The King of Thai location at 639 Clement, now missing its “King of” from the sign
Reader Maggie N. tweeted us earlier this week, asking “any leads on what’s up with King of Thai Noodle (I and II) covering the “King” portion of their name?”
Sure enough, a drive by the two locations on Clement Street revealed that the signage on both restaurants had the “King of” portions covered up, effectively renaming them to “Thai Noodle”.
We picked up a to-go order on Monday night at the 639 Clement Street location but the staff was tight-lipped on the reason for the name change.
But it’s likely that it has to do with a legal challenge from another King of Thai Noodle House chain in the Bay Area. Which one is the complaintant is anyone’s guess.
A quick Google search reveals another King of Thai Noodle that has two locations, one in North Beach and another in the Financial District.
Head over to Yelp and you’ll see that they have employed a simple ascending numbering on the URL’s because there are so many places named King of Thai Noodle House in the city. #3 is on O’Farrell and has similar purple signage to Clement Street, and calls itself the “first original thai noodle house in San Francisco”. #4 is on Clement, and #5 is on Sloat Boulevard.
In short, there are a lot of Thai Kings serving up noodles in our fair city (not to mention Alameda).
We don’t know definitively why the Clement Street restaurants have lost their royal status, but most likely it’s due to pressure from the chain with two locations.
The good news is that even with its newly shortened name, we still have them in the neighborhood. So when you get a hankering for pad thai, curry or spicy larb, they’ll be there for you.
Long live the King.
Sarah B.
The King of Thai location at 346 Clement, with the “King of” portions on their signs blacked out
Huh, I had always thought all the King of Thai Noodles were all part of the same chain. Weird.
@Ryan – Perhaps they were all part of the same group and there was a business divorce? Just speculating…
Sarah B.
Maybe there was a coup in the noodle kingdom….
“Maybe there was a coup in the noodle kingdom….”
I can see it now: Junta Of Thai Noodle
Given all the turmoil and violence in Thailand since it ceased being a monarchy not that long ago, perhaps the business owners did not want any unwanted attention paid to home country politics. The Siamese monarchy was one of the longest continuous government forms in history.
Appear to be rebranding today as “King’s Thai Noodle”.
A name change will not keep me from their superb cooking! Great food and really good people!
@4thGenRichmond – wha?? Thailand is still a constitutional monarchy and King Bhumibol Adulyadej is still alive. It has been one for the last 80 years.
While a military junta overthrew the civilian government in May 2014, they most definitely did not get rid of the monarchy, which generally plays along with Thailand’s many coups. Deposing the monarch would be almost unthinkable in modern Thailand, where the kind is literally deified. The one thing most Thais revere (at least Central Thais; maybe the owners of KoT are disgruntled northern or northeasterners) is their king.