Sweet Tamarind — Restaurant in Melbourne

I don’t usually like to blast restaurants or small businesses online but I’m sorry this was one of the WORST dining experiences I have had in a while and every dish we ordered was disappointing. The only positive that deserves 1 star is the staff was nice and friendly.

I have been to this restaurant maybe 8 years ago and at the time I remember it being a great Thai restaurant but I’m sorry it’s definitely not the same anymore and the kitchen really needs to re-evaluate the food they are sending out. We ordered the Golden Calamari, Chicken Satay, Pad See Ew with Prawns and “Crying Tiger” Porterhouse Steak.

The Pad See Ew was sooooo sweet, like I understand Thai food is usually on the sweeter side but this was almost sweet to the point it was inedible. Especially towards the bottom of the dish as the noodles were drenched in the sauce. The flavours are the dish were actually quite nice but the sweetness just ruined everything as that’s all you can taste.

The Golden Calamari looked good when it came out but when we tasted it we found the batter and crumb used to be somewhat stale and the calamari was chewy but overall this dish was probably the best of the night. The side salad was a bit sad as it’s just some lettuce leaves with some mayo drizzled on top.

The Chicken Satay came out and it was the smallest sizes of satay I have ever seen. I had seen pictures of this dish online and these look way bigger, seriously felt ripped off when these bite size chicken satay pieces came out. And to make things worse the chicken was dry and peanut sauce was so watery and lacked that curry flavour, overall a very disappointing entree.

The “Crying Tiger” Porterhouse Steak 🥩 was the dish I was most looking forward to as I had seen pictures online and it looked good. When it came out it was covered in these sweet potato chips which I felt was a bit random.. upon closer inspection I noticed the beef underneath was not cut up like a whole steak, it looked like random pieces of beef stir fried together, and it looked very over cooked. When we tasted it, the beef was so dry and chewy and we even had to spit it out because we couldn’t even swallow it. All the dishes we didn’t say anything but I couldn’t help myself so I called the waitress over and I asked her if this is how the beef is meant to be cooked as it was very over done and chewy, she apologised and asked if we wanted a new one so I said yes please. A while later another waitress came over and asked how we wanted the steak to be cooked and I said medium rare. When the steak finally came out I was disappointed to see the steak was definitely not cooked medium rare. It made me wonder why would the waitress even bother to ask me how I wanted to steak to be cooked when the chef was going to over cook it anyways. It was basically the same as the first one, the beef wascut up and stir fried, I couldn’t see any pink pieces or the beef like medium rare is meant to be. We tried a piece and again it was chewy to the point it was inedible. I just don’t understand how it’s not one whole piece of steak that’s been sliced up (which is usually how this dish is served) and looking back at their older pictures on insta and google images I saw it was a whole steak which has been sliced) I don’t understand why it is mow small pieces of beef that’s been stir fried, and that’s why it’s over cooked… I called the waitress over again at this point I just asked for a refund on this dish which she agreed too. I think they knew this dish was not up to standard themselves so they just agreed to the refund so quickly. I really think the restaurant needs to re-evaluate the quality food they are serving, I know times might be hard but they shouldn’t be trying to save money to the point the dishes are ruining the dining experience for...

New management it seems - and it could not be more appalling.   We ordered takeaway and despite ringing the order in with plenty of time, we still had to wait 15+ minutes when we got there for them to cook it.  When we got home we noticed that one dish was missing.   We rang in, and the staff had to call the manager (Rishi Perera was not working in the restaurant itself).  Over several phone calls (from us as they never called me back) we were told the manager Rishi had confirmed that the kitchen had packed the dish and we must be mistaken.  We decided to return back to the restaurant and was told (still over the phone by the manager Rishi as the staff on site appear to have no autonomy)  that it was our fault the dish was missing from our packed takeaway as we didn't check it - although it was bought and paid for on the receipt.   They refused to provide a refund -  for a dish we didn't receive.   They refused to even provide the missing dish for us.   This is the most terrible service ever - and judging by all the recent reviews (also very bad) it seems Rishi has a scam going on, or is just incredibly bad at managing...

Having recently changed hands, I was glad to find that the new owners have maintained the same level of tasty food and great presentation at Sweet Tamarind. You can be forgiven for not knowing where this is located, because it's right on the corner of a busy shopping district on a busy road (Warrigul) and adjacent to a bigger Thai restaurant right next door.

I must say, the level of food remains, and their presentation hasn't altered, but it was a longer wait that we're used to here, and it took a lot of repeating to be sure the staff had the orders down correctly. Everything came out right - eventually - and everyone loved their meals. The food is like you'd find at any other Thai spot, but they are very friendly here, and it looks beautiful and priced very reasonably. Parking is good; there's a side street and a small parking lot out back, and you never see it empty here as it's a great local gem. They do offer take out too, but it'd never be as pretty as it is on their plates.

If you're in the area, or looking for a nice Thai meal that's worth a drive to, then I highly recommend...