This place was highly recommended by a friend so another friend and I went on a Sunday night. Decent atmosphere with more tables than I expected. Our server Billy was very helpful and friendly. We told him we were interested in the vegan options and he explained that most of their dishes could be veganized. I ordered the Yellow Curry and my friend ordered the Thai Rama (sp?) which isn't on the menu but was recommended by our waiter and our friend. Both dishes came with white rice but for $1 more you can get brown rice. I ordered a low spice level as did my friend. The yellow curry was delicious with chunks of zucchini and carrots and fried tofu and just the right amount of spice for this wimThe Thai Rama was also delicious with big chunks of crunchy broccoli and fried tofu and a lovely peanutty flavor. If you're anywhere near this place or even across town, TRY THIS PLACE!!!! So I followed my own advice and tried Lai Thai again. This time I ordered something that isn't on the menu- Thai Rama Boon- I probably butchered the name! This dish is to DIE FOR! A giant bowl of deliciousness- lettuce, noodles, and chunks of tofu all swimming in a scrumptious peanut sauce. Also has small spring rolls on top. The only thing I would change is to add a 1 or 2 level spice to it. I can't wait to get it again! read more

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so yummy. extremely allergen friendly too! would definitely recommend if your looking for a good selection of food in the area!

Always super fresh, delicious and generous portions. We love the Sesame Chicen and the Chicken & vegetable Pho. Try the Thai Iced Tea!

This was the first stop for my husband and my tour of Grand Rapids. We're hitting my sister in laws favorite 50 spots and honestly, I could just continue going to Lai Thai. The interior is smaller but welcoming and seat yourself. We were immediately greeted and had drink orders taken. The menu is huge and perhaps a little big for my husband who just picked the thing his eyes were on when the sever cane by. I had the vegan lemongrass curry on recommendation and he had the crispy pad Thai. Mine was insanely flavorful and an insane portion- I'll have lunch for two days! The tofu was some of the best I've had in an Asian dish and I've had a TON. Fried to perfection! Also, the dish had two chopped up spring rolls which was pretty different and yummy. Could have done without the iceberg lettuce but, still fantastic. Can't wait to get take out and come back! read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Great portion sizes and value for price! I ordered online and my order was ready just as I was arriving, even though I was early! Will definitely be back. read more

Went at lunchtime and even though there was only one server working she did a fantastic job with what was a nearly-full dining room. Food came remarkably quickly and was delicious as usual. (this is my 3rd visit) requests to omit some ingredients were cheerfully complied with. The lack of 5 stars comes from 2 factors. 1) the ambience is lacking. It has no more elegance than a fast-food place, so not my favorite. It's in a strip mall, so there's only so much you can do to make it an enjoyable place to eat. 2) the food came to our table in odd installments with my son getting his last - probably 8 minutes after mine came. Then drinks came after the food. This, of course, means that the food came very quickly, but it just seemed a bit odd. read more

Not what I was expected for tofu General Tso's. Tasted good, nice sweet/spicey flavor. Just really lacking on the veggie front. No joke, 1 broccoli . 2 carrot medallions. That is a pic of the order on arrival, I had just opened it. Normal really enjoy the menu here. Great vegan options. Wouldn't recommend this one. Do recommend the pad Thai and pho. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Tofu General Tso's - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

This review is specifically for my Uber Eats delivery from Lai Thai. First, the Lai Thai buffet is one of my favorite meals in the entire world. The Uber Eats delivery was extraordinarily disappointing. During the ordering process there is absolutely no indication of size (if I had known the fresh spring rolls were only 2, I would have made a double order since I had 3 people). I was also forced to choose white or brown rice for everything (including for friend rice and noodle dishes). This was confusing...then the order didn't come with it... Finally...I ordered a LaCroix....and got a Diet Coke instead. A complete waste as I don't drink soda and would never drink a Diet soda. The price was outlandish ($100 for 3 people) for the medium quality food and overall disappointing order. read more

