Siam Orchid Cocoa Beach — Restaurant in Cocoa Beach

Siam Orchid- Cocoa Beach, FL- 4 Stars

COCOA BEACH. MELBOURNE IS DIFFERENT OWNERS

“Thai food ain't about simplicity. It's about the juggling of disparate elements to create a harmonious finish...Some westerners think it's a jumble of flavors, but to a Thai...it's the complexity they delight in.” – Unknown

“Oh, yay.” I sarcastically thought as the name of yet another Thai Sushi place winked at me from the window of my random name generator. I say this because according to my Thai friends and other people I know who live in Thailand, they don't eat much sushi, if at all, there. While one would think this is the other end of the chain of the Siam Orchid I previously reviewed in Melbourne, you would be mistaken. It has completely different owners at this point. This probably occurred during the later unpleasantness the restaurants went through. For more information see the internet.

I found the place clean and aptly decorated for what it was, Americanized Thai. My waitress introduced herself as Oi and at one glance I came to the conclusion that her parents were big fans of 80s punk rock or Australia. I joke, I joke! She was outstanding. I asked Oi for an order of the Green Curry with Tofu (I was trying to avoid the rubbery chicken of Chez Quan and Senzu), a Four Seasons roll, an order of Tuna Nigiri and a surprise menu find of Egg Drop Soup. Not only do I get to sample the cuisine in the style of Thailand and Japan, but I get China added into the mix. Score!

It wasn't too long before I noticed Oi nimbly approaching with my order. After snapping a few quick photos for you visual learners, I grabbed my fork and dug into the Green Curry. This is bloody fantastic curry! It is properly spiced, the veggies are farm fresh and the rice a pure delight to eat. The Four Seasons roll consisted of Tuna and Escolar. While rolls are an American twist on the food traditionally associated with and introduced to the US by Japan, like flour tortillas or General Tso's chicken to their respective cultures, I found this roll to be exquisitely gratifying to my taste buds.

If you take just a second and glance back or look at the photos I ask that you just take a moment and really look at that tuna. I don't think it was caught this morning off the coast here, but you could have fooled me. It was so fresh, if I squinted I could swear it moved. I also found the egg drop soup to be wholly wonderfully flavored and an excellent side to an experience of pure culinary jouissance.

The Big Boy says, “If you pass this Siam Orchid up, you are either a fool or not a fan of Thai food or sushi!” #bigboydiningout...

I love this place, my significant other loves this place, this is a great place and Cocoa Beach to go for sushi or Thai food. However, this past week was the first time in seven years I've ever had a bad experience. It had nothing to do with the food, it had everything to do with the service. We waited for 15 minutes to be approached by our server to ask if we wanted drinks. At that point I was so parched and hungry that we ordered water, alcoholic drinks, our appetizers, and specifically our dinner to follow the appetizers. It took another 15 minutes for our beverages to arrive. They were delicious. A few minutes later our appetizers arrived and they were piping hot and amazing. We got the crab rangoon which is slightly different from anywhere else I've ever had but it is truly amazing. And we also got the temper of vegetables. For being a cheap night, having something fried, it is so light and crispy and delicious! However within one minute of bringing our appetizers she also brought our Sushi. I didn't say anything to her but I was highly annoyed because I specified that are Sushi was going to be our entree/ dinner.

It's always frustrating when you're not given enough time to relax and enjoy your appetizers before they bring you your entree. Luckily Sushi doesn't get cold so we didn't have to rush through our first course. From that point on we did not see our server for almost an hour. Our alcoholic beverages sat empty, we would have loved to Second drink but we never saw her. At that point our water glasses were empty and we were sucking on Ice Cube's being thirsty. Finally we saw her and just ask for the check. That took another 15 minutes, and once we got it we put money on the table and had to wait another 35 minutes. We were casually talking and taking turns going to the bathroom and finally I had to actually grab a different server and express my disappointment in the service. She had to physically go find our server and bring her out to cash us out. The food was absolutely amazing, the appetizers and the sushi. We have never had a disappointing meal here in 7 to 10 years ever. However, this service was beyond disappointing and I did let them know. I hope they read this because part of an enjoyable Night Out is good service, which will always be reflected graciously by being given a great tip. If our server was wondering why she only got the bare minimum of 15% it's because she did the absolute bare minimum and it was disappointing. I hope they make some changes because we are huge fans of...

tl;dr if you are in this area or just so happen to see this on the map, YOU NEED TO STOP HERE. This place is INCREDIBLE!

I genuinely cannot gush over this place enough. I usually give generous reviews because when I go out to eat, I'm usually very satisfied. But Siam Orchid is an exception that deserves more than a 5/5 and genuinely makes me reconsider how I review the restaurants I visit. From start to finish; this place has been an experience that had me going "WOW" consistently.

The appetizer; crab rangoons, were small but WONDERFULLY fried in an unusual tempura/won ton shell that was very flavorful; and served with a nice spicy chili sauce and garnished with lettuce and shredded carrots. This set the mood for the rest of the meal, because I was "wow"ed from the get-go.

The Entree, the Volcano Roll; was simply AMAZING. I was very torn from what I wanted. Usually sushi joints I've gone to are very conservative regarding the amount of rolls that they give you in an entree. My girlfriend asked how many rolls come with the dinner entree, and after learning that they come with about 8-10 rolls I quickly decided to give this a try. The Volcano roll is about 10 california rolls with a delicious concoction of shredded "mixed seafood", spicy mayo (yum yum sauce), and something called Masago (which I'll let you google for yourself). I was BLOWN AWAY by this. This was fantastic, and I'm not even a big seafood fan.

The dessert was a fried slice of cheese cake and two scoops of vanilla ice cream -- for $5 DOLLARS!!! This really wrapped up the "WOW" experience very, very nicely.

Seriously, stop by this place. You...