Thai Noodle II - Berkeley
2426 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley
(510) 644-9292
Recent Reviews
Overall, Thai Noodle II is one of four popular Thai restaurants close to campus. Its prices fall at the middle of the pack, and for this dollar, Thai Noodle II's sit-down service and popular dishes are of reasonable quality, if not on the higher end. But the reason I'm rating five stars is this: when Cal's finals season is in full swing -- cold, dark, and brutal as ever -- I look to Thai Noodle II's massaman chicken curry for solace. Among *all* of the Thai places in the immediately walkable lands surrounding the UC Berkeley campus, this dish is unprecedented. The flavor of the curry is rich and thick and creamy. The potatoes are soft, yet hearty. The chicken, so thoughtfully spiced, melts in your mouth. For a short moment, the warmth of your dinner embraces you, engulfs you, believes in you... until you are inevitably left with a small, dry bowl and a fond mere memory. It is difficult for me to rate Thai Noodle II holistically; the few times I've ventured away from my tried and true, I've looked back more longingly at the meal I've had (and could've had once more). But I have indeed rolled the dice on a few other offerings. The Tom Kha Gai soup is my second favorite with a flavor that is more refreshing than rich. I am convinced that this creamy white soup has performed miracles on my common colds over the past two years. The Lord of Noodles is okay -- not as flavorful as the massaman chicken, so I always end up pairing this with a liberal amount of chili sauce. The dried salty pork appetizer is undeniably tasty, but I only order to satisfy my truly desperate cravings, because the portions are very small. The atmosphere is casual, and it's right down historic Telegraph, which makes this a cozy regular spot for students and a novel, "authentic Berkeley" experience for visitors. Last time my mom and dad came to visit, I hoped to share with them the dish that had captured my heart. But alas, Thai Noodle II is closed on Sundays -- so plan your parental visits accordingly.
Food quality and test - 4 stars **** Vegetarian food - 4 stars **** Ambience - 4 stars **** Cleanliness - 4 stars **** Value for money - $$ Kid friendly - ok - not really Parking - difficult - paid on street We visited this restaurant as family. This restaurant has only couple members in staff running around. They took orders quickly and also serviced food quick lunch. Though I was disappointed that main dishes were on our table prior to Soup! Soup came right after. One soup is good for four. We ordered all vegetarian dishes. Food test was good, we enjoyed it. We wanted to order one more plate after our first order, that took some time. We had good time. We all (boys and adults) enjoyed food.
Beyond horrible experience. I ordered a Pad Thai with no egg and tofu, expecting it to be vegetarian. I asked about fish sauce and they said they don't add it to their pad Thai so I thought off to a good start. Nope. I was enjoying a meal with a friend and a quarter of the way through I saw a piece of meat. My friend ate it to see what it was and it was a piece of ground beef. I then proceeded to look for more things in my meal and saw egg and another piece of meat. I was beyond horrified. I haven't had meat in over 7 years. I proceeded to call over the server and they took the piece of meat on the napkin and brought it back to the other workers. Clearly they thought I was wrong about finding a piece of meat even though my friend corroborated my claim. They kept offering to make a new one despite saying I wanted a refund beforehand. This establishment does not pay attention to small details about no meat in a vegetarian dish. I definitely don't agree that this place has vegetarian and vegan options since they don't take this care. Not eating here again.
I used to really love the fried chicken over fried rice. The chicken was breaded very nicely and had that katsu kind of texture. Now that they changed management, I tried it again and the completely changed the texture of the chicken. It's much more fried/battered than it is breaded. To be honest, the fried chicken over fried rice was a huge selling point for this restaurant for me and many others. I don't think I would ever come back again unless the chicken is the way it used to be.
