ElefanThai — Restaurant in Cancún

superb ambience, great location, delicious food, but at least give some more food, i felt like portion is for tasting sample..

we were on a date and my wife chose this after so much research. it was in La-Isla mall. The mall was big and superb. Thai Restaurant was back to the mall, lagoon side. I was lost and asked for direction. Elephanta and Thai, both are adjacent to each other and both have similar ambience. coming to Thai, they have bar counter view of aquarium and one can see big dolphins right behind the bartender.

They offer you hut over lagoon ( mind it, your hut is over the water, not side by). My wife was booked the table well in advance as it gets crowded due to their popularity. we got superb hut and what an amazing view from the hut. if you have time, go there when its sunset time.

our hut has the table for two and also the sofa for being cozy ;) not every hut has the sofa, I guess it has a table for 2 so they accommodate this.

There was no light except some dim light and that makes it more beautiful, though sometimes it can be inconvenient as well for some patrons. we ordered our drinks, before that, order menu. they provide tablet and I did not find it useful. to be frank, we are so used to book menu as we can browse anywhere, but in tablet, you have to go all the way to back if you missed anything.

we ordered Mojito Lichi, Mojito Kiwi. the waiter was courteous and fast. we enjoyed our drink on the sofa enjoying lagoon view in the night. it even rained for some time and becomes more beautiful. ( i was little scared as in reviews/pics I had seen alligators roaming in the water and our hut was right over the water)

in menu, they suggested order soup as its their specialty. i ordered Tom Yam Goong ( Shrimp Soup) and Stay Gai ( Chicken Satay) and enjoying the time with my wife. it was just 5 minutes and server was there with our items. god, portion was so small, even kid menu has more portion. photo looks like it would be normal, but no, in real scenario, it was very less. my Tom Yam Goong ( Shrimp Soup) had only 3 shrimp and very less amount. same for chicken satay, it was so small stick. but food were delicious. my satay and soup were superb. The peanut sauce with satay went well with it!

agree, the restaurant is very popular, and in high demand, but dude, serve food. they even justify in their menu, that we serve less portion so that you can enjoy more than one dish. dude, you are charging for every item, where's the logic.

I ordered 2 more drinks so that I can enjoy my evening. coming to bill part, 20 % gratuity was added to the bill. I asked the waiter, whether its restaurant policy or what? he said, no it's up to me, then I asked for another bill without tip and I added 10 % tip on that. Also they don't serve water in the restaurant. i have read in blogs that one should be very careful with drinking water, but why restaurants don't serve drinking water, not sure. pesos wise, it is expensive. dollar wise, it moderate. ( Also they done serve you water there, it’s the thing everywhere in Cancun) no doubt, hotel offers you lots of things, but serve some more food. that’s why we are here :P Still i liked this and would recommend this. such a romantic spot.

If you drive down that road, you ll find a similar restaurant with...

An occasion-fancy restaurant that might be the priciest Thai restaurant you've been to.

Each table is an outdoor individual "cabana" with broad, comfortable seats and dark wood, interspersed with bamboo and greenery. There are windows into the adjacent aquarium near the entrance and you may occasionally see a dolphin. There's a row of these little hut-tables over the lagoon, but all 5 or so were taken when we were there. Staff provides mosquito spray in case you are bothered-- the GF and I both got a few bites but didn't notice them at the time.

The food is outstanding, and the hot dishes (which can be toned down) are hot like native thai dishes are. I had the deep-fried dish with ginger and coconut, and it had an amazing texture like fried fish almost never does and a persistent, delicious heat that builds up rapidly and had me sweating. The GF had an even spicier chicken+beef dish. (and we both have high spice tolerance, and I've eaten at numerous places in Thailand) A beef salad appetizer was perfectly balanced with heat and tart.

Service was consistent, brisk, friendly, and pleasant. They bring the credit-card machine to the table to enter the tip. Absolutely no complaints.

Nice dining in the "Zona Hotelera" is not cheap, but this one was on the pricey side even so: our pre-tip tab was $135USD (2 people: 4 cocktails, no wine, a shared app, a shared dessert), making this much more expensive than Thai food in the Washington, DC area. But the ambiance and setting make it occasion-worthy. Highly recommended.

Open for dinner only, and at the end of April 2013, you had to navigate through the part of the mall under reconstruction...

We had made a reservation and arrived a bit late, but the staff received us without any issue. We went for dinner, and the atmosphere was quite dark. I understand the aesthetic they were aiming for, but the lighting design was very poor — rather than evoking intimacy, it gave the place a somewhat gloomy, almost eerie feel.

We were seated at a table by the lagoon, where the lighting was minimal: a single fixed light in the center of the table and only a few dim lights above. Compared to the neighboring restaurants, this one felt oddly somber — “haunting” might be the closest word to describe it. There were many mosquitoes, though the waiter kindly offered us mosquito spray, which was appreciated.

We looked through the menu, asked for a few recommendations, and decided on Tikka Masala, Garlic Naan Bread, a Chef’s Special, Tom Yum Goong, and a Pad Thai (listed under a different name). The cocktails were excellent — we ordered six or seven, all different and recommended by the staff, and I can’t recall a single one I didn’t enjoy.

The chef’s special was delicious — well-deserving of its title. The Tom Yum Goong had a pure, authentic flavor, not watered down or muddled, though the portion was quite small. The Garlic Naan could have used a stronger garlic presence, while the Pad Thai wasn’t particularly unique but still very enjoyable. The Tikka Masala was average.

One detail I appreciated was that the tip wasn’t added automatically — a small but important sign of respect toward the customer.

While I would consider returning for the quality of the food, the overall ambiance and pricing make...