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Welcoming neighborhood outpost offering Thai curries & grilled meats in bright, chic environs.
Hours
| Friday | 11:30 AM–2 PM, 4:30–9:30 PM |
| Saturday | 11:30 AM–2 PM, 4:30–9:30 PM |
| Sunday | 11:30 AM–2 PM, 4:30–9:30 PM |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11:30 AM–2 PM, 4:30–9:30 PM |
| Wednesday | 11:30 AM–2 PM, 4:30–9:30 PM |
| Thursday | 11:30 AM–2 PM, 4:30–9:30 PM |
Address and Contact Information
Address: 4659 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609
Phone: (510) 338-3536
Website: https://birdandbuffalo.net/
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Bird & Buffalo
Bird & Buffalo is a casual rustic Thai restaurant in Oakland California.
Bird & Buffalo – Oakland – a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant
Bird & Buffalo. 4659 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, CA, 94609, USA. $$ · Thai, Regional Cuisine. Notes. Visited. Save. Favorite. This establishment manages its own …
Bird & Buffalo | Oakland, CA
From the founder of Soi4 (Oakland) and Basi Thai (San Francisco), Todd Sirimongkolvit brings casual rustic Thai food to the Bay Area through Bird & Buffalo.
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Reviews
Megan Phithak
Cozy Thailand vibes! The atmosphere is very welcoming and feels like you’ve stepped into Chiang Mai. I ordered the Khao Soi and nom yen drink and it was probably the best bowl of khao soi I’ve ever had. I would highly recommend those who visit the areas to come and eat at Bird & Buffalo!
… moreJohn M.
To complement Abi Nable’s detailed and knowledgeable review . . . this little place took us by surprise. At around 7:00 p.m. we were strolling along Telegraph’s “restaurant row,” contemplating Korean, when this entirely unpretentious Thai restaurant caught our attention. A notice displayed outside proclaimed their “duck festival.”
We’d never heard of it, but the place up the street we were going toward had a pretty good-sized lineup, and my lining-up days are behind me.
This place was about half full, but I took a moment to look over the clientele. Nearly all were older than the lined-up crowds, and were taking their time, dining and conversing.
We took a plunge, and were glad we did. Though minimally staffed, the two who served us were friendly and gave us excellent advice about what to order. See Abi’s review about individual dishes, and suffice to say that an hour later we were ordering additional dishes to take home. For me, that’s a first.
Among the variety of dishes we enjoyed while on-site, each was “just-made” fresh and piping hot. The duck was crispy on the outside but not oily, and the inside was juicy and full of flavor. This kitchen would give an authentic French restaurant a run for its money.
And such a bargain. I have a theory that in the interval between getting settled in and its menu established — between that little while and a place becoming trendy and lined-up, a restaurant is at its very best. Get there before you have to stand in line!
… moreWe’d never heard of it, but the place up the street we were going toward had a pretty good-sized lineup, and my lining-up days are behind me.
This place was about half full, but I took a moment to look over the clientele. Nearly all were older than the lined-up crowds, and were taking their time, dining and conversing.
We took a plunge, and were glad we did. Though minimally staffed, the two who served us were friendly and gave us excellent advice about what to order. See Abi’s review about individual dishes, and suffice to say that an hour later we were ordering additional dishes to take home. For me, that’s a first.
Among the variety of dishes we enjoyed while on-site, each was “just-made” fresh and piping hot. The duck was crispy on the outside but not oily, and the inside was juicy and full of flavor. This kitchen would give an authentic French restaurant a run for its money.
And such a bargain. I have a theory that in the interval between getting settled in and its menu established — between that little while and a place becoming trendy and lined-up, a restaurant is at its very best. Get there before you have to stand in line!
Kenneth Tong
Overall the food is delicious but nothing that was phenomenal that would warrant me to go out of the way for unless I’m in the area EXCEPT that the fried chicken spring roll and Kao Ka Moo was tasty.
Chicken spring roll has outer layer that was not the usual spring roll and so it gives a nice texture to the meaty spring roll.
The Kao Ka Moo, stewed pork belly, was so tender that it just shreds and the flavor was yummy. This was the entree that we pretty much finished since it was yummy.
Pad see ew was so so. A little on the soggy side which I’m not used to and I prefer pad see ew from another location about 1 mile away that is hands down the best I’ve had.
Nam Kao was ok too. Texture was lacking since everything was mostly soggy when I’ve like the crispy rice texture together with all the meat and vegetables.
Kao soi had good coconut milk soup but it didn’t have that spices depth to it. If it did, it would have been perfect, just as how I would remember it when I had it in Thailand.
… moreChicken spring roll has outer layer that was not the usual spring roll and so it gives a nice texture to the meaty spring roll.
