Simply Thai and Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Jamestown

I Was happy that a new Thai restaurant opened here locally and was even more enthused that they had phở and sushi. Being that this is the second location I would have assumed it was pretty awesome, but you know what happens when you assume. Now I am asian and, eat Thai food at least twice a week so I’m pretty confident that I have a palate for it. We ordered Thai Basil for the kids, Red Curry for the wife, Chicken spring rolls, and Chicken phở. The Thai Basil Chicken was as described but lacked the kick of the Thai Basil plant itself. The Thai Red Curry was good but also lacked the extra creaminess of the coconut milk, it was barely noticeable. The Spring rolls were average, greasy and over-fried. The amount of rice given with each portion was 1/2 cup or less, which doesn’t even come close to go with the servings. The Phở was not even close to desirable or made correctly. The slow cooked bone broth was more of a standard fast prepped chicken broth with just some scallions for seasoning. There was none of the standard aromas or flavors of star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, etc. It was accompanied by some rice noodles with more scallions on top, some bean sprouts and a couple sprigs of Thai Basil. It was missing every other garnishment including the peppers, cilantro, sriracha, hoisin, lime, etc. I would have been better off just heading down to Van Loi, Binh Minh, Pho Hien Vuong or even I Love Pho, but I thought getting everything at one place close by was going to be easy. Overall, don’t think I will be back; for the prices that they charge you would expect higher standards in food, I rather visit Rearn Thai, Bangkok Cafe or Some others in high point. Now maybe the dine in experience would be different and some discrepancies might be due to the region of where the chef is from but again you would have to be paying for the atmosphere, because there is way better out there especially for less. I gave it two stars for the pleasant staff and cleanliness of...

An affiliate of the same-named restaurant in Elon, Simply Thai is neither the best of Thais nor the worst of Thais though it does fulfill a need for the immediate area.

Inside, Simply Thai's décor is minimalist. There's a nice mural along the back wall, but you will otherwise find yourself staring at lots of brick. Though not the most capacious restaurant, there was plenty of available seating at the time of my midday Tuesday visit.

At first glance, the menu here seems to hew largely to the tried and true. Pad Thai, curries, basil dishes, and wraps are all present and accounted for. Dig a little deeper, however, and you'll find some pleasant surprises. There are Lao dishes (sausage), Japanese dishes (udon), Vietnamese dishes (pho, which can be had with duck!!), and more. The lunch special menu is more restrictive - four dishes are offered on any given day - but between the regular menu and the sushi menu, there are plenty of options.

For my first visit, I went with a panang curry with steak off the lunch menu. The dish was preceded by a veggie spring roll and came out quickly. Simply Thai does not seem to offer levels of spiciness (at least not by default though they may do so upon request), which in my experience, defaults to bland. Thankfully, this proved not to be the case. The peanut sauce had a bit of a kick, and neither steak nor veggies were overcooked.

That said, the portion size seemed small for the $10.95 charged, and in depth of flavor, Simply Thai's rendition lagged behind Greensboro's best. Emily did provide excellent service, however.

Given that Jamestown proper could always benefit from more dining options, Simply Thai is a welcome addition for those who live and work in the area. Its menu and attentive staff make it an attractive option. However, for those who have access to other Thai nearby, Simply Thai...

Locals visited for dinner during Furniture Market. (Mistake, we know!) Waiting 10 min or so for table for 6. Place was busy but this was furniture market and should not be unexpected. Took 10 min for waitress to come by with menu and drink list. I had finally gone to bar to get the drink list and she arrived when I came back. She left for a few more min while she got us water. Upon return she took app and drink order. 30 min later, we had neither. Apps came out (1 before the other) and it turns out after asking about drinks, that our drink order had been "lost". Drinks arrived shortly after after apps arrived and they were TINY! $15 for a cocktail that had 4 different things in it as was about 3 -5oz total....(Our waitress told us they were proud of thier infusions liquors...and yes they are!) After eating apps and finishing drinks our food finally arrived...most were happy with thier food, but out of the 6 of us, 4 were unable to get what they wanted. They no longer offer yellow curry (on the menu) and they were out of the ingredients for thier pineapple dish. I ordered Pho and it came in what I would consider an "lunch" size portion and was already "built" for me. Traditionally that is not how it comes. My wife curry, while she said it was fine, didn't have much of the curry punch I was expecting. Just kind of blah. We didn't really complain and went about our business. No apologies or money off bill for mishaps and delay. I would expect better...especially at market time. With soon many good Thai restaurants in the area, I doubt I will...