Rom Thai

Rom Thai

7512 Granby St.
Norfolk, VA 23505
Phone: [phone]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rom Thai is a restaurant I have visited many times and that I have enjoyed many times. Wednesday I visited Rom Thai for lunch with a friend and this evening I visited Rom Thai with my wife.

Folks, let me tell you, I was disappointed. [See UPDATE Below] Tonight I ordered one of my favorite Thai dishes, Phad Thai. This noodle dish with vegetables, peanut sauce and peanuts is normally fantastically delicious. Tonight it was only good. It was as if the serving was cooked for the luncheon crowd, yet we were there around 8 PM. The taste was good, but just not the excellent taste it normally is. Hard to explain, I know, but when you've tried a particular dish at a particular restaurant so many times, and enjoyed it so many times, this just wasn't it.

The salad, as usual, was fresh and delicious, with a sesame/mustard dressing.

My wife ordered a green curry chicken, which she did enjoy. That was also one of the spicier dishes, although most Thai food is spicy to a certain extent. If you order "Thai Spicy," you may need to prepare yourself for major pain if you are not used to Thai food, so order medium or mild heat unless you are indeed of Thai extraction.

The coffee my wife ordered came Luke warm, so we sent it back. It returned "nuked" and hot, really hot after a visit to the microwave.

On my luncheon visit on Wednesday, my friend ordered a dinner salad with the same delicious dressing I had tonight, along with an order of spring rolls. Those, too, were very good and came with the traditional duck sauce for dipping.

Not very hungry, and fairly busy on Wednesday, I ordered what was called a Thai Chef's Salad. It was a simple dinner salad, only larger, and with a very nice and tasty peanut sauce with grilled chicken chunks in it. Again, the tomatoes, lettuce and carrots making up the salad were fresh and tasty.

We had the same waiter Wednesday and this evening, and there seemed to be only a slight improvement in his attentiveness. At neither time were we there at what would be considered a busy time, in fact, tonight, we were alone in the dining room just before we left.

Please don't be discouraged. The lackluster service and the merely good food were not characteristic of Rom Thai. I'll give them a few weeks and then try again. After all, we have all had blocks of bad days, so why not a quality restaurant such as Rom Thai?


UPDATE:

We gave Rom Thai another chance in early December, 2001, and happily all was back to the original freshness, quality of food and quality of service. Food was freshly prepared, the service was prompt, friendly and professional. In short, Rom Thai has improved greatly and redeemed itself in my estimation. I again am able to recommend that you visit Rom Thai for a great Thai dining experience.