Zaap Thai Street Food Newcastle — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

BEWARE of added (non optional) 10% service charge for eating in. Very disappointed by a sneaky 10% service charge added and we were not informed of this. Went to give a tip as usual and the waitress took it but then realised 10% was already added. I asked about it and was informed it was “optional”. How is is optional when it was added to the bill without my being informed or asked? Very sly. Also, the wait time was about 20 mins for street food so service was slow. Not impressed at all- it’s not up to the public to subsidise wages! This is not the US. Shame on you Zaap Thai- trust is damaged. BEWARE everyone!

Reply to Zaap Thai reply: We previously always tipped generously. This new tip is not optional as it was automatically added to the bill without any mention so you have to remove it if not happy (like in the US). It should be in the control of the customer to add, not added automatically by Zaap Thai as if it is not deserved, it is very awkward to remove. Equally, as this is relatively new, the staff should advise of it out of courtesy. Not everyone reads every bit of the menu each time. There are many restaurants/ jobs out there where staff work hard and which are not adding this automatic tip. I appreciate staff work hard but the customer should be asked if they agree to the tip at the table before this being automatically added to the bill beforehand. Automatic tip adding suggests the public subsidising Zaap Thai’s staff wage bill. Perhaps staff could be given a wage increase instead as you say they work so hard and then revert to how it...

I’ve never felt the need to write a negative review until now, but my experience at Zaap on July 14th (before 3 PM) was truly unacceptable. As a regular customer, I was shocked by the terrible service and disrespectful attitude from every floor staff member, including the manager.

We ordered Yumm Mama noodles, which came out soft, soggy, and completely off in taste — definitely not how it usually is. When we politely raised our concern, instead of an apology, the manager and floor staff dismissively told us, “That’s how it tastes. If you don’t like it, don’t order it next time.” What kind of response is that to a loyal customer who clearly knows how the food should taste?

It didn’t stop there. We also ordered Thai tea and kiwi soda — both were way too sweet, to the point of being undrinkable. I’ve had Thai tea here many times and it’s never been that overpowering. When I asked the manager if they could fix it, he just said, “You should tell us before ordering if you don’t like sweet.” Excuse me? How are we supposed to guess it’s going to taste completely different this time?

The entire floor staff were rude, unprofessional, and clearly not trained in basic hospitality. Not a single apology, no care for customer feedback, and zero accountability. Honestly, the owner needs to check on how the team behaved on July 14th before 3 PM — it was the worst service I’ve ever experienced in any restaurant.

Zaap used to be a place I liked, but after this, I won’t be coming back. If you care about good food and being treated with respect, I suggest...

Wanted some hot and/or soupy food for a change while in Newcastle and stumbled upon this quaint Thai restaurant. Definitely reminded me of the Thai Street hawkers but this place operates like a restaurant. Wait to be seated, the waiting staff will take your order and you pay after you finish your meal. They have a Chinese menu too if you need it (cuz they asked me if I needed it).

Spiciness has been localized but fortunately the taste of the food is still pretty legit.

I had a Beef Pad Thai, Chicken Tom Yum and Mango Sticky Rice. Pad Thai tasted authentic and yummy (noodles were on the softer side than what I prefer but that's my personal preference), the Tom Yum was slightly on the sour side of the Tom Yum taste spectrum but still delicious (I should have asked them to ramp up the spice by 1 notch though) and the mango sticky rice was pretty nice. The mango wasn't particularly sweet (though still sweet-ish nonetheless) but the sticky rice was certainly well infused with coconut and maybe pandan, regardless... the combination of both made for a really good pairing and I particularly enjoyed the flavours.

They also have a pretty wide drinks menu from alcoholic to non-alcoholic. I just got the Watermelon Juice (slushie) cuz it's rather warm in Summer.

Everything set me back about £30 but to be fair, I felt like I ate for 2 pax since I got greedy and wanted to try quite a few things. Don't think I'll have space for dinner tonight.

Overall a pretty good meal and would come back if I have any cravings for a...