Typhoon

Took my parents out to dinner to the Typhoon on Broadway. As it was raining outside, we rushed into the restaurant. Even though it was during dinner hours, the restaurant was not busy. The two hostess at the counter just looked at us and didn't even bother to greet us. I had to look over at them for good 30 seconds before one of them said hello, yet didn't bother to ask us anything else. I was the one who had to ASK if we could get a table for four. After being seated, our waiter was nice, but didn't smile at all throughout dinner service. The food was ""okay."" My mom kept complaining how all the four dishes we ordered were too salty. We ended up asking for another bowl of white rice, in order to balance out the saltiness of the the dishes. At the end of the night, of the four of us, we only finished about half of what we ordered. Nothing special about the Three Flavored Halibut, and the King's Noodles was just drowned in what seems like oyster sauce. I'd say, skip Typhoon. Presentation was nice, but overpriced for food that was only OK, and had no authentic taste. I think I'll stick to Thai Ginger in N. Portland, where I've been going to for years. more

Just got our order from the Delivery service, Tom Kha and Tom Yum-What an insult! The Coconut soup was just coconut milk with tons of salt and some over boiled chicken-Nothing else AT ALL in the way of traditional seasonings.The Tom Yum just had grainy shrimp and a few floating mushrooms-No Ginger, Lemon Grass,etc and no spice at all-The broth tasted like chicken soup. True, we did order Medium since when we get our Thai food closer in at a little Thai place medium is kickin' hot! I spent most of the time adding my own curry spices and Tom Yum mix to try to make it taste better but ended up throwing it all away because the salt was way too strong. Been to Thailand many times and sort of in the know... Typhoon, what happened to you? We just went to Bo Restobar a week ago and the food was equally awfull (drinks great as well as service)-And when I asked what happened to the fabulous menu they said they had to separate themselves from Typhoon-Wonder why? Perhaps that Oregonian article said it all...Geez, just wanted some good Thai and watch a movie at home... more

I've never written a review for a restaurant, let alone a negative review.. an experience has to be particularly traumatic for me to be driven to write a poor review about it online. If they had a 'negative stars' option, that would've been it. We went to this restaurant because it was next door to our friend's hotel on Broadway, and because they had a separate vegan menu. Both of our ""vegan"" dishes, ordered from their separate menu, came out with animal products in them. The first was obviously full of chicken and we sent it back. By the time they had brought out a replacement, we'd realized the other dish we had already started eating had egg in it. Nothing was taken off the bill. We were pretty disgusted and would never ever go back there again. Pros: wish i could think of one.... Cons: Vegans BEWARE more

Do not ever, ever go to Typhoon. The service is terrible, close to abysmal. My last trip there, I was with one other person, on a slow Wednesday night. We ordered appetizers (chicken satay that showed up after the main course, were cold, and seemed to have been sitting there for a while), and two main courses (I had green curry, it was alright but the beef had the feel of shoe leather, and it was also cold). Our drinks took almost 20 minutes to come out (and tasted like they'd been filtered through an ashtray). The food is overpriced, and the quality is beyond poor. I once even found aphids in a salad. The cleanliness definitely leaves something to be desired as well. Finally, I've heard (but cannot confirm) they seem to be in yet another legal battle over labor law violations, so I can only imagine why their waitstaff doesn't care. Strange side-note, I used to work right around the restaurant on broadway, and I saw one of their old bartender's being put into the back of a police car earlier this year, not too sure what that's about. So, if you want Thai food, try one of the hundreds of Thai restaurants in Portland, but please leave Typhoon alone. Pros: It's in downtown Cons: Everything else more

""From humble beginnings on Northwest 23rd, Chef Bo Kline and Typhoon! have become icons of the Northwest food scene. ""\r \r If I'm not mistaken, it was their downtown location that was there first. So, they are lying about their ""humble beginnings"".\r \r dont get me wrong, the food is good... But, its not that great. Ive had better food and service from Arawan Thai Cuisine on 82nd and Johnson Creek.\r \r In short, if you like overpriced, overly pretentious settings to impress your out of town friends by the amount you can charge to your corporate account, this is the place for you! If you like real Thai Food cooked by real Thai people I would suggest the afformentioned Arawan restaurant or, for really great authentic food, go to Mai Thai on Belmont/30th.\r \r After all, its your hard earned money that your wasting to support downtown/northwest rents! Pros: Great presentation of foods, ultra hip ambience. Cons: High, high prices, bad service, average taste. more

After seeing their TV commercial and hearing them mention the finest ingredients used in their cooking, I wanted to give Typhoon! a try. The restaurant is very elegant and the lighting is relaxing. I ordered Pad Thai and it came to me in a very nice presentation. However, the flavors were bland and the consistency was not to my liking - kind of on the goopy and pasty side. You may be paying for the finer ingredients and presentation, but that's about it. I probably will not go back unless I'm with a group who chooses Typhoon! unanimously. Pros: Nice relaxing atmosphere. Cons: Pricey for the quality of food - bland flavors. more

I love the food at this place! The restaurant is beautiful and the food is always fabulous! I'm super picky and they always get my very strange orders correct. Love it! more

I love Thia food and have eaten at Typhoon many times. The food is sometimes good and sometimes just ""okay"". The spicy green beans are yummy, the yellow curry is good. Make sure you specify what veggies you do not like if you order the spicy veggie w/ crispy basil (it comes with fried tofu and many veggies like 2 kinds of mushrooms (and lots of them), baby corns, cauliflower, brocolli, green beans etc..)) Cashew Nut Chic is okay and you have to order and pay for rice as it does not come with your meal. The Atmosphere is neat, trendy and new and they are right on broadway so location is nice. Pros: Location Cons: Inconcistant, prices, parking more

i came here for a group business dinner and we sat in a nice back private room (just large enough for our... more

i came here for a group business dinner and we sat in a nice back private room (just large enough for our party of 13). w/the dinner expenses paid,... more

