When I am in the mood for Thai food one place comes to mind, the Smiling Banana Leaf. It’s located in Highland Park and to get therefrom Oakland you can simply hop on the 71B or 71A. If you do plan on making a trip to Smiling Banana Leaf, I recommend calling ahead to make a reservation.It is a very tiny restaurant so it is better to be safe than to make the journey and be denied seating.
The atmosphere of the Smiling Banana Leaf is quite enjoyable and the volume normally ranges from a low roar to slightly loud, it just depends on the time of day. During lunch and dinner times, the volume is the loudest.
Smiling Banana Leaf offers freshly prepared traditional Thai Food. They offer a variety of dishes such as Pad Thai, Pad SeeEw, Red Curry, Green Curry, and Tom Yum soup just to name a few. Every time I visit Smiling Banana Leaf, I get the chicken pad thai and the tom yum soup. Their pad thai is easily the best pad thai I have ever had, and they give you a nice sized portion so I always wind up with left overs. One thing that I find with other places pad thai is that everything just tastes dry. Luckily that is not the case with Smiling Banana Leaf. Their pad thai features chicken that isn’t overly dry and the noodles are cooked perfectly with the right amount of spice and peanut flavor.
One thing that is typical about Thai restaurants is that they have a spice scale. Smiling Banana Leaf’s spice scale is from one to ten.I am not a huge fan of spice so I always go with the three and am pleased with the way the food turns out.
Another dish that I do want to highlight is the Tom Yum soup. Prior to Smiling Banana Leaf, I have never had this soup before. For those that are not familiar, it is lemongrass broth, bean sprouts, mushrooms, napa cabbage, and spinach. It is really hard to describe the taste but it is refreshing and also contains some spice, but not enough where it is not enjoyable. This soup is the perfect soup to enjoy on a cold rainy day, or when you are feeling under the weather because it clears my sinuses completely.
Overall Smiling Banana Leaf is the best place to get Thai food and I recommend that everyone go here, even if it’s your first time trying Thai food.
