BANGKOK TOKYO Restaurant — Restaurant in Lake Bluff

Qualification for review: I want to qualify that I am Thai and that I used to frequent this restaurant. I am compelled to write a review because the Thai food we ordered completely missed the mark. The service was attentive and friendly, but I don’t think they are familiar with cooking Thai food.

Don’t list these dishes if you can’t make them: We ordered the Chicken Larb and Beef salad. These dishes are ones that require the right balance of salt, sweet, spicy and sour. Both dishes were under flavored and completely missing elements of spicy, sour and salt. One of the salads even had ginger. Ginger isn’t used in these dishes. The portions were also a bit small.

Overly sweet soup: We also ordered Tom Yum soup and it was over powered with sweet flavor. If they pull. Back from the sweetness in the soup, they’d have a good product.

Basic dishes missed the mark slightly: My son and daughter ordered Pad See Ew and fried rice. The Pad See Ew was under flavored and didn’t have the characteristic char on the noodles. The fried rice needed a bit more saltiness.

Appetizer quality: My wife and I ordered the chicken satay, which should have been an easy win. Unfortunately, the meat appeared to be reheated and the accompanying peanut sauce was inedible as it was dry.

Well intentioned and need to work out some issues : We utilized their online ordering and was told that the order would be ready for pick up within the hour. When I arrived, it wasn’t ready and I had to wait an additional 20 minutes. The staff appear to be well intentioned and if they can correct the dishes above and streamline some processes, they could be at a quality this restaurant used to be at.

I should mention that there were people who were dining in and the wait staff were very attentive and appeared to get their orders to them in a timely manner.

I find that it’s hard to find good Thai food in the northern suburbs of Chicago. I’m not looking for quality that is like my mom’s cooking, but a baseline quality expected for Thai dishes.

Certainly give this place a try and my experience may have been an isolated one.

If you are looking for some good Thai food, this place isn’t quite at the level you’d expect for a restaurant claiming to be Thai.

Our family will likely order food again from them as we’d love to support them so they can be successful and we’ll update this review...

I give no stars - the one star that appears is because I had to due to system limitations. I recently ate at Bangkok Tokyo on Friday - May 10, 2019 during lunch. I had been there previously and recognized that my colleagues and I were treated differently. This time I decided to go by myself to see if what I experienced previously was true and not just an "off" day for the restaurant. I arrive at the restaurant at 12:30pm in the midst of the rush. I see a 2 top table available but I say nothing. I just wait for a host to "notice" me so I can be seated. I stand there waiting for 10 minutes while the owners as well as hosts and waiters pass me by. Then a white couple comes in behind me and instantaneously the owners, hosts, and waiters all stop and come to the door where I have been waiting to seat them. Wow!!! So I give a look that expresses that I recognize that their behavior is wrong. So the host backs up and seats me first. LOL....as I am taking notes about this experience in my phone. I honestly contemplated leaving because I should not have to experience this type of behavior when I am dining. After I am seated, I wait 5 minutes or so for a menu. After that time I then order my food. As I am doing that the same white couple is seated beside me. A waiter immediately comes up to them and they receive menus and a welcome. Very different response. After all this they receive water, soup, etc. I am still waiting for my water and thai iced tea. My water and thai iced tea comes out roughly 10 minutes later. Thank goodness I hydrated prior to my visit to their restaurant. The owner while bringing out the soup hesitates to give me soup although it comes with my order. My food finally comes out around 1:10pm... after the white couple and two other patrons who were seated after me. I am looking around not saying anything wondering where my food is and when it is coming to my table. My waiter sees me looking and runs back to get my tokyo box order ready. Wow again! Suffice it to say - I will not be going back again. I recommend that if you are not white - meaning of the black person persuasion - avoid this place at all costs. Beware!!! You work hard for your money like everyone else and deserve to be treated with equity. I shake my head in disgust because I should not have spent my money at that place yesterday. It was a very disappointing experience in the...

Our second visit was yesterday. This was to be lunch "date", as we had an appointment nearby early afternoon. Unfortunately it was a disappointment. It was a hot day and the air conditioning was apparently not working. There was a small fan running near our table, which was a clue that management/owner knew that the A.C. was off. We were very uncomfortable by the time we left. If this was my business, I'd have greeted customers with an apology for the heat and an offer of $5 off per person as a goodwill gesture. Or complimentary bottomless cold drinks. You get the idea. I think it could have been dealt with in a more up-front manor with some sort of good-faith gesture to facilitate good will. At our first visit, about a year ago, I had a noodle dish with duck. At least half of the "duck" was fatty skin! Is this a Thai "thing"? Is the greasy skin the best part of a duck, if you're Thai? I'm not being sarcastic- I'm really perplexed. So yesterday was the "let's give it another try". My Bangkok Box lunch special (chicken, no more duck thank you...) was O.K. A ways into the meal, I asked my wife about her meal. She wrinkled her nose, and said that she didn't like it. And that the "cashew" chicken had no cashews! I eventually got the attention of our server, who postulated that the kitchen ("she") was supposed to sprinkle the cashews over the entree before setting it out for the server. The server offered to bring the cashews, which I agreed to. But by then it was too late to "salvage" my wife's meal. She nibbled a few of them, and I added the rest to my entree. I don't doubt that many people are familiar with Thai food, know what they like, and know what to order that will satisfy them. We came, admittedly, in "let's-try-something-outside-of-our-pizza-and-burgers-comfort-zone" mode. We've recently discovered the Blu Fig Cafe in Long Grove. It was in the opposite direction for the errand yesterday. It would have been...