Boonsong Thai — Restaurant in Bloomfield

PORTION SIZES:

I normally dont write reviews, but upon experience I felt it was important to mention this. As someone who has tried a lot of different Asian cuisine and has traveled to dozens of Asian countries including Thailand. This restaurant for some reason has very small portion sizes. Perhaps this is by design and if so then market it as such as higher end cuisine.

I ordered a variety of foods including rice, soup and spring rolls. The rice was less. The spring rolls were the smallest I've ever seen, I'd consider them "mini eggrolls" rather than any thing of sustenance.

And then there was the soup. About enough to fill a petri dish, I was appalled at how small it was. I ordered the same food at other Thai restaurants and I got full portions. Full size spring rolls the size of a taco. Enough rice to make you full. And soups that actually filled the bowl. I mean I am no chef, but I mean who in the world actually skimps on soup? All you have to do is add water to make it larger. No one cooks soup in tiny little pots and then hands it out as such. So yes I was severely disappointed that a restaurant would do this and at least not advertise it as such.

This restaurant will work for some people, ones with small appetites and palates, and more about texture and feel. However for those of us who are simply trying to get a decent meal during our lunch break, you will be left hungry. If you dont believe me try it yourself, order food here and also the same dish at other Thai restaurants. Heck order a similar dish at Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese etc restaurants and compare. Those places will not give you mini eggrolls, a few mini teaspoons of flavored water as soup, and a small percentage of the rice you are supposed to get.

So yes I was disappointed. But hey if more reviews are written or if this is mentioned to the chefs there then perhaps they will understand that we understand the price of food and raw materials is going up. But to skimp badly on portions and then still keep prices higher than other restaurants is unacceptable. I hope they do better as the flavor of the food was good.

But what does it tell you when a hungry customer has to go grab a big burger happy meal immediately after eating a full course thai meal at this restaurant so they may satiate...

I’ve never left a review quite like this before, but this was an absolutely wild experience. The food merits a 4 star rating— not the best thing I’ve ever had, but solid, consistent, and conveniently located— but averaged out with this recent zero star service experience, the place as a whole only deserves 2. I’ve been getting takeout from them for awhile and though the service/ ambiance never inspired me to want to dine in, it was never negatively noteworthy before this experience. I called at 1:30 pm to place a to-go order, made a point to ask for a timeframe as to when it would be ready (as the man taking my order was trying to rush me off the phone) and was told 20 minutes. At 1:41 (as I was driving there to pick up my order), he called back reprimanding me for not being there yet and announcing he was closing and reopening at 5 (their posted hours state they close at 3 to reopen at 5). When I said I was on the way, he snapped at me to “hurry up” because he had to pick someone up from the train, asked if I could pay cash, and then demanded I give him my card number over the phone when I said I wasn’t carrying cash. When I arrived moments later, he had left someone else to handle my order which was incorrect, and she made an excuse about the chef not being there to correct it because of a doctors appointment. Like I said, the food is good, but nothing is good enough to contend with that level of gross...

We have been big fans of Thai cuisine for decades and have tried many restaurants in this genre in many cities. Boonsong Thai stands out as one of the best. While many places rely on over-sweetening dishes to hook customers, Boonsong Thai relies confidently on a firm foundation of base flavors that are pungent and complex. From the soups to the shrimp and chicken dishes to the noodles to the salads, Boonsong teases out the rich flavors of core ingredients with expertly employed spices—curries, coconut, peppers, fruit—to create dishes that enchant. They also have proven to be completely reliable in preparing gluten-free versions of their menu items. Throughout the pandemic, we have ordered pickup regularly from Boonsong, driving 25 minutes to get there without a second thought. They never disappoint and the service is always gracious and appreciative. When the pandemic is over, we will happily return to dine in at this friendly...