i'd gone to eat here earlier this June but really wanted to write this review as well, now that i'm reviewing places. i absolutely adored this place. this truffle mac steak bowl was possibly so different from anything i'd had before and that, on top of the taste, was just amazing. i'd been meaning to come back here and try more items but hadn't had the chance to make my way out there yet. our waiter at the time was so nice and charismatic, very personal and great with suggestions (he recommended this dish and the bahn mi burger which i'd planned to get next time). he also raved about the crab rangoon egg rolls and i will definitely be back just to try those! the outside of this place is very cute, and the inside while a bit small is very clean and organized. i will absolutely be back soon! read more

Kai Bistro - Hawaiian Truffle Mac Steak Bowl - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Walkable from my AirBNB and I gave it a try for dinner on a Monday night. Nice weather so I dined outside. Waitress Emily was very helpful with the specials and I took her suggestion. I chose Glass Noodles with Thin Sliced Bulgogi Steak. Absolutely amazing. Don't miss the drink specials. read more

Kai Bistro - Glass Noodles with Thin Sliced Bulgogi Steak - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Had a great server, food service was a bit slow when it didn't seem particularly super busy. Phozilla was great, an insane portion size. Only complaint was the kind of noodles used, I guess I wasn't expecting a wider noodle than the typical ones used for pho, which were mainly broken. My friend felt the Tokyo Pollo Loco fell short of what we expected, and I found it quite bland. She loved the crab rangood mozz sticks while I felt they weren't anything special. Good atmosphere though, we sat outside and it was nice to people watch. Would come here again and try some of the other dishes for sure. read more

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I spotted this new place (they've been open for 2 weeks) last week and we went today for lunch. The feel is cozy and comfortable! We sat at the bar, and the bartender was super friendly (I'm blanking on his name) and gave us all of the menus and told us about drink specials. I was not terribly hungry so I ate my husbands "side" salad - which was huge and he ordered the Sweet & Spicy pork which was fantastic! My salad - also amazing!! The Sesame Ginger dressing is made in house and was delicious!! Their taste is elevated from other Thai restaurants we've tried in town - a welcome change from the same ole same ole. Well done! We will definitely be back!!! read more

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My husband and I ate here for our anniversary and it was very relaxed and pleasant. Kai bistro is in downtown Chattanooga but has good parking and easy access. The food was excellent! The service was great, our waitress was super sweet and helpful! Make sure you try the crab Rangoon cheese sticks! It makes me hungry just thinking about them lol. My husband had the glass island noodles, so yummy! I had the brisket fried rice, which was a little spicy and excellent. All the food looked and smelled great. We will definitely be back to try everything. The menu is a delightful fusion of flavors! Good job guys! read more

I love the creative infusions and variety of dishes. Get the Bahn Mi! The portions are massive and enough to share or have left overs. The servers are always friendly and attentive. The outside patio was a great option when we had friends visiting with a toddler who felt too cooped up inside. Great location on Main Street! read more

Love this place! Service was quick and kind. The menu is large. We sat by the kitchen and saw all of the staff hustling to fulfill restaurant and to go orders. read more

Kai Bistro - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Everything had a great flavor but some of the meat was a little more fatty than we liked. Our server was Isabel C and she gave good recommendations for drinks and starters. The place is pretty small and it was a little hot inside, but the patio is super cute, it was unfortunately raining when we went. read more

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My family of 3 went here for Valentine's Day dinner. We did not have a reservation but still got seated in less than 15 min. The inside is very cozy, and there is outside seating which had plastic walls with heaters. The food selection is amazing with so many different options. There was one mistake with ramen being brought to the table spicy but it was quickly fixed and non-spicy ramen in a timely manner. 10/10 recommend! read more

