Isaan Der - Thai Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Richmond Hill

Isaan Der replaced the old sushi spot that used to live beside Chi Star House.

This is definitely the best thai food in Richmond Hill. It's as good as you're gonna get uptown without Pai Northern Thai, Khao San Road or Si Lom Thai Bistro (all downtown powerhouses). I'm really glad this place is in my hood and close to me.

Now this review is more of a 4.5 (rounded to 5 cuz I can't award half stars) because their front of the house service is STILL kinda jumbled even after a year running and could be better imo. My friend had made a reservation for 12 ppl at 8pm. Most of us arrived at around 7:40pm but when we peaked inside there were literally no tables available. Place was still packed. So we brought it up to the host at the front who kinda brushed us off and said we would be seated when our whole party arrived. Our remaining guests arrived around 7:55pm and when we notified the same gentleman we were told that we would be seated "shortly". Long story short, we ended up waiting to around 8:30-ish before being seated which made ppl in our group grumpy.

Once finally seated, that's where the experience from that point was great. The booth we got was very spacious and easily sat 10.

Soft shell crab mango salad: My friend ordered this. The portion looked pretty big. He said the crab was crispy but light and the mangoes were delicious. Soft and ripe.

Thai chicken wings (x10): You get 5 flats and 5 drums. The chicken was seasoned/marinated all the way to the core. I could taste the smokiness down to the bone. The green, lime chilli sauce was also refreshing, unique and drinkable.

Pan-seared scallops: I think these were at market price. My friend said the price was borderline acceptable. The sear on the scallops was perfect. They serve them with the skirt and the roe as well.

Pineapple beef fried rice: Quite tasty. The beef I felt, could've been more tender for sure. It was kinda chewy. The rice was hearty and the portion was massive.

Fish panang curry: I don't usually eat the long yard beans but I understand that they impart an important taste into the curry along with the kaffir lime leaf. The fish was mega tender.

Beef pad si ew: Portion was decent. Gotta be honest, I've definitely had better pad si ew at the downtown places I mentioned above. The noodles could've had a touch more sauce.

Khao soi duck confit: The soup is so addicting and even though it's rich and heavy, you can't help but crush the soup at the end. That's how good it was. Very tasty soup noodles. The duck could've been more tender according to my friend. Perhaps it was slightly overcooked? But the flavour was awesome.

Lamb shank massaman curry: The peanut and fried shallot flavour was so pronounced and fragrant that I felt like I needed some roti or extra rice to mop up all of the remaining sauce. The lamb was SUPER tender and only slightly gamey after being stewed for so long.

Chicken pad thai: While the pad thai was very good, I think I would give Chiang Rai's pad thai a slight edge. It just had a little bit extra oomph in the flavour.

Thai volcano ribs (large): Basically thai pork bone soup but the broth was more subtle than straight up blast-you-in-your-face gochujang spiciness. The meat was tender and there was a ton of broth to go around the table.

Massaman short rib curry: The short rib was incredibly tender of course. I believe this is the most expensive item on the menu. In my opinion, it's a MUST ORDER DISH.

The thai iced tea was standard. SOI Snacks still has the best thai drinks cuz it's the only place you can customize your sweetness level. We liked the lime tea at Isaan Der more than SOI Snacks. I also wish the drink mugs were larger (for $6.50 a glass it's steep).

Our server Leo, had told us at the start of dinner that he would help us split our bills. Once we were done eating, we looked around for him and he had already left his shift for the night so the next waitress was confused about our table and the orders. Luckily, she was still able to figure everything out and divide the bills...

Isaan Der - Thai Kitchen Bar - Richmond Hill Location.

Went to check out their location in Richmond Hill Saturday. I had been to their location in Toronto but that was many many years ago, I remember enjoying it but that’s about it.

I really liked the set up of this place. It was small but roomy enough, they had a spacious bar and enough tables and seating. The lighting was cool and had that neon dark yet colourful feel.

The staff was my favourite part of the night. They were in the ball, orders came quickly, they were constantly cleaning and extra accommodating. Our waitress was amazing. She had the most contagious smile and it was so refreshing to see. She was perfect and a beautiful soul.

I started off with their Bangkok Mule, which hit the spot. My hat goes off to the bartender she did an excellent job. It was the first time I had a mule where the ginger beer bottle was inside the copper cup upside down. Very impressed.

