Tuk Tuk Thai Restaurant

I ordered to go pad see ew one night and was so excited to try it. (Was craving Thai food for a while) this was the closest location and that was still open. Street parking is all there is (at least that’s all I saw at night) wasn’t busy at all. I got my order and went straight home. First thing I noticed was all the oil just sitting at the bottom. Didn’t want the food to go to waste so I just transferred it onto another plate with a napkin underneath so it can absorb somewhat of the excess oil. The food was good and spice was perfect, but the oil is what turned me away. When I say oil, I literally mean a small pool of it that the noodles are drowning in. Maybe I’ll try something else next time or maybe they just put too much oil in my batch.

Not as divey as others have said… it’s kinda smart looking, compared with the hood.
It’s a tad overpriced… no lunch specials so you are looking at $ 10 for a standard noodle dish plus drink/​tip/​tax. Walk in with a $ 20, leave with $ 5. That said, I had a big enough portion to take home a 2^nd meal in leftovers.
I was asked for my spice level, 1 – 10. Chose 7, thinking most Asian places tend to dumb things down. Not here. Seven was really kicking, and required a coke and 2 – 3 glasses of water to make it work.

Down the street from my friend’s house, cute name… so lets do the ol’ chekele (i.e. check it out in Spanglish).
Hole in the wall — check
Cute interior — check
Cute tiny old lady — check
Bantering about in Lao or Thai in the kitchen — check
Drunken noodles with tofu — I order on the phone; lady says «how spicy?», I respond how high do you go? (not meant as a challenge but some places go to ‘5’ others to ‘10’). They go to 10, so I say ‘6’, she says «have you eaten here before?», I responded no, but I can handle a Sab-​E-​Lee 4 or 5 and so I just mention to her I like spicy and we settled for a ‘5’. Negotiation skills — check!
‘5’ is pretty spicy it delivered the spice I craved yet did not burn my hole (mouth is a hole, fyi). Order was freshly wok’d, super hot and full of tasty tofu, onion, carrots, bell peppers and fragrant thai basil. The sauce was tasty too. Overall a solid dish.
Plenty of street parking (at least on a Friday afternoon). Interior is cute but I might stick to ‘to go’ orders only.
SIDE NOTE: A prior reviewer says «go to Kearny Mesa for Thai food»…I’m like, umm, huh? Nothing stands out as good Thai for me in the KM area.

Great food, great service! If I’m ever back in the area i will have it, looks like it is family owned and operated, took some time but it was expected since it was lunch, they cook to order plus they only had one server, place is small and cute! I had the Green Curry loved it! everyone else in my party enjoyed their food.

Tuk Tuk Thai is a total hole in the wall restaurant. It’s small but quaint inside. You get the vibe that it’s authentic Thai cooking.
Overall the food is tasty but we felt it was pretty oily and salty. Was drinking lots of water afterwards! The portions are small given they charge over $ 10 for most entrees. Make sure you check your order/​receipt before you leave because they charged me for adding chicken when I asked for my noodle dish to be vegetarian.
I would consider ordering more from here but their $ 4 delivery charge is also not worth it.

I uses eat24 to places an order, to have it deliver to my house. My pregnancy craving kick in, got me ordering papaya salad, Laos styles. With a sides of edamame and Gyoza. Top it off with their dessert fried banana with coconut ice cream. Boy everything was so delicious. Delivery was on time and food was awesome. Totally satisfy my craving.

Today was my first time ordering from Tuk Tuk Thai through GrubHub. I ordered the Crying Tiger Steak, Pad Thai with chicken, and sticky rice with mango. A little bit more pricey than other Thai restaurants, but I do recommend this place to others because the food is very delicious. However, if you’re starving and want something that you could pick up/​be delivered very quickly, this is definitely not the place to go.
I placed my order at 2:20pm, the estimated delivery time was between 3:03 — 3:13pm, but my food was not delivered until 4:30pm. I called the restaurant around 3:45 pm concerned about my order and asked to check on the order status. A man was speaking to me and asked for the name on my order, he said «Your order is out for delivery,» and I kindly said «Okay because I’ve been waiting over an hour and a half» and he said «Sorry about that» and hung up…
The food is great, customer service I would expect more out of, but $ 40 for three items and a 2 ½ hour wait time is a little ridiculous.

