Kin Khao
The green curry is built on slow-cooked rabbit from a local farm, and Jeff was already ordering it in 2016. One MICHELIN Star, up some stairs by the FedEx sign on the corner of Mason and Ellis.
Why go
Pim Techamuanvivit's kitchen has held one thing steady for a decade. Jeff ate here in December 2016 and gave it five stars: Flavorful Thai food. We loved the spicy wings and rabbit curry. And inventive cocktail pairings to go with the food.
2 The MICHELIN inspector, writing years later, describes the same plate: even a familiar dish like green curry is made memorable with slow-cooked rabbit sourced from a local farm.
1 The same write-up is blunt about the heat: Expect bold, unapologetic flavors, certain dishes feature spice levels not for the faint of heart.
Julia Chen scored it 8.3 for the Infatuation and picked the sleeper: the khao kan jin, a mix of rice, blood sausage, shallots, and garlic chips, steals the show with its deep earthy taste and a ton of texture.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the green curry with rabbit, the khao kan jin, the hor mok, and the tamarind wings if you can take them. Chen on the pork belly: the menu calls it "voluptuous," "and we wholeheartedly agree."
- Avoid: the khao soi, which is lunch only and which Chen calls "somehow slightly bland," and the stir-fried Yaowaraj noodles, "one-note."
What locals & experts say
- MICHELIN Guide California: one star as at 16 August 2026.
When it comes to layered, vibrantly flavorful Thai cooking with a produce-driven northern California flair, Chef Pim Techamuanvivit is in a league of her own.
1 - The Infatuation SF (Julia Chen, 8 May 2023), 8.3:
The funk-and-spice-packed dishes at this upscale Thai place leave a lasting impression.
2 - Jeff (first-hand), 5 stars, December 2016: "We loved the spicy wings and rabbit curry."
- MacKenzie Chung Fegan and Cesar Hernandez use their San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 entry for 2026, at No. 58, to put the room in its own history: when the city's Thai food ran on pad Thai, Techamuanvivit's first restaurant turned the attention to Issan, and it became the first Thai restaurant in California to hold a MICHELIN star.4
- Dianne de Guzman, Eater SF: the room is still packed and loud more than a decade in, the plates come fast, and Techamuanvivit holds the standard while running kitchens in San Francisco and Bangkok both.5
Good to know
- Timing: lunch and dinner, and Chen's call is that dinner is the better meal: longer menu, calmer room.
- Booking: recommended.
- Getting there: inside the Parc 55 hotel, or up the stairs by the FedEx sign at Mason and Ellis.
Jeff's take (his words)
- His review (Jeff, first-hand, 5 stars, 22 December 2016): "Flavorful Thai food. We loved the spicy wings and rabbit curry. And inventive cocktail pairings to go with the food."
Verdict
must-visit — One MICHELIN Star, an 8.3 from the Infatuation, and Jeff's own five stars from 2016, all pointing at the same kitchen. The evidence that matters is the continuity: the rabbit curry he ate a decade ago is the dish the guide still singles out, with the rabbit slow-cooked and sourced from a named local farm. Pim Techamuanvivit's spicing is not adjusted for the room, which the guide says outright.