This is the new restaurant by Sip Saam Thai, who also run the well-established nearby restaurant, Lemongrass. Although I was only introduced to it a week or so ago, Lemongrass has apparently been open a few years, and unlike most places, their standards have not slipped in all that time, which bodes well for this new restaurant. I like spicy food, my wife loves Hawaiian, so this fusion restaurant sounded like it might be the sweet spot for us both.
But would it pass the taste test?
FOOD:
I tried the "Duck Curry", which seems basically the same as Lemongrass' (which is to say, REMARKABLY good: it's what I had when I was introduced to Lemongrass, and it's rich and creamy and well-balanced, and caught me off-guard with how much I liked it). There's a generous amount of meat, and maybe a little more pineapple than Lemongrass' version, which fits with the more Hawaiian theme. One of their pricier menu items, but absolutely worth it: treat yourself! There's a good portion size, maybe two or three meals' worth, so it's well worth the money... at least if you manage not to succumb to the guilty temptation to just eat all of it because it's so darn tasty.
My wife had the "BBQ Chicken". The sauce the chicken is grilled in is delicious, in kinda sweet Hawaiian BBQ/teriaki, and the slice of grilled pineapple was perfectly browned. My wife has a number of food intolerances, and of their three restaurants, Cilantro has by far the larger number of menu items that she can try.
We also had the "Cream Cheese Wontons". The wontons are unusually good. I have come to expect disappointment from wontons, as all too often, they are too dry, thick and crunchy at the "ruffles", jagged shards cutting at the mouth, while being soggy around the minimal filling.
In contrast, Cilantro's were an exception: light pastry that was the perfect kind of crispy all over, with an appropriate amount of filling.
SERVICE:
Like many restaurants, they use a third party service (sappclub) for online orders. I feel this trend improves security, as securing online transactions is not typically a "core skill" of most restaurateurs! It can also make things convenient for people ordering from multiple restaurants in the same system, as they'll all recognize registered users as a customer. But I strongly appreciate that their choice of provider (sappclub) doesn't REQUIRE you to register, and instead defaults to smoothly checking you out as a "guest".
Personally, I registered, and was pleasantly surprised to find that gave me a one-time code for $5 off at checkout.
I had asked in the "special requests" field if they could put the chili on the side, and as soon as I stepped through the door, I was asked "Mr Morgan? I read your request, I just want to make sure I did it correctly, I can make it again for you if I misunderstood..." (but of course, he'd done it perfectly, despite my unclear phrasing!).
Given he guessed my name as soon as I walked in, at the tail end of a Friday lunchtime no less, I think it's likely far less busy than Lemongrass due to being newer and less well-known, so at least for now, this may be a good choice for those who want to eat out, while still maintaining some measure social distancing: that's simply no longer possible in the very-popular Lemongrass.
DOWNSIDES:
Can't think of any significant ones, but no review is complete without them, so here's my best shot...
I guess I was mildly disappointed that they didn't have the Chicken Satay of Lemongrass, but I admit it'd be unreasonable for me to expect them to have ALL of Lemongrass' menu AND the extra Hawaiian items as well! With chicken prices being crazy at the moment, they're probably smart not to add this to their menu, at least for now.
Also, while this isn't a security problem, unlike the simsaamthai and lemongrass1320 websites, the cilantrogrill325 site doesn't (yet?) have a HTTPS certificate, which may concern users who're unsure about why their browser is complaining, or who (like me!) have Very Strong Opinions about these things. But even I have to admit it's not a serious problem in this case, since the whole online ordering process goes through sappclub, which definitely IS protected by HTTPS, so all payment details are safely encrypted. Like I said above, third party payment providers are just better at this stuff!
And for those who really like social distancing, it's a shame there is no outside seating. But at least there's takeout, and it looks like there might even be drive-through collection, though the drive-through lane may just be a holdover from this building's previous occupants (I think it was El Pollo Rico, and Mo's Best Eatery). I didn't try to see if the drive-through was a thing.
OVERALL:
A firm five stars for a first visit. I'll probably make this my go-to for at least the next few alternate weekends (the ones where I get to choose where we eat!), so that I can work my way through their menu.
And I don't think my wife will mind that at all! :D read more