SUKHOTHAI EXTRAORDINAIRE
ADDRESS: 2789 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116
WEBSITE: https://sukhothaikitchen.com/
It was a rare night where I decided to eat dessert before dinner, heading over to a gelato shop called An’s Dry Cleaning after my trip to the San Diego Zoo. My friend Sandy had sent the place over to me, saying that it was ranked by USA Today as the #2 ice cream shop in the country in 2023. After getting my gelato fix, I decided to take a look around in the neighborhood to see what dinner options might be available. There was a Thai restaurant called SukhoThai Extraordinaire that looked like it had great reviews on both Google Maps and Yelp, so I took the five minute walk over to it.
The restaurant definitely felt like a neighborhood spot, located at the intersection of Adams Avenue and Idaho Street amongst a bunch of houses and handful of businesses. It was definitely away from the more bustling stretch of Adams Avenue, where a bunch of other restaurants and bars were located (and where I had just walked over from). It was almost 8PM when I walked into the restaurant, and I was able to get seated immediately at a two-person table right by the kitchen doorway.
The dining area of this restaurant wraps around on the inside corner of the building it’s situated in, with a mixture of booth and chair seating. On first glance, the dining area may not look like it can seat as many people, but it could still hold about 30 people or so. There is also the outdoor patio dining area as well, with a number of tables out there to hold additional customers.
On the menu itself, there was a wide spread of different Thai dishes to choose from, including curries, soups, rice dishes, and noodle dishes. I will say that at Thai restaurants, I typically gravitate towards their noodle dishes, like pad thai, pad see ew, or drunken noodles. Basil fried rice or pineapple fried rice typically also might be a close second for consideration as well. On that night, however, the noodle dishes were really sounding good, so I decided to go with Pad See Ew with Tofu, along with an appetizer order of the Tamarind Crispy Chicken to get things started.
As I was sitting at the table after I ordered, I was observing dish after dish that was just cranking out of the kitchen, since I was right next to the door. Every time that door opened, I could hear that distinct sound of one of those restaurant wok burners, what I’ve heard of described in the past as “a roaring dragon.” It’s no wonder I was seeing all of these stir-fry dishes come out at such a fast pace, you can really cook super quick in one of those types of setups.
My Tamarind Crispy Chicken was out to me probably about five minutes after I ordered, and it was still piping hot that I had to wait before starting to eat it. I definitely got the crispy texture from the mixture of chicken breast and chicken thigh pieces, and the tamarind sauce did provide that nice sweet and sour flavor to each bite. The menu noted that this dish was a family favorite, and I could see why.
The Pad See Ew came out of the kitchen next, no more than five minutes after I got my tamarind chicken appetizer. That wok burner really was amazing at being able to crank out the food. Flat rice noodles stir-fried with a soy sauce mixture, broccoli, carrots, eggs, and tofu, this dish may have leaned on the simple side, but it really did pack a lot of the umami flavor from the soy sauce. The rice noodles were just the right consistency, where they were soft, yet didn’t mush together, in addition to absorbing the sauce really well. Both the broccoli and carrots were cooked through and also maintained their crunch, indicating that they didn’t get overcooked. I definitely find appreciation when a basic dish can be done really well.
For a restaurant that I discovered on the fly while looking for a place to eat that night, I was really surprised at how good it turned out. Both of the dishes that I tried had really good flavor, the pad see ew wasn’t too dried out like I’ve had from other Thai restaurants before, and I thought that the portions were good for the price points. If you find yourself in the neighborhood (or end up getting dessert before dinner like I did) and are wanting some Thai food, SukhoThai is definitely worth the visit.
Let’s now take a look at the SukhoThai Extraordinaire Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Tamarind Crispy Chicken **
Breaded chicken pieces tossed in a tamarind sauce.
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** Pad See Ew with Tofu **
Wok-charred flat rice noodles stir-fried with soy sauce, eggs, broccoli, carrots, and tofu.
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And finally, here are my rankings for SukhoThai Extraordinaire:
Food: 5 / 5
Both of my dishes had great flavor, and I was impressed with the execution of the food, even if the concept of the dishes were more on the simplistic side. The menu also has plenty of other Thai dishes to choose from, if you’re looking to dive deeper into the cuisine.
Atmosphere: 4.25 / 5
Even though the restaurant space was smaller, I thought it felt pretty cozy and was still nicely lit at night with both track lighting as well as hanging light fixtures. For nicer days, the outdoor patio also seemed like a nice option as well.
Service: 4.5 / 5
The restaurant staff were very friendly and welcoming throughout my visit, and I think that even the restaurant owner stopped by my table at one point to check in with me to see how the food was. The speed at which the food came out of the kitchen was also blazing fast as well.
Price: 4.5 / 5
For a $15 plate of pad see ew along with an $11 plate of tamarind chicken, I thought that for the quality of the food along with portions provided, it was very reasonable.
Overall:
18.25 / 20
(91%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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