Thai Square St Albans — Restaurant in St Albans

update: a long time after i wrote my review, I thought of giving this place another chance. Went with friends for lunch, there was only one other table with a couple. So there were 6 diners in total and was not busy at all.

The short Thai man who was waiting at the table was so rude and impatient even when he only had 2 tables to attend to. His attitude felt like the customers were his enemies and that he felt too superior to serve them. What a choice for a waiting staff by the owner!

He dressed up so clean posh with a chelsea scarf around his neck as if he was going to an art gallery in Sloan Square. No wonder he didn't like his job as a waiting staff as he thought he was too good to serve these people. He spoke to customers as if they are beggars going in to his chain restaurant for food.

All my friends guessed that if he's not a waiting staff but the boss of this chain as he appears to be soooo superior, he would be someone who hates his business so much and wants to terminate his business by offending their customers so blatantly. It's funny to observe this man's ridiculous customer service behaviour.

Finally, the food was terrible as always. My friends have all agreed that we will not return as it's a waste of money, time and one's energy here. Bua Thai is another local Thai restaurant in St Albans where you can find much better authentic Thai food. The seating area is humble however their food and serving staff are much better quality than this soulless Thai Square chain. The Thai Square in Kensington did not have good food either, however we did not have such a bad experience as as least they had good warm friendly waitress there. Original review:

As it's a chain, I've never had real Thai at any of the Thai Square in and outside London, including this one in St Albans. The only good thing is its ambience. If you consider having a few glasses of wine and not expecting good food, then it's the right place to go. Right in town centre and see the traffic go by, taking a walk afterwards...

Shocking service & poor hygiene standards. The place was cold (it is an old building) but we were also greeted with a cold welcome! The service was so poor, that we had to ask so many times for serving spoons/ cutlery/ napkins etc and the staff just didn't seem to care and looked like they were moving aimlessly from one table to another. The unforgivable for me was that there was no running water in the men's toilets - we also saw a chef use the toilet and not be able to wash his hands. I complained to a member of staff who seemed not to care that the water was not working in the men's toilets - in the end my wife complained to the manager who to be fair did explain that the chef would wash his hands again upon entering the kitchen (one would hope!) it did put me off my food; the food in general was not bad - tasted a bit re-heated and i certainly wouldn't call it value for money. The manager seemed to understand and thank goodness we didn't have to pay the (optional?) service charge. It was supposed to be a nice family meal out; I certainly wouldn't recommend nor would I return. I will spend my hard earned money at establishments that are welcoming and genuinely feel like they want our...

We had a lovely lady looking after us, and overall, the service was great—aside from one older staff member who dismissed us entirely (which we’ll return the favor and dismiss here too). The restaurant itself has a nice ambiance, and the atmosphere was enjoyable, but unfortunately, the food was a major letdown.

We had high hopes, but for the first time ever, I couldn’t get through more than three bites of my own dish—or my friends’ dishes. We ordered the drunken noodles, expecting the spice they’re known for, but there wasn’t even a hint of heat. The tamarind duck had a nice crisp but was overwhelmingly sweet, which made it unbalanced and disappointing. My friends also found their meals to be pretty average at best.

The one saving grace? The Thai milk tea. That was an easy 10/10.

Would I return? Probably not. The atmosphere and some of the service were great, but when the food falls this flat, it’s hard to justify...