Lers Ros Thai is arguably the most popular Thai restaurant in San Francisco. With two locations, both feature an impressive menu with dishes you’d be hard pressed to find at Thai spots more suited to American palates. The Tenderloin location is their original outpost, but I visited their Hayes Valley restaurant on my first visit. I was going to see chef David Chang speak at the nearby Herbst Theatre with my friend Penny afterwards, and what better to whet my appetite with than spicy, herby Thai food?
We started with the garlic quail. Deep-fried and flecked with loads of garlic, this was delicious. The sweet chili sauce on the side tempered the meat’s rich flavor and left us hungry for more.
As an entree, we shared an order of red curry with roasted duck. The curry was served with chunks of tomato and pineapple, lending a sweet note to an otherwise fiery dish. The duck itself was good, albeit the roasted flavor wasn’t as strong as I was hoping for.
Lastly, we split a plate of stir-fried beef with chili paste, young peppercorn, and galangal. Also spicy and rich, this dish may have been my favorite. Galangal is like ginger times ten: powerful, peppery, and slightly sweet. Oh, and note to self: do not attempt to eat the peppercorns.
The menu is long, the ambiance is modern, and the service is friendly at Lers Ros Thai. I can’t help but wonder how it compares to the original location in the Tenderloin. Guess I know where I’m going for my next Thai food jaunt.