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I wish if I can give 5 stars but will give them a second visit in the next couple of months. 1 start deducted for many items not being available. I lost count after 6 mentioned and many are their best seller including the burrito, mini dumplings appetizer, steak entree , burger...etc. second start deducted at the end because they were short handed and ring to get to go boxes and the check took as much as eating the food. Only 2 servers and one that was severing us moved to manage the bar. There was a helper who kept saying will let her know we need the check. As far as food, everything was 5 star quality. We tried the lettuce wrap appetizer, Korean chicken appetizer amazing. The Philly sandwich very juicy. The glass noodles with bugogli was amazing. My daughter loved the kimchi rice and it was huge portion. The rich and shrimp special excellent. The Mac and beef great. We will definitely return and hopefully not missing many items and not short handed so we can give a 5 stars review. read more

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Came here for lunch on a Monday & was so excited!! However, it took our server 15 minutes to come and ask for food/drink orders & after that, service was so slow that we ended up having to ask to have our food boxed so that we could leave in time to make it back to work. This was after being here and waiting for our food for almost an hour while others around us were being served, even though they ordered after us. Another server approached us towards the end of our time and said they applied a discount to our order for the trouble, but there was no discount on our ticket. Overall it was pretty disappointing & I won't be back or recommending it to others. read more

I heard a lot about this place and I drove about 45 minutes out of my way to try it. I live out in the Soddy area. The place was "busy" and "short staffed" so they said. I got the Korean ramen, it was ok at first; I wanted it more spicy so I asked for chili. They gave me paprika!!!! And I put it in. They didn't even offer to give me a new bowl! And to boot? They charged me 50 cents for chili powder I never got. The place is overly expensive for what you get. The cooks or whoever seem to be rude, I happened to sit by the kitchen. Pushing people and causing them to make mistakes. In the military, they taught, slow is fast and fast is slow, this place needs to take this approach. I might go back if they offer me something. Other than that? Save your money read more

Food was delicious! It's off the beaten path, but absolutely worth it. You won't be unhappy with this meal.

Not too good. Two of us went for lunch. When seated were told that they were out of bread, so no sandwiches, also out of several other items on menu. Realized that they gave us dinner menus and no lunch menus. Asked twice for lunch menus. Waitress brought us one. Asked for a second menu so both of us could read at the same time. Should have left then. Why would you bring one menu for two people? I ordered a few different dumplings, buns etc and my husband ordered musubi and moco loco. The dim sum came quick but incomplete. Like the menu, only one little cup of dipping sauce was brought to our table for two people, I asked for a second. Only one of the two buns ( two to an order) came and I was told the other was coming. A bit later, I was told it would be three minutes, then a little longer. Finally, a new order of two buns were delivered and they were cold in the middle. All of the other dim sum was hot but bland. There were none of the typical accompaniments on the table - chili oil, mustard, vinegar etc and none were offered. The musubi was a weird interpretation, looked like a giant cut maki sushi but the nori was too small to contain the roll which was made with dry crumbly rice and the whole thing fell apart when picked up. Also, the ratio of spam to rice was terrible. Shortly after our food arrived, we heard the kitchen yell that it was out of rice. I'm guessing we got the scraps? The moco loco looked nice enough but was way too sweet. Nothing I'd ever want again. read more

Came in first thing this morning. Had the Vietnamese Bao Buns and a side of kimchi. Both were excellent. Buns were warm and soft as expected. Banh mi pork was tender and well spiced. Kimchi had good crunch and was also well spiced. Service was friendly and timely. read more

Had the soup dumplings and the crab rangoon cheese sticks, both were great. Service was top notch.

Food and service are top notch. Get spot for a good lunch or dinner. Lots of tasty options. Glass noodles are one of my favorite lunch options. For dinner the brisket fried rice is amazing. Erica always takes great care of my group at lunch. read more

We're in day three of Chattanooga Burger Week. First of all, the right score would be a 4.5 stars, not quite a 5 star, but closer to a 5 than it is to a 4. The weather has turned and with the rainy weather where so much of this restaurant's seating space is outside, handling the busy influx of customers had to be a challenge, but I'll tell you, Carmen was up to it. She was a star! Their offering was called a Bahn Mi Burger, and for a restaurant that doesn't even offer a burger on their menu, these guys more than pulled it off. Their use of Asian spices, sauces and vegetables resulted in an absolutely mouth-watering dish, we loved this burger, and the chili tater tots that came with the burger, they too were a pleasant surprise. read more

