I have been eating here for 15 years and it has been good and poor. Service has always pretty good. Carl in the bar was a great person. Then came the fire and the rebuild. My son visited recently and said his Pad Thai was juicy and the best he had eaten.
I had read some poor reviews and wanted to let them get adjusted so we went out a week later. First, the new decor is modern. We were seated next to one of the 4 occupied tables where a couple were having a discussion. We could have been seated elsewhere, but many of the rest were not bussed. It was a tuesday night. Okay, maybe they had a rush and were trying to catch up. We were offered water and a menu about 5 minutes after seating. I noticed they moved the heat vents to the center of the building and no longer near the windows. Still rather cold near the windows. Not a big thing.
Finally, we were asked if we were ready to order (about 15 minutes in now) so we ordered beverages and thought we better get our food ordered at this rate. Beer came with only 12 oz in the pint glass because someone felt I like over an inch of foam. Beer should always be poured to the rim for a full pint. Be aware, like real Thai restaurants worldwide, the food comes slightly spicy. No star system, you can add heat from the condiments on the table. Its a shocker for Americans, but typical due to what a chef thinks is 2 star or 4 star that day.
Food arrived, great I was so excited. That did not last. Both of our dishes were lukewarm at the most. My Pad Thai noodles had sat so long they absorbed any moisture that may have been there. Pad Thai should be served with plenty of sauce so the noodles slip off the fork or chop stick, not stuck together. The other dish had peanut sauce that was not very flavorful and lukewarm. I must add that the chicken satay will come deep fried and not baked. That dish was hot and fresh and the peanut sauce superb.
Now, this restaurant was previously called The Thai restaurant and the hot and cold issues were increasing towards the early 2020's. The sticky and dry pad thai has always been an issue at this restaurant. I can only guess that they put take away food over the customers taking up space in the joint. It would be great if they could just bring in a Thai chef to teach how to cook thai food correctly, serve that food hot and fresh, prioritize the customers who are there eating.
I really want to love this place, but they have work to do. Now, perhaps the chef we had is new or overworked versus the chef the night my son at there. He knows his food well, so I trust his opinion that this place can be very good. Do try them out and find out for yourself if they meet your desires.
Now, our server was made aware of this issue and took care of us. That was a pleasant surprise and much appreciated. We will try some day in the future again. Oh, that table next to us was bussed midway through our meal... read more