Malai Kitchen used to be one of my favorite Thai and Asian fusion restaurants in the area but it has gone completely downhill. The food quality and portion size has dropped but the prices have either stayed the same or increased on all items. I know inflation is rough in this economy but it's not great. But what is really hard to swallow is the service. Long wait times, missing servers, we ask for utensils and they don't come until 15 min later, the list goes on. If I am going to be paying much higher prices, then I expect at least a minimum level of service. Not going back anytime soon. read more

This place is a disgrace to Thai food. Not authentic, everything I ordered was trash. Kind of disappointing. I can't believe it's this high rated, a total waste of money. If you actually like Thai food, definitely don't come here. read more

I'm so torn on this place. I have great experiences here. And I have terrible experiences here. I think I've figured out the common variable. There is a dark haired manager who is absolutely poison for the Southlake location. He is the only reason for this negative review. If they get rid of him, the restaurant will be great. But that needs to happen. We came to the Southlake location for Mother's Day. The restaurant lost our reservation and asked if they could seat us at a table with full sunlight. No. After much argument with the dark haired manager, someone else (a female manager) intervened and got us a table inside. Strike 1. The table ordered. I ordered the halibut special that was advertised as being available for Mother's Day. Although we were among the first tables sat that day, I was told that the halibut was already sold out. Then, the dark haired manager came by to tell me that he actually wasn't serving the fish because it had gone bad. So, one of these messages is a lie. But I hope that they didn't order a bunch of fish and let it go bad. The larger issue was that the manager was very rude during this interaction. "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the halibut went bad. The good news is that you can order something else." This is not a professional way of handling the situation. And he is the only person at this location who has this attitude. Strike 2. Finally, the bill comes. It is incorrect. I am charged both for the halibut and for the item I ordered in place of it. I get this corrected. But, really, I shouldn't have been charged for my entree given everything that had happened up until this point. And it's the manager's responsibility to take care of things like that, not the server's. Strike 3. Here's the thing. The food is great. The service is mostly great. The other managers are great. But the dark haired manager has no business working in any role that involves interacting directly with customers. If they fire him, this is a five star restaurant. But his failure in management ruins the experience. And there are so many other great restaurants in the area where we wouldn't have to worry about these sorts of things. I am disappointed by the follow-up comment posted below this review as it indicates that the problem will not be addressed. Asking customers to call ahead so as to avoid one of your toxic managers is not a sound business strategy. read more

Malai Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

Nice ambiance and customer service was great. Our server was attentive and took care of our big party. The restaurant accommodated us by storing our birthday cake in the back and brought out dessert plates, forks, a birthday candle and serving utensils as well. The food is pretty good for Asian Fusion. The whole fried branzino was beautifully plated and tasted pretty good although the sauce was a bit salty. I'll be back to try some other dishes. read more

Malai Kitchen - Whole Branzino - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

Came here for lunch based on a recommendation from a friend. The service was great and my salad was tasty but husband's pulled pork banh mi wasn't that great. The meat was cold and he said it tasted just ok. And even though the service was good, the waitress seemed to be in a hurry for us to leave and they weren't busy at all. The food was delivered and as we started eating, she delivered our checks. A friend who recommended this place was with us and he was surprised as we were. Maybe we will give it another chance? read more

Malai Kitchen - Shrimp and avocado salad - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

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Food, Service, Suggestions from "Kelly" in bar. For Wine and food...Descriptions! I had not had Thai food before.... taste testing the tea... Ambience!!! Absolutely Excellent... Well Done Kelly I will certainly be back on my next visit to Texas for Sure!! Thank you for Exceptional Service! read more

The worst and most expensive Vietnamese food I've ever had, their Pho was no better than a 99-cent ramen package.

Delicious food here- it's modern presentation, flavorful malai food. Complementary banana leaf wrapped stuffed sticky rice package w a sweet spicy eggplant dip. The freshly pressed cane sugar w hint of ginger was refreshing, not as sweet. Vermicelli salad was also refreshing with thinly sliced carrots and cucumber, 3 grilled tender pork patties. I asked for sriracha needed more of a kick. Still very filling. Panang curry was mellow and really good, served w jasmine rice and side of julienne carrots and cucumbers. The roti is super flakey pancake like croissant, can be split w two people. I'd eat here again. read more

Malai Kitchen - Vermicelli noodle salad and cane sugar ginger drink - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

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Amazing Food! I had a coffee to drink, and Yellow Curry, it was incredible. We had the meatballs appetizer and really enjoyed it as well. They were very welcoming and accommodating to our baby. Great service and great food. read more

