Sawatdee Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Batemans Bay

Update review Thurs 30th Jan 2020 down graded from 5 star to 2 star. Here's why: I pride my reviews on honesty and fairness of information for visitors as a local guide. For me to write a review or change an existing review, I visit the restaurant several times to gauge my experience. I NEVER write knee jerk reviews and will only alter a review when I have consistently found that the consistently great experience I had previously had has consistently become a bad one.

We visited this restaurant 4 times on different days over the last 2 weeks once tourists were welcomed back to the bay after the NYE fires.

All 4 times, I ordered the exact same meal, the exact same way. The first time I went there, (Thursday) the meal was exactly as I had ordered it and the quality of service maintained. I was impressed this was in line with my original review. With that positive experience in mind, we returned another day and were seriously disappointed.

We returned a second time, another day (Wednesday) and had a terrible experience with the time it took for our meal to arrive and it wasn't as we had ordered it.

To be fair, we returned a third time (Saturday) at different times of the meal run, and recieved a consistently bad experience where kitchen staff did not read what the customer had ordered, yet the waitress had specified exactly what we wanted.

I advised management/staff that I was disappointed with the meal and that I had previously given them such a glowing 5 star review of how great it was to dine here. I told them that twice in a row they had let me down and hoped next time would be better. I vowed never to return on Saturdays. To be fair, I returned hoping that things would be better.

The fourth time I returned, (Thursday) I didn't recieve what I had specifically ordered AGAIN. Since our other previous bad experiences happened on other days of the week, we decided to return on a Thursday hoping things were going to be good. They weren't... To make matters worse, they had the nerve to charge me more for our meal than previously and all we had was a $10 lunch special and a single serve bowl of coconut rice which never cost us more than $15. They charged me $19! AND they didn't give me what I specifically ordered. I was shocked but not surprised by the lazy attitude of whom I believe was management. I felt that they didn't listen but mocked the customer and a 'we cook, you eat, pay up!' attitude when I had to pick out everything I didn't order!

The old saying of 3 strikes and you're out apply. For each bad experience I recieved and for each meal not delivered to the customers specifications is the reason they have lost 3 stars from me. I feel that's fair and I've been more than fair for returning to hope that they will do better. I wish I never wasted my time and money.

IF YOU HAVE FOOD ALLERGIES OR DISABILITIES PLEASE READ If you have allergies or dietary restrictions, certain medical conditions or disabilities relating to food textures, seeds, etc... And when you specifically say NO TOMATO and they plate your meal with TOMATO... and then give you attitude when you complain they stuffed up, they make you feel like you are in the wrong and they try to justify that their mistake is acceptable. It is not. Not by any means!

So apart from consistently terrible communication and treatment of customers from both management and kitchen staff, the rest of my original review remains the only good thing about the place I have to say as follows: ×** Restaurant is well presented and clean. The atmosphere is very relaxed and there is table service. Restaurant is air-conditioned for the hot summer months. Lunch time specials are delicious with reasonable portion size, too. ****×

I do hope in the future we will return and see whether they can actually plate up exactly what the customer orders. Until then, we NO LONGER FAVOUR this Thai restaurant as among the best in town or as one of our favourite...

Having read all the nice reviews on many websites, I was expecting something special. What I got was a BIG disappointment. I ordered satay chicken, Larb (pork) and green curry chicken, and some rice. Satay - it didn't look "grilled". Not even that, it didn't look as if there was any hot cooking was done to it at all. No evidence of it fried, or even deep fried. The meat was barely warm. I suspect it was put in the microwave oven and not even for long. This is the FIRST time in my life I did not finish a satay. Larb - when it came out, it looked great! It presented a lot better than the larb from many other restaurants I have been to. I thought this could make up for the satay. Disappointingly, it has no real taste to it. No tang and not spicy. Not until after I ate half of the plate that I can feel a little heat from chilli. Tasted like sweetened fish sauce. That's all it was. Green curry - taste of sweet coconut milk with a trace of green curry in the after taste. And the worse part.... in the curry were 9 - yes, NINE types of vegetables in it.(Wombok in green curry???)

Either, I am in a different place to where everyone else has been to for this review, or it was the chef's night off and they got someone else to prepare the food.

I shall not return nor recommend this to anyone as a...

STILL HAVEN'T BEEN BACK AND WONT BE

SERVICE IS SLOW, FOOD HAS DECLINED FROM THE GOOD FOOD PREVIOUSLY SUPPLIED AND WE HAVE HAD INCORRECT DISHES SERVED UP.

The Manager really needs to take notice of the number of negative reviews stating bad service.

We are LOCAL RESIDENTS and express our dissatisfaction with your service tonight.

Two young girls stood behind the counter, there were 4 customers and almost no service. In 45 minutes we waited for further service, both girls looked up and neither provided service.

You obviously don't want our business, so We left and went elsewhere to finish eating.

With our last 3 visits service is slow, food has declined from the good food previously supplied and we have had incorrect dishes served up.

WE HAVEN'T BEEN BACK AND WONT BE,

YOU HAVE LOST OUR PATRONAGE.

UPDATE THIS BUSINESS USED TO BE BUSY, BUT NOT ANY MORE, WHICH REFLECTS CUSTOMER DISSATISFACTION. PATRONISE OTHER BUSINESSES THAT WILL VALUE YOUR BUSINESS.

A GOOD...