Thaihey NOLA — Restaurant in New Orleans

I'm a big Thai food fan and Tom Kha soup is one of my favorite dishes. Bland and overpriced, I ordered the Tom Kha Tofu soup and it was tasteless and luke warm. When I pointed this out to the waiter, he refused to do anything to correct the order. When I then said I didn't want it, he said I'd still have to pay for it, along with their mandatory 18% service fee, as they do not take any dishes back.

After the waiter spoke with manager Nathan on the phone, he agreed to knock off 25%. So they admitted they were wrong but still we're not willing to take off the whole soup AND THE WAITER THREATHENED TO CALL THE POLICE when I tried to negotiate further saying I could pay what he's asking or he'll call the police.

I only took two sips of the lukewarm tasteless soup but was forced to pay for half the soup, plus an 18% service fee on top of that. Plus their receipts have the gall to have a tip line after forcing customers to pay 18%.

Thailey Nola feels like a tourist trap. In addition to my food complaints, at one point they opened the doors wider when it was cold out, making me cold. And my jacket fell on the floor and the floor was filthy, leaving dust on my jacket. They clearly don't clean the floors like they should, which would then concern me about the cleanliness of the rest of the place.

They clearly don't care about your experience as a customer or even doing the basics of serving hot food, or food that has any taste whatsoever, so I would suggest avoiding this restaurant.

IN RESPONSE TO OWNER NATHAN'S RESPONSE TO MY REVIEW BELOW:

This is the epitome of a bad faith response. Nathan or his staff is outright telling lies. I never threatened to "dine and dash" as he says below, nor would I ever. While I had my credit card out ready to pay, I asked once again that the 25% discount the waiter was offering be more to take off my soup that I did not eat because it was lukewarm and tasteless. I was always willing to pay for my wife's soup, therefore "dine and dash" was never uttered or threatened.

Just ask yourself this, why does this restaurant have an 18% mandatory service charge listed on the menu? Is it so they can be as rude as they want and serve subpar food and still make an 18% service fee?

Also ask yourself what restaurant has a "Refund Policy" listed on their website?? Is it maybe because so many customers have been unhappy with their subpar and tasteless food that they felt the need to write up a refund policy so that they could be a Tourist Trap?

And who threatens to call the police on their customers?

STAY FAR AWAY FROM...

I first went to Thaihey during a NOLA visit in Nov 2022. It was my first time back in NOLA since before the pandemic and a couple of my favorite restaurants didn't survive, so I was looking to add a new one to the list. I found it online and peeked at the menu. I was intrigued by the separate vegan menu (I'm not vegan, but I eat a lot of vegan food) and it was near my hotel, so I went there for lunch immediately. Let me tell you, IT WAS FANTASTIC. I tend to be one of those people who, when they like a place, will become a loyal customer and keep going back, as well as tell anyone who will listen about it. Following suit, I went back the next day and brought a friend. I tried going for a third time during that trip, but sadly, I couldn't make it work. I ended that trip with not only a new NOLA favorite restaurant for me, but thee new favorite- yep, that's right, #1!

A few months later, I had some airline points to use, so I flew down for one day and night and at least half of the reason was to eat there again and it didn't disappoint. I went again last October and ate there twice. I also went this past weekend and ate there twice (I wasn't lying about that whole "loyal customer" bit!). I've brought a few friends and my husband a handful of those times and recommend it to everyone I know who's planning a NOLA visit.

What do I like there? The tofu satay, the fried okra, the pumpkin curry and the Tom Kha tofu soup are what keep me eagerly awaiting my return. I keep telling myself I will branch out and try some new stuff "next time", but those are the items that keep me coming back. If you're in the mood for a drink, the cocktails are impeccable and if you're looking for something N/A, the Purple Palmer is top notch.

It's a small, cozy, airy restaurant that gives off those light romantic French Quarter vibes. There's indoor and outdoor seating.

And I can't leave a review without a special shoutout to servers Misty and Gabe. I had Misty as a server once during my trip last fall and again this weekend. She was the one who turned me onto the Tom Kha tofu soup, so if she recommends something to you, trust it! Gabe was my server on my most recent time there this past Saturday and he was exceptionally on point, friendly and an overall breath of fresh air in contrast to the Saturday night/holiday weekend French Quarter craziness.

I am so glad to have come across this restaurant, as it's truly one of my all-time favorites not only in NOLA, but anywhere. I'll keep coming back here as long as it exists and I continue visiting...

We walked into the restaurant at noon to ask for a reservation for a party if eight for dinner (seven hours away). Bartender took our reservation and copied down credit card information, saying if we no-show to our reservation we will be charged $50. this was fine, but when we arrived to the restaurant for dinner right on time, we were told we would be seated in two separate tables (a high-top of 5 seats and a regular table with SEPARATED BY THE RESTAURANT EXIT). This was so disappointing as this was our last night in the city and wanted to spend it well. When asked about sitting together (as another party was doing right next to us) we were rudely told it wasn't possible. What is the point of making a reservation if they don't properly accommodate our party?

On to the food, I'm from CA Bay Area so my standards are high for asian food. I understand this was "fusion" style but still. The flavors were okay, but ingredients were lacking. There were no vegetables in basically any of the dishes. Even the thai vegan green curry had small bits of eggplant and mushrooms. Pad thai had "microgreens" on top. Why do none of these dishes have actual vegetables? Is this the NOLA influence, which makes it "fusion"? The pad thai also was made with what tasted like instant noodles, not done with rice noodles. The egg and shrimp also tasted like a dirty soapy dish.

As for the service, the waitress was very rude and curt with us, she forgot my friend's wine and was rude when my friend asked about it. She didn't ask us how we liked our meal until she had already brought us our check. When we asked for a take-out toward the end of our meal for our friend sick in the hotel room, the waitress shook her head said no and walked away.. not even a sorry? Then the other party asked the same question and she said apologized and gave reasons for it. The smaller group of our party enjoyed her service and she treated them very differently than us. Also the concept of 18% automatic gratuity for ANY party is insane to me. It looked like they were understaffed, but they should have less tables so the waitress isn't spread so thin.

Overall, extremely disappointing experience that made me really sad I was excited for this restaurant on my last...