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    Thai Smile

    4.2 (54 reviews)
    ModerateThai, Salad, Soup
    Open 11:00 am - 2:30 pm, 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

    Thai Smile Photos

    THAI SMILE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - Thai Smile

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    Reviews With Photos

    Ernesto C.

    The food was surprisingly good. However, the service was abysmal. The receptionist/cashier did not bother to greet us at when we entered, but she happily greeted the next customer that came in. The waiter's demeanor was cold and did not even try to be friendly when taking our order. I thought this was Thai Smile? Not Thai Frowning. But she did smile and acted friendly to another table (I'm sensing a trend here). In addition, when we questioned a specific wording on the menu, her response was, "don't worry about". That is a piss-poor response to give a paying customer. From then on, the waiter was borderline hostile and snobbish during the rest of our interactions. She gave us the wrong order and did not even bother to apologize for the inconvenience. She even asked to confirm my order even though she wrote it down. What's the point of writing it down in the first place? Lastly, as we finished our meal, two of the kitchen staff members came out and just stared at us like a pair of peeping Tom's (creepy AF). Seems pretty clear these people have attitude issues and only know how to respond unprofessionally. Please avoid if you are a tourist because they lack proper customer service skills.

    A plateful of green peppers from the Thai Smile red curry... we weren't smiling!
    Ralph M.

    Unfortunately, Thai Smile didn't live up to our high expectations after all the glowing reviews posted here and on other sites. Thirsty? If you like beer with your Thai food, don't expect to see any of the great local craft lagers or pilsners here. For an establishment that seems to pride themselves in sourcing local ingredients, this is a shame. Onto the food. I ordered the papaya salad and pad Thai noodles, and these dishes were both decent. My friend ordered the red curry with prawns, and here's where things were less than ideal with only a mere handful of prawns in the dish, the bulk of the bowl being made up with sliced green peppers. Since he can't eat green peppers and thought, after more than twenty trips to Thailand over the years, that the bulk of the peppers would be yellow or red, we decided to ask the staff about this. After numerous attempts to get one of the servers to our table, she informed us they add so many green peppers to make the dish "pretty"... no offer of anything to make up for half the meal he couldn't eat such as a $2 bowl of rice or a dessert or even a refill on our pitcher of water which was long gone. And then we waited and waited for our bill, just as we had waited and waited for service when we first arrived. Although a couple of the dishes were good, and hence the average rating, neither myself nor my friend will be back with so many other glaring issues. Sorry, but I cannot recommend Thai Smile.

    Lunch Menu
    Brian B.

    Nice place and super busy for a reason Fresh, Authentic and quick service Don't drive by to fast you'll miss it Great lunch specials too !!

    Tom Kha Gai

    Classic hole in the wall that surprises you! Stopped here on the way to Coombs a couple weeks ago and it was so satisfying. My sister and I ordered the Yellow Curry and Pad Thai lunch specials and a Tom Kha Gai with rice. All was sooo good but the Tom Kha in particular was fabulous. It's rare to come across good Thai food on the Island, and we were very pleased. Service was super nice and quick! Would definitely come here all the time if I lived nearby.

    Chicken cashew nut special
    David W.

    Delightful. The owners are Thai, and it shows up in the flavour and fragrance of each dish. This is our first visit, and we're planning to come back regularly to work our way through the menu, so I'll add to this review over time. The lunchtime menu is $10 and includes soup, salad, rice, and a main dish. I had chicken cashew and my DW had pad Thai with tender tofu. Free wifi on site. Very friendly owners. We'll be back. A fellow two tables away just said, "This is the best restaurant in the area!".

    a plate of food with rice and vegetables

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    17 days ago

    Wonderful! Both Food and service were excellent!! - Will definitely be visiting them again!

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    10 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Pretty good food for the location. Authentic enough. Small parking lot but there's room along the street

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Delicious food, amazing prices! Service is great too! Very cute little restaurant on the Alberni Hwy

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Very cute little restaurant with great service. The food was fresh and tasty, heat perfect.

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    5 years ago

    Food was tasty, and the service was good. I had their pineapple fried rice with pork and i devoured so must have been good.

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

    I've been going here for years! Consistently amazing food and service! Best Thai food on the island

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Take out lunch with some guests from out of town - everybody impressed. Excellent green curry . . .

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    Page 1 of 2

    Thai Smile Reviews in Other Languages

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    Saigon Kitchen

    Saigon Kitchen

    4.7
    (46 reviews)
    32.5 km
    $$

    An absolute gem in Nanaimo!…read more upon the recommendation of a very good buddy, on my way to tofino, i passed by nanaimo for a hearty lunch in this family owned Vietnamese restaurant. Staff and owner very hospitable and welcoming! never in my wildest imagination did i expect to find excellent Vietnamese food the city of Nanaimo. this restaurant puts many Vancouver restaurants to shame. Their level of dedication to their craft is admirable and impressive. For appys...We started with fried wontons and the beef roll. My on my, the wontons were crispy-liciously goood! They were not your typical chinese fried wontons...the wrapper is paper thin and had a yellowish colour. And its because they used the spring roll wrapper to make It, making it super extra crispy. The pork filling was hot and juicy. Seasoned perfextly With a touch of cumin. One bite, and you will be in wonton heaven. the beef roll was truly a unique masterpiece. Whoever thought of putting a friend spring roll inside a salad roll and enveloping it with grill beef is a total genius!! You get a plethora of different textures and flavour profiles. With every bite, you get crunchiness of the spring roll, smokiness of the grilled beef, green leafy vegetables, and juiciness of the pork filling...all rolled into 1 roll! How could you possibly go wrong? Its a masterpiece like that of the mona lisa! We also tried the beef curry. Succulent pieces of beef slowly simmered rich thai curry sauce, Complimented by soft jasmine rice. Not a vietnamese dish, but executed with perfection. Curry was rich and robust. Quality coconut Milk and curry paste was used. Now..unto the pho!!! the ultimate test of an excellent Vietnamese restaurant is the PHO. More specifically, the PHO Broth! the PHo here is nothing short of spectacular! You can tell bec of 3 important factors. One, the aroma. Two, the clarity of the soup ( aka i how clear is it). And three, the taste! ( how deep the beef essence is!) This place exceeded expectations and passed with full flying colours! One sip of the broth, reminded me of vietnam. It was absolutely amazing! Head and shoulders above many restaurants in vancouver. Plus, no msg was used. We never felt Thirsty or craving tea. I could tell there was a lot of time, labour, and love invested into making the broth. No shortcuts! Just sheer excellence from chef. I feel very blessed to have been a patron of such fine vietnamese cuisine. Definitely a must try when in the city of Nanaimo. Service was quick and efficient. Will i repeat? As many times as i can! ;) Cheers! Happy eating!

    The food is so nourishing. Service was fast and friendly. Restaurant set up was quite friendly…read morefor dining conversation as well as clean and tidy. 2 thumbs up. I will definitely go again.

    Photos
    S8. Beef Stew
    S8. Beef Stew
    Deep Fried Wontons
    Deep Fried Wontons
    Nice little restaurant!!!

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    Nice little restaurant!!!

    Thai Smile - thai - Updated August 2026

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