Food was very bad. I ordered jungle curry pot and coconut soup both were very salty and sour . No taste at all. Very very very disappointing. The restaurant in Fort Worth and Dallas are way better than this location. Please avoid this place like a plague . We also had to wait for 20 minutes for the food to arrive , only after I escalated the wait time they brought the food. read more

One of my favorite places when traveling to Dallas for a great food and excellent service. I have always ordered the Curry, yellow, red or green and I can say there is always very good. Service is consistently excellent making the dinner experience enjoyable after a long day at work. read more

Ordered takeout tonight. Pineapple fried rice and pad see ew. It was horrible. Flavor was awful and every bite offered your daily allowance of salt, likely an attempt to try to conceal the awful taste. I have great memories of this place pre Covid. The food was excellent. Not any more. Worst Thai food I've ever had. I'll never visit or order from this place again. Too many excellent Thai alternatives in the area to choose from. read more

We went there on a shy day for lunch. Wait was only 20mins so were really happy. However, it literally took them 45-50mins to bring the food out. We were all so hungry. Even the kids juice took so long to come out. I had Thai tea, and basil chicken. My food was good. Kids weren't happy with their glass noodles. It had no flavor. My husband enjoyed his lamb shank. I'd go back, hoping the wait wouldn't be this long. I wouldn't mind giving another try. read more

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I had this delivered. But I have to say the food was awesome and hot as I ordered this just before they closed!

I ordered the Thursday lunch special, laksa lemak, which was a new dish for me. I thought it was delicious. A nice little kick and rich flavor. Plus how many things have chicken, shrimp, AND tofu? Probably one of the best plates around town for $12. I also had the peach ginger green tea and appreciated that it wasn't loaded down with sweeteners. Service was excellent - everyone was very sweet and attentive. They give you some sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf with a dipping sauce that is pretty tasty. I would definitely come back here and try more things from the menu when I'm in town! The restaurant is in an upscale shopping plaza if you're looking to make it an afternoon. read more

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Delicious food, attentive service. Tastes are amazing and you can adjust the spice level to your preference. We come here (too) often!

5/28/22: I love thai food! Located next door to The Joint Chiropractic (side note: I've been to the Southlake Joint twice and not had the best adjustments. The North Richland Hills location is better), I've been here once for dinner and liked it enough where we wanna come back and try their lunch specials (I don't see it on the online menu, but when I went there, they have a chalkboard outside. I could've sworn I saw lunch special offerings). The price point is high (it reminds me of West Coast prices), but the quality & taste is good. And at least the dishes (except noodles) come with rice (including brown), without any additional charge. So that's good; I hate it when asian restaurants charge for rice. I do wish the portion sizes were bigger though...or maybe I just eat alot lol ;) We had the lemongrass chicken ($17) and yellow curry tofu ($16) and enjoyed our entrees. Our friend had chicken pad thai ($16) and she said it was good too. Based on our first impression/first tastes, I think we'd be happy trying other menu entrees. If they have good lunch specials, then we'll come here more frequently. Otherwise, it would be more so a splurge. read more

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Wow. Just wow started off with the ahi tuna SpringRolls, delish. Tried the artichoke wasn't the biggest fan but the chilli sauce was awesome! Our amazing server, Gabriel took it back for us bc she knew we didn't like it. Husband had the peanut fish and I had the braised lamb. SO GOOD!! Gabriel made my birthday dinner so special & the food and ambience is wonderful read more

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This is hands down the best place ever!!! As an appetizer we got the Thai chicken wings and they were spicy(we got medium) sticky, and sweet all at the same time, make sure you get the sauce at the bottom*they were gone before I could get a picture but there is the aftermath** I ordered the sugar cane drink that it was so refreshing. as an entree I stuck with what I know is worth the hour drive to get here and that's the shrimp drunken noodles! That is absolutely to die for. My fiancé got the chicken. As a dessert she got the mango sticky rice, looks aesthetic but taste way better than it looks so there's that. The manager was so sweet and attentive. He made his way over to our table to greet us and to thank us for going in. Alice was our server and she was hands down the best server we had ever had. She was sweet and helpful and even remembered our order from last time and made us felt seen. And my favorite part was the utensil were sparkly clean. I don't know about you but that speaks volumes to me. read more

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Not a big fan of Vietnamese food but I came here with friends and I had Hot and sour soup and fried rice with shrimp. Both options were tasty.. We shared the mango sticky rice smash and tasted delicious read more

Malai Kitchen - Mango Sticky Rice Smash - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

