Kin Khao (1 Michelin Star restaurant) Reviews

Made the mistake of eating a pepper... So hawt. Ruined the 3rd and 4th course. Other than that it was stellar, and that was because of my own stupidity.

Excellent excellent food. And really well priced for the quality of food

Food makes this place a destination, the unique, creative cocktail drinks are what I come for, and the smiling faces is what keeps me coming back! If you want to get your hot chiles fix in, this place won't disappoint! Or, if you're like me, trying new things is what attracts me to restaurants: Give the rabbit in coconut milk a try. It's definitely a conversation-starter!

Holy cow!!!

Kin Khao's food knocked my socks off. I came with my co-workers (table of 8) and we started with the papaya salad (spicy) and blistered green beans in XO sauce. Those green beans were fantastic and we ended up ordering 3 plates of it.

I went with a colleague's recommendation of spicy stir-fried drunken noodles with ground pork, rice noodles, garlic, bird s eye chili, onions, bell peppers, and Holy basil. I enjoyed every bite but have to admit I wanted to get a taste of the duck fat rice, spicy vegetarian curry soup that my co-workers were feasting on.

I was excited to see that there Thai iced coffee was made with Santa Cruz's acclaimed Verve Coffee Roasters. It was super tasty and well balanced.

The only drawback was the service, the servers seemed aloof and slow, as if they'd rather be elsewhere. The food was so good, I dismissed it as the restaurant being fairly new.

delicious. Not too spicy. Asked if spicy is good, spicy is a good spicy. The price is not cheap. Less than $ 20 including chips at lunch.

Food was good and authentic but overpriced. Noodle with tofu was $19 but I couldn't see tofu much and butter squash curry for $36 and rice is not included. If you're looking for cozy and calm place, this is not the place. It was too loud. I felt like it's more like bar, not restaurant.

I am such a happy person after eating lunch here. Excellent veg peanuts, bean appetizer, and noodle dish. And the iced coffee was cold brew, which was unique.

I do not understand how or why this place has a Michelin Star. It took the hostess a long time to seat me, even though I had a reservation. Once seated, it took the server even longer to ask me for my drink order-and then I thought they had forgotten my drink order because it took even longer to bring me my Thai iced tea. I ordered the wings, which were soggy and undercooked in various parts. The pretentious air is hilarious because the food was simply not good and the service was worse. Thoroughly disappointed and do not recommend. Note, I am generally optimistic and give good reviews to restaurants.

Boring flavors, all one note, overpriced, loud, def not michelin star worthy

The pork bowl is a delicious bowl of noodle soup with crispy pork belly and loads of cilantro. Must try.

Overpriced food and extremely rude, pretentious service.

Interesting upscale Thai place. Mostly great food. Some interesting dishs on the tasting menu that didn't work out for my taste like mushroom mousse Curry and a beef dish made with beans instead

Loved our lunch here. Got the Nam Tok (cranberry) beans (mouth watering yummy) and the vegetarian khao-soi (very flavorful broth, but not as yummy as nam tok). Very good cocktail (Tom yum - great flavor of galangal). Highlight was the black rice pudding. Really liked that the toppings (coconut cream, caramel and sesame/brown rice crunch) were on the side and you can add as much and in whichever combination you want. I kept taking a spoonful and trying different combinations of toppings. Totally overate. Also ordered the spicy peanuts as a side. They were flavorful, but not hot spicy. We were so hungry, we quickly munched through them while waiting for the meal. In hindsight, would have saved that space for the black rice pudding!

On the night of 21 October 2017, at about 7 pm, my pregnant wife, my one year old daughter and I decided to go to this restaurant. They told us upon check in that the wait time was one hour. At that point my wife and I started walking away, but two couples who were going inside the restaurant, told us that they only waited 20 mins. So we decided to get in the list, after waiting one hour, my wife goes inside to find out the status of our sitting, and they tell her that is going to be another hour of wait time. Talking about lack of empathy, far out, this place is the champion. The manager saw us waiting outside in the cold thru the window and did not even try to accommodate at all (and I saw a few empty tables at this point) somehow we needed a special tavle because of the baby. I will never come here again and I hope this review informs people well.

