Jao Thai Kitchen — Restaurant in Melbourne

Jao Thai Kitchen 914 W. New Haven Ave. Melbourne, FL 32901

4.5 Stars (I went again after this review and it was even better)

Arg! I stared in disbelief at yet another Thai/Sushi combo place staring up at me from my random name generator. You have got to be kidding me. How many of these hybrid clip joints have sprung up as of late? They are beginning to look a lot like Starbucks...you know, one on every corner. This time, I was headed to Jao Thai Kitchen, located in a minuscule strip mall just east of Dairy Road in Melbourne, FL.

My wait staff for this culinary excursion was none other than One. While I have it on good word that One is the loneliest number, I have to admit I appreciate the new identity of using a form or letter of their actual name instead of a random generic “American” name such as Mary or Sue. This is now the 5th Thai restaurant where I encountered this new nomenclature, which is a refreshing and positive change. I asked One for an order of their Jalapeno roll, some Chicken Panang Curry and a Tuna Hand Roll.

One returned at a moment’s notice with our order and after snapping a few pics, I grabbed the Jalapeno Roll and commenced tasting. This exciting concoction consisted of tuna, salmon, hamachi, asparagus, cucumber, smelt roe, jalapeno and spicy sauce topped with avocado. Like all stuffed rolls, this one can trace its roots back to the California roll sans the obligatory fake crab center. I prefer this type of roll as I really don’t like paying for fish masquerading as crab. There was just enough kick with the jalapeno and spicy sauce to entertain one’s taste buds.

Next up on the Big Boy’s palate was the Chicken Panang Curry. Panang Curry has to be one of my favorite of the Thai curries. It is mild, complex and sweet with a hint of heat. This was perfectly cooked, including the tender pieces of all-white meat chicken and Thai basil, carrots and bell peppers that were fresh and obviously sliced in the back.

This brings me to my Sushi join barometer of the Tuna Hand Roll. I found this one to be better than most, but it's still not quite what you would find in a traditional Sushi Ya (shop/restaurant). The tuna was a lovely shade of red and the rice was steamed to perfection. However, I found it to be severely lacking in the traditional additions one usually finds in a Tuna Hand Roll, such as a slice or two of Gobo (Japanese Burdock root/carrot or, more often, plain carrot), watercress sprouts and cucumber. This was fine, just on the simple side. It would have been rather bland on the palate if not for soy sauce.

The Big Boy says, “If traditional Japanese Sushi is not your thing, for whatever reason, or you are just hankering for a hunk of raw fish and are nearby, Jao Thai Kitchen can adequately fill that...

DON'T EAT HERE!!

F__k this place!!

my family's dinner was completely ruined tonight because the server misunderstood our order so half of our food was wrong, then she tried to get us to eat the food we didn't order, and when we refused to accept the food we didn't order, we "paid the price" for her mistake and they proceeded to take their sweet time fixing the servers' mistake.

The mistake was simply a couple of rolls that were different, and instead of the server who made the mistake just letting us eat our meal [the part that was correct] while they got us the correct rolls that we ordered, she took all of our food away from both my son and I while my wife sat there and ate her food...How F-ing rude!! 🤬🤬 It was their mistake [which understandably happens], but the way they handled it and took all of our food away when only part of it was incorrect was wrong!! I canceled my diner and got a to-go box for my son's dinner and left!!

Basically, for their cost of a couple of California rolls, they just lost a family's hard-earned money forever. I'll NEVER spend another dime there, and neither should you!!

If you want great sushi and great service, DON'T EAT HERE !!

Update: after sharing our experience on Yelp, the restaurant replied to our comments [and then deleted] calling us "stupid" furthering their insult to our dining experience there. This is how they think of you/us, the customer...if you have a bad experience because of their mistakes, it's your problem, not theirs. WOW!! STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE...

Jao Thai is a really earnest restaurant with attentive service and a humble family feel. They have a good lunch special that covers all of the Thai specials from stir-fry dishes and curries to the beloved Pad Thai. For the lunch special (for all dishes), it's around $8 for chicken, pork, beef or tofu protein base, or a dollar more for shrimp or squid, or two dollars on top of that for mixed seafood. You get to choose between a soup or salad as an appetizer as well.

I ended up being basic and got the Chicken Pad Thai and chose the soup of the day which was Egg Drop Soup. The Egg Drop Soup was pretty standard with some crunchy fried wonton strips and some green onions. The Chicken Pad Thai was presented very cleanly with peanuts on the side and a fried egg roll with some sweet and sour sauce to dip with. Overall, it was well balanced between the sweet, salty, spicy, and sour and a good portion. A good rendition of Pad Thai that definitely hits the spot.

I was also feeling extra hungry so I ended up getting a sushi roll too. I ended up getting the Jalapeño Ocean Roll. It was a good balance between the crunch from the jalapeno and asparagus with the tuna/salmon mix and creaminess of the avocado on top. It was not excessive and was a decent roll that was cleanly executed.

Overall, I enjoyed this restaurant because it's just a good local place serving good food. Next time I come here I am interested in trying out their Curry Duck lunch special that has pineapple and Thai basil in a red curry...