Mangrove on Divisadero in San Francisco was reported to be a fine Thai food experience. The menu certainly gave that impression as did the very high prices.
My friend and I found parking right in front on the street and were seated almost immediately in one of the large booths. The decor of this place is quite lovely! Woven basket lampshades hung from the ceilings in shapes that went from organic to fish.
After scanning the menu, I realized I could only afford one dish, so no appetizers I had a Thai iced coffee, which was awesome and ordered the softshell crab Ramen, which came with shiitake mushrooms… my FAVORITE!!! my friend ordered the vegetarian green Thai curry. Hers came first, but the food was served quickly. Her bowl was decorated with savory crispy fried Long noodle sticks. When mine arrived, there were two large crispy pieces of softshell crab. But something was off. I’m allergic to fish, but I can eat shellfish. It’s just fish with scales that I’m allergic to. But the smell of fish makes me retch. And the smell of bad fish…
One bite into the crab, and I realized that that was where the odor was coming from. It’d befouled the entire soup. It’s a pity. The soup had lots of corn and some pretty slices of a small onion… maybe shallots?
But I couldn’t eat it at all! I was struggling not to throw up. I had to suck down my Thai iced coffee to attempt to eradicate the taste.
I flagged the waitress down and told her of course she seemed concerned she asked if I would like anything else and I said yes I would appreciate the same dish only with chicken and no crap. I asked her to add shiitake mushrooms to it. She seemed concerned about that too.
When she returned, she brought a large bowl like the previous one, but after one bite and then a second bite to make sure, I realized it was not the previous Ramen soup as before. At all. It was vastly different in spice, fairly bland, and then she reappeared with a little bowl in which was placed a single small shiitake mushroom
Seriously? They charged me five dollars for one shiitake mushroom cap? Better be magic for that money.
Sadly, all the magic had been drained from the evening, and I can only say that after all their arguing that their chicken Ramen was a different soup from the soft shelled crab and that my saying I wanted the *same* soup -only with chicken - meant nothing to them, that others is far better than I did.
Honestly, if someone were about to throw up because I brought them spoiled fish, I don’t think I would charge ANYONE at the table for their dinner! But they did not think that was appropriate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 2
Carlos Diaz
Terrible service from the manager, I do not recommend this restaurant at all, they are rude
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Luke Guevara
A solid Thai experience all in a very familiar San Francisco vibe. Definitely a local spot and they have great takeout options. If you are in the area its worth the stop.
Parking: Typical SF parking. Paid parking on the main street and difficult but free parking on the side streets.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
oskeewowwow
They have curries, spring rolls, and many noodle dishes that can be vegan. It’s an updated and nice atmosphere inside and portions are big. I really enjoyed it!
Moon S
Terrible service, and the table was dirty. We were hoping for a good dinner after a long Sunday, but this place was disappointing. First, it took 10 minutes to take our order, even though it wasn’t busy. Second, the main dishes arrived with the appetizers, so the food got cold before we could even start. Third, we had to keep raising our hands for water because the waiter was too busy chatting and texting on their phone. Worst of all, the waiter had a bad attitude and made us feel like we were being annoying. Definitely won’t be coming back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Stella Liu
The general consensus on this place is that it’s so mid. But I just wanted a simple soup so I figured that it would be low risk.
Ordered soup w/ shrimp and brown rice. Somehow came to $30 but ok..
First attempt: they gave me the wrong soup, one I’m actually allergic to. No big deal, mistakes happen
Second attempt: I went back, clarified my order (with the prawns, please), and they confirmed it was the wrong soup. Got the right soup and left.
Third attempt: Halfway down the block, I check—no prawns. Back I go again to ask for the correct order.
I was met with SO MUCH ATTITUDE as if I had done something wrong. They literally made me open the soup and handed me a fork to “prove” that there actually wasn’t any shrimp. At this public shaming, I literally dug through this soup and there were a collective 2 shrimp. I asked if this was normal and they just rolled their eyes and went to the back.
So I basically ended up spending over 30+ minutes on a bowl of soup and feeling publicly shamed for their mistake.
Will never be back ✌?