Kai Bistro - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Yumm-to-the-O !!! Man this place is crazy good! I had the Phozilla and it was huge and loaded with yummy fatty brisket and a rib bone with meat. The broth was super beefy and spot on! We also got the bao buns and there were 4 in the order which is a lot and they were perfectly balanced with the rich meat and the pickled cabbage and sauce. We also had the Ramen Carbonara with pork belly and it was super rich and flavorful. The service was also spot on and very friendly and welcoming. Can't wait to return and try some other items. read more

I visited Kai Bistro on E Main St with my mom Monday afternoon in Chattanooga. The food was absolutely amazing! I had some kimchi fried rice while my mom had the Noodle Salad. I have been looking for Asian fusion for a hot minute in Chattanooga! Absolutely perfect fit! as far as service goes, I would say the lady was very professional and very consistent with us. I would argue that this is a casual asian fusion place with a full bar and is located in a very good area of town. Would definitely come back here ! Thanks a lot read more

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Wow we didn't expect to stumble upon a spot like this in chattanooga. We needed a quick bite during a sports day for the kids in the city. We found this spot w easy parking and glad we did. Excellent lunch drink special (lychee Paloma for $6!). I've never met a Vietnamese salad I didn't like and their noodle salad was no exception, excellent tang, jalapeños added nice pop and pork was delcicious. Other family enjoyed the bulgogi philly cheese and garden salad. Also heaping portions and excellent service. Very pleased to find this spot and highly recommend read more

Asian fusion at its finest! A little bit of Korean, Hawaiian, Habachi, and American inspired dishes Lunch is AMAZING they have a little something for everyone in your party. For the best experience of what this restaurant has to offer, here are my (personal) recommendations Appetizers: -Kimbap rolls (looks like sushi, but cooked) bulgogi steak, sautéed veggies, rolled in rice and wrapped in seaweed. -edamame: lightly salted with a honey sriracha soy sauce - Korean fried chicken bites with the house Kai sauces is amazing providing a sweet and spicy flavor Spicy lunch choices: -Korean street Ramen price includes: mild medium or hot spice level 3 choice veggies from their list of toppings Chicken or pork belly *upgraded protein choices are also available* Vietnamese noodle salad LAVA BOWL: (my favorite) Rice cakes Japanese fish cake Smoked sausage Sweet and spicy Kai Sauce Topped with Gouda, mozzarella, chives and a boiled egg. Kimchi fried rice Non-spicy dish favorites: Hawaiian Truffle Mac with steak bites. Think sweet and savory pasta salad slightly warmed to compliment the seasoned steak bites on top Loco Moco *think Hawaiian soul food* with white rice, brown gravy, onions, mushrooms, topped with a hamburger and fried egg And a variety of delicious sandwiches to choose from! *Very reasonable lunch prices* laid back environment and excellent wait staff 10 stars if I could. Will be returning often Oh, and the hibachi burrito- chicken, steak or brisket. Literally. Hibachi rolled in a tortilla I mean..... That is all. read more

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My daughter and I stopped in here on our way through Chatanooga, we were craving dumplings and something warm. The service was great, everyone was friendly and helpful. The ambiance is nice, it is a small but cozy dining room with about 10 additional seats at the bar if you feel watching the game while you eat. After ordering some hot Sake to warm me up, we checked out the menu which had a great variety to choose from. For appetizers we had the Korean Fried Chicken and the Soup Dumpling, the chicken was savory and delicious. My daughter said the dumplings were scrumptious. For entrees, we ordered the Glass Noodles and the M.A.D. Tacos to share, they were both very tasty! My ONLY complaint is that they do not have any substitutes for the soup and ramen broths. I cannot have any red meat and it a lot of the menu was very beef and pork dominant. I was sad to not get to try the dumplings or bao or ramen, which is what i had been looking forward to. Aside from that, this place was amazing :-) read more

