Always Good: Royal Thai

Consistency is one of my hallmarks for holding a restaurant in high regard, and Royal Thai in San Rafael has stood the test of time.

About five years ago, I interviewed Roxanne Klein, who at the time was the chef-owner of Roxanne's in Larkspur, since closed. These days she has a line of raw food for the consumer. When I took her out, she chose Royal Thai. And despite her allegiance to raw food, she ate cooked vegetarian food.

I was no stranger to Royal Thai, having enjoyed many a lovely dinner there. Besides the expertly prepared food, Royal Thai is also known for its gentle, welcoming hospitality.

Recently, I had business in the neighborhood and stopped in for lunch with friends.

Tom Kha Kai is one of the best preparations of this rich coconut milk soup, filled with chicken pieces and jazzed with lemongrass and galangal, a type of Thai ginger ($6.95).

Pad Thai here is made properly, with bits of chicken, shreds of scrambled eggs, bean sprouts, fried tofu and ground peanuts ($6.95).

The lunch plates are all priced at $6.95, except for the shrimp, which is $7.95. All the lunch plates are served with fragrant jasmine rice, sticky rice, vegetable fried rice and steamed brown rice.

Tuck into the satay of six skewers of chicken, served with a delightful peanut sauce and a cucumber salad. The prawns are worth the extra dollar. They're served sautéed with vegetables in a garlic-pepper sauce ($7.95).

The barbecued chicken is actually a game hen served with salad and a sweet and sour sauce. The hen is crispy, perfectly yummy with the sweet and sour sauce.

If you have room, the mangoes and sticky rice, layered with coconut cream ($3.50), is the perfect finale.

Royal Thai
610 Third Street
San Rafael
(415) 485-1074