Baan Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Ottawa

I went there in the even with a" family of 4 without reservation". It's our first time going to restuarant and had high expectations. We wait at the front for someone to greet us but we waited for 15 mins or so (since it was busy and all servers were occupied) we were then greeted by the owner and she told us we had to wait 30-45 mins for theres table. Already, having to wait that long for someone to tell us we had to wait an extra half an hour was already a red flag, but we choose to wait. As we waited, two people came after us also wait 15 mins as well. We saw a 5 or 7 people leave after they finished and we took peek inside the restaurant (theres a curtain at the front, assuming to block cold air) and we saw a table for 2 and a booth clean and empty. Thinking that we all have a seat, the owner greeted the 2 people who came after us and guided them to their table....... we were shocked and we told them we were here first and that we'res a booth. The owner refused to give us that table as "5 people won't fit in the booth" I corrected her and told her I said 4 (even showed her 4 fingers when she first greeted us). She then said the booths been reserved at 7:30 and we have to wait until 8. We waited 7:30- 8 and we didn't see anyone. We unfortunate left with an empty stomach and disappointment that we weren't able to try their Thai food as most reviews say there food is top notch. I can't say if their food is good as they say but I know that service can be terrible or vary depending what day you go in. I recommend those who plan on going there for the first time is to reserve ahead of time, cause the restaurant can be busy if you go at night or in the weekend and want a stress...

The first time I went to Baan Thai was for dinner, on the recommendation of a friend. I was impressed with the quality, authenticity and presentation of the food. The (male) server was nice enough. The second time I ate at the restaurant, I was with my elderly parents and it was for lunch. I ordered the same thing I had for dinner the first time I went, but it was a completely different dish entirely. When you order a stir fry, it should be a stir fry - what I got was shrimp that had been minimally seasoned and sautéed on its own, giant pieces of broccoli that had been blanched for a minute and plated, and about 3 tbsp of sauce with rice. That might fly for pale folks who don't know any better, but this was an $18 joke. We all also got some soup as part of the lunch but it was too spicy for my parents. I wanted to take it home so I could eat it later, but the server - the same nice enough guy from the last time - was surprisingly dickish about putting it in a takeaway container. Why? Because the soup was "complimentary" and they don't box up free food. I told him that we don't like wasting food and he replied "I'm still not boxing it up for you." So they'd rather throw their food in the garbage than put it in a container that costs them pennies and let their customers eat food that they ultimately paid for. My mother also misplaced something that was important to her in the restaurant and when I called the next day to ask if anyone found it, the not-nice server gave me attitude about it. Like it was SO annoying to have to answer this question. Needless to say we won't...

Updated December 2019: changing my rating from 5 to 4....went there today for a birthday lunch. Arrived at 11:45 am and the place was fully packed by 12. We three ordered the same dish (pad si-ew chicken) and it was probably a mistake. First, two tables placed their orders after us got their dishes before us. After waiting for 40 minutes or so, we got our dishes and it was obvious to us that the portion was a lot smaller compared to what we used to get before. It looked like they cooked 2 orders but split it on 3 plates unevenly (more meat on one, more cauliflower on others). The dish was tasty but we were still a bit hungry afterwards. I hope this was just a one-off.

Update March 2019: they don't take lunch reservations anymore. It's now first come, first serve.

Great food. Small place and it is popular so reservation is strongly recommended. Once my friend went there for lunch right at 11:30 am and it was full already. They didn't want to wait around so they just left.

This time we made a reservation for 11:30 am and by 11:50 am the restaurant was full already.

we ordered combination of the day (lunch special) and chicken pad si-ew (L). Both dishes...