Best curry in years. True Thai exprience but make sure you check the spiciness factor, again true Thai !

This place will visit you in your dreams after eating there. Drop what you are doing and go.

Awesome food, fast service. I wish the ambiance was a bit fancier and more quiet.

Absolutely fantastic meal. Unique Thai with bold flavors and fast, attentive service from Aaron. Better than any Thai restaurant in Las Vegas.

Michelin one star cuisine. Not typical Thai food, I was expecting to find papaya salad but they had a more elevated version of fruit salad without papaya, it was an unique dish. Other dishes were also flavourful but portion is a little small.

I visited Kin Khao at the recommendation of a colleague. The dinning experience was nothing short of amazing. The foods are packed with flavor and reasonable spices that will make chiyou visualize living in Thailand eating like royalty. We ordered the wings, the Rabbit, the beef, the yum some, BLK rice pudding, and Thai tea soft serve. Everything was great. The rabbit was smoothered in curry with meatballs....the yum som was accompanied with a sticky rice that we wrapped in lettice with nuts and savory veggies.... simply outstanding. I had a regular old fashion that was delicious and prepared to perfection. I don't eat beef or pork but my colleagues delighted in the abundance of flavor in the meats and how well they were prepared. Go to this place make reservations and be sure to get there early.

Awfully salty. Inedible. Zero star if I could. And the chef does not even acknowledge the extreme saltiness..... That is unforgivable.

Unimpressed. All of our food was was really over-salted. Service was okay, but not noteworthy. Without a doubt the worst Michelin starred meal I've ever had.

For a Michelin star, quite affordable. Simple Thai with subtle twists.

A very good Thai restaurant, serving both typical dishes as well as a few unusual dishes or presentations that you may not have seen before.

Food was good. Service was good. Atmosphere was fine. Have been to Thai restaurants without a Michelin star which are much better. Nothing phenomenal.

A convenience location at downtown San Francisco, clean but a bit noise with mixing of background music and customers' chatting.
Good service, staff are friendly and helpful.
Various kind of drinks available from Thai beer to wine and sake.
Modified Thai cuisine, do not expect traditional dishes and due to the location attached to a hotel, slightly pricey comparing to other Thai restaurants in the same area.

Tremendous food. Always a deliciously vibrant place to eat. Excellent.

Good but I expected more from a Michelin rated restaurant. The service was a bit slow but it was crowded on a Rainy Wednesday night. The dishes were tasty but you seem to be paying for better than tasty.

It's good food and great service but not as good that it deserves Michaelin star.

We ate here for lunch and had Khin Kao jin and yaowaraj noodles between two which was more than enough. Both were super tasty though a little saltier than we expected. Overall a really nice restaurant with tasty food for a reasonable price.

Spicy but great food, highly recommended! Cocktails are great as well. Note portions are quite large so you will want to share.

Unique Thai food experience, one must try for sure. Loved the minimalist decor and the food looked pretty simple when it arrived but the flavours were just amazing!! Nothing like any other Thai restaurant I've visited (in the western world) ever.

Excellent food for lunch. A little pricey but definitely worth it. Atmosphere and decor very average.

One of the most fantastic meals of my life. Come hungry and get the set menu. It was a lot of food and I can already feel tomorrow's regret of what we left on the plate.

One star doesn't feel like enough. Exceptional food and wonderful service.

The location of this restaurant is in the same building of the Parc 55 Hotel and is located in the corner of the building at Ellis and Mason streets. It is a small restaurant with the hostess running it very strictly so that all in your party have to be present before seating. There is also a communal table and bar seating so when if you do not have reservations (recommended) you might be able to snag seating if your party is small. The food is delicious, but the spice scale is authentic (read truly hot!). Service is good and the cocktails are good. There is also a selection of beer and wine. Dessert is also unique and overall the authenticity of the food seemed high with some American twists. Definitely recommend!

