Kirkland Thai Wisdom — Restaurant in Kirkland

I recently visited this Thai restaurant, and while there were very few positives, the overall experience was disappointing.

Positives: The staff was friendly and accommodating - they brought a seat for my baby to give her enough height to comfortably eat at the table. The portion sizes were generous—one plate of Pad Thai could easily serve both lunch and dinner.

Food: Unfortunately, the food didn't meet expectations. We ordered three items—an appetizer and two entrees. The Pad Thai noodles were almost inedible. Despite ordering spice level 3, the dish was overwhelmingly sweet, more like a dessert than a savory entree, with no balance of flavors. The other two dishes were equally underwhelming—just bland and lacking authentic Thai taste.

Pricing: One confusing part was the bill. The lunch menu listed Pad Thai at $16, but we were charged $19.5. I didn't ask about the discrepancy because I tend to be a little shy, but it left me feeling unsure about their pricing transparency.

Overall: While the staff was great and portions were generous, the food quality and pricing left much to be desired. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this place.

Giving them 2 star only because they were accommodating...

My partner and I decided to try this restaurant and ordered six dishes. Based on our experience, much of the food seemed frozen, precooked, or not freshly made. Unfortunately, we were not satisfied with the quality and do not plan to return.

Seattle has many Thai food options, and I’ve eaten Thai cuisine both in Thailand and across the U.S., so I had certain expectations. Others may enjoy this restaurant, but it didn’t meet either of our preferences.

For example, the spinach and chicken dish was simply raw spinach with plain dry pieces chicken, which surprised us since we expected it to be cooked and flavored. The rice had a noticeable smoky flavor, seemed dry and oily, and contained what appeared to be canned ingredients. Typically, we expect Thai rice to be fresh, slightly sticky, and chewy. The chicken was dry, and the salmon was hard and tasted freezer-burnt and cold. We also weren’t sure about the blue color in the rice. And the sauce was very watery. Their peanut sauce is good. And the brown rice was good cooked soft and moist.

While this place might be a good fit for others, our experience wasn’t what we had hoped for. If you’re curious, you may want to try it...

We chose Thai Wisdom to celebrate my wife’s birthday since it was conveniently close to home. The restaurant is in a nice location with plenty of parking available. Upon arrival, the server inquired about our reservation and promptly seated us at our table.

The ambiance inside was warm and inviting, with an authentic feel that added to the experience. We ordered yellow curry, red curry, Thai noodles, lemonade, and an iced tea float. The food was truly delicious—flavors were rich and well-balanced. We finished our meal with sticky rice, which was a satisfying end to the meal. However, the lemonade stood out as a disappointment, as it was clearly not freshly made.

One aspect of the service that could be improved is attention to clearing the table. Ideally, dessert should be served on a clean table, but the server did not clear our entrée dishes before bringing the sticky rice. Additionally, they didn’t return to check on us until we had finished our food.

Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience with room for...