Unbelievably horrible experience. I've never been treated with such low regard. ** I see someone else placed a yelp review also complaining about being asked to move while eating??! They clearly only care about "head-counts" and not for providing a respectful atmosphere to patrons. Both parties that arrived after me were basically placed as priority in being able to access the space. Wtf. I was sat at two conjoined tables. Perfectly fine until another BOISTEROUS couple was sat next to me. Even with headphones & a direct request from me for them to lower their volume-- the very spatially aloof guy persisted. I moved myself to another conjoined table when one party left & told the waitress why I moved. Think a larger party of 4 walked in & she asked me to a single table that just opened up. I was compliant... only to walk over there & see the table was right next to this loud ass dude. I told her I don't wanna sit there(with headphones still plugged in)---- she literally told me "I'm sorry but those tables are for customers " ... the table with my coat, bag, water is now for the people that barely just walked in the door. What the fuck am I then?!?! I had already placed my order. **** AND AN ALTERNATE TABLE HAD JUST OPENED UP TO SEAT THIS NEW PARTY THAT CAME AFTER ME. And how is her annoyance being placed on me rather than this loud ass kid you can hear across the room?!? Beyond fucked up.
I'm a huge foodie for thai food, but back where I live in Southern California it can be tough to find good thai food close to home without traveling all the way to LA. Considering that this place is so central to everywhere that I need to go, I definitely will be going back. The food is above average quality and it's fairly consistent. I wouldn't go as far to say that their entrees are top teir, but I was definitely satisfied after paying the bill :)
For the price, I could have easily gotten much better quality food at other Thai places like Imm Thai in Berkeley or Farmhouse Kitchen in San Francisco. The only thing going for them is that they have some interesting decors like the Thai license plates mounted on a wall. I ordered takeout and the dish still looks great. However, the food is not that great. The noodles are too soft and have a slightly tangy feel to it, which should not be that prominent for well-prepared pad thai. The tofu is not fresh at all, as there was an aftertaste to it, and it has a hard texture. The chicken is the typical low quality cut as it was a little dry. The overall dish is a little too watery which should not be the case for pad thai. Overall, I am very disappointed by this place and how steep their prices can be, as if you get something like seafood pad thai, that is almost $17 before tax and tip.
I ordered tofu and vegetable noodle soup. It was the worst vegetable soup I've ever tasted in my life. The vegetables are completely undercooked. In fact, I'm not sure if it was cooked in the broth at all. The broth tastes like dirt, as well as the broccolis. Not sure if the vegetables are washed properly. I'm sure the heavier flavored dishes would taste better- gotta have enough sauce to mask the lack of quality in their produce.
One of the better choices on Telegraph, and one of the better Thai restaurants in Berkeley. My decision matrix is: Risk having to wait for a table? Yes: Imm Thai No: Curry or noodles? Noodles: Thai Noodle II Curry: Ok to pay cash? Yes: Thai Basil No: Thai Noodle II I'll also say this is a great choice for soup on a rainy day, esp the Boat Noodle Soup. Delicious pad see ew and they will make it with different noodles if you ask. Turns out to be pretty great with egg noodles!
Huge portions! My mother and I shared a pad Thai order. The place is open air, so don't mind the flies coming in and out. There were a few other people here but we sat down no problem. Our food came out quickly, it was very good. And a fair price. Overall, no complaints, very average establishment. If you in the mood and need something quick, this place will do!
We've been coming here for a long time but since their remodeling and reopening the food and service haven't been the same. We ordered the fried chicken and fried rice and were served what looked like old re-fried chicken which the batter wasn't even attached to the chicken anymore. When we asked the sever if the chicken was supposed to look like that she just shrugged and said yes. The noodles were soggy and over cooked...overall, not a very good experience, probably won't be back
I've been coming here for years and recently they closed and re-opened and since they've re-opened they've made a lot of changes. They are using thinner chicken for the fried chicken over fried rice. The batter they use for the fried chicken taste completely different and looks different. You can definitely tell the taste quality has changed in this plate. It also was raised to $12 and before it was $8. Now, you pay more for less quality food. I'd understand if it was the same but it's not. They have no more appetizers anymore! We use to love their appetizers but now they're none. Their menu has been completely shortened and they have removed all the pictures of food they had on their wall. The food wasn't terrible but it wasn't good neither. Sad to say that we won't be coming back.
