Lemongrass Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Petaluma

I do have love-hate relationship with Thai restaurants in America. Therefore, I'm writing this with mixed feelings. I want so much for this to be my go to place. Firstly, there are 2 locations. This review is meant for this location on N. Mcdowell Blvd. The two have the same menu, but, there are slight variation on their approach. This is another typical average Thai restaurant--relies very much on the usual stuff you would find in others with very slight variations. Most utilize the basic vegetables, especially carrots and bell peppers. OMG, those are in almost all dishes with vegetables and in great quantities. All have the same kinds of dessert selections, nothing out of the norm--sticky rice and mangoes, and fried wrapped up banana drizzled with honey served with vanilla ice cream, not encouraging when I see these on the menu and nothing else. It seems each is just content to be a mere average and not standing out (except a few in big cities like SF and NYC). The only selling points are prices and Mmm...predictability. I wish the consistency of good tasting, good quality food were there. There's much room for progress, if the owners wish to bring more traffic to its establishment. Some wait staff are friendly, and some are not, and sometimes it is depending upon what time you arrive and leave. I suggest avoid considering going for late lunch(after 2pm) or late dinner. The service is quick but quality of service can decline somewhat, to the point of feeling rushed because the staff want to clean up and be done with the shift, maybe. Don't be surprised. This is common in many other Thai places as well. I had some good tasting salads here in the past. However, at times they could taste a bit too sweet and the vegetables droopy not as crispy as it should be for a good traffic restaurant. The inconsistency, I mentioned, is alive and well. Could it be different cooks on different days? Curries and Tom-Kar soup, for instances, could be a tad too much sugar added (but if you like it sweet then, cheer!). The meat in all the dishes was tender, though. This I like. The seafood tends to be overcooked. Still, I wish they toned the sweetness down a bit in salad and curries. Salmon curry was not tasty. It's farmed salmon they use, in order to make it affordable. Go for Noodle soup if you want a sure thing, they're never too sweet, and the broth has some good flavor, like Pho (vietnamese noodle soup), however, in no way to compete with good ramen bowl. To break down my mixed feelings: 5 stars for prices and 4 for selections. 2-3 stars for flavors depending on what you order and what days. 5 star for fast service. 2-3 stars for friendliness depending on who waits on you. I know 1-2 waitresses who are always friendly. As you can see, it's mixed feelings. In any rate, I meant this to be a...

So I ordered pineapple fried rice on Grubhub and stated that it was to be made vegan. When it arrived, it had egg in it. When I called to rectify the situation, I was informed by the gentleman on the phone that “some vegans are ok with egg and that I ordered incorrectly!” Do me a favor. It will only take a second or two of your time. Google the words “do Vegans eat eggs?” This is what you will find...

Among pure vegetarians, lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs and dairy products, but no meat, poultry or fish. Ovo vegetarians also eat eggs, but do not include dairy in their diet. ... Veganism is the most restrictive vegetarian diet and does not allow for any animal products, including eggs, dairy and honey.

Instead of wanting to fix the problem, the guy on the phone wanted to educate me on my own dietary restrictions. Then, after a bit more back and forth, he informed me that “just this one time” I could bring it in for an exchange. Firstly, I had it delivered, remember? I could have a broken leg. My car could be in impound. I could be on house arrest. Whatever. Secondly, to shame me that he would exchange it for me “just this one time” still implies that I was in the wrong here. I have eaten and had food delivered from here dozens of times and only had one other issue. Chicken meat was found in soup that was supposed to be meatless. I let that one slide as an accident and because the crispy spring rolls are the best that I have ever had, EVER!!! This single experience will make me reconsider any future orders since I am not the one whom needs to be educated on my own dietary...

After being a loyal customer for years, often ordering 1-2 times a week, our latest experience has made us decide to never return.

Knowing their website incorrectly transmits orders, we always note the correct protein in the notes section of our orders. This time, after placing our order, they called us to confirm if we wanted chicken or pork. We told them what the problem with the website was and that we did indeed want chicken. The order was delivered with the incorrect item, despite the phone call.

When I called the restaurant back, the owners proceeded to argue with me, despite admitting they messed up the order. Instead of providing us with the correct item, they told us we had to pay for another order if we wanted our food. Even after bringing a copy of our emailed order confirmation and returning the incorrect item, they still told us we had to pay for the correct item after admitting again they clearly gave us the wrong order. Not thinking of it at the time, I later realized I had just paid twice for a single item. My mistake, but something they clearly understood.

After picking up the correct item and bringing it home, we discovered it was clearly hastily prepared and tasted terrible, leaving us to question if it was...