The Kao Ka Moo, stewed pork belly, was so tender that it just shreds and the flavor was yummy. This was the entree that we pretty much finished since it was yummy.
Pad see ew was so so. A little on the soggy side which I’m not used to and I prefer pad see ew from another location about 1 mile away that is hands down the best I’ve had.
Nam Kao was ok too. Texture was lacking since everything was mostly soggy when I’ve like the crispy rice texture together with all the meat and vegetables.
Kao soi had good coconut milk soup but it didn’t have that spices depth to it. If it did, it would have been perfect, just as how I would remember it when I had it in Thailand.
Abi Hwang Nable
Finally had the chance to dine-in here at Bird & Buffalo which has been on the Michelin Guide since 2022!
As soon as you enter, you’re greeted by cozy yet rustic Southeast Asian vibes. The dining area is pretty dense, but the staff makes sure that you feel welcome and comfortable. We were seated directly next to the register/where the staff tend to stand and it gave us a great view of the entire restaurant. The restaurant was pretty quiet, but there were only about 3 other tables seated at the time.
The menu was straight forward but there was one item they had posted on the back wall that wasn’t on the menu: Kao Piak Sen $17. We were told that this was essentially ‘Lao Chicken Noodle Soup,’ so of course we had to order it. We also ordered the classic Somtum (Papaya Salad) Thai style $15.95 + added salted crab $2 to it. One thing that really caught our eye was the Roti and Stewed Beef in Peanut-Red Curry $11.95. The menu notated that it is served ‘taco style’ so we wanted to see how it was executed. We made a request to have all of our food be served at the same time, but the papaya salad came out super quick. The other two dishes did come out at the same time, which was perfect!
The Somtum portion was huge, we even had leftovers. It was a refreshing first bite with a pretty intense kick as you continue to eat it. Definitely ask to adjust the spice level if you’re not good with spice! The salted crab add-in was delicious, fun to eat, and perfectly sweet + savory.
Next up: we dug into the Kao Piak Sen. The chicken was ridiculously tender, the noodles were so bouncy, and the dish itself was very comforting, but I did wish it had just a teeny bit more flavor. Even with the added chili oil, it just needed a touch more of salt.
Finally, we tried the Roti with Beef Curry. This was our favorite bite of the night and an absolute must order! It was served like an extra large taco, so, since we were sharing, we folded it and sliced it into two. The only thing we really had to slice was the roti, the beef itself just cut like softened butter. The sauce had seeped all the way through the meat so each bite was full of that sweet and creamy peanut red curry! I wish we had started with it, since it was room temp by the time we tried it—I bet it’s even more incredible hot. Next time, I’m ordering my own and digging in right away. The roti was just a bit oily, but that richness worked with the fresh veggies and curried beef.
It is located in an extremely walkable and bus-able location, but there’s plenty of street parking nearby. If you’re lucky, you can snag a parking spot in the small lot attached to the restaurant, but I believe it is shared with the business next to it. I parked on the street a few blocks away since I just always feel safer with my car in the residential parts in the Temescal area.
… moreAs soon as you enter, you’re greeted by cozy yet rustic Southeast Asian vibes. The dining area is pretty dense, but the staff makes sure that you feel welcome and comfortable. We were seated directly next to the register/where the staff tend to stand and it gave us a great view of the entire restaurant. The restaurant was pretty quiet, but there were only about 3 other tables seated at the time.
The menu was straight forward but there was one item they had posted on the back wall that wasn’t on the menu: Kao Piak Sen $17. We were told that this was essentially ‘Lao Chicken Noodle Soup,’ so of course we had to order it. We also ordered the classic Somtum (Papaya Salad) Thai style $15.95 + added salted crab $2 to it. One thing that really caught our eye was the Roti and Stewed Beef in Peanut-Red Curry $11.95. The menu notated that it is served ‘taco style’ so we wanted to see how it was executed. We made a request to have all of our food be served at the same time, but the papaya salad came out super quick. The other two dishes did come out at the same time, which was perfect!
The Somtum portion was huge, we even had leftovers. It was a refreshing first bite with a pretty intense kick as you continue to eat it. Definitely ask to adjust the spice level if you’re not good with spice! The salted crab add-in was delicious, fun to eat, and perfectly sweet + savory.
Next up: we dug into the Kao Piak Sen. The chicken was ridiculously tender, the noodles were so bouncy, and the dish itself was very comforting, but I did wish it had just a teeny bit more flavor. Even with the added chili oil, it just needed a touch more of salt.
Finally, we tried the Roti with Beef Curry. This was our favorite bite of the night and an absolute must order! It was served like an extra large taco, so, since we were sharing, we folded it and sliced it into two. The only thing we really had to slice was the roti, the beef itself just cut like softened butter. The sauce had seeped all the way through the meat so each bite was full of that sweet and creamy peanut red curry! I wish we had started with it, since it was room temp by the time we tried it—I bet it’s even more incredible hot. Next time, I’m ordering my own and digging in right away. The roti was just a bit oily, but that richness worked with the fresh veggies and curried beef.
