Chad Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Burnaby

We used to be big fans of Chad Thai but that opinion has quickly changed over the last year. Two factors I feel are at play here. First, there’s the impact from COVID. The second is the opening of a new Thai joint just down the street next to the Fire Hall.

Whichever is the reason, whether it be resourcing impacts from COVID or added competition, the service at Chad Thai has gone from great to atrocious almost overnight.

Because of COVID our last few interactions have been takeout. The most recent was downright terrible. Firstly, it was impossible to get through on the phone. My wife had to walk into the restaurant to place an order, which is fine, but the staff can’t seem to figure out who is responsible for taking orders. It’s absolutely chaotic by self-infliction of the staff, and the claustrophobic entryway for which customers are allowed to stand only makes things worse.

Secondly, they requested my wife pay for the order upfront, which is fine. However, when I went back to pick up the order 20min later, the older lady insisted I needed to pay again despite the receipt on their takeout bag clearly stating “paid”. I had to call my wife to verify it had been paid, and this only happened AFTER I did my credit card transaction. From that point on I was told I couldn’t receive a refund and they needed to give it to me in cash. The bill was $58, and the lady only returned $55 to me!!

It’s not the $3 that has me upset with the experience, but the complete lack of professionalism. Not to mention it took a good 10min at the time of pickup before anyone would even address me standing at the front door. This of course was with servers looking at me, but refusing to walk over with even the simplest one-liner of “someone will be with you shortly”. Again, basic restaurant operational etiquette.

Bottom line…if you want great food AND service, go across the street and visit the new spot next to the fire hall. Chad Thai’s dated business approach is likely stemming from being complacent in the neighborhood, and in a world where new restaurants are popping up each month, this type of service is only going to result in an early retirement...

First off, Thai Food is emerging as one of my favourite types of cuisine. I love the many distinct flavours that come with Thai cooking. It's fitting that Chad Thai seemed to have that type of homestyle flavour, as well as my name being Chad (hehehe...). Apparently Chad means "taste" in Thai, by the way.

We came in at the start of dinner service on a Friday afternoon. It was quiet at first, but then the restaurant started to get busy. We ordered the Panang Curry, the seafood Tom Yum soup, Pad Thai tofu, and the coconut rice.

The seafood Tom Yum soup was the first dish we received. Im not really a fan of seafood in general, but I thought this soup was very good. The spicyness was satisfying and you could taste the many flavours of sweet, sour, and salty within it. The portion was a little small but the taste makes up for it.

The Pad Thai was also amazing. It had a smooth texture with a little grittyness contributed by the peanuts. The spice added a bit of a kick. Overall, it was a delight to my tastebuds. I combined it with the Panang Curry, which I personally thought was the best dish we ordered. The portion was very impressive! It had chicken, green peppers, and red peppers, as well as a bit of chili. It was HOT, but was still under my range of tolerance (just right). Mixing the curry with the Pad Thai and the coconut rice sent me to Thai food heaven.

At the end of my meal, I was greeted by the kind lady at the front who gave us free pens for our first time eating at Chad Thai. Thank you Chad Thai for the excellent food and excellent service with a smile. I will DEFINITELY be coming back for more food. And i will bring...

Burnabys best and brightest! Khob khun ka ขอบคุณค่ะ !! This Thai joint is awesome, I'm so stoked we decided to head here for a super tasty date night dinner. The food is absolutely incredible, extremely authentic, plentiful, flavorsome and fresh tasting.. Just perfect! One of the nicest Thai meals I've had in a while and I eat a lot! This place has gone on my list for top Thai places to eat across Greater Vancouver for sure. We started with the Chad Thai Garden which was the ultimate appetizer for a warm summers evening between two people and complimented by warm and insanely yummy peanut and Thai sweet chili sauces! We then followed with a classic Pad See Ew ผัดซีอิ๊ว in which I also got a sunny-side up fried egg (compliments, cooked to perfection - fluffy and gooey in the middle with a hard-core crispy outer) on top. This was also incrediblely tasty and they used the thick fresh rice sheet drunken-style noodles. Yum!!! The menu is precise, vast but caters all the greatness of the amazing Thai cuisine. If you see on the menu, they also cater very well for veggies and can replace almost every meal with a Tofu substitute. The desserts also look SOOO GOOD, which is such a shame I was super full but next time for sure I am going for the homemade coconut ice cream with peanuts! The staff are extremely talented, super kind, friendly and approachable. The restaurant is very clean, tidy, COVID friendly with achilled out, laid back and safe vibe to it. I felt right at home and this was such a great experience, I already adore it and cannot wait to go...