Lanna Thai — Restaurant in Scotland

"Why is a restaurant using a curry paste I buy at the supermarket?"

We didn't appreciate the food and especially didn't like the mean customer service.. so Lanna Thai gets a full review. We really love to support local business and make effort to always review positively, when it's deserved...

I did ring the restauant before ordering and tried to discuss the order, I asked about the dishes being cooked "Thai style", the woman said that "Western style" was "richer" and the curry was "thicker" but was reluctant to discuss or, recommend any variations to the dishes and so the conversation ended. This should have been a red flag. 🤙🚨

We ordered 4 main dishes with x2 sticky rice, which we collected for takeaway, came to approx £45 The Good: The drunken noodles (Pad Kee mao): was good enough, it had little bit of warmth, the noodles stuck together, but was quite dry compared to the stirfried/streetfood dish as it's known, but the flavour was good 👍 Spicy basil stirfry (pad kra prow): the quality of the beef was good, it was richer and sweeter in flavour than we had eaten before & very mild in flavour. We still enjoyed it. It would suit any palate. You will like this if you really like Cantonese chinese cuisine. The sticky rice was typical & very nice, alas, if only we had curry to go with it....

The Bad: Green curry and the "chef special" duck curry. These were so sweet, they would have made a good cheesecake filling. Both curry dishes, like PUDDING. We barely had started tucking in, and we decided we couldn't eat the curries. Insipid flavour, overcome by sweet. Hold up tho, we didn't just sit on keyboards and complain about the food afterwards, without giving them an opportunity to discuss it with us. We walked a mile from our accomodation and returned the curries to the restaurant next day. We would have gone sooner, but collected at closing, they were closed by the time we finished with our meal. We asked for a refund (only) for the two curries. We got an awful response when we went back, which is why we voted 1 star for the #NegativeDrama 🎭

The unexpected: Hot day, back kitchen door was half open to the street, i had a view into the kitchen. I recognized two pots of the same, very popular brand of Thai paste that I use in the UK, on the work station.

In Thailand you can buy homemade, very, very good curry pastes by the half kilo at the local market. It confirmed our experience that they cut corners, sadly.

The Customer service: My husband returned x2 curries in person the next day, he went in by himself to discuss the food, he was generally pleasant and diplomatic about the food, explained why the curries were not enjoyed or usual of our experience of Thai cuisi at all.

That should have been enough. But she argued. And argued. #1 argument made, "this was Thai style". Although over the phone when we placed order, "Thai style" was discouraged, we accepted to recieve the order how they usually cook it "Western style". Thai food is a balance of salty, sour and sweet. This was not "Thai style"

#2 She raised her voice and then tried to deny a full refund for the curry because we had sampled the green curry, a 1/4 of sauce was gone. In a very accusatory tone "YOU HAVE EATEN SOME, ITS LOWER"

Hey lady, we really tried to like the dish before we both agreed it was not very nice and left it. The (much more expensive) duck curry was still full when it made it's return journey to where Thai food goes to heaven, except for a spoon or two.

#3 She demanded both our names, we don't know why. It was so extra and intrusive. She remembered me from the phone call I had about the food.

My husband hates confrontation and that's why they get one star and ruined a birthday celebration. The food was 2* at best.

I've been home cooked for by, and dined out with, Thai friends from Thailand living in the UK. The food is always bright, balanced and punchy, this is what I've been accustomed to eating, and it's my favorite.

This food did not live up to the reviews or our expectations...

Definitely not best or great thai food. Tasted like any Chinese take away dish . I was hoping for some thai twist / taste that Im not able to cook myself at home but there was not even any sauce ( aubergine stir fry which had only few slices of aubergine and some random veg which wasnt even listed in a dish description) sea food salad made out of frozen ingredients which would cost £3 to make at home. No point of going out for a meal if you can easily make it yourself and its not great tasting. Waitress not very pleasant. We came here as were visiting this town and this place have veggie options . No vegan marked...

My partner wanted to go here, but I ain't been since I was a kid and could barely remember it. I was very pleasantly surprised. The service was exceptional, the food delicious and it was value for money too. The presentation of the food was superb. There are plenty of choices on the menu and I will definitely go back here soon. I would highly...