This was introduced by my husband’s co-​worker. No one was there when we arrived.
We ordered wonton soup, Pad Thai (no spice), fried rice and Crying Tiger. Food was great. I’ve had a lot of Thai Food and they are better than most.
We got the bill and it’s a bit higher than expected. I did not itemized it in the restaurant because the hand writing, on the bill, was Gibberish to me. Paid and gave tip.
My husband grabbed the to go menu. When in got to the car, I added the amount of our ordered food based on the menu and added 8% for the tax. The amount is still higher. Then I added another 10%, then voila, it added all up correctly. They gave themselves tip and there where only 4 of us. I thought that was only for 8+ people.
Food was great but they are dishonest because of the additional 10%. I will go back there again but need to make sure to ask them to itemize the receipt — in English. With my experience, I’m giving them 3 stars.

Update: I originally thought my stomach displeasure was due to the food being to spicy. But as the evening went on, my nausea got worse and feels more like I ate bad food. 24 hours later, I believe my symptoms we definitely due to bad food. DO NOT eat here.
Very sad :(I can’t honestly say I could taste the food because the spice was too much. Don’t get me wrong, I love spicy food on occasion. But it messes with my stomach and it being new years eve, I didn’t want to risk any intestinal distress. So I went with a medium spice level (⁵⁄₁₀).
Either our food was cooked immediately after a level 10, or the spice scale here is super skewed. This was definitely at the top of spice limit, what I would normally consider an 8 or ⁹⁄₁₀. I was able to eat a quarter of my Pad Thai before my stomach started to hurt :(Now I’m hungry and upset and sad :(

This place is the bomb! Everything in their menu is great! I can’t get enough of their red curry, tom kha, and mango chicken. Their delivery service is also fast! Best Thai in San Diego!

Meh… How does a restaurant run out of tofu?!? The garlic edamame were decent, pad Thai wasnt the best, but the pad see eu noodles (sp??) were yummy. I guess if u order the right things, the food has potential and prices are good.

Tastes bad. Unhealthy, too much salt and MSG. I was so thirsty for hours after eating the food, and got stomach issues.
I ordered delivery through grub hub. Food arrived about 1 hour after I ordered online on a Sunday night. This was my first time trying their food, and I was not impressed. Definitely not gourmet, more like junk food but overpriced. And I don’t mean good junk food, I mean bad junk food. There are so many other thai places nearby that are way better. I will not be going back here. I can’t believe they decided to open a restaurant with such bad cooking.
No, I do not recommend at all. Don’t waste your money.

We came here because the rating on Unilocal was so good. The food was average, good, but nothing spectacular. I had Tom Ka soup with shrimp (not many shrimp) and my boyfriend had Massaman curry with mixed seafood (he said the potatoes were the best part). I think it will be good take out next time we want something quick. Didn’t give it 4 stars because, like I said, it’s nothing spectacular that I’d go out of my way to get.

Awful service– the old lady in the back was horrid– she didn’t put noodles in my soup, I ordered extra tofu and had ZERO tofu and I ordered chicken curry and what do you know– No chicken– and she has the audacity to get mad at me for questioning!!! I would never order from there again– and on top of that– the food tasted awful! 2 thumbs down and the other 8 fingers pointing down with it! How they stay in business with a mean old lady like that in the back cooking is beyond comprehension. I have never reviewed a thing on Unilocal but I had to– I live by if you don’t have something nice to say– don’t say it– so my nice thing is to tell someone to order Thai somewhere else and eat a good meal! I didn’t even mean to give it a star– it should be minus 10 stars!!!

Ok. I would give this place 5 stars but there’s one major issue for me: the location. It is SUPER sketchy. Some reviewers have been able to get past it. I couldn’t. As a single girl trying to pick up some good Thai after work, I felt super uncomfortable just walking in to pick up my food!
But let’s get back to the food. First time I tried this restaurant was through takeout; the second time was through pick up. Both times had great meals! My classic Thai dish, Pad See Ew, was amazing. Loved the mango with sticky rice & the chicken satay as well. Delish!
BUUUT, sadly, the next time I eat Tuk Tuk will be via delivery only. Felt way too uncomfortable being stared down by gangbangers smoking cigarettes outside the restaurant. Hope they open a second location in a nicer area because the food is AMAZING!