A little hard to get to (2nd floor of the hotel) but really impressive experience here. I got seated at a table without a reservation within 15 minutes luckily. I ordered the pork belly and the drunken noodles and both were mouthwatering. The pork belly melted in your mouth and is coated in a sweet soy sauce. Will definitely come back here.

I enjoyed our meal, the food was as good as you'd expect, and the service was great, but some of their wines were a little out there.

This is probably Thai as you've never had before - nothing like a typical neighborhood restaurant.

Make a reservation, or be prepared to wait, especially on weekends. The wait will be worth it!

The cocktail menu is well-considered, with spice/heat as a commonality. Try anything with Ancho Reyes for a deep, complex, spicy flavor profile.

If you have a group, consider the tasting menu. Each dish was better than the previous, and the order is well considered. Flavors are bright and spicing is restrained. The vegetable dishes are stellar, but the beef cheeks with crispy shallots was outstanding.

Amazing, delicious, memorable, special. And the mid-theater meal is a great innovation that brings a perfect abbreviated but still top class dining experience.

Great Thai cuisine. I loved the green curry with ribs, and flat noodle. Highly recommended.

Nice food, comfortable environment, and superior cocktails. They seem to have a solid operation, with everything running quite smoothly. Even so, it doesn't feel like they're just trying to push you out the door. The food I had was good, certainly, but I wouldn't say it stood out on its own as anything to write home about, but I would want to try more of the menu before making that determination.

A little bit overprive, but overall are excellent. Food and service are really good. Will came again!

The place is hidden in the Parc55, so you'll do a bit of walking to get there, but like an oasis Inna desert you find this awesome gem. Service was exquisite, our waiter was extremely knowledgeable and gave us fantastic recommendations. He also did a great job with the timing of bringing out all the dishes which made the experience that much better. This restaurant is not traditional Thai food it's an elevated experience of what Thai food can be when it meets fine dining. I highly recommend the pork belly and the squid. The combination which was recommended to us by the waiter was fantastic. The acidity of the squid cut the fattiness of the pork and together with the sticky rice was a fantastic combination and probably my favorite thing at the restaurant. The mushroom appetizer which comes out kind of like a parfait was also delicious. It was airy but creamy at the same time with great flavor and had the essence of a Thai curry mixed with the a rich mushroom-y flavor. The yaowaraj noodles were great. The noodles were cooked to perfection and the chicken was tender and flavorful. The only thing that would have made that dish better is more of the noodles and a little bit less of the chicken. The beef cheek curry was probably my least favorite dish but still delicious. The curry was a bit too bitter and strong for my liking. The bean appetizer was a surprisingly spectacular dish it had a nice crispiness to it while still having the softness of the beans when you bite into them and when you wrap them up in the lettuce leaf with the cucumber it's just a delectable bite. The drink selection was also quite large and they were delicious very well balanced and strong. I would highly recommend this place considering the quality of food and service and the price being very reasonable.

Everything we got here was fantastic. This is one of the most truest representations of Thai food I've ever had. There are a lot of food options the staff is amazingly attentive.

I was not impressed with the drinks, but the food was out of this world. I tried the prefix with some friends and every dish was delicious and we were full by the time dessert came. I was also very surprised by how friendly the staff was. Hands down a great place to try.

Kin Khao is amazing. The quality of their food is unbeatable and it's a reasonably affordable as far as classy dining goes.
I'm consistently amazed at how intentional and delicious the flavors in every menu item is and everything I've been pretty hesitant about has blown me away with the first bite.

The prix fixe menu is going to serve you well but I'm a group I'd recommend trying more items and sharing.
Items you have to try: Pork Belly, mushroom mouse, masaman curry, rice noodles, and the Thai tea ice cream
Maybe avoid: rabbit curry, pretty hot wings. Not that they're bad, they just didn't quite satisfy as well as the others.

Very rude hostess who didn't want to answer questions about the menu. I went across the street for great food at half the price.

Lots of spicy dishes. If that's your thing, you'll love this place. Super popular place, but my palate prefers less spicy options.

