BKK THAI KITCHEN — Restaurant in Carlsbad

Scott I'm not coming for your crown, but I too like BKK for many of the same reasons.

I've always thought that this entire end of the shopping center is a little bit destitute. It seems like it gets good traffic, lighting, but yet so many places in this center fail. Maybe it's the parking and infrastructure set up or the gap from the mall, the separate by the freeway and lagoon from other seemingly nearby places. Interior design is on the fancier side. Service is actually better when it's busy, it's a bustle during lunches. The ambiance is good, a notch above purely casual dining. I like the gold leaf colored art, the tea candles and comfortable chairs. They are quick with the refills, which is necessary when your dealing with thai chili peppers. Price is a little higher than other thai places, but this is just better overall.

There is inconsistency in the spice, partly because they use fresh thai chili's. Watch out for the green one's. it's much easier to dole out heat with dry red's. I like splitting the combo app plate to get a little of everything. I also like playing with mixing sauces. The apps are good overall, very tight consistency on rolls, wrappers and cooking overall. Pad Se eew is on the sweet side, and frankly I'm not a fan of sirloin beef on this. The fried rice is on the wet side, but the white rice is on the dry side. Green curry is very good. Consistent, flavorful. Duck curry is a little bit overboard, the duck is good, but they oversauce it and sometimes it's dry. The curry masks things evenmore.

Tom ka is good, though I was looking for more actual soup, more of a stew ratio. Thai tea is a solid amount. Papaya salad had a very thick sauce and to me not enough fish sauce. The slice of cabbage did nothing but take away from the space and was a hindrance. I like the fact they have tomatoes for more flavor, color and texture. Mussaman curry is a little more exotic than more mild profiles, but I like the beef in this. Larb is good, but on the small side and less worth it by price, needs more freshness to it.

They could stand to keep more napkins on hand, when you eat spicy food it makes your nose run and it's a natural reaction. 1 napkin per setting just isn't cutting it above a 5 spice level.

I like them a lot and it gets great light in the evening and late afternoon. It's my go to Thai place for smaller groups...

The food was OK, small serving, and service was so-so. (We came to visit the Mall, and saw this place on the way.) I've been to many Thai Restaurant, and this one is OK. Clean inside and not that many tables so come early since as a walk-in, we were asked to wait to be seated since reservations were a priority ( we came in at 730 pm) We waited close to 30 minutes after ordering food, there were 6 of us, and the food came in not served together so some have to wait. We ended up sharing the orders ( food were not served altogether), so as we were almost done, the empty plates were taken from our table while we are still eating! (remember we shared the orders since food were not served altogether) The bill came in, and we thought we have extra food that we didn't received. As I came to cashier, it was the Service fee ( of 18% that equals to $18.00 of our total bill) As I remind the cashier that this fee was not posted on the menu or anywhere in the restaurant, I let the cashier that be it known Per California Publication 115, it is mandatory for the establishment to have it posted in the menu or somewhere that the customer have to know. The cashier was trying to explain that its not their job. Additionally, there was also a mandatory 10% tip, despite the 18% Service charge fee. So, future customer, be it known, you are not dining in on a 5 star restaurant in New York. This is a pricy small restaurant, with only 10 tables, and you might wait longer than we did on regular hours, plus be aware of...

BKK Thai Kitchen is a new Thai restaurant that opened 2 months ago in the strip mall at 1818 Marron Rd. across from the Carlsbad Westfield mall.

The interior is very clean with dark wood tones and Orange walls (the color of the God Bṛhaspati and the day Thursday).

The menu covers standard Thai noodle and rice dishes, four curries (red, green, yellow, and Panang) as well as some specialties like BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, and seafood dishes. They offer lunch specials that come with the soup of the day, a salad, and a spring roll for $9 to $13 depending on your choice of meat.

I had... Thai Iced tea Which was great.

BKK Meatballs (Luke Chin Ping) Grilled Pork, spicy plumb sauce Good, the pork was moist but a little bland.

BBQ Chicken (Kia Yang) ~ Chicken, Thai herbs,sweet and sour sauce, fresh vegetables.

Note ~ This also came with steamed rice, I wish there was more sauce so the rice could absorb it. I did not think about asking for a side of sauce till after the fact.

All in all BKK Thai Kitchen is a good little Thai place perfect for...