Smile Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Melbourne

Smile Thai Restaurant, where the name suggests warmth and hospitality, but the execution leaves much to be desired. If mediocrity were an art form, this establishment would be displaying its masterpiece. However, as a discerning patron who values hygiene, efficiency, and basic customer service, I must say my experience was frustrating enough to warrant an extensive critique.

Let’s start with the first and most glaring issue: the front door was wide open. Now, I’m not an epidemiologist, but I am fairly certain that open doors in a restaurant, especially one dealing with food preparation, are an open invitation to dust, insects, and the occasional bird that might mistake this fine dining establishment for an all-you-can-eat buffet. Ever heard of hygiene regulations? Air conditioning? Perhaps a simple screen door to prevent nature from becoming an unsolicited guest in the dining area? No? Then I must question whether I should have entered at all.

Moving on to the ordering process, or should I say, the lesson in patience I did not sign up for. I ordered online, like any rational, forward-thinking individual who wishes to minimize wait times. Upon arrival, I informed the staff, fully expecting a swift confirmation and a smooth transaction. Instead, the staff member, seemingly aware of my presence yet lacking urgency, casually informed me that she would check on my order. I assumed this would take a moment. But no. She vanished into the kitchen, and upon returning, did she promptly update me on my order status? Absolutely not. Instead, she picked up a wine bottle and started serving another customer. Because, apparently, multitasking is a foreign concept.

But wait, there’s more. After finishing her sudden detour into beverage service, she then retrieved a glass from the refrigerator with the same level of priority as a sloth crossing a highway. Only when I proactively reminded her of my existence did she finally acknowledge my order and inform me it would be ready in a few minutes. A revelation that, mind you, could have been shared before her impromptu bartending session.

Then came the extra peanut sauce. I requested it, only to be informed that it would cost an additional dollar. Now, I am no stranger to restaurants upcharging for extras, but given that I had already endured a level of inefficiency that would make government bureaucracy look like a well-oiled machine, this felt like salt in the wound.

The food itself? A mixed bag. The spring rolls were the biggest scam of the century—four pieces for nine dollars. I am not sure which alternate reality this pricing model was inspired by, but in literally any other Thai restaurant, the same price gets you seven pieces, sometimes even more. At this point, I started wondering if inflation had hit this establishment exclusively.

The only saving grace was the Pad Thai. It was flavorful, well-portioned, and the extra peanut sauce (which I paid for, mind you) did elevate the dish. It was the one thing they managed to get right, so congratulations, I suppose.

Overall, Smile Thai Restaurant is an exercise in testing the limits of customer patience. The hygiene concerns, the abysmal service, the blatant overpricing on appetizers, and the slow-motion efficiency of the staff make this a place I would not eagerly recommend. The only reason they are escaping a full-fledged one-star roast is because the Pad Thai was decent and the quantity was fair for the price. Otherwise, they should consider renaming themselves to Frown Thai Restaurant because that’s the only expression they left me with. Three stars, and that is me...

Came here for dinner mainly due to the fact that other eateries in the area were shut due to the new year's public holiday.

When we arrived the place was only a quarter full (or three quarters empty), however we still had to wait a few minutes before being seated as the staff were busy dealing with a food delivery person.

The menu seemed okay with respectable prices - good balance between individual and sharing dishes. We ended up choosing a green curry with chicken and rice to share as we didn't want a heavy dinner.

It did take a while for the staff to attend to our order, and we noticed that other customers that came in after we sat down also experienced excessive wait times to be seated and to be attended to. It also took a couple of requests before we were able to receive our table water.

When we received our order, we would say the curry was average and similar in terms of taste and content to Marion's kitchen Thai Green Curry cooking kit that one might get from Coles or Woolworths.

The rice that we received had a noticeable amount of brown/burnt rice bits, indicating the staff scraped a lot of the rice debris from the bottom and sides of the rice cooker.

When we finished up and went to pay at the counter we were also surprised to receive a public holiday surcharge; we did not notice any signs, statements, or fine print anywhere in the restaurant or on the menu indicating this would be the case.

Overall, the service and the food were less than satisfactory. We are unsure how this place would compare to other Thai places in Melbourne, but coming from Sydney (which has a great variety of Thai eateries, ensuring healthy competition), this eatery would definitely not be a place I would go to eat at again. 1...

Ordered food from these guys on door dash last night, I made a vegan order, specifying extremely clearly to have no meat in my meals, I ordered 2 “tropical fried rice” and a “red curry 9 veggies on rice”. Ow both of these items DON’T have meat in the description, it’s not even in the name of the items, yet when they arrive, I open one fried rice to see pieces of chicken, and my red curry filled with huge pieces of chicken too.

I tired to call the restaurant, they answered and basically said “oh sorry, there’s nothing we can do” and then as I’m speaking to them, hang up on me. I call back a second time, I say “I’m excuse me, I just called about you sending me an incorrect order and you hung up on me,” the person who answered the phone mumbled something and then hung up on me again.

I call DoorDash to rectify the issue, and they contact the restaurant to have new meals sent out, when I opened the “red curry” it was literally 6 small pieces f vegetables a tone of white rice with a lid you not a 20c coin size amount of curry sauce. I can’t tell if they’ve just got no idea or have done this out of spite, but I’m beyond unhappy with this restaurant. I’ve never dealt with such rude people. Will NOT be ordering...