In The Mood For Thai

4.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  8      Service  4      Value  2     

Popped in for a late Monday night dinner with two companions, and left with a $65 bill and still hungry. The place looks like nothing special, just your day-to-day thai eatery, nice enough.

We were seated close to the front despite there being empty tables further in and away from the street. We ordered two curries and BBQ beef, plus rice. No drinks or entrees, we just wanted a no-fuss dinner.

Each main was priced at $17.90 and rice was $3 per person, so we were expecting fairly decent meals, however, the portions were very, very small. Two of us are not large eaters, and often end up with doggie-bags, but this restaurant served extremely small portions which left all of us hungry. Compound that with very ambivalent service meaning that we had to wait a long time between rice refills (the rice was served in a smallish dish, which had to be refilled if more was needed, and it definitely needed refilling more than once!).

The flavour of the curries was okay, but nothing special, probably on the poorer side of mediocre. Apart from their miserly size, no real complaints about the dishes.

The steep prices and mediocre taste dissuaded us from buying anything else, and we left unsatisfied. All up we expected a Lot more for $22 per person.

I do not recommend this restaurant, although I have been to other Much better Thairiffic venues. Unfortunately, this one seems to be a bad apple.

Apr 17, 2012 

5.8 Average

Food  6      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  5     

I thought it was Ok and not as bad as some of the other reviews, however, not great.

We were seated very quickly as there happened to be a free table out front. The initial waitress was friendly enough but the waiter that came after was very curt. They were super busy and the phone did not stop ringing for takeaway orders the entire time we were there. Slow to take our order but the meals came quickly after that.

It cost us $40 for rice, a green curry and a chicken salad. They tasted quite good, however, the portions were small and light on ingredients. The salad had chicken, lemon grass and a little lettuce. Could have been better. I wouldn't say not to going back for a quick meal however.

Feb 22, 2012 

2.5 Not Recommended

Food  2      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  1     

Where do I even begin? Wanted to take my sister out to a nice dinner, but our chosen eatery was busy and we were quite hungry. Decided to come here as we often pass it and it looked promising. Do not be fooled. Never in my life will I come here again.

The food was mediocre at best. I've had better thai at wok on in! Chicken pad thai came first and was generous in size which got our hopes up. However, it was bland. To top it off, there were big chunks of burnt egg floating around. Prawn tom yum/entree came next (after main?!) And was ok, not the greatest. For 9 bucks you got 3 little prawns, a couple of sticks of lemongrass and a whole lot of raw mushrooms.

The only thing that saved it was the just above average soup base. 10 minutes later came the pad see ew, it was over salty (this coming from a salt lover) and under sized in comparison to the pad thai especially. I wish they had passed some of the salt over to the pad thai and taken some of its bulk. I counted 4 pieces of beef in my dish. Don't know about the pad thai. There weren't that many greens either and the ones that were included appeared to have been cooked separately and were cold!

Normally I would leave a bad food experience and put it down to bad luck, but after reading the reviews (wish I had done so earlier), and the Horrible service, took 15 minutes to approach us for our order so we had to call someone over, took a further 30 for our first dish to arrive (does it really take that long to cook pad thai?!), had to ask twice to get anything from these rude and sour waitresses and waiter.

Took forever to get the bill (were ignored 3 times when we tried to get their attention), withheld change (which normally wouldn't matter as much but we most certainly did not want to tip them!), and here's the real kicker, we were asked to leave because there was "a customer outside waiting" to be seated! We'll leave when we get the bill back, thanks! My sister was annoyed and so asked for our change back which they managed to do with all coins when it was clear they had notes.

Worst service I have encountered for a very long time, bad food, do not be fooled by ambience, it is ruined by the staff anyway. Bottom line is that it'll be a while til I'm in the mood for thai again and will avoid this placed at all costs. So many other great places to eat around here, why would anyone revisit this place?

Jan 03, 2012 

6 Average

Food  6      Ambience  3      Service  8      Value  7     

I was sceptical of this place before dining here last night due to the poor reviews. However, the service prompt and the food a lot better than the ratings suggest. The let downs were the spring rolls and the s&p squid which was stale. The curries and stir fries were about average. The massaman beef curry was above average.

