Teak OTR — Restaurant in Cincinnati

My wife and I went to Teak OTR on the first day of Asian Week because we really liked what three course meal they were offering. Granted, we did arrive at 11:05, just as the restaurant opened so they weren't in full swing. We asked the host for the Asian Week menu. She seemed confused at first, and said she didn't have one, and could we use our phone to pull up the menu. That appeared odd, but we did it only to have her come up with a menu. Now, one of the reasons for choosing Teak on Asian Week was for the Red Curry Salmon. That sounded great. We both ordered that and got different first and third course items all as carryout. We were told it would take ten minutes. OK it took twenty minutes, but that was fine since we were the first customers the delay was understandable. Since it was a carryout order we didn't eat our meal until dinnertime. Imagine our disappointment when the Red Curry Salmon turned out to be chicken! Since the portions were large we split the dish leaving the other in the fridge. I called Teak OTR to let them know their Asian Week menu was incorrect. The person taking my call said in essence that yes they were aware of the mistake and offered a rather weak apology. I was also informed that if I consumed the meal she could not offer me a refund. Made sense to me, but I wanted to speak to the manager to inform him/her of the mistake in their menu which should be corrected before other people started to complain. She said he was busy with paperwork. I understood and said for him to call me back. She said he would. It has been over twenty-four hours and no call. I checked this morning, and Salmon is still on the menu. I liked the food at Teak, but not at the point of poor customer service. Did the person who answered my call throw away my request to speak to the manager? Did the manager not care to call me back -- even to say he was busy and will call me later? I hate leaving a bad review. It just indicates my disappointment of a nice restaurant. I've informed other restaurants of mistakes in their menus and have been thanked for pointing it out. Teak? Nothing. If you don't have an item on your Asian Week menu just say so.

March 8, 2022 addition. Thank you so much to the owner who responded to my initial review. This is the sign of a great establishment to explain how the mistake was made, and to compensate the customer. -- if it is reasonable of course. The red curry salmon was excellent! I would like to put out one word of warning. The curry spice rating begins at a 3. If you do not like spicy food this will burn your mouth for sure. I happen to like spicy, but 3 would be my limit on this dish. Also the portions are substantial! This one lasted me nearly three meals. Bravo Teak! I...

They have been making Asian food since 1996. Right across the street from Washington Park (stop #14 on the free Cincinnati Bell Connector trolley). The food is yummy! I’m definitely coming back. Who would have known that I would have found a nice Thai and Japanese place in Cincinnati Ohio… really close to downtown. I took the free Cincinnati Bell connector trolley from downtown to this place 0.7 miles away or so and was very happy. They make this amazing natural ginger dressing for their ginger salad $7 (cherry tomatos, lettuce, spinach). It’s pure ginger and carrots and other ingredients. It’s rare that any restaurant makes this pure natural tasty ginger sauce like they do. The seafood delight $16 was tasty with their home made brown sauce and a medley of mussels, salmon pieces, imitation crab, shrimp, carrots, broccoli, onion, and I asked for extra garlic which they were kind to add. It comes with Jasmine rice so you don’t pay extra for rice :-). I always get upset at other restaurants when they charge for rice bc how can you charge for rice that is not only necessary as a staple with dishes but it’s not expensive. The 2 spring rolls are fried and come with 3 sauces (spicy red, mustard, and sweet and sour) and it’s $5. I personally didn’t like the spring rolls much bc I love the ingredients but would prefer it to be rolled in rice wraps without the deep fried skins. It would feel healthier and would taste better to me. The staff were great and the owner was gracious and kind and humble. The decor is soothing and pretty. The bathroom is clean. It’s right on the same side as the Cincinnati Bell connector trolley so it’s very convenient to get to. And you can hop back on before 11:30pm when it stops running Monday to Friday. It also runs on weekends but not that late. Overall great place and next time I will try the Japanese food. But will also try...

Came here with an early dinner on a Sunday evening, around 530. Surprisingly they were pretty busy, between a Reds game and an FC Cincinnati game. The brick walls, plastic dividers for COVID, and small spaces meant it was LOUD, it was hard to have a conversation even without facemasks on. It took some time for a waitress to acknowledge our table, but by the time they did we were ready to order. Our two entrees and an appetizer.

25 minutes later our appetizer (spring rolls) arrived. Fortunately we weren't terribly hungry at 530, but by the time we got the food we were ready to dig in. The spring rolls were tasty, well filled, good crunch, super sweet sauce but no real surprise there. When the waitress brought the rolls I asked to add a ginger salad to my order.

Then it was a good 15 minutes to our entrees, my roast duck, salad, and what was SUPPOSED to be the Thai Holy Basil chicken. Instead they sent some form of lemon ginger chicken, and we didn't notice it immediately. However, when we brought it to the waitress' attention she said they'd have it remade. Short wait later and a plate that looked exactly the same with a few pieces of basil over top and a much darker sauce was there. It seems like what came back was the previous dish, add basil and soy sauce.

I won't lie, I was pretty annoyed. My partner wasn't, and just rocked with it. The initial dish was much better than what was returned, and my roast duck was FANTASTIC. Despite this mishap, and the delay, the waitress was extremely polite and attentive otherwise, keeping drinks full and checking in with us regularly.

I'm glad to have Teak back, because we loved them in Mt Adams, and look forward to continuing...