Sombat's Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Chaguanas

The delectable food is the drawing card. Sumptuous Thai cuisine "chefed" by a young man from Thailand who morphed his rise at the Hilton to opening Sombat. The Thai food is authentic and so is the man.

My fellow diners and I descended on the restaurant from Chaguanas on a Wednesday. We shared the place with two other diners. It was 11:30 am and the mood was sombre. The staff lacked enthusiasm and cheer. A big no-no in a business depending on client satisfaction. However, we came for the food and not a cheery server, but it would have been nice.

I would be careful about arriving early, the papaya salad we ordered was too spicy and went back to the kitchen. It was replaced and the chef-owner came and apologized. Not good. On the other hand, the fried calamari, Pad Thai and mixed vegetables dishes tasted perfect. The cardamom laced vanilla ice cream for the birthday girl and caramel cheesecake for "ma blond" took some edge off the disappointing entre and service.

Sombat thrived during Covid via takeout orders. It remains an essential part of the business. Plenty of plastic bags filled with food exited the premises during our stay.

Our server was replaced by a human one and we exited some $100 CA poorer with smiles and a doggy bag....

I visited Trinidad in April and my dad decided to take us there for lunch. Having a great love for Thai food, I was willing to give it a try.

OMG... the food was delicious, it's like Thailand and Trinidad got married. From the papaya salad to the Panang chicken and everything in between was delicious. Yes it's a little different from what I get in NYC but its also very close in taste. And trust me I have tried lots of different Thai Restaurant's in NYC. What I appreciate was the authenticity of the Thai flavor with Trinidad local fresh veggies and seasoning.

The place is clean, service is top notch and staff very friendly and willing to answer any questions you may have. So if ever you are visiting or lives in Trinidad, u have to give this place a try. Hint .. let the waitress know the level of spiciness you will like in your food. A must try is the Thai ice tea. Mr. Sombat Mekhawong, it was a pleasure meeting u and keep cooking those delicious dishes. Until my next visit....

I visited the restaurant after a long day of meetings and to be honest I wasn't particularly impressed with the overall service initially. The security guard seemed reluctant to allow us in and the servers took some time to visit our table after we were seated. There was a really nice, friendly young lady (I believe a supervisor), however, who more than made up for the less than favourable start.

The layout inside was unlike most local restaurants, creating a homely atmosphere which I really enjoyed.

On to the food. It was really great! It more than lived up to all the good reviews I had seen on Instagram and Facebook. We had the Pad Thai noodles, Nam Man Hoy Chicken and Thai red Chicken Curry. It was an interesting mix of flavours and definitely some of the best Thai food I've had locally or abroad. Portion sizes were also huge and prices...