Tuk Tuk gave my butt butt the put puts!
My sister and I got the pad Thai as a safe bet since it was our first time there. A few hours later, our stomachs started hurting and we were in the bathroom! Never coming back!

One star because Unilocal doesn’t allow me to go lower. So one star for the food, and zero for the extremely DISHONEST and poor service.
BEWARE: No matter how small or large your order may be, always ask for a breakdown AND a receipt BECAUSE THE YOUNG BOY WILL TIP HIMSELF ON «to-​go» orders hoping you don’t realize it. He couldn’t tell me their tax and after calling him out on the total of our to go order, he said he «THINKS their tax is AT LEAST 18%» so that is what he taxed us. Funny how we asked for the tax percentage and he struggled for an answer… But he magically knew we were trying to figure out the missing $ 7 – 8, even «after his taxes». We are aware 18% is typically the norm for taxes AND GRATUITY for dine in but NOT on to go orders unless we tipped that amount which we did not. I am hopeful he felt stupid– we let him keep his «tip» because he obviously needed it more than we did to be that desperate and STEAL from customers.
My family and I always used to order here. One time, we placed an order larger than usual and had a relative pick it up for us. The total was extremely higher than expected and our relative didn’t know. No wonder our relative mentioned it was odd that he had asked if «she said wanted her change»… Really?! You already generously tipped yourself AND have the audacity to ask if we would like our change? Our relative was in a rush and was clearly taken advantage of. She was not given a receipt or anything which we will admit was our fault. Excuse us for being used to doing business with honest businesses who actually give receipts.
As much as we used to like the food and are normally generous tippers, it is the moral and principal of STEALING and lying to your CUSTOMERS when questioned. What is more disgusting is rather than coming clean when being called out, the kid refused to admit he was in the wrong. So if $ 8 is worth you losing loyal customers, you got it!
Always be a smart customer and question their prices and taxes. And ALWAYS ask for a receipt.

Came here for the first time for some take out. At first glance, the location can make you a little hesitant but this little hole in the wall has left me very pleased.
I ordered the Pad Thai with chicken (spicy level 2) and a Thai Tea. ($ 14)
Portions were big and delicious.
Service was very quick and the staff was very friendly. Will definitely be back!

My go-​to place when I want to take out Thai food! My favorite here and what I usually ALWAYS order is the chicken pa see ewe (I think that’s how you spell it).
This place is a hole in the wall and not in the friendliest neighborhood, but I always come back.
Definitely recommend!

This small hole in the wall has amazing Thai food. At first glance, the outside of the resturant was a little unappealing. My SO and I were skeptical of the resturant. The place sits between a liquor store and an auto body repair shop, which I must admit, doesn’t seem to be attractive. The inside of the resturant was what really sold me. It makes you feel like you’re in a cozy intimate resturant. I enjoyed seeing the decorations as well as the colored T shirts that were spread out on the walls.
My SO and I planned to dine in, but because the resturant was closing soon, we took it to go instead. I had ordered the pad thai with pork. My So had the pad see ew with chicken. They base their spiciness from 1 – 10. I had gotten a 3 and the misses got a 2. I usually enjoy spicy food, but nothing can match the spiciness level of authentic thai food. The server casually mentioned that 5 is usually when it gets spicy, but I should have known better than to underestimate how spicy thai food is. It felt like I was eating lava. The taste was great. You could really taste all the ingredients that went into making such fine food. They give a good-​sized portion for those who like to eat alot.
The pricing is a tad too pricy for me for what I normally pay for thai food. They have 3 – 4 (can’t rememeber really) levels of pricing for adding meats or tofu. For example, adding either tofu and fake meat would cost x-​amount. Then asding either pork or chicken would cost a little more.
TL;DR skeptixal location, good food, spicy as hell, and a little bit pricy