KHON Thai Kitchen by Seeda — Restaurant in Austin

I had a great experience dining at Khon Thai. The restaurant has a lot of indoor seating, so it’s easy to get comfortable whether you're with a small or large group. My only minor complaint would be the music — it just wasn't quite to my taste (at one point they played "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees), and I found it distracting. That said, if you're with good company, it’s easy enough to tune out.

Aside from that, everything else about the restaurant was excellent. The service was very attentive and friendly, especially my server, Vanessa, who was absolutely lovely.

The portions here are incredibly generous. Seriously, come hungry or bring friends to share. The crab fried rice was delicious, packed with plenty of crab meat, and so large I was able to make four more meals from the leftovers. The tuna poke appetizer was fresh and flavorful, and I definitely recommend it. The crispy crackers paired with the tuna were a nice touch.

The absolute standout for me, though, was the duck. Don’t be intimidated to order it. It came out perfectly cooked with super crispy skin, served with tempura vegetables that were different than the usual Japanese style -- it is a lighter batter. The tempura eggplant, in particular, was creamy and so good. I wasn’t crazy about the sweet sauce that came on the side for the duck, but that’s just personal taste, and the duck honestly didn’t even need it.

For dessert, I had the sticky mango rice, which was beautifully presented with a gorgeous blue hue from butterfly pea powder. It was delicious and the mangoes were perfectly ripe and clearly in season.

I also sampled the shrimp fried papaya salad, which was unique but not quite my favorite; it was a huge portion, though, and very crispy. It would probably be best to share that dish with a large group as an appetizer. On the other hand, the fresh papaya salad was excellent: super crunchy and flavorful.

Overall, Khon Thai is a gem. Huge portions, a large, exciting menu, wonderful service, and fresh, beautifully prepared food. I’m already looking forward to going back to try more of their curries and saucier traditional dishes. If you haven't been, you definitely need to check it out....

Rating: 4.4/5 [dine in]

The restaurant is huge and beautifully decorated. After ordering, it took a while for the drinks to arrive, and the food came out together after about 15 minutes.

Dragon Fruit Cosmo ($12): A premium sake cocktail infused with dragon fruit, strawberry, and a hint of lime. It was served in a large martini glass with little spikes resembling a dragon fruit, which was a nice touch. The cosmo was just okay for me, but my husband enjoyed it.

Thai Iced Green Tea ($5): This is quite different from traditional Thai tea. Made with pandan, vanilla, and mint, it was creamy with a strong pandan flavor, followed by vanilla. I didn’t detect much mint since the other flavors were so prominent. While not bad, I personally prefer regular Thai tea for its bolder flavors.

Ga-Pao Crispy Pork Belly ($20): A stir-fry dish with pork belly, basil, a fried egg, and a side of white rice. It’s a bit crazy that they charge an extra $5 for pork belly. The dish itself was pretty basic—the pork belly was flavorful and tasty, but not crispy as advertised.

2 oz Side of Nam Jim Jaew ($2): My husband ordered this for his pork belly, but it wasn’t really necessary since the pork belly was already coated in sauce.

Thai Boat Noodles ($17): We got the pork with flat rice noodles, and it was delicious! The flavors were bold and spicy—so much so that our stomachs weren’t happy afterward, but it was worth it! It also comes with a side of bean sprouts and some crispy looking crackers. They provided a generous portion of each ingredient, and we...

The manager was VERY rude. I came here for the first time for lunch and was very excited to try this place because I love Thai food. My boyfriend wanted to eat his own outside food from another restaurant so we had asked our server if it was okay and she gave us permission for him to eat his own food. The manager approached us and pointed to the sign about bringing no outside food or drinks shortly after. She said that she would give us this one-time exception but that this isn’t allowed, in a condescending tone.

After enjoying our meal, we asked the manager to come over at which we shared with her that we had already received permission from our waitress to enjoy our outside food and that we didn’t want it to seem like we just strolled in and expected to violate the rules. The manager then replied, “it sure seemed that way”, yet again condescendingly, and then questioned us if it was true that the waitress had given permission. At this point we said, “you can ask her” and she replied, “oh I will, because that’s not right” and walked off.

There is a certain level of professionalism and customer service that we all except as we spend our money to eat out. This place hosts a manager that is devoid of these critical requirements. Our server was very nice but unfortunately the manager ruined our visit. It’s a given, but we...