PUMPUI — Restaurant in Vienna

Came with great expectations, left underwhelmed.

Our party had papaya salad as a starter, followed by a variety of mains: Pad Kra Pao (with beef and with tofu), fried rice, bok choi, and Thai omelette.

The main thing that stuck out about the food were the small portion sizes. No adult would have been full from just one main dish, which is a no-go for me and especially difficult to justify considering the prices. We found most main dishes rather uninspiring and average; not bad, but lacking standout flavors or a certain pep. In addition, the Pad Kra Pao (though always a salty dish) was overly salty by our tastes for both portions we received. The service was another negative point of note. Multiple items were forgotten or not served as ordered. That can happen, it's not an easy job to work; in this case, however, it happened so often that it stuck out. This culminated in one of the starters being brought to our table after a 45-minute wait. By that time, we had finished our entire mains and ordered dessert; there wasn't even any cutlery on the table anymore. When we pointed this out to the restaurant staff, they didn't see any issue and were somewhat rude about it.

On the upside, the restaurant's interior was nice and well-designed. The desserts were tasty as well. Another positive thing to mention is that they serve properly spicy food...

I used to come regularly (and even was suggesting this place to dine with friends), but unfortunately, the quality and portion sizes have dropped significantly over the past year. The food, which was once fresh and flavorful, now feels underwhelming both in taste and value (dry rice anyone?)

What really tipped the balance is how the staff handled a simple situation. My friend ordered a curry that was labeled as "light spicy" (light sharf), but it turned out quite spicy - something that can definitely happen with Thai cuisine and is usually not a big deal. However, instead of acknowledging the concern (she was visibly suffering) or offering a simple solution (like replacing the dish or even a complimentary tea), three different staff members came over one by one, trying to convince her that it wasn't spicy and that it was already milder than their other curries.

A little empathy and a simple gesture would’ve gone a long way, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She got offered a glass of water or milk. Not exactly the best...

Imagine Delicious Thai Food under a Banyan Tree I had read about this restaurant roughly a year ago but as I live in other parts of the city, I never got to visit. This time I made a special effort and was not disappointed. Although some other reviewers claim the food is not authentic, even bland, I would not really chime in with them. The Pad Thai were mouthwateringly delicious - I am a connoisseur.. The papaya salad was very good, maybe could have used some chilis or was it just my palate that is used to being set on fire!. The same goes for the Tom Kha Gai. Europeans are sometimes scared of spicy food, so I can understand why the dishes are described by some raters as being bland. Possibly when ordering, one just needs to say that one would like very spicy.....HOT!

I will definitely return to try some of the other dishes Pumpui offers, AND in the hot summer it must be wonderful to sit under a tree, drink Singha (my favorite), Chang or Leo beer and imagine one is in Thailand...Thank you for taking...