I was hesitant to come back after hearing they have new owners... (change is hard for me). But I am so happy to say that the green curry recipe is still so so good. I love sautéing chicken gizzard and then adding the curry to the pan... delish. I just wish the rice side serving was bigger or at least filled all the way. read more

I tried them for the first time today and I fiund a hair in my food I wish I could've enjoyed my $20 but it was a waste. I wasn't able to call and let them know about this hairy meal because they were closed sadly hopefully they get better hair nets so no one else has to waste money on yummy looking meal. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Pad Thai with HAIR!!!!!! - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

The change in ownership is okay! The food is not as good as it was. I'm VERY disappointed with the new spice scale... medium is not hot enough for me. I used to love this place and I'm disappointed it's not what it used to be. I'll still get food from here but less frequently! read more

Lai Thai continues to be my go-to Thai take out! Flavorful dishes + friendly service. Open during COVID-19 for take out, but no curbside service. Tip: their pick-up times are always as long as they quote or a few min longer, FYI. read more

They truly redeemed themselves. We went on Saturday for lunch and boy oh boy were they on their game. Our server was so friendly and warm, the food came so quickly and was absolutely delicious. I think with Lai Thai, you just have to be smart about when you go. Saturday for lunch was PERFECT. read more

Awesome food, service, menu and prices! Excited To go back and try more dishes. This place is very vegan friendly and the owners are knowledgeable and I feel confident that when I order vegan I will be served vegan. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Everything pictured was made vegan: fried tofu with peanut sauce,Tom yum soup, Szechwan tofu and lemongrass curry. - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

**3 Stars** Ate dinner here one evening with my Cousin. Was craving Pho Ga and saw the good reviews on Yelp. My cuz ordered some Thai dishes, while I ordered the Garden Rolls and a bowl of Pho Ga. My rolls came out first as they should. I was somewhat dismayed to see how thin the peanut sauce was. I've eaten Garden Rolls with peanut sauce all over the U.S. - and I've never seen peanut sauce this thin. Not sure what was going on there - it was as if it had been cut with water or something. I'm used to the peanut sauce being of a somewhat thicker consistency. I added Sriracha sauce to the peanut sauce as I always do and proceeded to wolf down the rolls. Overall I thought the rolls were fairly average. They seemed to lack freshness. Then the Pho Ga came out. The bowl was steaming and the broth smelled good! The plate of aromatics/veggies was fairly fresh, I added the bean sprouts, Jalapeños, Basil, and Lime to the bowl and proceeded to dig in. I was somewhat disappointed to find the chicken had that curled/twisted up look that it gets when it has been overcooked - and the consistency of the chicken further demonstrated the chicken had indeed been overcooked. Overall, the chicken broth was decent. However, due the the consistency of the peanut sauce and the condition of the chicken, I can't dole out more than three stars. My cousin seemed to enjoy her Thai cuisine though. Service was good. read more

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Best Thai joint in town. It is located in an inconspicuous strip mall but don't let the facade fool you. Inside it is welcoming, joyous, and delicious. The dining room is quite small but we called ahead and they were able to accommodate our group of 9. I had the pad see ew with vegetables and my wife had the steak pho. The serving sizes were huge and full of fresh vegetables. Both dishes hit the spot. We also got these Thai donuts that were covered in a light, creamy glaze with crushed peanuts. Such a delightful ending to a meal. The prices were very reasonable as well. We got 2 apps, 2 entrees, and a dessert and spent about $33 in total! Lastly, the service was exceptional. Both servers we had were polite, personable, and prompt. read more

Delicious. Nice staff, very clean, exactly the Thai flavors I was looking for. I like that it has a hip coffee shop feel and smells so good when you walk in. I wouldn't have know this gem existed, if a friend didn't suggest trying it. The Beef Curry felt like a warm hug from mom. read more