I usually order the fried chicken over fried rice when I come here. It's really good if you're craving fried chicken or something carby. Sometimes I order the pad see ew, but the portions are kind of small for this dish. Overall the food is really good! Service is a little bit slow but it is usually busy so it's understandable.
This is my favorite Thai restaurant in Berkeley. The portions are generous and the taste is authentic. If this is your first time make sure you order any of the dishes that has crispy pork! The crispy pork is delicious! They have specials and I got the crispy pork basil fried rice which was so good. The normal basil dish is good as well. This place really doesn't disappoint and I would highly recommend. Even though the place is called Thai noodle I find their rice dishes better although the boat noodles are pretty good as well and is not overly sweet like the other Thai restaurants.
Thai Noodle II is one of the better Thai restaurants in Berkeley. I particularly like the fried chicken with green curry fried rice. The fried chicken is breaded, not battered, so it has a pleasant crispiness, and curry fried rice is always tasty. Huge portion size too. This place gets really busy sometimes and is still not as good as Imm Thai, so I don't go frequently, but I have a soft spot for it because it's the first restaurant I went to in Berkeley :')
I have a lot of sentimental memories of this Thai Noodle II, so I'm sad to hear that it's been closed. Then again, the prices were often so incredibly inflated here. My friends and I would often get some of the cheaper specials, or even appetizers to share before going somewhere else to eat more food to actually satisfy our hunger. The last time I came here was almost a year ago, when I ordered Fresh Rolls ($9.25) and the Chicken Satay ($9.25) from the appetizers to share with my friend. We each ended up getting a bit more food afterward somewhere else because what we ate was mostly salad and veggies. They had this cool fried ice cream dish at one point that was pretty cool and tasted great, but even that costed around $7 and was so tiny. Rip Thai Noodle II, hope there's a Thai Noodle III - third time's the charm!
Over the three year I have been dining at this place, food is deteriorating and service has been rude. During my LAST visit I was even yelled "what's wrong with you?" by the waiter - because I did not sign the merchant copy right away I was treated like a barbarian who would not know how to give tips. Hello, I didn't even say a word when you took my unfinished noodle without asking. Now I cannot even finish my water if I don't sign first! I understand that you want your customers out as soon as possible so you get more rotations. But come on, nobody was waiting in the line anyways.
Thai Noodle II is a place I go to when I want good food but not a place I would recommend for a special dinner. Accomodations wise, the restaurant is fairly small and a lot of people order take out (because the food is so good!) but the lighting is dim, and the seating close together. The food is super good and perfect proportions. I'm pescetarian and many of their dishes have fish/tofu options which work perfectly. For an appetizer this last time we went we got the Spicy Calamari and it was the perfect starter - the batter isn't too heavy, they came out extremely hot, and the spice is perfect (and the sweet/sour sauce variation that comes with it is delicious). We usually get the Fried Tofu but I think we'll be getting the Spicy Calamari from now on. I got the Kaw Soi (Curry Noodle), from under the Thai Noodle Soup menu option, as my main dish. I asked to do only shrimp instead of shrimp and chicken and it worker perfectly. My noodle soup was super creamy and coconutty with so much flavor, I would recommend this to anyone who comes in! It's my favorite dish I have had here so far. With only the shrimp, there were 5 large prawns in the noodle soup and only one wasn't deveined appropriately. They only take venmo and cash now. If you're super picky and particular about constant contact with servers, I would recommend ordering take out. The customer service was always fine for me and I appreciate the workers but I can see how certain people who have left reviews complain and I don't think that should deter you from trying this place.
We tried two plates with noodles. The sauce was good. We ordered duck and that was juicy but I was not a fan of the cut, mostly fat. I would say that In General it can be better. The noodles were clumped together and I’d say they just tossed the food to the plate. Attention to detail is 3 out of 5. Flavor is 3.5 out of 5. Everything seemed to have sugar to give it flavor. Staff is nice.