As the only Thai restaurant in La Pine, we've really wanted this place to be good. At this point,…read morethough, I feel like we've given it enough chances to write a fair review.
We've only ordered takeout, so I can't speak to the atmosphere or dine-in service. Takeout itself has always been smooth, and our orders have generally been ready on time.
Unfortunately, the food has been consistently underwhelming. I have no doubt the owners know how to make a quality meal, especially given their experience with other restaurants, but there seems to be an ongoing quality-control issue here. The flavors are usually pretty bland and lack the depth I expect from good Thai food. The curry has been extremely thin, the orange chicken was chewy, the portions are small, and the prices feel high for what you're getting. One time I ordered green curry and it was blue. What is happening here?
The biggest frustration, though, has been how inconsistent the spice levels are. We regularly order dishes at one star because we're feeding our whole family. Multiple times now, a one-star dish has arrived tasting more like a three- or four-star. I personally love spicy food, so this isn't a complaint that the food is simply too spicy for me. The problem is that when you specifically order mild Pad Thai so your young child can eat it, getting something genuinely hot makes the meal unusable for the person it was ordered for. After this happening repeatedly, it's hard to chalk it up to a one-off mistake.
I genuinely want this restaurant to succeed, especially because having a Thai option in La Pine is great. But after giving it quite a few tries, I keep coming away with the same impression: inconsistent food, mediocre flavors, small portions, and prices that don't match the quality or portion size.
I kept hoping we were just catching them on an off night, but after enough repeat experiences, I don't think that's the case. With all the positive reviews, what am I missing here?