It is located in an extremely walkable and bus-able location, but there’s plenty of street parking nearby. If you’re lucky, you can snag a parking spot in the small lot attached to the restaurant, but I believe it is shared with the business next to it. I parked on the street a few blocks away since I just always feel safer with my car in the residential parts in the Temescal area.
Kimberly Iwamoto
A small Thai restaurant with a Thai street style.
The food was surprisingly delicious, even the simple papaya salad was great! Their Roti is very different, they put the topping on top instead of dipping it in sauce!
The tables are close together , maybe when it’s full house will not easy to talk with each others !
… moreThe food was surprisingly delicious, even the simple papaya salad was great! Their Roti is very different, they put the topping on top instead of dipping it in sauce!
The tables are close together , maybe when it’s full house will not easy to talk with each others !
Kate B
Great dinner here on Friday night. We had a vegetarian version of drunken noodles, vegetarian larb, and spring rolls. All were yummy. They had one cocktail (hibiscus margarita) – it was good but too sweet for me . Should have ordered a beer.
… morecinque curry
We checked this place out for Oakland’s restaurant week. I was absolutely amazing. Every dish was cooked to perfection. The salmon was great, I love crunchy fish skin and they nailed it. We also tried the red curry. I was all delicious. The service was awesome as well. Even though is was the end of the night and they were closing shop, the staff didn’t make us feel rushed. I can genuinely say this was some of the best restaurant food I’ve had in a while. Every dish was bursting with flavor without being over seasoned or too salty.
… moreGuan-Lun Liao
No doubt, you will have a good time dining here! Six of us from four different countries all love the food at this place. Such a great Thai restaurant!
The sizes of the dishes are definitely more than enough to get you completely full. (we were starving before we visited, and can barely finished everything.)
… moreThe sizes of the dishes are definitely more than enough to get you completely full. (we were starving before we visited, and can barely finished everything.)
Jin Park
Fantastic food and friendly staff. The fried lemongrass chicken wings are perfectly crispy and sweet. The roti taco was also amazing! We ordered a beef curry taco and the meat was unbelievably tender and juicy! Wanna try out the other menu too!
… moreYan Kuang
The Food
While checking out Oakland Restaurant Week, we discovered Bird & Buffalo. This is a neat little restaurant that does Thai Soul Food. During the Oakland Restaurant Week, they had a special ‘THAD P-SED’ or ‘market curry stall’ meal set. It is nice to have some predefined selection so you don’t need to ponder too much. We decided to go with
– Gai Gra Prow + Mussamun Neur
– Pladuk Pad Cha + Gari Gai
All the dishes came with rice, fried egg, crispy vegetable roll, and garlic green beans. It also came with Sweet Mango & Sticky Rice as dessert at the end. Both dishes looked very good and had a flavorful taste with a variety of food items. They seemed to have a lot of other unique food items as well, so I will return sometime to try them.
The Miscellaneous
The restaurant is on a corner plaza with a small parking lot, where you most likely need to park on the street. The interior seems a bit snugged. But there is decent seating, with almost half bar seating and half standard seating. They have an open kitchen concept with some interesting decors around. Initially we sat at the bar, but the staff offered to seat us at a standard table when they opened up. They offer the specialized menu during Oakland Restaurant Week. But they have more variety of dishes available to try as well, at a reasonable price. I would say this is quite a unique Thai restaurant to try.
… moreWhile checking out Oakland Restaurant Week, we discovered Bird & Buffalo. This is a neat little restaurant that does Thai Soul Food. During the Oakland Restaurant Week, they had a special ‘THAD P-SED’ or ‘market curry stall’ meal set. It is nice to have some predefined selection so you don’t need to ponder too much. We decided to go with
– Gai Gra Prow + Mussamun Neur
– Pladuk Pad Cha + Gari Gai
All the dishes came with rice, fried egg, crispy vegetable roll, and garlic green beans. It also came with Sweet Mango & Sticky Rice as dessert at the end. Both dishes looked very good and had a flavorful taste with a variety of food items. They seemed to have a lot of other unique food items as well, so I will return sometime to try them.
The Miscellaneous
The restaurant is on a corner plaza with a small parking lot, where you most likely need to park on the street. The interior seems a bit snugged. But there is decent seating, with almost half bar seating and half standard seating. They have an open kitchen concept with some interesting decors around. Initially we sat at the bar, but the staff offered to seat us at a standard table when they opened up. They offer the specialized menu during Oakland Restaurant Week. But they have more variety of dishes available to try as well, at a reasonable price. I would say this is quite a unique Thai restaurant to try.