Thai Flavors — Restaurant in Des Moines

Des Moines has just expanded so much and it's offerings of food. I think Liam Anivat is still the major owner and I remember his food at Thai flavors on East 14th Street long ago. I used to go to that restaurant once a week. That restaurant is the mother ship.. I would rotate between Cafe Fusion and Thai Flavors. Liam has become quite a entrepreneur of Thai restaurants he is the major owner of Cool Basil Banana leaf, and Thai Flavors on Ingersoll. He is really worked hard to have very large restaurants that serve delicious Thai food. It's conveniently located along East 14th in a strip mall with limited parking It can be a busy place so depending on the time of day lunch or dinner you may have to walk a little from your parking spot to the restaurant. The restaurant is clean and.older but the food is still great It is similar menu items to his other restaurants. On this particular day I had red curry chicken, I.have had it at all his restaurants and it's consistently good. I always like to support a locally owned business. Liam has developed quite a system and serving large amount of people at all his restaurants although the East 14th restaurants still has that old mom and pop kind of feel. When he first opened this first restaurant there were not that many Thai restaurants around town. Now he's open many himself and there are other many quality Thai food restaurants around town I think all of his restaurants have some healthier menu including fresh vegetable dishes. I believe they all have vegan dishes as well. Of course the restaurant has pot stickers basil stir fry, pad thai, and other traditional Thai restaurant dishes. There is lots of variety in the menu. It's also about expectations, everyone is under staffed, so I always appreciate the service staff who are working. Having said that the service was fast and efficient . It's also about being realistic about the food. The food was served quick and hot. I would definitely check this place out. If you're in the area it's well worth a visit It was fun to visit an old...

Food Review: Thai Flavors on Southeast 14th

As a die-hard fan of Thai Flavors, I’ve always raved about their food quality and service. But my last visit? Let's just say it was a plot twist worthy of a soap opera!

I walked in on a Thursday night with my friend from Burma, who was ready to dive into the world of Thai cuisine. The restaurant was as empty as my motivation on a Thursday around 7:45 PM—definitely not the lively atmosphere I was hoping for. Our waitress was a gem—super friendly and knowledgeable, which had me feeling optimistic.

Then our food arrived. I ordered the shrimp dish, which promised a delightful mix of cashews and squid. My friend went for the seafood platter, which should have been a treasure chest of mussels, scallops, and squid. Instead, I received a dish that was colder than a polar bear’s toenail! My veggies were lukewarm, and I could count the squid pieces on one hand—three, to be exact. Not exactly a squid party!

And what about the shrimp? Let’s just say it had all the flavor of a damp sponge. For $63, I expected an explosion of flavor, not a culinary whisper. I mean, for that price, I thought I’d at least get a side of “wow” with my meal!

So, here I am, a loyal customer left scratching my head and wondering if the chef was just having an off day or if they were in a race against time to close up shop. Thai Flavors, you've set the bar high, and I hope you get back to your delicious roots soon! Until then, I’ll stick to dreaming of better meals...

I ordered Pad Thai and received an overly sweet plate of noodles and rubbery pork with a few bean sprouts and green onions. When I asked our server why it didn’t have all of the vegetables that it had the last time I ordered it, she informed me that they used to make it with shredded carrots and other vegetables but don’t anymore (no explanation as to why). She also made the argument that the menu doesn’t actually mention the vegetables anymore. In her defense, that would have been a completely valid point, if not for the fact that the picture of Pad Thai on their menu shows a very different looking meal with plenty of fresh vegetables. When I brought that to her attention she unapologetically responded that they never changed the picture. When I asked her if they could at least add any vegetables to my meal she suggested that I order a side of vegetables, for which I would have to pay extra. So basically no effort was made to address my complaint, or the dismal quality of food that she just served me. This place was never great, but the food used to be at least enjoyable. I’m assuming there may still be some decent items on the menu, but everything we ordered was at or below the quality of food you would get at a cheap Chinese buffet. Maybe it was an off night, but overall it just seemed like they’ve given up and don’t...