Thai Bistro & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Mason City

I normally am not one to complain. However, my boyfriend and I stopped in for our first time here last night as I had recently found out the owner of my absolute favorite restaurant that I frequent often also partly owns this one, and I love sushi so we wanted to give it a try. I ordered 2 sushi rolls, one with soft shell crab because that’s one of my favorite things and once I learned they offered it in a roll, I HAD to try it, it was our entire purpose for coming, and my boyfriend ordered the drunken noodles. This is where things went south. I would also like to preface by saying there did appear to only be one server and he had several tables he was working and didn’t bust down for the nearly 2 hours we ended up being there for. He brings a sushi roll out first, and sets it in front of me. I ate 3 pieces of it and let my boyfriend try a piece as he was still waiting on his food and I wanted to eat with him. His food comes out about 15-20 minutes after that roll did. Then our server comes back after some time, and I hadn’t eaten any more of the roll because I was saving room to try a few pieces of the other one I had ordered but hadn’t gotten. He lets me know he mistakingly gave me the wrong roll, it was for the table behind us but asked if I liked it anyways. I said yes, I’ve never found a sushi I didn’t like but I was thinking I’d still get what I had ordered originally as that was what I wanted. Some more time went by and I continued waiting, still thinking my order would make its way to our table. Finally our server came back around again and asked if I was going to keep eating, I said I was saving room for what I actually ordered. He let me know that he had cancelled my order because I liked that roll and he’d have to charge me for it. This is where I got frustrated because now not only am I not getting what I WANTED but I have to pay for a mistake that I didn’t make? I didn’t argue though, I said I’d pay it because I’m not confrontational but that I’d still like my rolls that I had ordered originally. We had already been there an hour at this point. Finally, about 45 minutes later, my actual order arrived at our table. I ask for boxes and the check, and ended up spending $16.65 for the mistake roll plus a $5.99 sashimi charge for his mishap. An extra $23 for a mistake that I didn’t make. I have never not tipped before in my life but I did not tip this guy. Not only did I not get to enjoy my meal with my partner, not only did we have to compensate for a mistake that I didn’t make, not only were we there for nearly 2 hours, but all the tables surrounding us were dirty the entire time with plates of food still on them from the last patrons that were leaving as we were being seated, my water glass sat empty for awhile, we were not checked on often and I know he had other tables but he was frequently greeting and checking the tables on the floor and we were sat up near a window. The food WAS delicious 100% I will not disagree, but this experience was disheartening and frustrating and I don’t think I’ll ever go back and if I do, it would be carry out only. I hate leaving bad or unkind reviews, and I want to emphasize the fact that I tried this place out because of finding out who one of the owners is and he’s a phenomenal guy and his other restaurants are amazing on food, service, atmosphere, the whole catch, every single time I’ve gone so I think I’ll just stick to those places instead. I will attach photos of the mistake roll and the dirty tables to...

We visited the Thai Bistro & Sushi Bar for lunch yesterday. It was quiet and the atmosphere was dark. My spouse ordered the Bento box with the Terriyaki Chicken which came with a ginger salad, 4pc California roll, and a spring roll with dipping sauce. The California roll was fresh and light and tightly wrapped. The ingredients were fresh. The salad was meh. While the lettuce was fresh, the ginger dressing was so watery that it did not stick to the lettuce. As a result, no flavor for the salad. The dressing hung out in the bottom like water. The spring rolls were crispy and the insides were delightful. The clear noodles with cabbage and veggies were on point though I wanted a little more than one cut in half at an angle. I felt a little slighted. The dipping sauce was too watered down. It was much like the ginger dressing. So, now the chicken Terriyaki. It looked great! The flavors were layered, but it was cold. The underlying rice was warm which means it had been sitting, waiting on something else in the box. My spouse loved the rice and the sauce from the Terriyaki. She would have been over the moon with the whole dish had it been warm, despite the little idiosyncrasies. So I ordered two rolls or the lunch combo two classic rolls. I ordered the Spicy Tuna roll and the No Name roll. Both were rolled superbly - nothing moved from their specific spots. The flavors were layered to perfection. The veggies were fresh and so was the fish. If I had to say anything negative, I would say that there was too much Japanese mayo on the No Name roll. Other than that, the rolls were great. The service was Meh. My rolls came out to the table a good 5 minutes before my spouse's food so I waited. With only 3 other couples in the places, we were all seated in a row during COVID19 specs when we could have been spread out more. Our server was friendly and in good spirits, no issues there. Maybe the kitchen was off or the Bistro's ji was out of sync. I still will go back again and again as this is just a bump in my long journey with the Thai Bistro. My star rating is sure to increase as I know them to be a 4 star, maybe even a 5...

Husband and I tried this place out as a recommendation from the co-owner (great guy) as we previously dined at his other restaurant “Vulcan”. We got there about 2 ish in the afternoon and it was quiet and slow paste. Our first impression of the restaurant when we arrived was that it was inside of an old building downtown, the furniture and decor was outdated and some of the booths were ripped. Overall though, yet the atmosphere and vibe was slow and yet relaxing. I think mainly because it was just probably us and maybe 2 other people. It kind of had like an old vintage vibe per se. We were greeted by Miew with friendliness and seated by the windows. Miew was polite and very friendly and showed us Menu items and explained what some menu items were that we wanted to try. What we ordered: Drinks- Thai Tea 10/10 Shirley Temple 10/10 Appetizers- Gyoza (fried) 5/10 (too bland) Sauce 10/10 Lunch Special- Sashimi (3) pieces salmon, yellowtail, tuna 10/10 for all the sashimi It was the bento box lunch special and it came with other items. The others dishes in the bento box like salad 7/10 and egg roll 1/10 (not much flavor, and plain). Miso soup was 9/10. Hubby ordered the Cashew nut special 8/10, it was very tasty. I enjoyed the sushi roll 9/10. It was a sweet lunch special 2/$12. We had the Kanikama roll and Spicy Tuna roll. Tasted really good for being in IOWA. All in all we had a nice lunch and enjoyed a calm afternoon in...