Spice 55 Thai and Sushi restaurant — Restaurant in Helen

I dined at Spice 55 on 3/27/21 to celebrate my birthday. My food was great, but the service was horrible. I arrived at 6:00pm and was sat on the patio per request. Our server's name was David. He appeared a bit annoyed when he greeted us. He brought water to the table and a couple of the waters were not filled to the top. We were not given silverware. He came back to the table to take our order around 6:20pm. We did not receive our food until after 7:30pm. Not once, did David come to the table to give us an update. It wasn't until we noticed that tables near us that came after, had received their food that I decided to go inside to inquire about our food. I tried to talk to David first, and he said he would check on our food, and bring it out as it came up. After he did not return for some time, I went inside to request a manager. At that point, David says to another guest at my table "She is barking up the wrong tree". While waiting at the bar for the manager, I saw David storm off in frustration and throw his hands in the air. He was completely disrespectful and a poor example of customer service. After I spoke to the manager, I noticed that David started bringing food to the table. We had rice, but not our main courses. We also did not have silverware. I went inside to ask for silverware. The manager came outside and took my plate away because I did not want it to get cold while I waited for rice with no egg. Please note, I specified this to David while ordering. What is even more disturbing is that David wrote down our orders and repeated them back to us. I am not sure what went wrong. The manger told me typically it takes 35-40 minutes to get food when they are busy. Everyone at my table received their food around 7:30. I did not receive my food until 7:40pm. We also ordered spring rolls as an appetizer and it did not come until after our food. One of my egg rolls also had a fly on it. I was so disgusted at this point, so I didn't bother mentioning it. This is by far the worse service I have received in years. The manager was nice and they brought a complimentary fried ice cream for our trouble, but I am vegan so I was unable to eat it. David also overcharged one of my friends for fried rice. He said he would take it off the bill and he did not. Instead, she was charged for it. She was upset, but she did not complain. We checked out and left immediately. I am very disappointed at this experience because the reviews looked great and the young lady that booked my reservation was very nice. I was so excited for a great experience on birthday and it was not...

Warning to any other customer with celiac or a gluten allergy. I was excited to see it listed on "Find Me GF" because I love Asian cuisine, however, this dinner was a nightmare... I had mentioned to our waitress I had celiac, and she assured me of what items were and were not gluten free/could be modified. I went with her assurance and ordered curry and a spicy tuna roll. The tuna roll came and I was so excited I took a piece and ate it without looking over it 100%...low and behold...tempura flakes.. I already knew my night and the next few days of my trip were ruined from that bite. I told the waitress and within seconds she was BAWLING; not minorly crying, bawling about how sorry she was and how she was worried about me. Now, as the person who ate the food I can't, I am consoling a waitress who just cost me pain for my trip to Helen? I sat there with back-pain, severe bloating, a headache, and nausea for the rest of the dinner while she continued to beg for forgiveness. This is not the point. My point is, how does a restaurant claim to accommodate gluten intolerance/allergy/celiac when the waitress doesn't know that tempura is gluten?... They are clearly not educating their workers on this.

What did I get for this? They took the sushi roll off the bill, but there was more of a commotion thrown on behalf of our waitress who was portraying herself as some victim, than for my safety and well-being.

That was my BIGGEST complaint, the fact that I got glutened on my vacation because of carelessness/ignorance, but there were other issues as well: The egg-rolls were labeled gluten free on the menu, but upon trying to order them, the waitress told me that that label is wrong and they are NOT gluten free... False advertising much? The curry was lukewarm at best and the flavor was nothing like real Thai. The rice was mushy/ pasty and lukewarm just like the curry. They had a couple singing in the corner of the restaurant, speakers full blast, and my LORD it was echoing... I am all for live entertainment, but in an enclosed space where people are trying to converse and dine? Not at all welcoming.

Overall, never coming near this place again, and I wouldn't if you have any food allergies/accommodations, because apparently these are not always...

My mother, sister and I dined here on Wednesday night this past week and was one of the best dinners we’ve had in Helen, Ga.

We started with the Calamari, Salad with ginger dressing, and Hoochee's River Basket as our appetizers. The river baskets were amazing and had so much tuna we were all surprised that it could be classified as an app instead of a main course item. Then for dinner my mom decided to try out some sushi because she was so impressed by the Hoochee's River Baskets and got the Sexy Girl roll, which was once again delicious.

We all decided to do shareable for dinner and ordered Tofu Green Curry, Chicken Pad See Ew, and Panang Curry. Ordering all these different menu items and a variety of meats was a good choice because each dish was well complimented by the spices and flavors. None of the curries were too spicy and both DO come with rice (something we were a little worried about).

Last but not least, I do have to compliment our server Eddie. He was very attentive and welcoming. I had many questions and concerns about the sushi, as I like to know which ones I am eating before I try as a visual eater, and he was able to name each of the dishes that have a picture on the menu. I found that to be very helpful. We also chatted with Eddie about our time in Thailand which made him even more welcoming and he was enthusiastic to discuss about his home country. All in all, this restaurant was a great experience to be shared and we will be coming back again when we come to Helen...