Hot or Not Thai is a Thai Restaurant located in San Diego, CA. We offer Authentic Thai Food, Thai Food Take Out, Casual Thai Dining, Thai Food Delivery & a variety of delicious Thai Dishes for our customers to choose from. Here at Hot or Not Thai, we use only the freshest ingredients for our homemade recipes. Who says you need to go to Thailand to truly experience the flavors of authentic Thai cooking? You can get it right here. All of our dishes are seasoned to perfection, combining popular seasonings with our delicious secret recipes. Come and enjoy a meal with us today!
Based on 125 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.3 stars. Price $$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Curbside pickup ✔️ No-contact delivery
Address:
4965 Cass St, San Diego, CA 92109
Phone: (619) 369-1688
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Friday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Saturday | 12–9 PM |
| Sunday | 12–9 PM |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
Closed |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–9 PM |
Menu
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Menu Photos
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Reviews
Naomi Young
This restaurant is low key and a good for a nice quick bite and then off to your day. Service is excellent, flavor and portions hit the spot. I do wish the Tom Kha soup had more depth in flavor and I like my pad Thai slightly sweeter but overall the flavors were great and the ingredients were fresh and tasty.
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Casey L
Was referred by someone who craves for real and authentic cultural tastes. Of course I had to try it out! There is plenty of street parking and the restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating. We opted to sit indoors where table space is very limited. This place had a lot of take-out orders and it only confirmed that this was the spot to be at! The service was friendly and kind. Our hostess was very accommodating and treated as friends. The food was outstanding and the presentation of it was beautifully done! If you like traditional Thai food and thrive on supporting small businesses that pride themselves on quality of food and service, then you MUST try Hot or Not Thai!
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Metallic Mook
Well I guess there’s a first time for everything. This is the first time I’ve edited a review to drop my rating down. We had a friend visiting from out of town and he wanted some Thai food. We told him we should go here, as it was one of our favorites through San Diego and I really wanted some Khao Soi. They were not packed when we came in. But we were sat at a dirty table. They only asked for our drinks 10mins later when they wanted to take our order. We ordered 2 dishes at level 1 spice, 1 at level 2 and 1 at level 5. We waited for about 20min before they brought out the first plate which was the lamb curry that my friend ordered. They gave him a spoon and a knife with it but not a fork. They also brought out all the rice. Another 5 minutes pass and then they bring out the beef curry. No silverware was brought. They made no mention of the Tom Kha that we had asked to share as an appetizer. My husband asked for forks for everyone. The waitress only brought out one. We had to ask for each fork on a separate occasion. The beef was not the right cut and chewy from being way overcooked. We were finally told that the soup would be out soon because they had to make a new batch because it was made too spicy. When the soup finally did arrive, we were not happy. We waited for 30mins for the soup to come out and the coconut milk was separating from the water like the leftovers do when you reheat it. It was just the milk, a little bit of overcooked chicken, and standard white mushrooms that were still raw and crunchy. No cilantro, no red onion, no oil on top. Then my khao soi finally came out. I was not expecting much after the tom kha and I was not proven wrong. The chicken legs were way overcooked and dry to the point it was crumbling apart in my mouth. And the sauce was hotter then when I normally order a 2. There were 2 other tables that had sent back food and when they left they did not take their leftovers at all and the plates were still pretty full so I know we weren’t the only ones. When we finally received the check, we realized that the waitress had dropped it down to a 0 on the tom kha and beef curry when we had asked for a 1. My khao soi was knocked up to a 3. The lamb curry was placed at the proper 5 but that was it. After having had consistently great food and service the many times we have gone here in the past year, seeing nothing but new faces and having the quality of the service and food drop so low, we don’t even want to make the drive out here again. We were very sad and frankly embarrassed to have talked the place up to our friend so much. If you enjoyed the food previously, just don’t go in expecting it to be the same as it was before. They cleaned house and it was not a move that bettered the place. This place is now a not for us.
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Susan Perry
This place is absolutely INSANE! I swear, the food here was better than the Thai I had IN THAILAND. They use top notch quality food and you really taste the love in each dish. I had the Khao Soi noodles and my friend had the Pad Kee Mao with beef. Both were ridiculously flavorful. The meat was so moist and tender, my only complaint was that the plate wasn’t bigger! Definitely the best new spot in all of San Diego…
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Katherine Tartaglia
My go to for Thai in Pacific Beach. It’s honestly some of the best Thai I have ever had, and by far the best in PB. Incredible flavor and portions for the price. My favorites are the green curry and kao soi. Be careful with the spice level! Lovely staff as well.
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Martin Eder
I think Hot or Not is the best Thai restaurant in San Diego, and that means a lot with all the competition. The quality of the ingredients and the particular recipes make it amazing. The atmosphere wasn’t great because they’re in the middle of a remodel but it is hard to overstate how this small understated restaurant can be so darn good. JJ the owner is a very sweet person. He’s been a chef for a long time including head chef at a most distinguished Thai restaurant in Orange County before he sold the business. When that restaurant started the flounder they called him up for the recipes and things started to get better again.
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Justin Mecklenborg
I don’t say this lightly: best Thai food I’ve ever had. We had Penang curry, the pork meatballs, and Kra Prow chicken… PHENOMENAL! So authentic, friendly, and fast!
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Taylor Buschke
This is my boyfriend and I’s go to thai spot!! Plenty of food and spice levels are perfect. I get the pineapple curry and he gets the fried rice and pad thai and always 10/10
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Melanie Ruiz
A cold day is a good day for Thai. The search for a warm meal landed us at the doors of Hot or Not Thai. Parking may be a bit tricky for future visits (no real designated parking area), but there are opportunities for street parking (just pay attention to street signage).
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Scott Perrin
Delicious Thai in an unsuspecting location. Staff is friendly and the chef, who is from Thailand, came out to check on us. It’s a little pricey, but worth it. Try the mango sticky rice for desert.
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