Kai Bistro - Korean Fried Chicken - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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Cool vibe. Great patio area that's perfect for this time of year (fall). Sat at the bar and tried a lot of small plates. The special Hawaiian Rangoon was fabulous. Mallory the bartender explained it as a California roll & Crab Rangoon had a love child. Spot on. Lettuce wraps had a nice kick. Bao Buns are a specialty here it seems. Three styles, the Vietnamese was a good call but Mallory suggested Thai so I'm wondering if I left some flavor on the table. Inventive menu and cocktails celebrating Asian influences. Highly recommend a stop at your earliest convenience. read more

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Great food great taste amazing environment and wonderful and peaceful crew always will go back

We showed up 30 min prior to closing and a gentleman kindly greeted us and said he would ask the kitchen if they could accommodate us. They did and we were so appreciative. Cheryl was our waitress and she was so kind, you would never have known that they were closing soon, she was patient and jovial with a. We ordered the Glass island noodles and bibimbap and both were very good. Large portions and food came out relatively quickly. We are out on the outdoor patio to enjoy the beautiful evening. I would definitely come back. read more

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The food was delicious! Staff was nice and informative. We sat on the patio was nice and clean. read more

Kai Bistro - Korean street ramen and Bao buns - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Only the ramen was good and even that comes from package seasoning. Disappointed to say the least.

Fusion on steroids! Very tasty soup dumplings, the ginger in it was pretty prominent, but I loved the punch. Also, had their scallion pancake which was good, but just a bit greasy. They can make any spicy dishes, not spicy, if you needed that, since I needed to do that for my kiddie. Anyways, I tried the ramen carbonara. It was good and cheesy. Wait staff was hip and friendly, and ambience is hipster. Fun place to enjoy something different! read more

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I never leave reviews but this place was fantastic. Great drinks, food and service. Korean Ramen and Tacos were delicious!

the food is off the charts and the service is outstanding too. we love the korean cheese corn skillet but honestly, we haven't had anything we do t love. The vibe was fun with music and fun but kids were welcome too! read more

If you are in Chattanooga (or visiting family at Erlanger)... you HAVE TO stop by this place and have a meal. Food was great! The Chinoise soup was delicious unexpectedly nice... a nice mix of French & Chinese. The staff was very helpful, especially the "assistant" staff :) read more

Amazing!!!! Must try!!! Best pho I had, no joke! Very friendly service, food was amazing! Also had meat platter with corn! Corn was amazing too! I loved it read more

Was excited to try Kai Bistro. The second we sat down at 8:20 the server let us know the last call was in 15 minutes. Their website said they closed at 9. We probably should have just left because we felt rushed the whole time. When we were in the middle of eating our food, the server put the ticket on the table and he said "you might want to get that it is going to blow away" while we were mid bite, haha. Finished eating at 9:05 and the staff surrounded us to start breaking down the patio and umbrellas. We can take a hint so left right away. Should have tried somewhere else! read more

Due to my love of Ramen, Pho and any type of Asian soup with "noodles", I have been wanting to try Kai Bistro for sometime. I want to first add that I received the order through DoorDash and definitely took into account the fact that the order had to be driven to my house so I didn't expect the food to be extremely hot as if it just came out in the kitchen. We ordered the Korean Street Ramen $18, Korean fried chicken $15, with a side of fried rice $6 and Korean BBQ ribs (which come with jasmine rice and tapas, $19. So $58 worth of food, with $9.27 in service fee & tax and a $20 tip. From what I could see on the app, the Doordash driver had to sit an additional 20 minutes waiting for my order (but its a Friday night, so not a problem) The order, once delivered, had so many issues. I have ordered Pho & Ramen via doordash from other restaurants and they always put the broth in a separate container, with noodles & everything else in the bowl with a lid, so the noodles don't soak up all the broth. but Kai Bistro sends the Ramen in the bowl with everything, so the noodles pretty much soaked up all the broth, but I wasn't too upset as that is expected if the Ramen sits for awhile. My main complaint is that I ordered mine mild and received spicy, which I'm not used to, so I gave to my son. I do think if that Ramen was served in the restaurant, with the mild broth it would have been perfect. when ordering the Ramen, besides choosing mild or spicy, you get to pick three ingredients that you can add to it such as bok choy, onions, bamboo shoots, crab stix etc. You can also add more meat for an extra charge. My son ordered the Korean Fried Chicken, with a side of Fried rice. With the Korean Fried chicken, you have a choice of 3 sauces that you pick. My son chose the soy garlic. The Korean fried chicken comes in a clamshell Styrofoam container about the size of a."big mac" box. again since the food had to travel to my house, I didn't expect it to be super crispy as it's supposed to be, but, the chicken was extremely soggy and had absolutely no sauce on it. They were basically just greasy & soggy, popcorn chicken. He ordered the side of fried rice, which also came in a styrofoam clam shell container & it had a layer of grease under the rice. The most disappointing part of the meal was the Korean BBQ Ribs. They were supposed to come with Jasmine rice and "tapas". I have no idea what the tapas were, but all i received was 4 ribs, that's it, no rice or tapas. I'm sorry but $19 for four ribs is kind of pricey. The ribs had a little kick to them, but they were meaty & tasted so good. and I received the rice and tapas I might have felt it was worth $19. I will say that due to this order, I probably won't place any more orders or go to the restaurant anytime in the near future. read more

