Meena Rice Based Cuisine — Restaurant in Chiang Mai Province

The first time I went there was during weekday. They only had a couple tables to take care off but me and my lady friends felt like the staff were not attentive enough. We had to walk to call them for the bill twice while they’re busy giggling in the kitchen.

Today is a second time I was there with my partner but the food and service this time were even worst. We had to wait 30 mins before we get the table as we’re there on the weekend so they’re quite full which is understandable.

We ordered 2 main dishes and 1 starter (exl. 2x plates of rice). Surprisingly, one of our main dishes came first then the starter came 10-15 mins right after. What the point of serving a starter after the main dish? When we finished all our food 2 dishes roughly 40 mins later. We asked for a cancellation of our third dish as we thought they’d never bring it and a bill while waiting for the bill for another 15-20 mins, a waitress brought our 3rd dish trying to serve us. At the time we’re already sitting there for an hour and half and finished all of our food. We had to tell her again that we’re already done eating and already told another waiter before her that we’d like to cancel.

She was in quite a shock but I don’t think it’s our fault that their staff were disorganized and lack of communication. We can’t wait all day for all of our food to come out.

For the food itself I found that it was a lot better the first time I was there but for the second time, it’s rather bland/lack of flavor. There’s some inconsistency going on there.

We had high hope for a Michelin stars!

Areas of improvement:

1. Train your staff to be better organize.
2. Each staff should have their own table to take care of not running around all over the place.
3. A manager needs to solve problems on site maybe there’s non in the first place.
4. ORGANIZE the order and the kitchen better, bringing the food out 15 mins after the customer finish all the dishes is not on.

Take it...

First impression of this place was great! Nice outdoor vibe near the rice paddys with soft music playing in the background. But when we got there, no one was there to seat us. We had to look for someone to direct us to a seat, which was still dirty from the last guest. We waited another 5-7 minutes for someone to remove the dishes. Then another 5-7 minutes for someone else to wipe the table. After being seated and figuring out what we wanted to order, no waiter was available to take our order. The button that was to call them didn't seem to work. We finally flagged someone down just because she happened to be nearby.

The food was fine but wasn't like wow. It felt some dishes were recycled like using the same broth to create two different dishes. But even with this type of food and nice atmosphere, I would have rated this a 4 star. But the service was so frustrating. After the meal we wanted to order dessert, and NO ONE was there. And it wasn't because the restaurant was overly crowded. It was only after waiting for a while, did I walk into the cashier area and saw EVERY SERVER just standing around chatting. I had to ask for the menu, and they gave me the wrong one and I had to go back for the right one. Then again NO ONE was there to take our orders. I had to go back and order directly at the cashier. Then when we were done, we wanted to pay and again NO ONE was there. Again I had to go to the cashier area where everyone was gathered to ask for the check.

Go there for the vibe, but expect to get up many times to ask for the smallest things. It's sad, that such a nice place can be ruined by...

Given this place apparently received a Michelin star, then this author has one thing to say to those so-called Michelin reviewers: Get your tastebud check!

The food, while it is probably nicely presented (and to be honest, not THAT nice), it is very bland, dominating with only chilli-numbing taste, served with various raw greens, and slapped with a hefty price tags. The fried prawns are nice, in a very ordinary way.

But, here comes the main thing in this author's review: THE SERVICE!

We arrive at the restaurant on a cool, dry noon, to be greeted by,.. well, no one. A friend of mine had to seat ourselves and helped ourselves to menu, fetch from the nearby uncleaned table.

After sometime, a staff who spoke barely any English came. We decided to order, by pointng "this! one!... and this! one!". Also making few gestures we wanted it "NOT SPICY".

Firstly, the food came, but firstly, very spicy!

Secondly, the rice we order came, but there were two. We had to send one back.

Thirdly, our drink NEVER arrived.

Lastly, well, this humble author has mentioned previously, the food tasted either bland, or chilli-numbing.

It is true that many of us do refer to Michelin-guide for our food adventure. The Michelin review and award for MEENA, however, makes one think, perhaps we should start considering to broaden our guide list, as Michelin start to show some, shall we say, untrustworthiness.

To all readers who are yet to dig your hand deep into your pocket for Meena, my advice...