I heard about Typhoon! through a friend who's husband loves to eat at during lunch. We both decided to go there last night and give it a try. We called about two hours ahead for a reservation, I know not a very good timing, but they said that they would be able to accomodate us. Right when we get in there the host went to go set up our table and then seated us all the while talking to us as if we knew eachother. LOVED it, felt like I was with people who were enjoying themselves versus just wanting to get the job done. After we were seated, our server came to check if everything was okay (our drinks were already there when we got there). We asked many questions about the food and he was VERY patient and telling us his honest opinion on what we probably wouldn't like. We order our dishes and they come out approx. 12 minutes later, for a full house i'd say thats pretty fast. For the price were paying, it doesn't look like your getting a big amount of food, but as I was eating I became more then full and the food was amazing. I could taste all the sauces that they used and the spicy-ness was fantastic. Speaking as a native thai, some of the dishes were a bit up in the air and not very thai, but if you know what to choose, completely delightful. In the end the price was worth way more then what we paid, it wasn't just the food, it was the service, how they talked to us as if we were regulars'. On our way out we had 4, read it again, 4 different workers say ""Thank You, have a great night"" now I know I should have been the one to say thank you, they were great. Definately going to go back. This time, i might even call a day ahead for a reservation instead. Pros: personality in service, if you have something special going on i.e. anniversary, they set your table ULTRA formal, very nice touch Cons: Parking (call and ask, they tell you where all the good places to park are) more

I work near this restaurant and had thought it would be fun to order thai and take out to eat on the Square in the sunshine, so called a good 45 minutes in advance to be sure to have it ready by the time my lunch came around (and told them so). I came in exactly as planned, but nothing. They went into the kitchen to check on it, nothing. when they came back to the front reception area, they asked me what I needed again- even though it was exactly the same person I talked to 5 minutes ago.... ""Oh yeah, let me check on it"".... Again gone for 5 minutes. Long story short, it took me my entire lunch break to get the food (over an hour and a half since my initial order by phone!!!) so I didn't even get to eat as I planned. Sure, I could have said ""forget this"" but I wanted to be reasonable and patient- I know better now and will NEVER bother giving them my business in the future. Sorry, your mediocre food is not worth that kind of wait! Pros: nice space Cons: people, service, and food more

I thought the decor was very nice. And the water had a good 'taste' to it. However, I went at lunchtime on a Saturday and got a dinner menu. About $20 for lunch - and that was without dessert or a drink, other than water. \r \r The food was ok, but not memorable, have had much better Thai food at half the price. Even the rice, which cost extra, did not seem to have the right texture. Don't have any interest in returning. more

My friends and I went there hoping that we could find Thai menu for breakfast. Well, the only thai on the menu were thai fried rice and thai wrap. The rest on the menu was like frittata, waffles, and omelets. \r So we were a little bit disappointed. But we gave it a try thinking maybe they are good with these dishes.\r One of my friends got the Thai wrap and my other friend got the Belgian waffles. I got the frittata with mushroom and asparagus. \r Our food finally came after we waited for more than 1/2 an hour while there were practically nobody else sitting in the restaurant. My 2 friends said that their food was ok, and my frittata was tasteless (maybe the chef forgot to season it). \r The bill was just too expensive for not so tasty breakfast. But the upside is, the place looks cools from outside and the decor is trendy. Maybe we should have gone there for dinner to get the full experience. Pros: Nice decor and conveniently located in downtown Cons: Boring food more

I dont understand why some people keep complaining and always come back... This is very nice restaurant. Service is great. Pinneaple curry is to die for.... Pad kee mao my favorite. Servers have plenty knowledge of the menu and are very frienly. I Will always coming back with my friends and I highly recomended for thai food lovers. Pros: presentation Cons: parking more

Do NOT leave without ordering Miang Kum, an incredible appetizer described as a rare Thai peasant dish,... more

Do NOT leave without ordering Miang Kum, an incredible appetizer described as a rare Thai peasant dish, with toasted coconut, shallot, ginger, lime... more

I work for an office that gets lunch here once a week. Though the food is fabulous, there has NEVER been a week without major errors. Missing orders, wrong dishes, requested heat level wrong, you name it. We call and complain every week but they apparently don't care, 'cause it never changes.\r The one time I went there to eat, the portions were about half of those received with take-out, so you're screwed either way.\r One other thing - they screw up the company Christmas Dinner more often than not. Not recommended for large groups even WITH reservations. Pros: Yummy food Cons: Never able to get a take-out order right; dine-in portions small more

Typhoon has been my family's favorite source of Thai cuisine since we moved to Portland almost 10 years ago. It was the first restaurant we visited upon arrival, and it has been the place we brought all our out-of-town visitors to the moment they get of the plane. The pad thai is, of course, a must-have, but if you're in to spice, I reccommend the Curry Roma. Also, no Typhoon meal is complete without Miang Kum, a delicious DIY appetizer: spinach leaves with assorted toppings, including lime, shrimp, dried coconut, and Bo's special sauce.\r \r But the real fun in dining at Typhoon comes with experimentation: make it a goal to try everything on the menu! I promise it's all wonderful. Pros: GREAT authentic and original food, comfortable atmosphere. Cons: Parking, prices a little high for students more

Since I moved here early this past summer I have been searching for the best Thai in town, and I think I've found it. The curries are amazing, the noodles are incredible, and thankfully they seem to have fixed their service problems (my first visit wasn't that great, but things appear to have changed since then). If you're looking for good Thai food in Portland, this is it. Pros: The food was amazing, I love the curry! Cons: The service has thankfully gotten much better since the last time I went. more