Living on the north side of Grand Rapids doesn't give us many options for Asian food. There's lots of mediocre Chinese restaurants around here. There's also 2 shelves of ramen noodles and sauces at Meijer and Kingma's - so sad. Lai Thai is the closest pho place to us and we used to frequent this place for our morning hangovers if we didn't want to drive towards Kentwood. Well, we decided to have dinner here tonight for the location and were quite satisfied! We started with the crab rangoons and kalbi ribs. I usually don't eat the points of rangoons because they're too crispy and there's no cream cheese there. Lai Thai's rangoons didn't have cream cheese on the edges, but I ate them because they were so flakey crispy! The kabi/kalbi were tender and delicious also. My husband and I both loved our combo phos as well. It was an enormous (basically pho xe lua) bowl of pho half filled with noodles, white and green onions, thickly cut beef slices and meatballs with tendon. I could not finish my bowl! Overall, we were both really happy with our meal and would come back again (hangover not necessary)! read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

A friend raved about Lai Thai until I decided to check it out for myself. My first visit was for take out and I had the lemongrass curry chicken bun (something new) and panang curry (my standby). The lemongrass chicken was tasty but had too much iceberg lettuce for my taste. The panang curry, though? Best thing I've ever put in my mouth. The sounds I made were borderline inappropriate. I picked up the container to drink the leftover sauce. I'm now a loyal customer - nothing I do is near Lai Thai, but I manage to get take out once or twice a month. I take friends there, I take dates there. Dine in, take out, it doesn't matter. Just give me that panang curry. read more

I've only gotten takeout from Lai Thai, so I can't speak to the dine-in experience, but everything I've had has been absolutely delicious! I'm a big fan of all of their curries, especially the mango curry! It's out of this world delicious! Extra good if you get it with a Thai iced tea! read more

Food and service was excellent! Everything was fresh and flavorful. The restaurant was very clean and sanitary. The spice scale is 1-10. We tried #5. Being that it would be "medium". But it felt like a #7. So if you are a medium-type person like we are. Stick with a 3! We tried the, Garlic fried rice. Basil fried rice and pad see ew. Wish there was a location closer to us in Detroit. We've found a forever go-to when ever in GR. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Pad see ew. Garlic fried rice. Basil fried rice. - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Food is all very sweet. Not much flavor and over cooked. Had Vietnamese noodle dish, and two different Thai dishes and they all tasted the same with overcooked chicken and veggies. read more

Flavorful sauces and good spice levels. Had Pad Nang, Kung Po Chicken, Broccoli with tofu, cucumber salad, veg gyoza. 10/10 Would order again. read more

Food was delicious. Service was charming. Great vegan selections. Delivery was quick so good was hot.

Group of 9 ordering many different menu items, all were excellent, especially the spring rolls, pad Thai, and donuts

Their pho is my favorite! We get takeout on the weekly from here and it's always so consistent! Another plus is that their sweet and sour sauce has no artificial coloring and tastes so good. read more

I had been here before as a dine in customer and remembered the food as good. Not so much today for carry out. The Tom Yum Soup with shrimp-well there was only one shrimp in the whole container, and a weird sweet flavor that isn't usual for this soup. I wouldn't order it again here. The green curry wasn't spicy for a level 10, and the bell peppers weren't cooked at all. I'm kind of disappointed in Lai Thai and don't think I'll be coming back. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Green curry & Tom Yum Soup - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Got steamed chicken gyoza, panang chicken curry (5 spice), basil fried rice (5 spice), and thai country curry with chicken (0 spice). Overall the food was probably 4/5. Panang was flavorful and great. Basil fried rice was a bit bland but hit the spot. I would pass on the steamed gyoza as it was basically mush. Pretty decent but I've definitely had better. Another star dropped due to execution with the order. They erroneously added the 5 level of spice to the wrong dish. The basil fried rice had no spice at all and the thai country curry clearly was where the spice went. The additional charge for brown rice is pretty annoying - but what makes it worse is when you pay for two and they give you 1 brown rice and 1 white rice. Decent food but there didn't seem to be a lot of attention to detail. I'll keep trying new thai places. read more

Fast, fresh, hot food and a great place to unwind. Soft ambience with an *excellent* signature dish the Mango Curry (shrimp). A wonderful environment with soft and sweet service. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Mango Curry SOOOOOO GOOD - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

