The Thai Restaurant in San Jose, CA That Started With a Family Dream

Some restaurants are just places to eat. Red Chili is not one of them.

Sunny and Lulu Ho did not start with a business plan. They started with a dream. Sunny had worked street corners in San Francisco's Chinatown, driven taxis, and scrubbed kitchen floors in fine dining restaurants. Lulu had balanced bank books by day and waited tables by night. They were immigrants who believed hard work could build something lasting — not just for themselves, but for their children.

That belief became Red Chili.

After more than two decades of feeding families in Hayward, they brought that same spirit to San Jose. Today, Red Chili stands as the most heartfelt Thai restaurant in San Jose, CA — where bold Thai curries meet comforting Vietnamese classics, all made with the kind of care that only a family kitchen knows.

Regulars do not just come for the food. They come because Sunny still greets them by name. Because the kitchen still runs on love. Because some places just feel different the moment you walk in.

This is one of those places.

Open seven days a week. Lunch and dinner.