Thaikhun — Restaurant in Cambridge

We came here after finishing our walking tour of Cambridge City, and all of us were terribly hungry. So, when Najwa suggested that we have our dinner at Thaikhun, nobody objected.

We were already very familiar with Thai restaurants and Thai street foods, as they are aplenty in Malaysia. So, coming here in a way felt like coming home for dinner! Najwa and Atiq took care of the food ordering, as they seemed to be more familiar with the menu and the types of foods being offered. Meanwhile, my wife and I went to the restrooms to freshen up.

Upon our return to the table, the orders had already arrived. And they were all surprisingly packed in these tiffin carriers, or "mangkuk tingkat", or the more colloquial Malay name, "siaŕe"(you cant really spell this word!). I didnt know why they were served that way, and didnt even bother to ask, as it was quite a common practice in Malaysia too. But I would never expected to see these servings in a Cambridge restaurant.

Najwa had requested for Nasi Goreng for everyone, and the Pad Thai set which was quite spicy, for her to share with Atiq, therefore my order came with the Thai Green Curry Chicken and fried fish fillets, as I cant stand spicy foods. My wife had the best of both orders, but she doesnt normally eat so much, so there were more food for my portion! I also had the excellently refreshing Thai Ice Tea, which is always my favorite whenever I dine at a Thai restaurant.

The decor of the restaurant is "rustic" in nature, where they utilized recycled timber panels of different colors to create an uniquely colorful ambiance. That seemed to have worked well, as complimented by many of the patrons. For me, being an architect, this particular treatment had also be commonly used in Malaysia, and Im glad it had been replicated here too. This only goes to show how closely knit the culture and people of Thailand and Malaysia...

My friend and I went here on a Monday, as soon as it opened. It was not busy at all during the time that my friend and I were there. We had a look at the menu and it sounded really good. The door was open but no one was around, we had to wonder in to find a member of staff to be seated. The lady who was lovely told us we could sit anywhere (maybe that’s where we made the mistake) we decided to sit in a part where the waiters couldn’t really see us. It then took 10 minutes for the same lady to come over to take our drinks order. Then another 10 minutes to give us menus. Then we waited 20 minutes for our drinks. We ordered a Thai iced tea and a coke. The Thai iced tea was lovely but had more ice than tea. No cocktails. Finally after 40 minutes, the lady took our food order and we ordered a sharing platter, sweet and sour chicken with rice and the Singapore noodles. The food came out fast and hot from the kitchen. When the lady came to our table to give us our starter she did not give us cutlery and I had to go to a different table to get the pot of cutlery. The sharing platter was not worth the £22 (£11 per person) however, it was delicious, flavourful, the meat was tender and the spring rolls were light and packed with filling, just not enough for the price. Then when the mains came out. The Singapore noodles were again full of flavour and had plenty of meat on it but nothing special. The sweet and sour chicken though only had 5 pieces of chicken and the majority was just purely veg. I was very disappointed. During our time here none of the waiting staff came to check on us to see if everything was okay. As much as I liked the food. I do not feel it was worth the price we paid, the service was not great at all and I sadly I don’t think I will be returning...

Booked pre-ordered food for 9 people. Nobody served us for 20 minutes. Eventually took our drinks order and drinks arrived 40 mins later. One drink was missing but they kindly explained they didn’t actually sell this drink. Asked for water to the table which didn’t arrive for 30 minutes but only after a polite reminder. After 1.5 hours I considered putting on my apron and helping cook some food until fortunately food began to arrive. Starters were first and one dish was missing. Another 30 mins later and everyone’s food arrived apart from mine. The manager eventually came over and asked if I wanted something else to eat to which I said that I am happy with what I had ordered. She then explained they had just run out of chicken (at 19:00) despite us pre ordering. Eventually I agreed to have a red Thai curry instead. Think they got my order wrong though as I got a red Thai soup instead. We were never asked for anymore drinks for the whole meal.

We explained we were not happy with the service and expect a discount. They decided it was fair to take off £17.50 off a £250 order. Everyone was delighted with their £2 discount each. Couldn’t be bothered arguing with them anymore so left and paid.

Never complained before or wasted my time leaving bad reviews but this deserves it. Think there is new management as previous reviews were good but things have gone gone hill. Avoid at all costs unless you want to take notes on how to not run...