I ordered pickup from here for the first time a few weeks ago. The owner was very friendly and pickup was easy and they followed social distancing measures. I was very happy with the Pad Thai--one of the best in the area! Worth the few extra minutes it takes for me to drive here--I will definitely be back next time I order Thai food. read more

Friendly service and fresh food. Lovely atmosphere. I had the pho and my niece had pad Thai. There is an item on the menu called Oh My God which was really delicious also. read more

I seriously cannot believe I have never written a review for Lai Thai! This place has been my jam for years! So my review now encompasses all that time. A year ago I would've easily given Lai Thai a 5 star. However the service is now so lacking that I have to give it a four. Seriously, what happened to Tom? He was one of the best waiters ever. Anyway, regardless of their terrible service the owner is sweet and she's amazing, simply amazing, and making sure my vegetarian dishes are always vegetarian. She actually cares that you're happy. This means that I can come here to get veggie pho and vegetarian Chinese dishes without worrying that it's full of meat. My brother has ordered Chinese dishes that weren't on the menu and they have always come through. The last time I went to Lai Thai I got green curry take out and seriously ate on it for three sittings! The portions are always legit and the food here is awesome. If they'd just hire better staff this place would be Perf imho. Update: it's more than a staff issue. There are new owners. I personally do not feel like the food quality had deteriorated but the service is so bad it can be hard to take.. Updated again: the service is hard to swallow but this place is great. The food is really good and super consistent. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Veggie pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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We tried the pho and the shrimp rolls, and they were both lackluster; nothing special. The broth, unfortunately, was definitely instant. The indicator? No oil bubbles in the broth indicating that the use of pork and beef bones were used to make the stock. In addition to that, there weren't any fragrant herbs and spices used (coriander, cinnamon, star anise, cloves). The prices were reasonable at $6.50, and the bowl size was about 12" in diameter. Meat offerings were very limited, as they only had 3 kinds of pho, and one of them combined both chicken and beef (strange and never seen that before). Our bowls only had beef slices that were pre-cooked and beef balls. At least the noodles were not overcooked. :) Our shrimp rolls were just that...shrimp wrapped in the rice wrapper. Pretty disappointing, and the vermicelli and mint leaves were old, stale, and lacked any fragrance. I also found it odd that you had to choose between shrimp OR pork, where every place that I've been to offers both in one roll. Even though we weren't thrilled with our meal, the service was nice, cordial, and speedy. Perhaps this place serves better Thai food, but we won't be back to find that out. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - shrimp spring rolls ($3.95) - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

We have frequented this restaurant as our go-to weekly date night spot for over four years now, and the food and service is consistently fabulous. It's a cozy, quaint dining spot with incredibly friendly staff that work very hard to keep their customers happy. The owners (Fred and Gi) are always warm and welcoming, and Gi will come out of the kitchen to speak to her guests and personally ask how they are enjoying their dishes. Every guest that visits is made to feel like family! I have never sent anything back to the kitchen, and we come home with very little leftovers as the food is seriously just that good! Authentic Thai food that is always tasty, you can't get any better than that! We have taken family visiting from out of town here, and they request to visit this restaurant in future visits. Would highly recommend this spot if you're looking for a nice evening out or to try something new. Nothing beats a bowl of tom kha kai with a side of fresh summer rolls, or the pho! You can't go wrong with anything you order from their menu, and you can trust it's made with high quality ingredients. read more

