Aloy Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Boulder

To the Manager/Owner of Aloy Thai, I am writing this review with considerable disappointment after being a regular customer of Aloy Thai for the past three years. I have consistently enjoyed your food, both when dining in and ordering takeout, and have always ordered the same dish: the beef pineapple fried rice at a spice level 1. Unfortunately, my recent dine-in experience was shockingly poor and has left me feeling quite unwell. My order of the usual beef pineapple fried rice started off badly. The initial dish that arrived was strangely textured – the rice was simultaneously overcooked/burnt and soggy, an unusual combination. Additionally, there was an excessive amount of beef compared to rice, and the pineapple was poorly prepared with inedible core pieces still attached. My partner, who is also very familiar with your pineapple fried rice, agreed that it tasted significantly different than usual. We brought this to the attention of our server, who was absolutely lovely and understanding throughout the entire ordeal. She promptly had the dish remade. When the replacement arrived, the portion size was noticeably smaller, but it looked more like what I typically expect. Being quite hungry after the wait, I began to eat. The first few bites were promising, but then I encountered a mouthful that was overwhelmingly spicy – easily a level 5, if not higher. The dish was riddled with red hot chili flakes, particularly concentrated in the middle. In all my years of ordering the level 1 spice beef pineapple fried rice at Aloy Thai, I have never encountered any chili flakes or this level of heat. Due to medical conditions, I cannot tolerate very spicy food at all. My partner, who enjoys spice and usually orders a level 3, also found this dish to be exceptionally spicy, the hottest he has ever experienced at your restaurant. Approximately 20 minutes after consuming just one bite containing the chili flakes, I began to experience severe stomach cramps, intense heartburn, and a burning sensation in my stomach. It is now the next day, and my digestive system is still significantly distressed as a direct result of this incident. While I understand there are inherent risks when eating out, I did not anticipate such a drastic and negative experience, especially considering the first incorrect order had no noticeable spice. I acknowledge that I should have inspected the remade dish more closely before eating, but I was also very hungry by that point. On a slightly positive note, my partner's crying tiger dish was generally good, although he noted some pieces of beef were significantly more rare than others when he ordered medium. Our chicken satay appetizer was also enjoyable and was the best part of the meal. I must reiterate that our server was truly excellent and handled the situation with grace, thankfully removing the inedible second attempt at the pineapple fried rice from our bill. While I wish I had taken photos of the food, it honestly didn't occur to me to write a review until the subsequent physical reaction. However, the entire situation, particularly the stark difference in spice level between the two attempts at my dish, leaves me with an unsettling feeling. I sincerely hope that the excessive and unexpected spice was simply a severe error, but I cannot shake a nagging suspicion that it may have been a spiteful act by the kitchen staff after the first dish was sent back. I am writing this review not out of malice, but because I believe it is important for you to be aware of this significant lapse in food quality and consistency. I hope you will address these issues to ensure that other long-term customers do not have similar disappointing and, in my case, physically unpleasant...

Very, very disappointing. In Boulder, where quality carry-out options are endless, the owner(s) of Aloy Thai seems to be too busy watching re-runs of their Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode to care. Experience #1: we ordered carry-out online, and drove 20 minutes from Louisville to pick it up. After waiting 15+ minutes after the time we were told it would be ready for pick-up, we headed home (another 20 minutes, mind you) and opened up our food to eat. One of our two entrees (green and red tofu curry) had chicken instead of tofu, as we ordered it. Not eating meat, we spent over an hour picking up half of a dinner...to Aloy Thai's credit, they refunded us our dinner in full (after offering to only take off the curry and an order of spring rolls). Wanting to give them a second chance, both for how good one of the dishes was and for their willingness to comp our meal, we decided to go back. Experience #2: We called in and placed an order over the phone. After driving – again – from Louisville, we arrived and were told that our food wasn't in their system and that they had no record of it, only our name and number. The manager questioned whether we mistakenly placed the order at their Denver location – and made a call to their second restaurant – only to find out that their Boulder location had, in fact, messed up our order again (this time, it wasn't messed up...it wasn't even there). After waiting another 20-25 minutes, our food was ready, and we were offered 10% off our order for the hassle ($3 for waiting over 20 extra, unanticipated minutes). After informing the manager that this was our second time, and that if we were worth the gamble of a $3 discount on our food (which I was clear was unacceptable) that we would be sure to never come back. The manager insisted that the "10-15% discount is standard for a mistake/mess-up of this kind" and that they couldn't offer any more of a discount...which leads me to believe that ownership of Aloy Thai wants to take the gamble and lose customers, even when those customers' negative experiences are at 100% fault of the restaurant. Or...perhaps ownership is, again, too busy watching Guy Fieri to truly care about what is actually happening at the restaurant. Fast forward – we are sitting at home eating our two curry dishes, which are delicious by the way, and knowing we will never return...

This is the second time I've had a very bad experience with this restaurant in the past 2 DAYS. 2 days ago at 7pm, I ordered from here for a delivery through Postmates. I've done this before and had no issues however the restaurant cancelled my order because they suddenly weren't taking cards. Ok fine. So tonight I went back to pick up takeout. I ordered pickup on DoorDash and waited until I got the notification that my food was ready until I showed up. I walked in and who I assume is the manager asked me who I was picking up for, I told her the name and what other name it could be under since my mother had ordered it for me from her phone. She told me the food wasn't ready, I responded that I had been told it was ready, and she said "well it's not or else it would be out here." She went back to the kitchen to check on it, came back and informed me I was the next ticket out. I waited and watched as numerous tickets came out from the kitchen for pick up, none of them mine of course. So I wait and wait until finally I am asked to wait outside, which is fine because the waiting area is pretty small. Before I walked out I asked one of the seating hostesses to check if my food had come out since I was told I would be next and that multiple orders had clearly come out since I was first told that. She told me no and to wait outside. Not a moment later another seating hostess comes out and hands me my food without a single word. No apology for the wait, nor for the rude manager and hostesses, and they didn't even bring the receipt out for me to sign. The best part is, I wasn't the only one this happened to. Another woman had called ahead and was told her food was ready but when she showed up she was told that it wasn't ready and it would be another 10 minutes. She showed up after me - and she didn't even have her food by the time I left with mine. Absolutely awful customer service. The food is ok but there multiple other delicious and cheaper Thai places in Boulder who won't give you attitude for coming in to pick up your food when you've been told it was...