Can't go wrong with any choice on the menu. Try the Tom Yum cocktail

Too much. I ordered the menu described as Fried noodle with egg, chiken, grren onion ... etc. More than half left.

Too salty. I dont remember the dish s name but it was fried noodle with egg, chiken ... etc. it was too salty to eat up all.

thai food and the atmosphere at this place is great. i had a brother come into town and he asked me to go back here. this place has a good design. i see why this place has a lot of positive reviews.

Curry entree we ordered was horrible and also burnt. We wasted almost all of it. We told the server who told us it was just a different curry.

Not your typical Thai food, and more focused on northern Thai. The menu is short but there variety is enough for you to fond something you may like. Prices are on the higher side but well worth.

A really nice Thai dining experience. The food was flavorful and was on the spicy side. in a good way! We did the tasting menu and were very happy with it.

The service was also great as we had someone who doesn't eat pork and they accommodated the dietary restriction by substituting the belly dish (which was very tender and tasty) with something else.

I will definitely go back there again.

No reservation was listed as available, but my son and I walked by on the of chance that they'd have room. There was availability at the communal table or the bar, and we choose the table. We had the rice salad, the octopus, and the rabbit curry, and black rice pudding for dessert. They were all so good. The waiter also asked us about food allergies, which is nice because my son doesn't always remember to state them. The waiter took good caution with the allergies but didn't go overboard which was also nice. All in all a fantastic experience.

Food was good but service was slow. It took forever before anyone came to take our order. We were a party of 5 and was there for a late lunch. They stop taking orders at 2pm. Would love to give them 5 stars but kitchen and bar service has to improve.

I've been to Kin Khao twice now and have concluded that the food is inconsistent. The first time I went, the food was really good, however the second time around the items that we ordered during our first visit tasted different.
Kin Khao came on our radar from Bon Appetit's article of new restaurants to eat at. Immediately after that article came out Kin Khao was super busy. However 3 months later, the crowd soon died down and reservations were easy to make (via open table).
Overall it's worth trying since it's not your typical Thai food, order the mushroom terraine (best thing there)!.
Note - it is in the Parc 55 hotel.

The food here is generally good, with some dishes (khao kan jin) better than others (khao mun gai). The cocktails were interesting as well, and service was attentive. What threw me off a bit was the atmosphere the location of the space makes it feel a bit transient, and the music was not great. Overall, I did enjoy our lunch here.

So this is the worst Michelin rated location I ve been to but hey it s in that league. Service didn t know much about the food and was in-personable. Food was good especially the mushroom curry but just nothing to make it amazing amazing amazing. Prices are good for SF.

In two words: very disappointing...
Since it's an "upscale" place we had to wait 40 minutes to be sitted. Then we order 3 different dishes, I liked none, but to be fair, my wife did like one of them. The bill was $90 so it's not cheap as well. I'm not going back.

Simply wow. Every dish bursts with flavor and personality. The braised pork belly was out of this world. Friendly, courteous staff. Be sure to reserve table well in advance as this place is very popular.

Tasteful and creative meals. Screams Michelin Star restaurant.. which it is. Up selling meals is prolific.

Pricey but good Thai food! Love the noodles but the khao soi I didn't like the big crunchy noodles..

Service and food not what I expected from 1 star Michelin.

Came in for lunch around 1pm on Saturday without a reservation and was seated right away. The papaya salad was fantastic. Quick and friendly service

I am Thai. I can't say that the taste is authentic, but it is really good. Well deserved 1 star michelin.

Love this place so much. Orange chicken is the best I've ever had, and their fried rice is absolutely amazing. Everything is delicious, and the bathrooms are super clean and nice (cuz ik thts important to some ). 10/10 would eat here again

We really enjoy almost all of the dishes here. Avoid Pad ke mao. Must order fava beans.

Great service, food, and atmosphere. Went here with a friend for lunch and we had some of the best Thai food. It's difficult to find Northern Thai dishes in Socal so this was perfect for us.