Once my favorite Asian restaurant in Grand Rapids (perhaps even my favorite overall), Lai Thai's former owner (an amazing chef/owner/human being) retired earlier this year, and there are new owners, whom I'm afraid to say, aren't quite as awesome chefs as she was, even though the menu has remained the same, as far as I can tell. I really wish I could give this place a 3.5, but I will give them a 4 instead of a 3 because I can still see potential in them improving and getting somewhere near the greatness that it used to be. Another thing: I rarely let service influence my rating, unless it's absolutely abhorrent (or vice versa), but they definitely should work on their service game too. I always see the same waiter there nowadays, and he seems stretched thin between all of the tables, as well as handling the takeout orders, so during their busy moments, the service slows significantly. It's not a big deal to me, but again, it's another reason for me to be a little bummed that this place is not what it used to be. On the bright side, because the menu hasn't changed, there is still a impressively wide variety of vegetarian and vegan Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese dishes! Their curry dishes are still pretty good (although, last time I ordered their Green Curry, it was super watery and weak on the spice), and thankfully, they still do a mean Pho Chay (Vegetarian Pho), as it's sometimes hard to get the other pho places in Grand Rapids to do any kind of vegetarian pho dish. So, all in all, I'm hopeful things will turn around here once they've had some time to settle in. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Top: delicious fried veggie egg rolls w/ sweet dipping sauce, Thai iced tea & hot jasmine tea. Bottom: Gang Lew Wan curry entrée. Recent. - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Nice Thai place that was open on Sunday til 8pm. A restaurant on the smaller side, but a pretty large selection of dishes- Thai, Vietnamese & Chinese. I went with the green curry, hot, with chicken. The curry wasn't super spicy, but they did have a fantastic red pepper in oil to really take it up a notch. Decent portions, everyone seemed to enjoy their dishes. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Green curry, hot with chicken! - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

When Covid-19 started, we wondered how we could support our COMMUNITY, and felt that getting curbside pick up from vegan restaurants was the best way to all be in this TOGETHER. We wanted to support businesses with impressive efforts to offer vegan options. Almost every Friday for the last few months (except the few weeks they were on hiatus) we ordered from Lai Thai. Their Lemongrass tofu is amazing, and their Mongolian tofu is indistinguishable from the Mongolian beef I loved growing up, but cruelty free. When you give your money to support a business, especially in a crisis, it is more than food. We were doing it to FEEL GOOD and TO HELP (especially Minority) businesses. So now there is a new crisis - Injustice... and those that want to use their voices are doing what they can, but others are showing their true colors. The owner of Lai Thai made some disgusting remarks that I can't unsee, and exposed his awful viewpoints on social media. You don't get to make comments like that and expect it not to affect your COMMUNITY. I can't begin to understand what is going on in Mr. Taylor's head, or what these comments mean, but right now when the world needs less hatred, Lai Thai will not be getting our very large weekly order. So disappointed. read more

Lai Thai Kitchen - Owner's hateful comments. - Vietnamese Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Service was slow on a Saturday afternoon around 5 PM. When we arrived there was another table of 3 which just ordered before us. The waiter took our drink orders promptly and then we noticed he was the only waiter serving, register and fulfilling take out orders. Each time a new group of people walked in the door and sat it tool longer and longer for him to come back to take our orders and along with the other guests. Be prepared for slow service. What we ordered: Lai Thai appetizer - egg rolls, crab rangoons, chicken satay and fried dumpings. Egg rolls were not fried in hot heat and soggy. Crab rangoons very small and little amount of cheese. Dumplings were purchased from store and fried. Chicken satay was disappointing - very small portion of chicken when grilled. You get two small sticks. Pho special - would not recommend. Compared to other pho restaurants the pho isn't that great. Broth was very salty and not flavored well. Instant noodles might have more flavor. One meatball that is sliced in half and a few slices of beef. Not worth it in my opinion. Pad sa ew - ordered combo but only got beef. They only charged me for the beef. Very sweet and maybe best dish we ordered. Pineapple fried rice - strong tumeric taste and curry. Rice was a tad soggy. This dish was decent, but would probably not order again. I ordered the Vietnamese pork chop, but they forgot my meal entirely. They did not charge me for it when I paid. Overall, this isn't the most authentic of Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese food. I will probably not be coming back given other choices in GR. read more

Lai Thai has definitely found their stride since I was here a few years ago. The owners provide a great customer service experience and the menu has something for everyone. The lunch buffet is a cool way to try a larger variety of their dishes. Easy parking read more

Seriously have never gotten something from here i did not like!! I typically eat vegan / vegetarian and they have such a wide selection! You can get tofu or veggies as your protein choice and can ask for things to specifically be made vegan. Mongolian Tofu = delicious! Panang Curry= is probably my all time favorite!! read more