Sabai Thai Brighton — Restaurant in England

I have been to this restaurant before and thought it was quite good so I booked it for my daughter and myself. The greeting was very poor, we were initially ignored so we sat down. Then when the woman came over she was very blunt about asking if we had a booking and seemed annoyed that we had sat down! We ordered the shared vegetarian starter with spring rolls, crispy seaweed, vegetable tempura, satay mushroom and satay tofu. This was so poor that we sent it back for the following reason: The spring rolls were okay so we eat them, the seaweed was not cooked, the vegetable tempura was overcooked and tasted oily and the vegetables were unrecognisable, the satay mushrooms were just cut mushrooms on a stick and hardly cooked and the tofu was like rubber. The chef accepted that the seaweed was not cooked but nothing else so took half the cost of the bill - I couldn't be bothered to argue for £7 but was rather annoyed. I chose a quite expensive bottle of white wine which was nice but it had not been chilled properly. The mains arrived, my prawns were delicious, The Som Tum salad was ok and my daughter did not enjoy her Pad Thai Rainbow as she found it way too salty.

The young man who served us was very nice but I found the older woman unfriendly and unwelcoming. The chef was not apologetic enough as clearly even if it was just the seaweed that he thought was not cooked we should not have to be in a position where we had to send anything back. It was a first for me to send food back that was in my opinion inedible.

I will not be returning to...

I was very disappointed, it looked as if it had a lot to offer. Fishcake starter, one of my favourite dishes, the lemon grass completely over shadowed any fish taste at all so not sure if there was any in there. Main course, Pad Thai Chicken, another staple and a good test. Not good, almost swimming in oil, small portion made to look even smaller by a mountain of (inedible) garnish. Totally tasteless with no crushed peanuts. Called the waitress and suggested that Pad Thai comes with peanuts and chilli flavour? She returned and presented me with a small sidedish with dried chilli & crushed peanut. When I went in there was a couple in there and I was alone so we were three. While I was (not) enjoying my bland Pad Thai another couple entered who had booked a table and it was furnished with a bowl of Prawn crackers (the dark ones which I am fond of). When the waitress collected my plates I asked why I had no complimentary crackers? She told me they only served them after 5pm, and that I had come in earlier, I checked and she was correct, I had come in at 4.55pm! My bad luck! She delivered the bill, it was commensurate with other establishments. I went to the counter to pay and enquired about the lack of peanuts to which I was told that people have peanut allergies so they don't serve them. I suggested that it would be an idea to ask each customer as clearly they do serve them! It is a shame as it is an authentic looking place with lovely decor and I probably caught them at a bad time, but sorry I expect authentic food and...

We recently went there for lunch, hoping to relive some fond memories from years ago—back when we used to sit on the floor in the cozy upper corner. Unfortunately, the floor seating is gone, and sadly, so is much of the charm.

We arrived at lunchtime. My husband ordered from the lunch specials menu, but we were charged full prices for everything. I had tom kha gai and a main dish. There were three of us—two adults and a child. Our child had a starter and rice. For drinks, my husband had jasmine tea, my son had a Coke, and I had tap water. The total came to £90, which felt extremely overpriced for what we received.

When we got home and checked the bill, we realized we hadn’t been given the lunch deal pricing. We contacted the restaurant and were told the waitress didn’t input the order correctly. We were also told that next time, she would clarify if we were ordering from the lunch menu. That response left us feeling misled and disappointed.

As for the food, I ordered my go-to dish, pad kra paw, but it was underwhelming—just average. No fresh chilli, only dry flakes. Honestly, we get better Thai food at the pub next door.

We won’t...