The only reason I would not dine here again is because it was very noisy and doesn't have the atmosphere I like to dine in. Judging from the crowd, I would be the exception in this regard.

Dec 11, 2011 

5 Average

Food  1      Service  6      Value  8     

I got their menu in the mail and decided to try them out. Ordered delivery. Tired on a Sunday night, was looking forward to some thai delivery. Unfortunately the food was awful! Curry puffs that clearly went from the packet in the freezer to the deep fryer, and tasted awful! Chicken satay skewers with barely any peanut sauce, only a spoon full on top of the 4 sticks. Then the chicken itself was full of fat and gristle. I thought the chicken cashew nut stir fry would save the night, but it didnt. The whole dish tasted fishy. It was horrible. Straight to the bin and now to cook dinner from scratch. Never will I eat there again. I recommend not to bother. With the amount of thai places, there are plenty of other places that will feed you and taste delicious.

Aug 07, 2011 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

I can't remember the last time I ordered take away from a restaurant and felt genuinely ripped off. Having just moved into the area, I visited In The Mood For Thai for the first time tonight. I ordered the lamb with garlic and pepper sauce ($19.90) and my friend ordered a beef stir fry ($13.90) and a large steamed rice. The rice was excellent.

Both meals were tiny, absolutely filled with uncooked onion and not much else. They also managed to cover the plastic takeaway containers with sauce making serving up at home a very messy affair indeed. I will never, never, never go back. This area is full of decent restaurants and places like this don't deserve to survive.

Apr 12, 2011 

6 Average

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  3      Value  5     

Unlike others we enjoyed our food but it may have been a Monday night so not as many diners. Ambience - nice. Agree on the service and value. Menu was surprisingly small and rather pricey. Restaurant may have good food but if service is poor, I won't return. There are so many other Thai restaurants we can support than this one.

Mar 21, 2011 

4.3 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  8      Service  2      Value  4     

We've been eating here for a few years (old review below) and it's really gone down hill. The head waitress couldn't crack a smile if her life depended on it, which would be okay if they were actually organised. We know they can't pace the meal so we always ask specifically for them to bring entree and mains separately (incredible that you have to do this). They brought them all out together inevitably and then took one of the mains back and put it in the oven to stay warm.

All of this would be okay if the food was actually good there these days. But our yellow curry chicken was like dishwater and the crispy squid was soggy. All they have left now is groovy decor and that isn't enough.

The food here is just brilliant, which is just as well because the service is downright appalling. After asking 3 times for a bowl to eat out of, my friend walked up and took a fresh one off the bar. We had to do the same thing for cutlery. And when we'd finished with a plate on our table we asked for it to be removed and the waitress put it back on the bar with the clean plates, highly dubious. That said, I've eaten here 3 times now and I'll still go back because it is just delicious!

Feb 12, 2011 

1 Not Recommended

Service  1      Value  1     

Took 20 minutes to be seated while there were seats available. Another 25 minutes to have the order taken. I figured it would take a long time to get the food so I thought I'd write this review. Hopefully the food is good.

Jan 02, 2011 

3 Below Average

Food  2      Ambience  7      Service  2      Value  1     

It does not come as a surprise that the 5 most recent reviews all reflect exactly what my friends and myself feel about this dive.

We ate here last Sunday night and being the night of the NRL grand final and the following day being the Labor Day public holiday it is understandable that local restaurants would be busier than normal but what we had to endure was a joke. We sat and ordered at 8:30, our meals arrived at 9:15. Forty five minutes wait time is a disgrace.

We were pulled in by the cosy atmosphere of the joint but this is the only redeeming factor of this overpriced restaurant, averaging $17 for a main (over $20 for seafood) means your menu should be tasty and plentiful. I had Tom Kha Gai, I counted four small pieces of chicken, about ten mushrooms and giant cuts of galangal in a very watery, bland soup. No spice, no sweet, a touch of sour. I had to ask for a side of fresh chilli just to give it some flavour.

My partner had the green curry chicken, again, about five pieces of chicken a tonne of green beans and not enough sauce for the rice. Our friend had the Panang curry and it looked like it suffered the same fate as the green. When we asked her how it was, she shrugged. That pretty much sums up our entire experience.

Overpriced, bad service and bad food. Don't be fooled by the catchy atmosphere like we were.

Oct 05, 2010