thai squared (alpharetta) — Restaurant in Alpharetta

[Time & Date of visit] Various times for weekday lunches

Party Size: 2

[Location/Ambiance] The address can be a little misleading of where the actual location of the restaurant is at. But it's left of the road leading from the entrance, not right as google maps might suggest.

Besides a small dining room section, the patio also has various tables for 4 which are great for the Spring/Summer when it's not too humid. It seems after 2, the lunch rush dies down quite a bit.

[Service] This is a "Fast casual" kind of joint. Order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. Sitting on the patio might not get as good as service as they don't really check out there too much. Most things like napkins and such you grab yourself.

[Food Highlights]

Pad Thai: Don't let my pic fool you, I was lucky to have good lighting at the time. Is it good Pad Thai, yes. Is it authentic in taste... I'm not to sure. It feels a little bit more Americanized to me. Definitely something missing, but made to appeal the majority Caucasian office types for lunch. Which isn't necessary a bad thing. It's just if you want authentic or something close to, you won't find it here.

Tom Kha (Chicken coconut soup): I wish the serving included more chicken. The broth is actually pretty good. A good balance of curry and coconut, without either overpowering each other. Just the bits of pieces of chicken didn't do much for me.

Thai Tea: Some what watered down. I'm hoping they use the Thai Tea leaves to brew it and not the powder crap. Though it was still overly sweet on each sip. Drink slowly from a straw.

[Cost] Prices were about average for this type of Americanized-Asian cuisine. Perfect for a decent lunch with out breaking your daily budget.

{Summary} Only because I've been spoiled by growing up eating authentic Thai food from restaurants and actual Thai friends at their homes, I'm going to give it 2.5 stars on food. If your palate isn't as picky and you're not too daring on trying more authentic Thai restaurants, it's not a bad choice. But...

There is ample parking by the restaurant. It is a very casual dining experience, you walk in and grab a menu and order at the front. Then you can sit anywhere you like. They have upstairs and outside as well. However when we went upstairs was not available.

The indoor main seating area is kinda dark. So we opted for sit outside. It could’ve used a bit of love (tidying up).

There was no wait when we went for dinner on the weekend so we were able to order right away. They gave us cups to fill our own water at the soda machine. Brought out beer, extra water and food to the table. Food came out really fast.

Roti: the portion was very small, and the sauce is a very sweet peanut sauce. Roti was nice

Tom Yum soup (not pictured): lacked the traditional sourness. We ordered it with shrimp and the shrimp size was good.

Papaya salad: even though we requested for extra spicy, it was only barely spicy and had almost no fish sauce flavor.

Coconut milk soup (with chicken): this was my favorite item that we ordered. Nice coconut flavor and big chunks of meat. Just wish it came in the more traditional pot so it can be kept warm.

Wings: very average wings, lack in flavor but was good size.

Crispy duck wrap: the sauce wasn’t sweet. The chili sauce wasn’t spicy. The wrap was a giant tortilla (but did come very hot, had 5 pieces). Duck was nicely cooked and did not taste game-y. I wish the green onions were cut into smaller pieces.

Pineapple fried rice (with beef): very standard fried rice. Doesn’t have the typical curry taste.

Mango sticky rice (not pictured): mango wasn’t as sweet but still overall was good! Loved that the sticky rice was still warm when it came out.

Overall not a bad experience but wouldn’t say it is traditional Thai...

Im updating my review. I was invited back, and I drove all the way from Ellijay to give it a second chance. My opinion of the food is still that the food is excellent! The staff are friendly, but this just isn't a full service restaurant. There can be a bit of a traffic jam of people standing in line trying to order at the counter, and people trying to weed thru the ordering line and almost bumping into tables with other dining customers, to get to the drink machine to fill/refill their own glasses.

To resolve my issue of pre-tipping from original review, I now carry singles and tip after my dining experience, no more PRE-tipping at the counter.

That all being said, I definitely WILL eat here again. I really do enjoy the food!

Original Review: Cons: Ordering at the counter, having to stand up and wait in line (to dine IN) with my spinal cord injury while reading the menu (which is several pages long), no assistance for drinks or refills (DESPITE ME pre-PAYING a TIP (for FULL SERVICE) AT THE TIME OF ORDERING at the counter). You're literally handed an empty glass.

Food was good, however your prices are on par with full service restaurants. I spent $58 here today by myself, which included my pre-paid 15% tip, and I took leftovers home. (What was my tip for???) Nobody checked on me once.

There are too many other choices that are actually "full service" in this price range... and I will choose full service next time.

I also asked for 2 boxes, and was told I had to walk to the counter for boxes.

What was the $7 pre-paid tip for and who received it? Certainly it wasn't for service.

Very...