Just finished dinner with the family (there were 5 of us) at the new Thailicious location on Vassar Road in Red Oaks Mill. Hopefully, people will realize this Yelp listing isn't just about catering, but for their full-service restaurant (maybe the name in the header can be changed?). Anyway, it's important to note we were there on Thanksgiving eve. More on that in a minute.
I have to say every single dish we had was EXCELLENT. All the food was fresh, well seasoned, well prepared, and nicely presented.
And the portions were VERY generous. I'd seen a few reviews and heard from others who have been but don't leave reviews, that the portions were skimpy. I can tell you that's NOT the case with any of the dishes we had. All of them were a good size, bordering on extra large, and if we hadn't been so hungry, I'm sure we would have ended up taking some leftovers home.
The dishes we had included Vegetable Spring Rolls, Tom Yum Seafood soup, Thai Wonton Soup, Som Tam Salad, Panang Curry w/Tofu, Massam Curry w/Tofu, and Shrimp Pineapple Curry. All of them had flavor profiles that were distinct to their names and ingredients that were totally fresh and delicious.
My Dad, who is a Pad Thai enthusiast, took one bite of his dish and immediately said it was SOOOO much better than the Pad Thai he gets at another local Asian restaurant they frequent.
The restaurant itself is on the small side, but still comfortable (so it's more about the limited number of tables), bright, well-appointed with pictures and artwork from Thailand, and clean. (Restrooms included.)
The only downside to the evening was the service, which to be honest in the beginning was practically non-existent. There was one woman who sat us when we arrived and gave us water but then disappeared. A gentleman who had been sitting there and apparently was a contractor/handyman for the restaurant gave us our menus and then sat back down at another table.
Unfortunately, once we were sitting there for a while with no one coming back to take our order, we wrote it out on a piece of paper and headed back toward the kitchen. The gentleman who gave us our menus, got up and took the order from us, said they would start working on it and brought it into the kitchen.
We could tell while we were waiting the kitchen was busy from the sounds of food sizzling and pots and pans being used. During our dinner, LOTS of people came in and out to place and/or pick up carry-out orders, and a couple of other parties came in to sit down. So it seems like people do know about the business one way or another.
There was a bit of delay after our order was brought into the kitchen and we were getting concerned it was going to be a VERY long evening however once the first dish showed up (longer than it should have been, but we've experienced worse), everything else was served at a consistent pace.
The quality of each dish kept us intrigued for the next and we were very satisfied with the entire meal. As she brought each dish the server (we're still not sure if she was the/an owner, or just part of the staff, but she appeared to be native Thai) was very pleasant and responsive to requests.
At the end of the meal, she was very apologetic about the wait and told us due to the fact that it was the night before a holiday (one that's built around eating a lot of food) they didn't think they'd have any customers tonight and didn't have the staff on hand they should have. And the overall price, while not cheap eats, was fair for the size and quality of the food we received.
So, if weren't for the service issue, I would have given them 5 stars. The food is definitely worth 6 or 7! Hopefully, the service issue was truly a holiday hiccup and will be corrected moving forward. I will definitely give them another shot when I'm back in town. And if you're concerned about going there to sit down and eat, do what so many others did tonight and order take out. You won't be disappointed. read more