Our waitress was very nice, though the food definitely put the fusion in confusion. We got the Iron Pot Green Curry Chicken, Vegetarian Yellow Curry with Tofu, the Malai Favorites Sampler, the Spicy Crispy Vegetable Samosas, and the Bahn Mi Vietnamese Sandwich. The only thing that had some flavor was the side cucumber salad that came with the Bahn Mi. I think if you're used to authentic Asian food, you're probably better off going to an Asian-owned place. The staff were all very nice, so my rating is based on the food and the price for that lack of flavor. read more

Malai Kitchen - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

Never disappointed. This is a great atmospheric place. The food is always Fresh and delicious. Sunday brunch on the patio here in Texas in April is awesome. The Vietnamese chicken soup is so so good. I have also had the Chilean sea bass ... to die for. If YOU are NEW to Texas welcome home. Come enjoy this place. read more

Malai Kitchen - Brunch Bloody Mary's - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

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I definitely recommend coming to here. The green curry was by far my favorite. I love how tender the beef was. all that flavor that was in that curry, my goodness! When it's cold out got to come here and warm up your body with some curry. read more

Malai Kitchen - Green curry with beef - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

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This used to be our fave spot because we could count on some amazing flavors and the appreciated benefit of customization. We recently visited while popping back in town for a quick visit and ordered all of our usuals. Nothing tasted right except the chicken pho. The spicy basil chicken barely had enough sauce to cover the top, the jungle curry didn't pack it's usual punch and the dishes which were altered to be gluten and soy free were so bland it could have been plain rice. The manager and server were awesome! 5 stars for service..1 star for flavor. read more

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A friend of mine suggested this for dinner. We got right in on a Friday around 7pm. My man & I split the chicken wings, the tea leaf salad and the pad thai. Our server Gerald was a doll. I loved the salad, and if you read my reviews, I am not a salad eating girl, but I do love a tea leaf salad. The wings were full wings (the tip, the dummette and the other piece) so VERY difficult to eat since they were also slippery, stick and hot. I almost launched one across the room while eating it. The pad thai was okay, nothing special. read more

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So delicious! Food is very tasty and such a variety of everything Asian. Service is amazing read more

Amazing food, beer, and service! Had the weekend brunch and was so good. Highly recommend.

Food is always amazing. Service is friendly. The restaurant is clean with a good ambiance.

Excellent all around! Great food, great service and great location. We are going to be making this place a regular destination!! read more

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Appetizer very yummy! Unique dish with lots of flavor! Meat falls right off the bone. Curry noodles were such a surprise. read more

Malai Kitchen - Appetizer - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

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For the prices and the quality of food of these dishes compared to others available in the area, I would definitely say that this was not worth it. The Chiang Mai noodle soup is not like most other chiang mai soups that are out there. The curry base does not really feel or taste like a curry. It just tastes like a slightly creamy broccoli soup. There is some heat in it at a medium spicy, but that's all the good that i can really say about it. Also the amount of crispy egg noodles that they have for Togo is disappointing. The fact that they put it all in a single container also made it to where there was no crisp or crunch by the time i got home. The Pad Grapao, or Bangkok Street Rice, the flavor is pretty good but the meat is surprisingly dry. The rice in this dish has more moisture than the meat. read more

Malai Kitchen - Chaing Mai noodle soup Pad grapao - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

Really good food and service! Enjoyed the drunken noodles although I ordered extra spicy and it was pretty mild. Other than enjoyed the food and drinks! read more

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Very good read me's food with a daileave specials service staff was exceptional.Fatima was our waitress. She is outstanding! read more

Malai Kitchen - Dinning area - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

This is one of the best Thai restaurants I've been too! I'm used to small humble restaurants when going to Thai food, but Malai was a nice change of pace for a more upscale place to enjoy Thai food. I tried the drunken noodles and panang curry and both were exceptional. The drunken noodles are one of my favorite dishes and Malawi's was the best I have had. The service was great, the wait staff is very professional and kind. I also had the Thai Tea, which was pretty standard, but I highly recommend giving it a try! read more

The basil vegetable fried rice cleared my skin and cured my depression. The peanut chili roti dessert revived my lifeless husk of a body and made me remember what its like to have naturally occurring serotonin. Staff is always so friendly and accommodating. Shout out to Taylor specifically. Suggested a wine that was way better than the one I originally was going to order. I cannot recommend this place enough. Eating here is like a spiritual experience. read more

Malai Kitchen - Basil vegetable fried rice - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

I went there for dinner with my girl friends. My friend had the basil fried rice while I ordered the Green Papaya salad (w/o bacon) as I wanted something light. I will surely go there again and try more dishes.In short:- *Ambience: Loved it! *Vegetable/chicken Basil fried rice: Highly recommended! *Green Papaya Salad: Not bad *Peach Ginger Green Iced Tea: Not bad read more

