09/21/08

amazing dishes and great atmosphere

by anesejatina

approximately 14 of us went here of the weekend to celebrate our friend's birthday and they were very accommodating, then again we also placed a reservation beforehand.

+ food was amazing

+ service was wonderful

*** tip1: if ordering the jerkey, order a side of rice to go along with.

*** tip2: if you're in a manual wheelchair, ask for a drop off in front of the restaurant to save you or your companions back from breaking

- handicap access to and in the restroom is eh; however, they will assist with creating a pathway to the lav but there aren't any bars around the toilet to hold on to.

-- parking availability

08/09/08

my favorite lounge

by jenthms

Lingba is my favorite lounge in the city. The cocktails are out of this world good, and the food is solid as well. I love going here with my girlfriends for drinks and snacks. Personal favorites are the lolita and strawberry mojito. Also you have to try the monkey bowl with the poloroid picture as least once

• Pros: cocktails, ambiance

04/15/08

Service couldn't be any worse

by dontbolt

The 1st time I was at Lingba the service was pretty bad. Tried it one more time and I was appalled and vowed never to return. After waiting about 15 minutes to be noticed on a slow night, the female server came to take our drink order and didn't know what a dacari was. She got extremely annoyed as my friend described it ("it's a margarita with rum instead of tequila), my friend had to go up to the bartender to explain it. We all got our drinks, except the dacari. 15 minutes later we realized it was still sitting on the bar and had melted. We asked the server for a different drink and she snarled, turned away, and never came back to the table. We all were completely awe-struck by her attitude that we burst into laughs because it was so unbelievable.

11/21/07

Dont waste your money at Lingbas ther are better places.

by 415livin

waited about 20 before a waiter approched us and asked what we wanted to drink.The place wasnt full or busy so its not like they couldnt get to us in fair amount of time .My Complaint of the menu is that it is very limited.alot of items you can get at other places are not on the menu.BBQ chicken they didnt even have that on the menu or "Moo gra tiem" which is a thai dish everyone should have.Just not very good for the prices they are charging.They may be trying to set themselve apart from other thai restaurants but i think they are losing alot of patronage because of it.

The appetizers came out late.The rice came out before the entrees.Oh and thats another thing i dont like that they sell rice in side portions.as an asian i find this unsettling. Only 1 out of 2 soups made it to the table.Just bad all around service .Back when we lived on potrero hill when it first opened or it may have been under diferent managment then,it was ok.But over the years it has degraded.Every now and then i go back just to see if it has improved and it has not.I advise to skip this place for food but it looks like a swank lil bar to meet freinds at or just chill.i recommend Manoras 12th and folsom,Neecha thai on Scot st.Thep Phenom on fillmore by duboce,i would drive a lil further for good food.If you want to talk to me in person feel free to call me at my home.

• Pros: Nice interior and bar area
• Cons: cold staff

08/07/07

Great Thai Food With An Even Better Cocktail Menu

by huhnchen

I ate at Lingba a while ago and it seems that their menu has changed a little bit. I DO see that they've kept the Dancing Prawns [$15.50] which was a fun dish to try as an appetizer. They served several giant prawns on skewers which were planted in a slice of pineapple and served with mushrooms and eggplant. The entree that I ordered a while back was a whole fish prepared crispy, but I don't see that on the online menu any longer. You can't really go wrong with the food - it's all delicious. The piece de resistance is the Bowl of Monkeys [$24] which is made with two kinds of rum, amaretto, and pineapple juice in one of those large communal type drinking bowls with extra long straws. It's great that they light the center of the bowl on fire where they've placed a small amount of sterno. The drink comes with a free polaroid of you and your friends drinking the cocktail! Certain nights will have a DJ in the lounge section of the restaurant which only adds to the ambience of Lingba.

• Pros: Bowl of Monkeys

06/12/07

what a difference

by laurant80

I have been living in potrero hill for over ten years, and coming to this location for almost as long. The thai restaurant before was always just ok, but since they changed (new owners?), it is just fantastic! The new interior is comfortable and stylish, and the food has improved greatly. I will go as far as to say some of the best thai I have had in the city. It gets a little too packed for me on the weekends, I like to go earlier on the weekdays when it is more mellow and you don't need a reservation.

• Pros: great food, nice interior
• Cons: crowded/loud on weekends

02/10/07

Hipster place needing a hip replacement

by malavoit

I have to admit, I was excited to try this place after reading some of the reviews. Unfortunately, we should have known from the minute we walked in the door it was a bad idea. The hostess was clueless and could not give us an estimate on length of our wait. We ordered drinks at the bar, after not understanding her. Our table openned up about 20 minutes later and we ordered more drinks upon seating. My frind waited for a Carona for at least 10 minutes. A bottled beer!!! We asked three times for the drink, and it finally came. The waitress at this point decided to give us all attitude--I guess for expecting prompt service for a beer? The food was hohum. You can get much better Thai food at Marnee Thai or Pad Thai. And you don't have to slice through the pretention of both the wait staff and crowd at those places. It may be in a "hidden" place in a not-so-well-known neighborhood. I say, keep it hidden--from all who want a good dining experience.

• Pros: The bar tender was nice
• Cons: The rest.

02/06/07

Fun Drinks, Terrible Food

by nillacookie

We went here for date night for some appetizers and drinks. It was great as far as ambiance - dark, live DJ, fun bar/lounge area.

We started off with drinks, The Lingba Tea (fun twist on a Long Island) and the strawberry mojito (tasty but nothing to write home about). We also ordered the spring roll appetizer and the baby back pork ribs. The spring rolls were bizarre. The filling was made up of slices of egg, tofu, cucumber and chinese sausage. The flavors were bland and didn't come together - probably due to the fact that it was four separate ingredients rolled in rice paper with nothing cohesive to bind it together. The ribs were TOO salty! I took one bite and couldn't finish. My boyfriend ordered rice just to finish the dish.

We should have stopped at apps, but we were still a little hungry so we ordered the rock cod curry and crispy tofu. Both were under par - the cod was grilled and tasted burnt while the tofu was bland. I would definitely never eat here again. Maybe for drinks with some friends - we had another round of the Tuk Tuk and Lolita, yum - but will never touch the food.

• Pros: food
• Cons: atmosphere, fun drinks

02/01/07

This place was great!

by jdejoya

I dined at this restaurant for the first time today and was pleasantly surprised. I've been to a lot of Thai food places and this one has been the best so far. I just recently started working in this part of town and so I'm on the look out for lunch spots. The food was excellent and the portions were big. The service was timely and polite as well. Their bar looked a great place to lounge and have cocktails after work. I'll check that out next time. Overall, definitely put this on your list if you want great Thai food or if you're ever in Potrero Hill for lunch or dinner.

• Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Service
• Cons: Parking

01/22/07

Thai lounge with a sophisticated tiki vibe.

by Joanna Currier

In Short:
What was once a bushy, palm-filled bar has been deforested, sleeked up and conjoined with the restaurant next door. Black wood tables--low with leather cushions and booths in the lounge area--and wicker fixtures are offset by yellow walls. The occasional monkey or bird statuary keep the venue's original tiki feel, though the space is an upscale spot for a date, cocktail or inexpensive meal. Menu items include homemade Thai beef jerky, curries, Lao-style barbequed chicken and specialty Thai salads.