Take a look at:
https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/eae22548de4eedad875555e7353b8abfdce2452b
It’s going to be much easier for you to suggest specific amendments you’ve proven to improve matters than just tell us you dislike something.
Personally I think the row is the right height, because otherwise the tap targets would be too close to the bottom of the screen when holding the device one-handed. I don’t have large hands, either.