Best restaurant in Chattanooga! Go eat there! Rating a 10! Ask for jimmy ! Need to go more!

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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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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Everything is great at this place! Great location, great servers, great food, and a great atmosphere! The owner is always there with his family and crew, and it really says a lot about this place. Also, the only place in town that has such exquisite cuisines! You literally can't find this food anywhere else and if I'm being honest, I crave it every day of the week! read more

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

The flavors were outstanding, and you can tell they put care into preparing each meal. Friendly service, a relaxing atmosphere, and excellent value make this a favorite of mine when I'm in downtown Chatt. read more

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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This was to be a special night out for us, so I decided to find somewhere new and perhaps adventurous. The problem, of course, with "adventurous" is that there's always an element of danger and uncertainty involved. And adventure it was: Kai Bistro managed to disappoint on nearly every front. Seating is a problem; if the weather is not good enough to sit outside there is very minimal seating inside and the tables are small. We actually ended up moving to another table because I was seated in effectively the aisle and was constantly alerted by people moving and carrying things behind me etc. Upon arrival, I immediately ordered the crab Rangoon mozzarella sticks which were, to be fair, tasty if far more "runny" than expected. My wife loves oxtail so I was disappointed to not find it on the menu; however, when I asked the waitress about it she said oh it's not on the menu but we can still make it for you. I appreciated the effort, but it had absolutely nothing to do with oxtail. It was in fact a very very thin bechamel sauce that is, milk and flour with a very distinctly uncooked flour flavor- no meat or pepper or onion flavor and a single piece of brisket perhaps 12 inches in length folded into a bowl, which I had no way of eating other than picking up with my fingers and chewing on it since I did not have a knife and it was too tough to cut with the fork, even if I had had a plate large enough on which to put it.. I suppose I could've managed if they had brought me some chopsticks with which to pick it up but I could not figure out a way of accomplishing it with what I had. But really, it wasn't worth eating. Imagine Hardee's biscuit gravy without black pepper but with extra milk and you'll pretty much have the flavor palette. And frankly, it is badly named. It has nothing to do with oxtail; oxtail is a real thing, and this ain't it. We complained but our waitress said well this is what it is and of course it wasn't her fault. Our other dish, "Mia's Favorite," was in fact a slightly nicer version of Chapaghetti, one of my favorites but with a darker almost bitter flavor; in fact, the shrimp that were in it appeared to have been cooked separately and were burnt. We did have a nice margarita, but the other drink was a failure. I like lychee a lot and so I tried the "Lotus Love", which was promised with lychee simple syrup and garnished with lychee. It tasted nothing like lychee or the promised celery bitters. And as you can see in the picture (in which you can also see the description of the drink) adorned with a single slice of lemon instead of the promised lychees. Folks, LYCHEES COME IN A CAN. What I ended up with makes the restaurant seem cheap, dishonest, and lazy. I'm not going to give it one star because Molly, our server, was excellent, but I will never come back here for food or drinks ever again. read more

Kai Bistro - My lychee garnish. You can see the drink description immediately above the lemon. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee

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

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

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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Crab Rangoon cheese sticks were amazing. Kimchi fried rice was great and huge portion size.

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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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

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

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

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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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 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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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

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

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

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.

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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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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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great service and even better food. Can't wait to go back and try more. The Korean fried chicken was . Pho Dip was a special. Brisket was still a bit fatty for my liking but great flavor. Ramen was good too on a cold day. read more

Kai Bistro - Korean fried chicken - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chattanooga, Tennessee