Kin Dee Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Houston

Saturday errands and Thai go together like babies and pacifiers, says an urban poet. Well, not really...but you know what I mean.

Enough of that...let's talk about the food and the experience. From the entrance, we came through, there is a small waiting area and we were guided to a table in what seems to be on of maybe 15-20 high-tops and regular tables. There is also outside seating, however, the day was a little too blustery.

There were only about 5 other tables occupied at the time we were there, which was great so we could get the best service and food speed. Our server was pleasant and attentive. We immediately ordered drinks (Stella/$7 and dirty martini/$14 with Tito's) and put in our app order for the chicken wings. They arrived within a decent amount of time. There were six wings in the order and it was served with a side of tamarind sauce. My husband noted that the chicken had little flavor, but I dedicated a hint of salt and the sauce added a good flavor. The only problem is that there was not enough of that sauce. No joke - there was about a full two teaspoons worth of sauce. Kin Dee can solve this problem with a light drizzle over the wings, before they are shuttled off to the table.

We ordered our mains (combo drunk noodles and chicken pad thai) which were around $20 bucks, each. We ordered them mild and there was still a slight kick - experienced Thai diners know to go milder at first, until you learn the establishment's affinity for spice. The pad thai was served wrapped in an egg crepe. Not only did it keep the heat in, it keep the noodles moist. The drunk noodles were also slathered (in a good way) with the delectable sauce. The pad thai was served with a "platter" of add-ons: chile, peanuts, etc. Unfortunately, it was just not enough - no joke, a tablespoon of each. For the cost, give me more peanuts. sheesh.

Decor: Very cool black and white decor with modern scaffolding of plants and chic lighting; chairs were fabric and very cool looking; table height and chair height was spot-on (doesn't always happen)

Ambience: I was attracted to the live music/singer - she showed at about 1:30pm and she added to the overall experience

Convenience: Tight restroom area because of display case (see next note); there is a dedicated parking lot for the shopping center but I can see at peak times that it would not be sufficient (there is construction on the side streets bordering the center); about 5-10 minutes into the Heights from the freeway

Dishware: We ate family style and we only had about 4-inch sized saucers; it would be nice to have a larger plate, especially when trying to serve noodles (as a matter of fact, the hall to the restroom has a case where flatware and dishware is sold, that you eat on, in the restaurant)

Prices: With tip, we paid about $85 for lunch (two drinks, two mains, one starter) - a little steep

Verdict: Overall, the owners of Kin Dee have done an amazing job: great food taste, inventive presentation, great flatware/dishes/flatware and cool ambience - I get it, prices have to be higher b/c of area and cool factor - if I was in the neighborhood, I would definitely go again but it would not be appointment dining because of where I live and the price point is a bit high - kudos! Definitely a 4.5 rating. (I'll give it a 4 here)

Parking: It was tight at lunch so plan accordingly for busier times

Kid-friendliness: The tables are tight - noisy children might...

I was so excited to try this place based on the great reviews, but the experience was less than stellar.

Loved the vibe, atmosphere, and decor. LOVED the silverware and dishes.

The place got pretty packed for dinner, we were off to the side so I didn’t feel uncomfortably close to any other guests. It looked like they had spaced the tables out fairly far apart, but not sure how It would feel at one of the middle tables.

Experience:

First issue: table was a little wet and hadn’t been properly cleaned off from the last guests. Then the waitress brought out placemats, silverware, and a plate. Problem was, the placement REEKED of mold/mildew — that smell you get when you leave your clothes in the wash too long before drying—except this smelled dirty. I smelled that the entire meal; not pleasant; didn’t help the rest of the experience. Definitely didn’t feel sanitary, and we had to eat a meal on these.

Second issue: the waitress was super nice and sweet, but she didn’t have a concept of personal space—especially during these covid times. She hovered over the table, came really really close to us, was touching parts of the food, and at one point was touching the table surface with her whole arm. When she cleared our plates, she touched the food (was wearing gloves) — I reeeally hope she changed the gloves before serving someone else food 🤷🏽‍♀️. Made me uncomfortable especially since she was touching the food she brought out.

Third issue: I was there in a party of 3. The table size was small, but not too small for the food If brought out normally. We gave her our appetizer/entree orders at the same time. Typically restaurants will course out the meal and bring things out in order. Not here. All appetizers and all entrees were brought out at the same time. There was literally no place on the table to eat comfortably or enjoy the food. I wish I had taken a picture of how uncomfortable this was.

Service was also really slow it took for ever to get our drinks. And you’d think If they dumped so much food on our table, they’d pick up the finished dishes promptly to alleviate the clutter - not the case.

Food: (note: this place is not vegetarian/vegan friendly. At least not on the restaurant week menu). We ordered off the HRW menu. Appetizer I got the chicken cups and the chicken satay. The satay was the best part of the meal, but I’ve had better elsewhere. That being said, the chutney served with the satay was excellent. I did not care for the chicken cups at all. Entree I had the green curry. I did not like this but managed to choke down a few bites. The presentation was nice. For desert I got the Thai toasted pandan cream. This was my first time trying it. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great. It was just two slices of toasted bread with the cream on it, nothing fancy. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Overall I didn’t enjoy the food and didn’t eat most of it.

I’m glad I Gave this place a try but Unfortunately, based on this experience, I will likely not return to this restaurant. I really wanted to like it, but there were just too...

I came as part of a party of 7 from our office to have lunch at the restaurant. This was intended to be a small going away lunch for one of our team members who was here for her last day at the office. We called ahead of time to very clearly let the restaurant know that we wanted to place our orders ahead of time to DINE IN at the restaurant, as some of us had a tight lunch window and we wanted to be able to sit and eat quickly. If this was not possible, the staff member who picked up the phone should have communicated as such, but they did not.

When we arrived, and after we paid, we were told that our order had been boxed to go. Again, this was the restaurant's mistake. The manager - Cody - was extremely rude and turned a very easily fixed situation into a bad experience. He refused to allow us to eat in the restaurant - his exact words were: 1."I am not going to take this food out of the boxes and serve it to you." and 2. "I am not going to let you eat boxed food inside my restaurant." His tone was extremely condescending and rude.

The restaurant was not busy at all. There were four patrons total when we walked in, and only two by the time this entire situation concluded. I understand the concern about having patrons eat food from plastic boxes in the restaurant, but this was the establishment's mistake. If Cody had the common sense to offer us outdoor seating (lovely 83 degree weather in Houston today) and apologized for the miscommunication, this would have been a non-story. We did not ask for anything to be comped. We did not ask for coupons or an apology. We were all taken aback by Cody's aggressive and rude demeanor. I asked Cody very politely if there was anything he could do in terms of allowing us to eat in the restaurant, given the situation - again, I received a rude and curt response. I asked Cody if it would be fine if we ate at the tables outside. He said we could do that.

If he did not have a problem with us eating outside, that should have been the first solution he offered to make up for the miscommunication. We all would have been fine with that. His immediate response was to jump to rudeness. This situation could go in two different ways at very little personal inconvenience to Cody, and he chose the worse of the two options.

We had already paid and tipped in advance for the meal by the time this unfolded. Nobody likes to eat food where they are made to feel unwelcome, and Cody did his absolute best to make us certain that we were unwelcome at your establishment. This is the second time a team from our office has come to this restaurant on my recommendation as I have frequented this restaurant with my family before. I feel extremely disappointed that our teammate had this negative experience as one of her last memories of Houston. Needless to say, I doubt that anyone from my office will return here for any lunch, whether that is a client lunch or a team lunch, nor will I be coming back here...