Nicky's Thai Kitchen — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

I was recommended this place by a Yinzer I used to work with.  He is a foodie and beer connoisseur.  Since I'm not from the Burgh it has taken me a long time to get out there.  So I finally was able to take another Yinzer friend of mine for his birthday when I made an impromptu surprise visit.  I am so glad that we went.  It was raining and dismal.  We walked in and they asked if we would like to be inside or outside.  Anyone who knows me knows that I will choose outside 100% of the time when it is gorgeous outside.  I look at her and say it's raining.  Is it covered?  She said it was covered.  Sold!!  That choice was simple.  What a beautiful patio.  Serene is the best way to explain it.  You could hear the rain drops on the roof.  So nice.  Calming.  There was a fountain in the middle of the room and plants and statues everywhere.

Onto Service.  Our server was V.  I say like Vee and she said nope just V like as in victory or vendetta...hmmm this is going to be an interesting meal.  I am a server and I can appreciate her wittiness.  She comes across dead pan serious when she is talking to you but with the things she is saying you can understand that she is intelligent and knowledgeable.  What is not to love!!  We find out that she is studying for some god awful intelligent subject.  She is destined to make some difference in the world.  She did a fabulous job and I hope that she will be there when I visit the next time.

So we look at the menu and it is vast...all the options are represented.  My buddy is a Pescatarian.  So his options are limited.  I am thankful that my options are limitless.  However, I do have to concede on a few things if we are to share an appetizer.  Oh well...I’ll make due.  We choose a dish I believe is called Veg for You or something like that.  It is like a sampler of sorts.  It had the Fresh Spring Rolls, Somosa, and another item I just can't place right now.  But everything was delish.  I would easily get that again.  I also order the Shrimp Cakes.  After all it is his birthday so let's Fish it up.

Onto the main course.  A dish catches my eye not for me but in general because of the name and the location on the menu.  I know that my buddy would probably enjoy this dish if it fits his dietary requirements.  So when V comes back we ask what exactly is the Vegan Duck Curry.  Completely serious she says that they feed the duck only vegetables for 12 months and then waits for the response.  Wow...funny!  She says she is kidding and explains that it is a vegetarian protein...yada yada yada.  So he chooses that and because I want to try something new I ask for suggestions.  She gave me three and I settle with the Garprow Lad Kao (I just called them to find out the name since it is not on the online menu).  Say that 3 times fast.  It had two cooked over easy eggs on top.  She asks both of us the level of heat we would like to have 1-5.  5 would be the typical Thai Hot that I am used to.  I usually get that and then ask for more powder to up the level of heat.  V then says Thai Hot?  No refunds?  Now that gives me Pause to think.  I have been to several places and gotten Thai Hot.  I have always added more heat at the end…Can this place be so hot that they are like No refunds?  What do I do?  I say what the heck!  If it is too hot then I deserve that.  I order Thai Hot and she also gets us the Sauce tray.  Why not right?  Everything was so good.  The sauce tray was a nice added touch and I did still add some more heat.  I found out that she could have done a 6 Level of Heat!  Maybe on...

Food is delicious. Unfortunately, their habit of not giving you what you ordered makes it impossible to enjoy!

I used to dine in, then when the pandemic hit, I started ordering food directly through their website for pick-up. I noticed my orders would often contain different ingredients than what was listed than when I selected it online. Pointing it out, or asking for a refund, or waiting for a new order ensued. Eventually, after several times of this happening at the downtown location, I discovered the reason was because their online menu was allegedly out-of-date - the items I was ordering no longer existed. Okay, so you would expect them to call and explain that, or just cancel and refund the order, right? Nope -- their standard practice was to just... give me a different meal than what I ordered. I.e. Ordered the Bangkok Bay, and that no longer exists, so they would just make and give me the Chili Mango Scallop with NO explanation.

Eventually, they seemed to update their menu, and I was able to order things they actually make and get what I ordered. Fast forward to today. I go to order from the North Side location... and see, "Oh, they have the Bangkok Bay on the menu! I haven't seen it there for years! I thought they didn't make it anymore... But, no, they wouldn't take it down and then put it back up if they didn't make it anymore, right...?" I decided to risk it and order the Bangkok Bay.

Big mistake. I show up to pick it up, look in the bag... and can see it's the Chili Mango Scallop! The fact that they do this at 2 locations - downtown and North Side - means this is standard practice: Just give the customer something they didn't order! How can anyone think that's a logical or good idea?! What if I was allergic to the cashews (they come on the Chili Mango Scallop but not the Bangkok Bay)?! I can't fathom how they came up with this plan! It's unfair, and it's absurd!

I should have demanded a refund, but I decided to just take it and eat it, since I like this one, too. Mistake #2. Instead of being topped with the cashews like it says online, it was topped with peanuts.

I'm done. For good this time. This is the most nonsensical restaurant I've EVER...

My girlfriend and I have been frequenting there Western Ave location for several years now, often getting take out. At first this was one of our favorite places in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately after frequenting the place regularly over the years, the service and food quality has progressively gotten worse. It has gotten so bad that at this point, they have not gotten an order of ours correct for the past several months. Today was the last straw though. Once again they got our lunch take out order incorrect. After attempting to call them with no answer to inform them of the situation so they could correct it, and then making the journey all the way back to the restaurant to a locked door with no answer unfortunately all I could think was THIS SUCKS. I didn't get what I ordered once again but was stuck with it for now. I figured I would just call and inform them of the situation during dinner service and they would correct it for us. While struggling to have a conversation with them about the situation, ironically they incorrectly read back our order to me twice. HOWEVER, they insisted that I was lying and we must of made the mistake and ordered the wrong item. The funny thing is we order the same thing every time, but we must of made the mistake and ordered something new without looking at a menu. I don't know why I thought this would of been a simple fix after I had already been inconvenienced for hours with a lunch I didn't order or like. Needless to say we will not be giving this establishment anymore of our hard earned money and I will be letting everybody I come across know not to frequent this place b/c they can not get an order correct, have horrible customer service, and their food quality has steadily been declining...