Malai Kitchen - Green Papaya Salad - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

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Sung to the tune of "Young Blood" I remember the words he told me, You'll love me 'til the day I die Surrender ur menu 'cause you made me believe ur thoughts are mine Yeah, you used to call me reviewer, now I'm callin' you by name It's ur food that got me, yeah Your the reason I up'd my own damn game You push it and push it... the menu all the way The service is majestic and you I tip and I tip and I tip for God's sake, and u always give more than you take take take Youngblood Pierce the new G The new server who waited on me Just starting his life And I'm just a reviewer reviewing tonight But he don't need it, yeah, he don't need it All of the time Yeah, ooh ooh ooh Youngblood Malai be servin' me And Pierce bein' the He Malai brings me to life So I'm just a reviewer enjoyin' the night But he don't need it, yeah, he don't need it All of the time Yeah, ooh ooh ooh Youngblood Malai be servin' me Lately my reviews have mostly been for Malai Yeah, my girl and I get a little drunk and she calls about 100 hundred times So who you reveiwin' baby, it's his time and his place When he's servin' those strangers, they see the Malai glow in his face Youngblood You did great for me You did great don't you see The song must end here for there is no end in sight Good job Malai for keepin' it tight Yeah, ooh ooh ooh Youngblood read more

I've been to the original Malai Kitchen many times over the past decade, but I'll stick to my first experience at this location since it's been a minute. The fusion concept, which boasts Thai and Vietnamese influences, was conceived by a husband-and-wife duo that met at Cornell before traveling extensively through Southeast Asia. The interior is modern and trendy, with colorful art lining the walls and warm brown and gold paneling throughout. We were seated in the side patio, which is connected to the inside and totally covered with heating fixtures overhead. The drinks here are carefully curated. There are a half-dozen beers brewed in house with nods to South Asian styles and flavors, and the cocktails are creative and fun. I forgot the name of the tasty house special drink I ordered that evening, but it had rum and lemongrass syrup. I later ordered a flight of 3 house-brewed beers ($9 is a great deal). The 3C Porter with cacao nibs, toasted coconut, and a no-joke level of thai chili spice was the clear favorite. We started off with the Malai Favorites Sampler, a smattering of the most popular appetizers for $14. The Fried Imperial Rolls (rice paper cigars filled with ground pork and diced shrimp) and smoky Vietnamese Meatballs (char-grilled pork patties) were both delicious and juicy, with savory and sweet elements. The Chicken Satay had the right flavor profile, but it was rather dry. The Sticky Rice and Eggplant Dip brought to every table is just so-so. The rice is flavorless, though I guess the texture is pleasant and chewy; the eggplant has a nice earthy sourness to it. The Red Curry Icelandic Cod was quite good, with a thick scratch-made gravy that was spicy and creamy. The roast fish was well-cooked and moist, and the quantity was respectable. My main quibble with the base curry sauce was that it was a tad on the salty side (and I have a high salt tolerance), plus it could've used a little more sugar to balance it out. The heat was on point though -- definitely made me sweat! While the quality of the fare is consistently above average at Malai, some of their dishes can be inconsistent in flavor visit to visit. That being said, the atmosphere is great and their menu is unique and bold. I have no doubt I'll be back shortly (and I promise I'm not just saying that because our waiter gifted me a bottle of house-made sriracha sauce that I have been putting on my scrambled eggs every morning). read more

Malai Kitchen - Malai Favorites Sampler - Vietnamese Near Me - Southlake, Texas

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Can't say enough great things about this place. Food is absolutely amazing. They are able to make a lot of their menu gluten free which is great for us. read more

This place is beyond fire. If your looking for a place to grab something to eat and your undecided and combing through Yelp to find a place look no further. This is THE BEST THAI FOOD I've ever had. Hands down. The staff work as a complete team. You're greeted with a smile upon arrival. Seated as soon as there's an available seat. They listen to you attentively and suggest options to your taste. They check in at your table regularly to make sure your experience is going well. The tables are cleared of all finished dishes with lightening speed. You can see the cooks putting their love into every dish as the kitchen is out in the open. The aromas are sensational. The staff seem to genuinely like each other. You can here the laughter when they pass one another and make jokes. The energy is great here. Not to mention, the drinks are to die for. And don't think their just tasty, they're deceptively strong. The Thai wings as an appetizer. Mama whew! YOU WILL LOVE THIS PLACE. Do give it a try read more

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