A few friends and I while touring around San Francisco decided to eat here for dinner because of their Michelin star. The food was good, however, at the end of our meal we asked our server (male), if we should pay at the counter or if someone will bring a machine. He rudely replied with a racist comment along the lines of "We are not a Chinese restaurant where you pay upfront, in high end restaurants we take your credit card and bring back the receipt." As a group of people with Chinese backgrounds we felt immensely offended and mistreated by this server, especially at a well rated restaurant. Because of the actions of this server we will not be coming back.

Very Good. Rich, favorful and Spicy food. Ask for several options to share.

Solid food and a great selection of cocktails. My favorites are the Kua Kling ribs and spicy wings.

Michelin star or not, pretty meh. The blood sausage wrap was gross... but in fairness I think I prefer more southern thai foods.

Super disappointed with the service and execution. Our party of six ordered 8 dishes and only received 6. We didn't get an opportunity to try the rabbit curry and ribs (the dishes we were most excited to try). While we waited for the only dessert on the menu, which shouldn't have taken long, our neighbors were quickly served their rabbit curry. On top of missing out, we were charged for the curry we didn't receive. She updated the receipt and comped our dessert only after getting feedback. Save your money and go to Hawker Fare, which is consistent and much better.

Amazing food and drinks! One of my best work lunch ever for sure. Will surely repeat, when we think of making a reservation in advance as it's almost impossible to just show up last minute for lunch, especially as part of a larger group. Service was also friendly and efficient.

Solid Thai food, but nothing that will rock your world.

Legit! The stone fruit salad is a delight. The noodles are freshly made (you do need to add the optional Chili's to make the dish pop) the pork belly was incredible but only pork belly that was seasoned. Get the blue flower limeade. Trust me .

Last week a good friend treated me to the tasting menu at Kin Khao as a (very) belated Birthday present. It was a real treat to try so many items on one sitting. We started with the Mushroom Hor Mok Terrine which I had tried before when I visited a few years back and it's still very good but also very spicy, probably the most spicy thing of the evening. So we ordered some hot tea to help cool ourselves down (we're British like that), it worked a treat and we could continue with the rest of the curious spread. Our favourite of the starters was the Yum Polamai - a wonderful salad with stone fruit and coconut and lime and shallots. The next thing to be set on the table to draw exclamations of delight from us was the caramelized pork belly, need I say more? The worst part was having to watch my friend eat the other piece, I could definitely have managed this one all by myself. It was sweet and gooey, fatty and a great foil to the previous brighter, spicier flavors. Earlier I had nearly declined the offer of the tasting menu because I am not a huge fan of beans, but I am so glad I didn't listen to my bean-hating self. The blistered long beans in XO sauce were so moreish that even when I'd finished everything I thought I could eat, I kept picking at the remaining few with my fingers until they were all gone. I'll take those beans any time over the boiled mushy memories of my childhood. Finally, the crowning dish of the evening - Khun Yai's rabbit green curry thoughtfully served with a choice of brown and white rice was a mix of creamy spicy perfection. There was only a little of it left over by the time we came to the end of the savory courses but even so I made sure every last drop of it made it home in a doggy-bag with me for lunch the next day. Like I mentioned, we are both British which led to some amusement over the dessert of Thai Tea soft serve. Like I said to my friend - when we were kids (a very long time ago now) there would be these old ladies (ancient great-great aunts and the like) who when we visited would have these big brown tea pots dressed with tea cosies that had been used to brew tea for decades (maybe even centuries) and they had this very distinct black tea leave smell - and that is what the Thai Tea soft serve dessert reminded me of. It evoked memories of that tea, which when were kids we would drink with spoonfuls and spoonfuls of sugar and lots of milk. I never expected a Thai dish to drum up a very British childhood memory, but that it did. Thanks for the journey through Thailand and unexpectedly back to my roots, Kin Khao!

pricier side for thai food. paid about $30 per person for lunch here. I still really enjoyed the food they served. the sticky rice was chewy and tasty, and the dishes they create can't be found at other thai restaurants. very unique to themselves.

Flavorful Thai food. We loved the spicy wings and rabbit curry. And inventive cocktail pairings to go with the food.