Tried this at Taste of Chattanooga and loved it so we came to try more. Got the fried scallion pancake and cheese corn skillet and crab Rangoon mozzarella sticks and loved it all. Our waitress Ally was so helpful and friendly. read more

We tried Kai Bistro for the first time last week. It is a very small place but we got there early and were seated right away. They did have a covered outdoor area with a heater and I think we will try that next time. It felt warm when we went in after dinner. There outside seating will be great in the warmer months. It doesn't look like initially there is much parking but there is a separate parking lot next door. We ordered the mini pork bao buns for an appetizer and they were delicious! My daughter ordered the Kai BBQ ribs. It was a good portion and had just the right amount of spice. Very tasty!! I ordered the bibimbap rice bowl. Loved it!! The staff was attentive and the owner/chef came out to ask how was our food. That is always promising for a new business. We can't wait to go back and try the other menu items. It is great to have an asian restaurant that serves quality food. read more

Love this place! The food is always great. The service is friendly and efficient. The fried rice burrito is fantastic. Can't go wrong with anything. read more

Not a fan of this place. Food wise, the place is 2 stars. Korean Fried Chicken - come on, this is like Just Bare Chicken from grocery store but it came out all dry like jerky. Don't hide behind the name "Korean fusion". It is not Korean Fried Chicken. King Katsu Plate with Pork - all dry. They don't know how to fry foods. The only thing tasty is the curry gravy and the rice. Ramen Carbonara - the dish tasted so weird that I couldn't eat more than a couple bites. This could have been a good dish but they just failed to execute. read more

My expectations for this place was too high. A cool restaurant (vibe is cool) but with underwhelming cuisine at you-get-what-you-pay-for-prices... I so wanted to like this new spot. A lot of good photos (certainly not what I received ) and an exciting menu made me think this was going to be a jewel. Yet the final say is a meh foody experience at prices that conflict with delivered meal. The Ramen...This is an attempt at ramen. In that a recipe was followed but the understanding of ramen beyond concept was misunderstood. The desired star of the show was the braised beef brisket ramen with Shitake mushrooms, smoked kimchi, and a fish cake, and (spice level hot). Don't believe the other photos. The soup base was decently spicy but it's not a broth. It's closer to a tomato ‍ base than anything. The construction of the ramen was well proportioned yet it seemed like something was off or missing. The fish cake is a pass but is an attempt at adding umami context. Please pass on the smoked kimchi if that was what I think was kimchi was in there, it's sweet and yeah...it's sweet and nothing else to say but it's sweet. The noodles are springy (a good thing) but are too reminiscent of packaged ramen to approach a worthy culinary experience. I also ordered a scallion pancake (as a side). It was also just ok, but the texture seemed too dense and uninspiring to order again. Overall verdict, leave this to this to the uninitiated and skip this spot... read more

Kai Bistro - The real braised brisket Beef ramen. ‍ - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee