GoongNoithai — Restaurant in Bristol

First time going here with friends. The people working here are very friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately I am giving only 2 stars for the food. Starter was the Tom Yum soup with prawns, the soup was not very tasty, it was more salt I could taste. I was expecting a bit more colour in the soup (more red) but it was very pale. The main was Pad Thai with prawns and vegetables. I was so looking forward for this, however, it tasted SO sweet and sour like they used any sauce they could get.... and the noodles were overcooked soft. Just not the authentic Pad Thai I am used to. I was just missing the darker colour, fish sauce and a bit if of soy sauce. I didn't finish it but would never throw away food so I asked if I could take away to home. Later on another lady came to our table and she probably did not know I wanted it take away so she just put dirty plates on it! Nevermind the take away then.. the lady I asked for the take away ignored us and didn't even say sorry or anything. I won't come back here. I am not an expert on Thai food, however, I have had sooo much better Thai food than here. It just didn't give me the "wow delicious...

The food was nice, the service was OK but the ambience was awful. A few cheap, tacky ornaments hung on the walls with a couple of posters of Thailand did nothing to remind me of the month I spent in Thailand with Thai restaurateur friends. It felt like dining in a railway waiting room. If we lived closer I would consider using it as a takeaway. I was even happy with the wine list (there is a bit of an over emphasis on Sauvignon whites) so it wouldn't take a great deal of effort to turn this place around and make it somewhere worthy of taking friends and family. Until that happens I would be embarrassed to bring anyone there. Avoid the salt & pepper squid - tiny flat strip of squid (or maybe cuttlefish) with loads of batter that falls off. Try the Fried Duck with Honey, Chicken Satay, Pork Dumpling, Som Tum, Prawns Green Curry, Prawns Pad Thai and...

Have eaten here a few times with my partner and it went well generally. The staff were friendly and smiley. The food looked and tasted great. The portion was decent, which I really liked. I also like the beautiful plating. Food is reasonally priced. Overall, it's my most favourite Thai restaurant in Bristol. However, I feel like the quality of the meat was inconsistent. There was one time the chicken meat tasted spoiled (as if it was off or something). I didn't have food poisoning after that but the taste of the chicken that day is still off putting for me. It's just a one time thing but I never ordered any chicken...