Food: 1
Service: 1
Ethan Gilworth
Some of the best pork belly I’ve ever had
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ramen
Flavien Abbey
Beautiful setting, quiet, fast service. Very good cooked dishes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stein Petersen
It will be the last time I ever buy a meal unless they offer one for free. I bought the CRISPY pork belly with broccoli which turned out to be a tasty disaster. The point of crispy pork belly is that the skin is crispy, it was soft and not worthy for eating. The meal it self was not worth $22, more like $7. Thanks for your total failure Mangrove
BEST THAI food in san francisco. I was elated to have tasted and visited Mangrove Kitchen. Loved the food and their amazing ambience. We ordered chicken satay - which was very savoury and had a nice peanut flavored sauce, thai fried rice- was so good with a lot of chicken pieces, green and red curry- amazing, aloha fried rice- with the pineapple flavors mesmerizing your tongue. The star of the show was the tom yum soup- so tangy, so fresh, so yummy. 5 out of 5 stars.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Pad See EW, Pineapple Fried Rice, Soup
Jay Walton
We shared 3 dishes for under $30 ea. Including tax and tip. No drinks. Good options with varying levels of "heat". I get bad reflux and lean mild had no problem with any of the 3 we ordered marked with 1 pepper ?️ Pad Thai in coconut curry with chicken was my favorite. We also shared 1 with shrimp both were vegetarian with added protein options.We will probably visit again soon.
Kid-friendliness: NOT kid friendly, unless familiar with Thai cuisine/ culture
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jenny Xu
Came here on a Tuesday afternoon with no wait time at 5:45 pm.Good:- Super nice staff- The Aloha fried rice here was divine, it was amazing and super tasty- The ramen here was really tasty, I liked it with the tom yum soup a lot- The red curry with beef was also great, it had a nice sweet flavor and the rice it came with was good- The gao chicken rice was good, though a little bland, the sauce that came with it made it a lot better- Pretty and clean interior, good ambiance for catching up with friendsBad:- Prices are decently expensive and high- Portion sizes are pretty smallOverall would come here again!
Mangrove on Divisadero in San Francisco was reported to be a fine Thai food experience. The menu certainly gave that impression as did the very high prices.
My friend and I found parking right in front on the street and were seated almost immediately in one of the large booths. The decor of this place is quite lovely! Woven basket lampshades hung from the ceilings in shapes that went from organic to fish.
After scanning the menu, I realized I could only afford one dish, so no appetizers I had a Thai iced coffee, which was awesome and ordered the softshell crab Ramen, which came with shiitake mushrooms… my FAVORITE!!! my friend ordered the vegetarian green Thai curry. Hers came first, but the food was served quickly. Her bowl was decorated with savory crispy fried Long noodle sticks. When mine arrived, there were two large crispy pieces of softshell crab. But something was off. I’m allergic to fish, but I can eat shellfish. It’s just fish with scales that I’m allergic to. But the smell of fish makes me retch. And the smell of bad fish…
One bite into the crab, and I realized that that was where the odor was coming from. It’d befouled the entire soup. It’s a pity. The soup had lots of corn and some pretty slices of a small onion… maybe shallots?
But I couldn’t eat it at all! I was struggling not to throw up. I had to suck down my Thai iced coffee to attempt to eradicate the taste.
I flagged the waitress down and told her of course she seemed concerned she asked if I would like anything else and I said yes I would appreciate the same dish only with chicken and no crap. I asked her to add shiitake mushrooms to it. She seemed concerned about that too.
When she returned, she brought a large bowl like the previous one, but after one bite and then a second bite to make sure, I realized it was not the previous Ramen soup as before. At all. It was vastly different in spice, fairly bland, and then she reappeared with a little bowl in which was placed a single small shiitake mushroom
Seriously? They charged me five dollars for one shiitake mushroom cap? Better be magic for that money.
Sadly, all the magic had been drained from the evening, and I can only say that after all their arguing that their chicken Ramen was a different soup from the soft shelled crab and that my saying I wanted the *same* soup -only with chicken - meant nothing to them, that others is far better than I did.
