Saap — Restaurant in Randolph

It was our first time here, and after hearing so many great things we were very excited to check it out for our date night. We arrived promptly at 6pm on time for our reservation. There appeared to be 1 server/host on, but the restaurant was mostly empty. The server was chatting with a man at the bar, the server saw us walk in and continued to chat for another 8 minutes with the man. The man he was chatting with indicated towards us, and at least acknowledged us, the server did not. It was off to an odd start.

After 8 minutes the server handed us menus and told us to pick any seat, so we did. There was one other couple inside the restaurant and us.

We figured out what we wanted to eat and waited for the server- who was standing behind the bar- to come back and grab our order.

And we waited, And we waited, And we waited.

At 620pm I told my husband let’s just leave, we were sitting at an empty table with just menus. My husband agreed that if we weren’t at least acknowledged by 630pm we’d get up and leave. At 625pm the server made it back to our table and grabbed our orders. Some time later he brought over water.

Now if it had been busy I wouldn’t have cared, but the restaurant wasn’t taking take-out orders, and the other couple in the restaurant had left shortly after we were seated. It honestly felt like this server was intentionally doing everything they could to avoid us. The server jovially welcomed 2 walk-in parties as they trickled in and quickly grabbed waters for them.

The server dropped off our food and never checked back in until the end when we were done eating. Honestly it just felt odd to be almost purposely ignored? when we made reservations.

My husband acknowledged that an incredible stretch of time passed where we were being ignored but just chalked it up to the server being a bit weird- and he didn’t mind because it was our date night and he was happy to fritter time away with me. He pointed out we weren’t in a rush and it was ok. My husband is a good man.

Other than the service I did like the food. It was on point and in my opinion very enjoyable.

My husband (who works in the food industry) and was most excited to try Saap was not impressed by the food. He had ordered a chicken dish that was described as having lime and other spices- but he didn’t pick up on any of the seasonings mentioned in the menu description. He was disappointed that his fried chicken was sat in a pool of liquid which made the chicken soggy. The top half of the chicken he described as beautifully crispy but he was dissatisfied with the chicken’s soggy bottom.

I did not like the service, but thought that the food was good.

My husband didn’t mind the service but was not impressed by the food.

Nothing was wildly terrible but we weren’t wowed. So it’s a solid middle...

Traveling a bit for a meal out can often keep us home but knowing that Saap had received the James Beard award enticed us to give this restaurant in Randolph another try. We made a date with 2 other couples and were flexible when they changed our reservation the day before from 6:45 to 7:15. Mistake number 1. Fumbling around with our phones to get the drink menu seemed a waste of time when the options were very limited although the website says cocktails were available. After our drinks arrived we asked if we could put in an appetizer order while we looked at the menu. Our waitress responded that she wanted to put our whole order in at once as the kitchen was closing. What? We barely had arrived. Mistake number 2. I wish we had been able to read between the lines and chosen to leave and find another restaurant in town where we would have been made to feel welcome and deserving of a relaxed meal. Instead we were rushed at every opportunity. Plates were cleared before we were all finished, we were asked if we'd like to order dessert before our meal was finished, and then before the dessert was eaten our bill was delivered being told that they were closing. Additionally, they started cleaning the floors even before our dessert arrived where we had to inhale the strong cleaner while trying to enjoy our meal and conversation. It was beyond rude, beyond our comprehension that on a Friday night we were being pushed out as unwelcome intruders instead of valued guests. Mistake number 3. One member of our group shared our disappointment with a staff member and was told that "they had a long day and they were ready to close." We stood in the parking lot at 8:30pm dumfounded at the whole experience. Yes, the food may be good (although my husband chicken was dry), but one would think that a James Beard award includes the whole dining experience and I highly doubt that whomever was the judge wasn't sitting at their table while toxic cleaning solution wafted through the air as they ate their meal and a check handed to them before they finished their dessert let alone being brave enough to ask for...

Since their website insists that we make a reservation, we did - well ahead of time but the earliest available. So perhaps our expectations were too high, given the wait. When we go there, perfectly in time for our reservation, they told us to sit anywhere, and then found us a "good spot", but the table was not cleaned from the previous people. We waited for about 7-10 minutes to be seated. Having said that, everyone was friendly.

Our appetizers were interesting and good, but it would have been nice to have some guidance on what stuff was since we had ordered some unusual items. I asked for papaya salad without fish sauce and would have been fine with a no, but what I received definitely had something fishy in it.

The kicker is that I asked for massaman curry, and received a very soupy curry with NO potatoes, just carrots and tofu chunks. I sent it back and I think they just put potatoes in my old food and gave it back to me (which is alright, but it makes me wonder about their process). And by the time it came back my dinner date had already finished their meal (which was pretty good, they said). The sauce was tasty but it did not taste anything like massaman curries I have had before (this is not a criticism, just a heads up).

There were only 3 wait staff on the floor, with one being clearly new and they seemed to be stretched thin - even though the restaurant was half empty and getting emptier as we sat there. I want to emphasize that they were friendly.

The vibe at the restaurant was that they were closing, this was close to 8pm and we had not been there a whole hour. Overall it was a bit of a let down after waiting a week to get a reservation and after all the hype over the last several months. Oh, and also the prices were like we were dining in Boston at some fancy place.

Update: had my massaman curry the next day, and I could mostly just taste cinnamon, the flavors were not complex. And the potatoes definitely seemed to have been cooked separately and...