Rai Lay Asian Bistro riverbend — Restaurant in Charlotte

I think I may have gotten spoiled with the original rai lay. I used to live a few minutes from the one on south end and the food was ALWAYS incredible. The service was excellent the food was flawless. So I think I may be a little extra bummed because I had something to compare it to. I was very excited to move and realize there was another location right next to me . I used to work in food service. So I know second locations flop pretty regularly because the owners vision isn’t always seen by new management and the new location can get off tracks. So I would say without comparison this would have been a higher rating but knowing the disservice this is giving the OG location it’s a 2.. I’ve gone 3x now and service is very mediocre at best. People seem put out during lunch to take care of you. I should also say I’ve only gone during lunch hours. Second the pad Thai was not flavorful. Which was insane… the oh has the best pad Thai I’ve ever had. But the last time I got it it wasn’t spicy despite asking for a higher spice level. It tasted like a take out spot and the noodles were so overcooked. I assumed it was a one off but ordered something different next time. Sushi was pretty good and still tasted VERY fresh. Which was great. I got it again to go and the guy who checked me out was very nice and fast despite the restaurant being busy. Today I called for Togo order at 245, I asked to put in my *togo order… and the guy said he had to look at the time. He then asked if I would be there at 3. Realistically after the phone call and his time it took to “check the time”as well as order and leave the house I figured it would be like 305. I live 8 minutes away. He said I would HAVE to be there at 3 since they close for a couple hours. I’ve never worked or ordered from a place that closes at 3 and kicks everyone out at that time… it’s usually the kitchen that closes at 3. That was just kinda the icing for me. This place is not the rai lay I love. If any of these were separate incidents it wouldn’t be a big deal. None are these terrible offenses or something that would stop he from going to a restaurant more just a bunmer…But for the price and for having a comparison I just will go the extra 30 minutes for the real one that has excellent service and the best Thai food...

I went to the Riverbend location and it was terrible. The waitress Tiffany was the best part of the encounter. So first, I ordered a drink which I never received but I didn’t make a fuss b/c it wasn’t the end all be all. So, my mom ordered the salt and pepper wings which she liked. My daughter ordered the kids lo mein with chicken (which was chopped so fine u couldn’t even tell it was chicken) and we added shrimp. There was no flavor to the the dish. My sister and I ordered the 1/2 pound of shrimp from their special menu. Now it took forever to come out and it was odd that it took so long because the meal came to the table with one potato, one piece of corn, and the shrimp. The shrimp was not deveined and it was cold. When I bit my corn it too was cold. The potato was the best part. I had the Cajun sauce and my sister had the garlic butter. We had to send the order back to be deveined and cooked so it was hot. Well we get the food back and they peeled and deveined the shrimp and warmed the corn. This time the shrimp came back over cooked but for me once I had the sauce to dip it in I could stand it. The shrimp was rubbery from being over cooked. My sister got her meal back but they didn’t give her the potato back and she had not touched it. She didn’t care to make a fuss about it because she was so annoyed. She hated the Garlic butter sauce and just boxed her food up to season when she got home because nothing was seasoned but I guess that is what the sauce is for. The meal was $17 and had it been prepared properly it would have been worth it. I won’t return because I didn’t enjoy the experience. The waitress apologized for the mistakes but it wasn’t her fault. All in all bad experience. The restaurant...

Me and my family had been wanting to try this spot for a while but kept missing it while they close between lunch and dinner..when we got a coupon from Harris teeter we took this as our sign from universe to try it out so me and my daughter caught them tonight while they were open....we got in and seated ourselves and tried the appetizers

Let me tell you the food was amazing so I called my daughter and son-in-law ( who is a food critique) and their family to join us...we tried a variety from pho to curry to sesame chicken to lo mein to sushi and few others and it did NOT disappoint..we did get thrown off by all the different servers serving and they did mis up the food once which I wouldn't have minded but after my granddaughter mistakingly took food as ours and put her hands in to grab some peas they quickly removed it from our table and served it straight to the other table and gave us our appetizer they had accidentally given them.

Zero complaints about food and after reading precious reviews I thought we may have issue with service but despite being any specific server and several coming by they were on top of everything except the hiccup. They also were resistant to honor coupons cause I couldn't remember which server I had given it to but they did honor it just make sure u hold on to the coupons till u go to pay at the end...my daughter had complimented servers nails but waiting on my other daughter we were there a while and she couldn't remember the server we gave coupons to had flowers painted on her nails but it was no biggie. The food was worth it coupon or not. Little pricey but we did order several appetizers and mixed drinks if recommend and will...