Ordered appetizers to start, the Golden Bags and Fried Thai Spring Rolls. The Golden Bags were nicely fried and crispy on the outside. Tender in the inside and compact. The two inside was delicious. The sauce that came with it was sweet and matched well with the Golden Bags. Loved this dish. The Thai Fried Spring Rolls looked amazing. The pastry wrap crisp on the outside and softer on the inside, it was thicker than I am used to seeing and in a good way. With that being said that was the only good thing about them. In my opinion they were awful, it had an off putting taste that I can’t describe. It wasn’t only my opinion, everyone at our table thought so. I couldn’t eat them but we didn’t say anything because the waitress and staff were so kind that it wouldn’t have been fair so we took them to go (later threw them out and I feel so bad doing so because I hate wasting food).also the peanut sauce they had to dip these rolls wasn’t so bad.

We then ordered the Volcano Pork Ribs in Pork Bone Broth (regular size). In general I love pork bone soup, pork bones boiled and pork bone broth. This dish came out and it was huge for a regular size, the larger size could have been the whole meal for all of us. The pork bones were massive and stole my heart. It was a mess to eat thankfully they had gloves for us. The pork broth was simple but perfect.

The next dish ordered was the Massaman Beef Short Rib. The dish was huge, honestly I am shocked at the quantity they give because usually restaurants aren’t so generous but over here they are more than generous. The coconut curry for this dish was of the best tasting I have had period. The beef was tender and meat fell apart. The only disappointment was I could have it spicier in Terms of heat but that’s not their fault that’s my wife’s fault as we were splitting this dish and she can’t handle heat. The sticky rice came in a a container I side a bag and it was cool to have it served this way. The sticky rice was a banger. Honestly I know it’s just plain white sticky rice but it was perfect.

The last dish we had was the Pad Kee Mao with Soft Shell Crab on top. The actual taste of the sauce in this dish was fantastic. The soft shell crab wasn’t crispy and it was soggy. Yes it was tasty but the texture turned me off. The dish had way too many vegetables and too many kinds of vegetables. It was a problem for me but not for someone who enjoys those vegetables. The vegetables themselves selves were tasteless except for the honey snap peas which were nicely cooked and crunchy. The noodles then sleeves were a bit over cooked but I still enjoyed it.

I would definitely recommend this place and I would come back if I was ever in the neighbourhood. Would try other items on the menu like the Pla Pao which looked phenomenal (I saw others ordering it). I am also curious in trying their...

Disappointing for such a highly boasted about restaurant.

A bit like a marketing facade in there. Go if your only goal at a restaurant is to take nice pictures of impressive looking food.

The food felt mediocre and while some bites did contain the essence of authentic Thai cuisine, others left us dissatisfied and hungry at a restaurant where the average dish is $20+. Service was quite good, all young and lively waitstaff who quite nice to us, but the details in this restaurant clearly shows signs of an inexperienced manager, or maybe one who’s at the end of their rope with such a fresh opening.

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We got:

Khao Soi: Lacking flavour and depth, smothered in coconut milk and way too sweet with absolutely no balance. My Thai grandmother would spit it out.

Lobster Tom Yum Hot Pot: They RAN OUT of the hot pot tower/Thai fire pot! Ended up serving the soup to us lukewarm in a standard large bowl, lacklustre since the pot is what drives the dish. The Tom Yum soup tasted honestly disgustingly sweet, not spicy not warming, not sour, would not recommend this dish that features a tiny lobster that seemed no more than 1-1.25lbs.

Pineapple Fried Rice: surprisingly good and not too sweet! Would recommend this for its presentation.

Thai Volcano Ribs: 10/10! Not super flavourful on the seasoning but you get a warming and large amount of pork ribs.

Pink Lotus Blossom (cocktail): Very strong and very sweet!

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There were also more than 5 flies and fruit flies that kept circulating the area the entire night(video). Our server (who despite all this, was very kind, patient and understanding) provided a tea light for the bugs. Although it is not necessarily within the restaurants control how many insects might fly into the restaurant, there were a bit too many for what should be a clean and brand new place, ruined our appetite.

Would have also appreciated a coaster for my drink.

The servers were great, but their professionalism turned off immediately after stepping a foot away from the tables.

BE WARNED, every other table is there to celebrate a birthday.

Also, the dishes came very sparsely and by the time the next dish came, we had already finished the previous one, which would be fine if this was a western style course meal but it is not.

Overall, would not recommend rushing to try this restaurant, maybe it will improve after a year of seasoning but right not it is not worth the...