Thai Village — Restaurant in Centerville

Soooo, due to a co-workers workiversary, we went to Thai Village Restaurant in Centerville, off Cornerstone Blvd. Its located where CoreLife Eatery used to be. It is similar to Thai Kitchen and Hello Thai as I believe its owned by the same people. I have never been to Hello That, but there appeared to be some additional items on the menu that I don’t recall seeing at Thai Kitchen. Companion one ordered the roti Massaman. It’s the Massaman curry served w/ roti, which is a thin flatbread that is similar to naan, as opposed to rice. It was already noted that it was at a medium spice level which companion one did not mind. However, was not sure the additional cost was necessary for the roti and a regular Massaman curry order w/ rice would have been just fine. Companion two ordered the pineapple rice w/ chicken. It was thoroughly enjoyed and the spice level was good, although it perhaps could have been a little spicier. Companions three and four ordered the crispy pad thai w/ chicken. Again it could have been a little spicier but its hard to judge sometimes what your spice level should be for Thai food. Companion four usually orders the pineapple fried rice but felt that there was now a new item that would be ordered again. As I looked over at their plates, I wished I had ordered it or the pineapple fried rice. On a previous occasion I had ordered crispy pad Thai from Thai Table. The one here at Thai Village looked much better w/ a slightly thicker noodle as opposed to Thai Table’s that looked like dry vermicelli noodles. Companion five ordered the spicy jungle w/ tofu. Although it was classified as having a medium spice, companion five opted for mild but in the end thought it would have been better to leave it at the suggested medium level. I guess the overall consensus was that on this visit, the spice levels were more accurate than normal.

I on the other hand was not satisfied w/ my meal. I am usually a shrimp pad Thai person but wanted to get something different. I went w/ the three flavor shrimp. I asked about the dish and was told that the sauce is sweet, sour, and spicy all in one, and served w/ rice, steamed veggies, and shrimp tempura. I don’t feel it was a composed dish. The rice was served on a separate plate from the veggies and shrimp. The sauce was basically a chili sauce that was too thick to be used to really bring the dish together. Although the shrimp was fried, I was looking at some of them and through the breading it looked a little grayish in color. Once I cut into them to further investigate, it made me feel as though some of them were not fried long enough. I am not completely sure, but it started playing w/ my mind and caused me not to want to eat some of them. For me, it was a no-go on the three flavor sauce dish. Bottom line, if you are a fan of Thai Kitchen you will be satisfied w/ this place. You just need to find the right dish that...

Was very pleasantly surprised as I thought it was a fast casual type restaurant but it's a very nicely appointed full service restaurant with a bar. Decor was great, much like the cuisine, it was well balanced and thought out and with all the windows I am excited to go in spring / summer. The food, oh the food was amazing. Starting with spiced edamame (perfect appetizer), my wife got the "Wok" mixed veggies with chicken, perfect portion size, veggies and chicken were cooked perfectly and the sauce very light but very flavorful. I was in a toss up between a few dishes and when I asked the server about them he gave me his personal recommendation Kow Soi . First, that was one of the best dishes I've had from anywhere, regardless of ethnic / cuisine. Rich deep flavor yet light on the palate and the stomach, slightly sweet but some legitimate heat, a hint of sour from the cabbage, then crunchy from the bean sprouts and fried (toasted?) noodles mixed with perfectly cooked egg noodles. Second, this is precisely what I want when going to a restaurant, for the server to have and share a real opinion, instead of the other standard responses from most restaurants "the XYZ is really popular" that doesn't tell me you who works here thinks it is any good... Or the other standard being to pick the most pricey item in the menu to inflate the check and tip, Benz did neither, listened to the two dishes I was considering then made a recommendation that coincided with those but that he personally thought was better THANK YOU! Top that off with impeccable service - readily available, prompt when we wanted anything but never hovering or rushing us, and he watched (from a distance to see my reaction after the first bite - he still politely asked how we liked our meals but he had the happy and professional look of satisfaction knowing he had picked a winner for me. Finishing all that off, the portions were perfect and the prices, they were worth every penny considering the quality of every aspect of our experience. Thank you!

Not only will we be back (and often), but we will be...

The food is absolutely delicious. The service… could use a lot of work.

Despite it being a Saturday night, we were seated within a few minutes of arriving. We were given menus (but no utensils). We waited.

Almost 30 minutes of being actively ignored later, we finally called over one of the servers and explained that nobody had stopped by. The waitress wrote down our orders: a soup (Tom Kha) and two noodle dishes (Drunken Noodles with chicken, Kow Soi with chicken). We waited.

Someone from a neighboring table, on his way out, stopped by our table. “You’re so patient!” he exclaimed. “I felt so bad eating while you were just sitting there waiting to be noticed.” We thanked him and waited. Our drink glasses sat empty.

45 minutes later, my cup of soup finally arrived. (It was delicious.) My spouse had to walk over to grab two bundles of utensils himself, because I needed a napkin, and we still hadn’t been given them. I finished my soup. We waited.

Half an hour later, my spouse’s entree came out. They apologized and said mine was on the way. He ate his drunken noodles. I waited.

Finally, almost 90 minutes after arriving, my Kow Soi came out. It was delicious. It also contained six plump shrimp, which I had not ordered and were not in the description. (Thankfully, I am not allergic or averse.) No one asked how the food was, and I sure as hell wasn’t waiting for them to remake it, so I ate my shrimp.

As I said, the food was wonderful. But it involved the longest wait that I have experienced in many years. The restaurant’s grand opening was a week ago, and as my spouse said, maybe their soft opening should have been a bit longer....