Honestly, if someone were about to throw up because I brought them spoiled fish, I don’t think I would charge ANYONE at the table for their dinner! But they did not think that was appropriate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 2
Terrible service from the manager, I do not recommend this restaurant at all, they are rude
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
A solid Thai experience all in a very familiar San Francisco vibe. Definitely a local spot and they have great takeout options. If you are in the area its worth the stop.
Parking: Typical SF parking. Paid parking on the main street and difficult but free parking on the side streets.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
They have curries, spring rolls, and many noodle dishes that can be vegan. It’s an updated and nice atmosphere inside and portions are big. I really enjoyed it!
Terrible service, and the table was dirty. We were hoping for a good dinner after a long Sunday, but this place was disappointing. First, it took 10 minutes to take our order, even though it wasn’t busy. Second, the main dishes arrived with the appetizers, so the food got cold before we could even start. Third, we had to keep raising our hands for water because the waiter was too busy chatting and texting on their phone. Worst of all, the waiter had a bad attitude and made us feel like we were being annoying. Definitely won’t be coming back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
The general consensus on this place is that it’s so mid. But I just wanted a simple soup so I figured that it would be low risk.
Ordered soup w/ shrimp and brown rice. Somehow came to $30 but ok..
First attempt: they gave me the wrong soup, one I’m actually allergic to. No big deal, mistakes happen
Second attempt: I went back, clarified my order (with the prawns, please), and they confirmed it was the wrong soup. Got the right soup and left.
Third attempt: Halfway down the block, I check—no prawns. Back I go again to ask for the correct order.
I was met with SO MUCH ATTITUDE as if I had done something wrong. They literally made me open the soup and handed me a fork to “prove” that there actually wasn’t any shrimp. At this public shaming, I literally dug through this soup and there were a collective 2 shrimp. I asked if this was normal and they just rolled their eyes and went to the back.
So I basically ended up spending over 30+ minutes on a bowl of soup and feeling publicly shamed for their mistake.
Will never be back ✌?
Food: 1
Service: 1
Some of the best pork belly I’ve ever had
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ramen
Beautiful setting, quiet, fast service.
Very good cooked dishes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It will be the last time I ever buy a meal unless they offer one for free. I bought the CRISPY pork belly with broccoli which turned out to be a tasty disaster. The point of crispy pork belly is that the skin is crispy, it was soft and not worthy for eating. The meal it self was not worth $22, more like $7. Thanks for your total failure Mangrove
Food: 1
Service: 1
Delicious!
Parking: Street parking only, a fairly busy area
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Beautiful restaurant cute date spot
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Great ramen and curry! +Generous portions.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
BEST THAI food in san francisco. I was elated to have tasted and visited Mangrove Kitchen. Loved the food and their amazing ambience. We ordered chicken satay - which was very savoury and had a nice peanut flavored sauce, thai fried rice- was so good with a lot of chicken pieces, green and red curry- amazing, aloha fried rice- with the pineapple flavors mesmerizing your tongue. The star of the show was the tom yum soup- so tangy, so fresh, so yummy. 5 out of 5 stars.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Pad See EW, Pineapple Fried Rice, Soup
We shared 3 dishes for under $30 ea. Including tax and tip. No drinks. Good options with varying levels of "heat". I get bad reflux and lean mild had no problem with any of the 3 we ordered marked with 1 pepper ?️ Pad Thai in coconut curry with chicken was my favorite. We also shared 1 with shrimp both were vegetarian with added protein options.We will probably visit again soon.
Kid-friendliness: NOT kid friendly, unless familiar with Thai cuisine/ culture
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here on a Tuesday afternoon with no wait time at 5:45 pm.Good:- Super nice staff- The Aloha fried rice here was divine, it was amazing and super tasty- The ramen here was really tasty, I liked it with the tom yum soup a lot- The red curry with beef was also great, it had a nice sweet flavor and the rice it came with was good- The gao chicken rice was good, though a little bland, the sauce that came with it made it a lot better- Pretty and clean interior, good ambiance for catching up with friendsBad:- Prices are decently expensive and high- Portion sizes are pretty smallOverall would come here again!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
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