Pinto Thai, 2330 Main Street #H, Ramona, California 92065
By Sandi Masori
RAMONA, California — If you’re driving along State Route 67 in Ramona, you might not even notice Pinto Thai in the little strip mall. That would be a shame, because surprisingly, this off-of-the-beaten-path restaurant has really good authentic Thai food.
It started as a restaurant in El Cajon that was frequented by some Ramona locals who kept pleading with the owners to open a place in Ramona. The owners went to check it out and I guess that they liked what they saw, because they opened up a location there.
I ordered the Pra Ram chicken, at a level 2 spiciness. Pra Ram is a peanut sauce that is quite savory. I probably could have taken it up to a level 3, but it was good all the same. The chicken seemed nicely cooked and wasn’t too tough or too chewy.
We also got the glass noodle soup, which had a great presentation with the flaming bowl. It had glass noodles, spinach, onion, cilantro, carrots and broccoli in a clear broth. I thought it was a bit bland, but my 7-year-old niece enjoyed it very much. I’ve never had that dish before, so I can’t compare it to other experiences to know if it’s usually a bland dish or if it was missing something, but in this reviewer’s opinion, a little bit of lemongrass would have transformed it into something amazing. f
My son Sky got the beef pad see ew, which are the wide flat noodles with eggs, broccoli, and carrots in a Thai soy sauce. Judging by the lack of leftovers, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he liked it.
Like many Thai restaurants, you pick the dish and then choose what kind of protein you want in it. We were there as a group of 9 people, and everyone seemed to really enjoy the food, and though I was hoping to collect all the leftovers for breakfast the next day, somehow there didn’t seem to be anything left.
Lest you think that we left without dessert, fear not, finishing it all off we had the fried banana with honey (similar to sweet fried eggroll) and sticky rice.
I really wasn’t expecting to have such good Thai food all the way out in Ramona, but I was really pleasantly surprised. The pricing was what you would expect, the service was on point, and I think I might have to give this one an 8.75.
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Masori is the restaurant and food critic for San Diego Jewish World. If you would like her to review your favorite restaurant, please send her the details at sandimasori@gmail.com