Thai Kitchen Catering Service & Restaurant — Restaurant in Ottawa

The Thai Kitchen Catering Service & Restaurant (1300 Bank St - located where Mitzi's once stood) is truly a South Ottawa gem.

The space's decor is straightforward if a bit sparse but we were greeted with smiles and the Thai "sawastee krap" greeting immediately after wandering in. Menus and water appeared seconds after we were seated. The menu is large and includes pictures of each dish to help anybody new to Thai cuisine.

To start we ordered the Thai Kitchen combo which included two satay, two Poh Pai Pak, and two Poh Pai Moo plus homemade sweet chili sauce and the ever present peanut sauce. Each element impressed, though the chicken skewers definitely stole the spotlight. Somehow the white meat skewers stayed moist after their trip to the grill.

For dinner, we chose Lab Gai, a warm chicken salad with dried chillies, roasted sticky rice, coriander, mint and lime leaves in a bright fish and lime juice sauce. This is something I'll always nab off the menu if it exists and this version was stellar.

Next we had a Mango salad (you can choose green apple instead of mango if you prefer). It was piled high with mango, red onion, shredded carrot, red peppers, tomato, toasted cashews and a tangy sweet dressing. Excellent stuff.

We only chose one curry, the Panang curry with chicken. Warm and creamy with big pieces of just barely heated peppers, thinly sliced chicken, lime leaves finished with a drizzle of coconut milk. The broth was creamy and coconut rich with a subtle peanut flavour and a barely perceptible sweet undertone.

We look forward to coming back to try some of the other dishes - the Massaman curry...

As avid "foodies" who used to live in Montreal (spoiled, yes), my husband and I were excited to try this new restaurant, especially since the options in Hawkesbury are limited. We've gone 3 times and it's good, but not fantastic. I've definitely had far better Thai food elsewhere, but for the range of dishes and flavors, it's fine. I find the meat, especially beef dishes, somewhat tough in particular. Service can be slow as well. What irritates me most is that their hours are SO limited! People in Hawesbury eat out on the weekends, especially Sunday lunch and they are closed on Sunday and only open on Saturday after 4 pm. Other days, they close between 2 and 4. In short, they are missing a great opportunity to gain clientelle on the weekends. We may visit again, but if something else opened (any good Asian really) we'd likely...

Excellent Thai restaurant in the Ottawa South/Billings Bridge area - what a great find. We dropped in on a quiet Sunday night and were so pleasantly surprised. The food is a significant cut above other Thai restaurants. We thought it was absolutely delicious. The servings are huge, the price extremely reasonable, the service very friendly and polite. The Masaman curry had a huge quantity of the most tender beef chunks in a spicy coconut gravy. Very very highly recommended. The Pad Krapao was also delicious. The serving size is beyond generous. We will definitely go back. The ice cold Thai beer added just the right refreshing touch to the heat...