Molam Thai — Restaurant in Krakow

Service : The staff was kind but the bare minimum and not an inch more. Everything is done by the book and no room for any flexibility in the preparation of the food but again the bare minimum. The worst part is the spin they put on their workflow (such as "everything is to share" and "plates are delivered as they leave the kitchen" because that's the way it works in Thailand) when in fact nothing could be further from the truth as for how things actually work in Thailand and just masks the "we don't want to write down who ordered what, and we want to maximize cooking throughput so that you can eat, pay, and be gone as soon as possible"). Speaking of which, when you book a table you actually have to pay 53 PLN, indicate how long you intend to stay (max is 90 minutes and are essentially kicked out after that), but they only discount 50 PLN from the ordered dishes. Not so much about three new 3 PLN, but shows quite a petty attitude for all the pompousness. We haven't seen that kind of attitude even in 2 star Michelin restaurants.

The place seems to ride too much on its Bib Gourmand Michelin mention (not to be confused with a Michelin star), which basically awards quality food at affordable prices. I'm not sure what Michelin considers affordable, but expect to pay quite a hefty bill here - price for a meal is about 50% more expensive than the average good restaurant.

Food : Food was tasty, with almost all the dishes being spicy and no option to ask for them to be prepared in a different way (again, they claim everything is cooked there and then, so being able to offer any flexibility is just part of the "eat what we cook and don't bother us"). But the worst part is that's incredibly heavy. We both felt quite unwell for some time after leaving. Maybe it's the oil, maybe the ingredients - not sure. We go to South Eastern Asia every year, never experienced anything similar with local food.

Portions: Extremely minimalistic. The chicken for example 7 miniature (finger-size and width) pieces of fatty breast. Each dish is served onto what essentially would be a coffee-size or dessert size plate.

Update: The self-righteousness, presumptuousness and spin of the reply is flabbergasting, and speaks for itself. Of note are comments like "We stay true to the ingredients and balance of Thai dishes: no swaps, add-ons, or omissions" (AKA "eat what we cook, the way we cook it, and shut up"), or blaming the size of the meat portions to the poultry not being GMO (I'm not sure they even know what that means - there are NO GMO meat products in the EU at all, as anyone can quickly confirm by checking the EU GMO register, so there's no such thing as "GMO poultry"), or the cherry-picking of which part of Thai culture they apply and which not. No problem, next time I will pay in rice or fish, also as per traditional Thai culture. And maybe they should visit Thailand more frequently, and experience also Thai service (not only Thai food). If I can ask a roadside restaurant deep in Isan to cook something without X and Y, yes, they will do and have done that, many times, and always with a smile. No one there tried to pontificate and chastise me about my culinary blasphemy.

Review and service decreased from 2 to 1 stars becausse of the answer. Also sent a note to Michelin. So maybe also pick up this from Thai culture - it's never a good idea start lecturing about how right you are, making assumptions about customers (including insulting our intelligence), and how the paying customers is wrong in wanting X or Y that are easily doable. Be grateful to have...

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: My Experience at Molan

I recently visited Molan in Krakow with high expectations, but sadly, it didn’t quite live up to them.

The Good: The food was decent. It wasn’t the best Thai I’ve had, but it was tasty enough to enjoy.

The Bad: The furniture desperately needs an update. The tables and chairs felt old and worn down, resembling a dated fast-food joint from the '90s—hardly what you'd expect from a restaurant charging premium prices. Honestly, if you’re planning a first date, this isn’t the place to impress.

The Ugly: This part is what really sealed my decision not to return. The restaurant opens at 16:00, and we arrived promptly at 16:01. The place was virtually empty—just two other couples were there. Despite this, we were seated at a cramped, tiny table. We noticed they had a few booths, so we asked if we could sit at one. The response? No, because the booths are "reserved for groups of four," even though the place was empty.

Next, we asked if we could sit at a larger table where we could sit next to each other. Again, we were told that those tables were for larger parties. So we were stuck at our tiny table, separated from each other, in an empty restaurant. I figured maybe it would fill up quickly, but it didn’t.

I then asked if we could turn our small rectangular table sideways to allow us to sit together. The answer was no again, because another table next to us "might" need to be used. An hour later, as we were paying the bill, only two more people had arrived, and yes, they were seated right next to us in the still mostly empty restaurant. I couldn’t help but feel like this was done on purpose after all my requests.

To summarize: The food is overpriced and just okay at best. After my experience, I’m left wondering if some of the glowing reviews are paid for or written by the staff and owners themselves. No one in their right mind would call this the best Thai food they’ve ever had, especially considering the high prices.

The staff was unhelpful and, quite frankly, unpleasant. Whether this is intentional or poor training, I’ll never know, but it was enough to guarantee I won’t be back.

Save your money, save your time, and dine somewhere where both you and your wallet will be...

I really wanted to like it, but here's a DETAILED list of why I did and why I did not. Atmosphere: Pro - looks hip, actual Thai posters and decorations. Con - overwhelmingly loud. If you want to have a chill evening, this is not the place.

Food: Pro - simple menu, clear explanation on menu and by staff on how to order (we were 3 people, so we got 6 dishes + rice and roti, this is standard) Cons - Such small portions. One of the chicken dishes had 5 pieces. A pork meal had 4 pieces. The flavour is TOO intense. I've not been to thailand, but ive been to Vietnam and no one has ever murdered my mouth this bad. Don't get me wrong, its quite nice for yhe first bite or two. But it's TOO SWEET(almost everthing, but specifically shiitake mushrooms) TOO ACIDY(everything, but specifically som tam), TOO salty (the noodles. in the same dish there was chicken and veggies, those were fine. its like the noodles soaked up EVERYTHING) I understand that the concept is that everything comes our asap, so it's as fresh as it is. But when you get most dishes and then one takes like 20-30minutes more than the rest... yeah (that is why i was only able to take a picture of 3 dishes at once) Beers from a can. I saw people liked their cocktails, but I didn't want a cocktail and I was so sad getting a beer from a can.

Staff: Pro - very friendly and helpful waiter. Con - We were asked by a bartender if we wanted to get drinks while we wait and when we said we will order them at the table, he did not have a pleasant look on his face. On top of that, after we finished our meal and wanted to pay we were straight up asked "if you pay by card, how much service gratuity should I add?". No time to think especially after taking everything else in.

Bonus negative point: the owners off this place responding in a condescending mean tone. Instead of being apologetic and trying to listen and improve they keep telling people they dont understand or are wrong. TLDR; if you like your palette murdered with flavour, your ears with noise and wallet for price to satisfaction levels - this is the perfect...