As I was rolling down to a Filipino food tasting at the Civic Center yesterday afternoon, I came across a new restaurant on Polk between Eddy and Ellis named Thai Idea. I stopped to look at their menu and the friendly owner, who introduced himself as Pop, came out to say hi.
He told me he opened a bit over a week ago in the space that was formerly an unremarkable Mexican restaurant (that I have seriously no recollection of ever existing), and that his menu is 100% vegetarian and vegan. After a few minutes chatting on the sidewalk, he invited me inside to check out the brand new space. The furniture is nice and comfortable, and the walls are painted green, silver and gold with decorations handcrafted by Pop himself. The decor is definitely a notch above most other Thai and Asian places in the neighborhood.
Pop explained that his mom cooks super amazingly and that she owns two very successful Thai restaurants in Foster City and San Mateo, Basil Sweet and Basil Cha Cha respectively. He has also been working as the manager for the Osha Thai branch on 2nd Street and Howard, so he felt like it was really time to open a place of his own.
He’s vegetarian so he wanted to have a place offering a fully vegetarian menu with no meat dishes whatsoever and no fish or oyster sauce sneaking in. He also wanted to offer a different food experience from most other Thai places nearby, such as Zen Yai around the corner which we know most of you swear by. But in spite of the menu focus and the pretty interior design, Thai Idea’s prices are still all under $10, making it a great value for the dining experience.
And if you’re as excited as we are to check out Thai Idea, then you’re in luck! We’re giving away 10 Complimentary Dinner Entree vouchers to Tender Readers who leave a comment below telling us why they’d like to eat there. You have until this Wednesday October 5th so get commenting! The winners will be notified via email, thank you all for your interest in trying Thai Idea!
-Thai Idea Vegetarian Restaurant (Facebook)
-710 Polk St. San Francisco
29 Comments until now
All-vegetarian Thai place open 7 days/wk on Polk St? Count me in! Sounds delish!
So far I haven’t found many good vegetarian places in the city. I don’t like mushrooms and, as a non-vegetarian, find the idea of fake meat abhorrent.
Recently a friend took me to Golden Era on O’Farrell. The food was pretty mediocre and all through the meal I had to watch videos of atrocities, perpetrated by people who were not vegetarian and appeals to join the “Supreme Master” in abolishing meat, milk and eggs on earth.
So if there’s a vegetarian restaurant with food that stands on its own and it’s not owned by a creepy cult – I am all for trying it!
It’s way too hard to find good vegetarian food in the area. Excited to try this place out, especially with an interior that looks a lot less…dreary than some other places.
i’m all about yummy thai food, vegetarian options, and supporting local businesses. and the decor is lovely. i will definitely check them out. thanks!
I love Thai food and I live just around the corner, so I’ll definitely try this place. Thanks!
I’d like to eat there because my girlfriend is a vegetarian who loves Thai food.
UGH! Why couldn’t I be born with a ten gallon belly in order to stuff more vegan thai food into myself?! Why?!
@eugene Here they have a few fake meat dishes, but also regular vegetarian dishes. And no videos of animal slaughtering!
Wow, great! Although there are already several wonderful Thai restaurants in the greater TL, I welcome this new addition because it is contributing to the availability of more environmentally-conscious and animal-friendly meals. Plus, the price is right. I can’t wait to try it!
I’ve missed having an all vegetarian/vegan Thai restaurant in the city since Mekong closed a few years ago. They too, were located in the area amidst a number of other Thai restaurants. Despite the competition, they seemed to thrive; they filled a niche that the others couldn’t.
I haven’t been yet, but would love to dine there soon. As a vegetarian, it’s always nice to be able to eat Thai cuisine and not have to worry about non-veg items like fish sauce being in your dishes. Their presence is an asset to the Bay Area veg community!
I want to eat there to have an excuse to head on over tothe TL!
This is great! I would love to eat there. I live in the neighborhood and I’ve been vegan for 14 years. Can’t wait to try it.
i’d like to eat there because it’d finally be a place we could eat in the hood with our friend and his wife, the vegans, without eating something that tastes like rabbit food and/or feeling like a creep for eating non-vegan in front of them.
@ eugene – bite your tongue. Some of the best vegan food is by creepy cults! Loving Hut anyone?
I’d love to try it as I work just across the way and there aren’t a lot of vegetarian options around. We are sick of the same old thing around here!
I love supporting new veg businesses, and if I get to eat a lovely meal while doing so, even better! I look forward to another vegetarian restaurant on the scene in SF!!
@theCara – don’t forget Cafe Gratitude.
I’m always eager to try out a new and different kind of Thai restaurant, and would love to check out what’s on Pop’s menu.
Yum! Can’t wait to try this. We love thai food and like Osha a lot but my wife was absolutely heartbroken when we found out she couldn’t eat a lot of their food including most of their curries because they weren’t veg…after a couple of years of eating them! This could be our spot!
Had dinner with the gf at Thai Idea last night. The decor is really as spectacular as the photos make it out, on par with the Osha Thai locations, especially nice considering the neighborhood. We ordered green curry with tofu and eggplant with veggie beef. Both were excellent! Plates were presented beautifully, again like you’ve seen at Osha Thai. the veggie beef while not fooling anyone as beef, has a great texture and flavor and I’d be happy eating it for what it is. This will be one of our go-to spots in the neighborhood along with Lers Ros.
I don’t have to fret about fish sauce? I can take my gluten free vegan friends there and they can eat? I have more options than just veggie pad thai hold the egg? I’m going to stress about what to order, but am so looking forward to trying this!
I work at the Opera Plaza on Van Ness and there aren’t many good vegetarian food options around there. I’d really like to try this place, though.
I’ve been a social worker very near to your location for years and was excited when walking by on an errand…thai and vegetarian and pretty inside??!! YES please! Today, in the midst of a hectic intense day, my coworkers and I took a rare lunch break together and ordered out…so amazing. YUM! Wish this restaurant all the best and will be bringing more folks by!
When I walked by, the decor is what caught my eye. When i walked in and asked for a menu, the waitress attended to me immediately. I told her that I would be back with some co-workers. I did not count on going back that particular day. The food presentation and food itself was phenomenal! I never would have expected a vegetarian restaurant to taste as great as it did. I will definitely continue to support this organization while passing the word to others.
A friend just forwarded this to me. I work at the SF Superior Court and always have a hard time finding good places to eat because I am gluten-free. Just recently I also became vegan – this sounds like just the ticket for me!
I am a fan a vegetarian/vegan food, especially with Asian flavors. The Loving Hut (in China Town and the mall) is a great spot for this, but I can’t wait to try this place which seems like it will do great
!
I’m a vegetarian and my girlfriend is vegan, so this sounds like our kind of place.
Went the other night- so delish! Basil cha cha is my favorite ever! So excited!
Liked what we had, really a step up from some of the other nearby Thai places. Fun to see a menu where all the meat is faux. They’re also willing to do Gluten free items, if asked, but I don’t know if they know how they do it; there is special training for chefs to do this right, the kitchen has to be set up for it.