THAI BOX RESTAURANT — Restaurant in Richmond

Thai Box Restaurant

Address: 8180 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC V6X 1A6

Food

Tom Yum (Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns) & Tom Kha (Creamy Zesty Coconut Soup with Prawns)

Both soups arrived steaming hot, releasing an enticing aroma that set the stage for the meal. The prawns were cooked good, retaining their natural sweetness and firm texture. The Tom Yum stood out with its well-balanced medley of tangy, spicy, and savory notes, delivering a satisfying depth of flavor. The Tom Kha, on the other hand, offered a rich, creamy profile with subtle citrus undertones. While both were excellent, the Tom Yum’s bold, invigorating kick made it my personal favorite. Regardless of preference, both soups are highly recommended.

Rating: 9/10

Satay Chicken

This dish featured four skewers of Thai-marinated chicken, accompanied by a classic peanut sauce. While the chicken itself was tender, it lacked seasoning, making it somewhat underwhelming on its own. However, the peanut sauce was the saving grace—rich, nutty, and packed with flavor, it complemented the skewers well. A slight adjustment in seasoning could elevate this dish significantly.

Rating: 7/10

Creamy Prawns

This inventive appetizer combined prawns, cream cheese, and mozzarella, encased in a delicate egg wrap and served with spicy mayo and chili sauce. The textures and flavors worked harmoniously—the creamy filling enhanced the prawns’ natural sweetness, while the sauces provided a welcome contrast of heat and tang. A well-executed fusion dish that balanced indulgence with flavor.

Rating: 8/10

Talay Duard

A vibrant seafood stir-fry featuring squid, prawns, mussels, and fish, all enveloped in a fragrant coconut curry sauce with onions, carrots, bell peppers, basil, and chili. The seafood was fresh and cooked to the right texture, while the sauce added a comforting warmth with a subtle spice. Each ingredient contributed to a well-rounded dish, making it a satisfying choice for seafood lovers.

Rating: 8/10

Coconut Rice

Perfectly cooked with a delicate coconut aroma, this rice was an excellent accompaniment to the main dishes. Light yet flavorful, it provided the ideal balance to the bold flavors of the entrées.

Rating: 9/10

Ambiance

The restaurant offers a clean and inviting setting, with tasteful Thai-inspired décor that adds authenticity without feeling overwhelming. The space is well-maintained, creating a comfortable dining environment.

Rating: 8/10

Price

Considering the quality of ingredients and portion sizes, the pricing is reasonable. The value aligns well with the overall dining experience.

Service

Service was warm and attentive, with staff demonstrating a solid understanding of the menu. While the kitchen’s pacing was slightly inconsistent, the server’s professionalism and hospitality made up for any minor delays.

Rating: 9/10

Verdict

Thai Box Restaurant delivers an enjoyable dining experience, offering well-executed Thai dishes with bold flavors and quality ingredients. While there is some room for improvement in seasoning and pacing, the standout dishes and excellent service make this a worthwhile destination for those seeking authentic Thai cuisine. A visit here is well worth...

Update: Gave this place another chance, but this time for take-out and oh boy… was it an even more terrible experience.

Initial estimation was 25-35 minutes for it to be ready on a week night. Fair. However, it seems they had actually forgotten my order since an hour later they still haven’t even started making my food! Eventually I got my 2 noodle dishes, but 1 hour 40 minutes for an original estimation of 25-35 is ridiculous. I have this place 2 chances and they spectacularly failed both times. Never bothering with this place again!

——— Went with my partner about 30 minutes after opening for dinner service. Due to other reviews we had high expectations, but unfortunately the experience was quite a disappointment.

The food: We ordered a variety of things since there isn’t much Thai options in Richmond and we wanted to get a good sense of the place.

Thai Iced Tea - very delicious, no complaints here

Spring Rolls - came out and was leaking out oil like crazy. I understand it’s a deep fried product, but when parter picked one up and took a bite, her entire hand was covered in oil instantly with how much came out. You get 4 for $12 ($11.98). Would not recommend.

Pad Thai - very plain tasting to be honest. To me it was no better than something from a food court with ketchup-y taste for flavouring. Would not recommend.

Pad Kapao (Thai Basil) - Did not look like the photo on the menu at all. I bring that up because we specifically asked the staff on which menu item was depicted since it looked tasty and was surprised when it arrived looking completely different. Taste for this one was fairly decent. Doesn’t come with rice so we ordered a side of rice to go with it.

The Service: Only pro here is that food came out fast. But maybe that had to do with us being the first and only customers in there for the first while. Other than the food being brought to us, there was no service. Never came around to refill waters our entires hour+ time there. Had to go up myself to the counter to ask for a to-go box for what my partner couldn’t finish and ask for the bill. Seemed like that was their standard service quality there since I saw another couple having to go up for the bill too and never saw anyone make the rounds to check on table aside from when they first sat and when order was being taken. It’s a small place and very empty at that time so can’t really give them a pass on that.

Overall, very disappointing and would not recommend or really be convinced...

Very bad first and last impression... Came in with 2 kids (total 6 people group) and were told 18% mandatory tip will be included in the bill...and we were ok with that BUT:

First umpression: very old and not upkept restaurant, -the table beside us looked like it hasn't been cleaned up since the day before(we came right at the opening time,so no customers before us) and it sat like that with flies around for half of our stay untill somebody cleaned it -no crayons or anything for the kids to jeep busy... Waiting times were crazy...out of 5 or 6 dishes the firat one that came out were spring rolls and it took about 20-25 min for that....again we were first customers (3 more ppl came at the same time with us and sat at a different table). The other dishes came even later. Dishes: -the pineapple fried rice came on a plate( didn't come in half of pineapple as their picture shows), it was more "steamed" than "fried" and barely had any pineapple and the pieces that we had looked like canned pineapple not fresh. Disappointing. the other dishes(except seafood red thai curry dish) were small and not much "thai" flavour at all. Again disappointing. service:gave us only 6(for 6 ppl) napkins, so we had to go ask for more ourselves,because didn't see them at our table much for service,they took some of our plates, but didn't clean up the rest of the empty ones EVEN after they brought our dessert! So we had to rearrange our plates and table to have the dessert . -dessert took another 20-25 minutes (fried banana with ice cream),only a tiny bit of banana was on there,so not sure what took so long and all the spoons were DIFFERENT shape and size like they had to scramble for them lol

SO after all that they had no problem including 18% tip....like they are "top notch" restaurant... I agree with the other review that food does NOT taste authentic... Definitely won't be back for all the...