thai kitchen

My husband and I found ourselves on Queen Anne Hill the other day, hungry and with an hour to kill.... So we stopped in at the Thai Kitchen on the North end of QA drive. Holy Moly! We were instantly greeted with the warmth that is 100% true to Thai culture.... (My aunt is Thai, still lives in Thailand, and i know the warmth of the Thai people first hand. It is rare and wonderful!) Then the food, item after item was true to the home cooked meals that I love and crave. The Thom Kha Ghai soup was the best I've had in Seattle, and the house special - Mixed Seafood with basil - was spectacular. We just kept eating and eating, long after we were full. It was one of those serendipitous finds that really made the whole day better..... I won't do one of those long-winded pretentious restaurant reviews of all the meticulous details - those are utterly irrelevant in the face of delicious food and incredibly generosity. There is no greater gift than food prepared and served with love - and this is the place to find it! more

I ventured into Thai Kitchen the other day, intent on trying a new thai restaraunt. I dined alone, and received prompt service as I walked into the door. I was happy with the food, although the rice was a bit dry (steamed for too long), and the wait to receive it was very long (+15-20 minutes). The restaraunt was sparsely occupied at the time (I passed my time waiting for my meal by being entertained by a family of 4 and their young children seated next to me!) I was near the entrance, and noticed that even people whom called ahead to place a to-go order were forced to wait for their food. The lighting was exceptionally bright, making the ambiance feel a bit like a nightclub at closing time (lights on, time to go!) I'll stick with Orrapin around the corner until they can button down on the service quality. more

note to self: next time i walk into a restaurant and have to wait several minutes for someone to come out to welcome and seat me because they are all in the back having some sort of loud 'discussion', then i should just leave. maybe i'm spoiled by the amazingly quick service i get at orrapin, but even if i'd never been to orrapin i'd still recognize how slow the service was at thai kitchen. and that's too bad because the food is very tasty and they have a large menu, chock full of something for everyone. the food is nicely prepared, not too heavy on sauces or garlic, and the meats and veggies are cooked well. i've never had anything but good things to say about their food. but when there is literally only one other person in the entire restaurant, you don't expect to have a 20-minute wait for your food, and almost as long of a wait for your check. i hope they pick up the pace. more