Tuk Tuk Thai Cuisine and Sushi — Restaurant in Lebanon

I own a restaurant here in The Upper Valley and so, for the past ten years, I have not reviewed restaurants in The Upper Valley because I thought it was a conflict of interests. But then we had Covid and we went from an area with “some” dining out options to an actual “restaurant desert” and I decided to start reviewing local spots if I have a good review.

Enter the newly opened (two months ago) Tuk Tuk Thai Cuisine and Sushi in West Lebanon, NH. We needed a spot like this SO BADLY!!! What they have done, completely rehabbing an old Dunkin’ Donuts is breathtaking. The place is just beautiful inside; light, bright, excellent finishes. Even a beautiful bathroom. They’ve “frosted” the windows so that sunlight STREAMS in during the day and at night the place practically “glows” from the outside. The music mix is also perfection (lots of 70s R&B and classic type Soul music).

The original Tuk Tuk has been open in a basement in downtown Hanover for 7 years. The Tuk Tuk team clearly honed their craft before opening this second location, because they are ON their game. They are taking to go orders online as well as over the phone and managing a steady stream of take out while waiting on everyone dining in. It is quite impressive. (Particularly if you have been witness to the general implosion of the restaurant industry since Covid liberated so many of us who were trapped in it….)

The food is SENSATIONAL.

No. Really.

The Thai food here is every, damn thing I’ve been wanting and needing in my life: delicious, fresh, CHOCK FULL of freshly cooked vegetables; plenty of options for someone who doesn’t eat beef, pork or poultry (i.e., Me); PLENTY of options just in general.

Look, I cook ALL DAY for a living. The last thing I want to do at the end of my 10 hr shift is cook. For myself. Also, I am single. I’m not going home to cook dinner for myself. And, after 10 years, I’m tired of having to eat what I cook every day. I need new and different flavors.

I’ve eaten at Tuk Tuk W. Leb 6 or 7 times now. They have a tiny little sushi case and have a limited sushi menu with a bunch of the “giant” type rolls people like. I ordered Nirvana Salmon Truffle, Lady in Red and Kamikaze (with no tempura crunch - I don’t do tempura crunch). They were all good. Better than any dine in sushi in the area. Each of these rolls could be a meal unto itself.

But what I keep coming back to eat here is the Thai food. You can add your choice of vegetables/protein. I add tofu. You can choose your spicy level (CHOOSE WISELY! Thai Food did NOT come to play…):

Tom Yum (Hot & Sour Soup) - delicious, the Tofu is big, lovely chunks of soft tofu that was light fried;

Silver Noodle Soup - this is a whole meal, soup with veggies and glass noodles;

Red Curry - I had mild spicy, it was perfect and DELICIOUS;

Green Curry - this one has eggplant, I LOVE eggplant. Also bamboo shoots. Fabulous;

Pad Thai - DELICIOUS DELICIOUS DELICIOUS, next time I must also add shrimp;

Thai Lo Mein - even better than the Pad Thai, FULL of veggies, wonderful;

Garlic Shrimp - this was the dish that showed me how PERFECT Tuk Tuk is; grilled shrimp, perfectly stir fried veggies, delicious garlic and black pepper sauce;

And the dish I will keep coming back to eat over and over and over:

Salmon and Eggplant: this is an entire Japanese eggplant cut open and grilled to perfection with a BIG, grilled Salmon fillet laid on top of it and then the entire thing COVERED in perfectly cooked onion, bell peppers, green beans, carrots, snow peas, topped with crispy basil leaves and a beautiful garlic sauce. An entire, delicious, healthy meal.

Everything I order is served perfectly hot directly from the kitchen. I can finish up at the Diner, drive over to Tuk Tuk, have something delicious/fresh/healthy before I head home to start the second part of my day (home/farm chores, laundry, etc. etc.).

Tuk Tuk W. Leb is changing my life. No more peanut M&Ms...

I give this place a 5 for food (it was DELICIOUS!!!) and a 1 for service….so I average it out to a 3. Like I said, the food was incredible!! But the service. We arrived late into town. So we looked online to figure out where to eat. We wanted somewhere that had later hours. We found this restaurant and chose it because it said they were open until 9:30. We arrived at 8:50. They were acting annoyed and like they couldn’t take us in, but then said their kitchen was closing and we’d need to hurry and order. We ordered all of our food within 5 minutes….a starter soup, 2 entrees, and a dessert. The food came out fairly quick. First the two entrees and like 10 mins later the soup. I hate getting my starter at the same time or later than the entrees. 😕 But we started eating and were feeling fairly rushed by how we were being served. At like 9:10, we were the only remaining customers at the restaurant. They started cleaning up around us. And at 9:20, they flipped on the BRIGHT FLORESCENT lights….like to make sure we knew that it was TIME TO LEAVE. SO RUDE!!! Here’s my thing. If you want you and your staff to be cleaned up and out the door by 9:30, then DON’T PUT YOUR CLOSING TIME AS 9:30….put it as 8:30!!!! Or whatever time you feel you can take your last customer and serve them and get cleaned up and out of there by whenever you want to leave by! Don’t make me, as the customer, guess as to when you’ll take your last customer based on what your closing time is!! The closing time that is posted should be the last time when you’ll take an incoming customer!! And especially as a new restaurant in town (as this restaurant is!), you’d think they’d have been a little more accommodating instead of making us feel like we were inconveniencing them….which we did feel that way. Again though….the food...

I would like to begin by saying that I don’t know why we haven’t posted a review sooner. This is our favorite restaurant! We have been to Tuk Tuk in Hanover and we have loved it every time. But, Tuk Tuk Sushi delivers it all, Sushi, Thai and hospitality all wrapped up in one. We own a very successful restaurant for over 10 years in Woodstock, Vermont and we know how much work goes into making a restaurant great. The consistency is the key. Tuk Tuk Sushi delivers consistency in the quality of their food, the quality of their dishes, and the quality of the smiles on all of their faces every time. We can even see the warm and inviting smile on the tiny lady who always wears a face mask through her eyes and through her gestures. Our server/hostess makes us feel so welcome. She makes us feel so special and she is so special. Because of all of them we want to go there over and over again, and we do. The Sushi is creative, thoughtful and the presentation is artistically beautiful. We have been going there since they opened. I have been craving Larb and because it is not on their menu we had to try other Thai Restaurants in the area. But guess what, once we came and I asked if Chef could make Larb. To my surprise, without advance notice and without any hesitation, they made it for me. And it is the best Larb in this area! We will continue to go back, and back, and back again and bring more of our friends. Thank you! We wish that one day we will be lucky enough to meet the owner “Tuk Tuk” to tell her face to face how wonderful both of her restaurants are. Mara Mehlman and Chef...