Thai Restaurants in Tamalpais-Homestead Valley

Tub Tim Thai Restaurant serves up classic Thai dishes with spice levels both subtle and robust. Yellow, red, and green curries swaddle pieces of tofu, prawns, and various meats, and sweet chili sauce gives barbecued chicken and pork a piquant kick. Chefs expertly serve up dishes such as pad thai and fried rice in classical proportions determined by Aristotle's renowned rules for splitting dinner.

The first thing guests see when they enter My Thai Restaurant is a woman sitting in prayer as water rains down on her, surrounded by foliage. The fountain carving, along with gold- and burgundy-striped walls, infuses the eatery with what the San Rafael Patch dubs a “trendy, modern, and comfortable” atmosphere.

The menu includes both traditional and eclectic dishes, including curries, noodles, fried rice, and barbecue dishes. To contrast orders of panang curry with chicken and barbecue roasted duck, the kitchen also churns out more than a dozen seafood-specific dishes, including the popular "healthy bowl" with grilled salmon, mixed grains, shredded green mango, avocado, pickled ginger, and dried cherries and blueberries.

A menu with inventive twists on tofu, duck, and pork dishes, many infused with surprising fruit accents, aided Be My Guest Thai Bistro in snagging a nod from Best of Citysearch 2008. Skilled chefs ramp up pan-fried rice and noodles with mango, avocado, and fresh pineapple, and pans crackle happily beneath seafood such as salmon and shrimp. To send mouthwatering dispatches to distant bellies, the eatery’s online ordering database aids delivery service, and a slew of sake cocktails clink together to offer joyous rice blasts without the hassle of sneaking into a king's wedding.

Noodle Bar and Grill plies each patron with a heaping helping of noodles, bathed in zesty Asian sauces or steeped in curry sauce. Named for both its wide range of noodles and the fact that diners recline on pool noodles, Noodle Bar and Grill pairs bowls of thick egg noodles or thin vermicelli noodles with tender portions of chicken, duck, or filet mignon. The savvy servers can gift feasters with soups, salads, desserts, and sides inside the restaurant or deliver them to doorsteps in nearby neighborhoods.

Aom Phanthong—the chef and owner behind the Zagat-rated Another Monkey—constantly seeks to refine familiar Thai dishes, presenting diners with contemporary interpretations of perennial classics. She doesn't shy away from the menu's cultural roots, though. The San Francisco Chronicle praised her devotion to bold flavors in 2010, claiming, "It's admirable to enjoy food prepared by a chef who cooks as if she's at home." The San Francisco Bay Guardian, on the other hand, simply called Phanthong's food "electrifying."

This eye toward tradition lends a comforting familiarity to the menu's spicy green curry and wok-fried duck with garlic chili sauce, but Chef Phanthong also presents fusion-inspired dishes, such as the tom yum shrimp nachos on a crispy flour tortilla. Bartenders adopt a similar attitude toward fusing flavors, demonstrated in a rotating selection of Thai-influenced versions of iconic cocktails such as a lemongrass gimlet and a blueberry mojito.

Neutral wood tones lend warmth to the otherwise modern and vaguely industrial decor, with its straight-backed chairs and clean lines. A collection of Thai statuettes lines the dining room's back wall, and the lounge area features tables and stools made from actual Thai drums so that diners can greet their meals with a group drumroll.