a traditional mango sticky rice) and their Thai tea tiramisu (a spin on your traditional tiramisu which comes with coffee-soaked ladyfingers). The durian sticky rice was out of this world. Durian in place of mango was brilliant. Perfectly ripe, soft and was a breathtaking dessert. As for the tiramisu, this was fantastic as well. The Thai tea flavour didn't shine through as much as I would have liked, but overall, excellent. It's worth noting, the service at this restaurant is impeccable. Probably one of the best hospitalities I've received anywhere. The servers reset your table in between courses by wiping it off and everyone was professional, knowledgeable and kind. Overall, I can see why this is listed on the top 50 restaurants in the U.S. coming in at #11 according to 'theworlds50best'. The quality of food, the service, atmosphere is top notch.

As a Thai visitor from SF, I was impressed by how authentic the food tasted. I sat at the bar, and Carissa was incredibly friendly and provided excellent service throughout my visit. The food was outstanding, and every dish was full of authentic flavors. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for upscale Thai cuisine done right.