King & I Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in Richmond Heights

Time: around 3 PM I have gone to the King and I once before, and hadn't been there since they remodeled. The place has a very modern feel now. The service from our waitress was "good" as she didn't hover over us and greeted us with smiles. But that is the end of good remarks I have.

My friend and I upon entering, found ourselves before a "Please wait to be seated sign" and for a good couple of minutes no one noticed us or the group behind us.

Once we were seated at a wobbly table we placed our order. Appetizer was chicken pot stickers: fried. This was decent, but nothing to really rave about. We ordered Thai Teas and my friend had commented that the flavoring off, and I tasted mine...I was positive as I've had this drink from several different places in the past and to me it tasted like it was suppose to taste. Our main course appeared and my friend dined on the Duck and Rice platter. This was an utter failure for her. The rice didn't have really much flavor from the duck, and there was hardly any duck for her. In fact all she really received was a plate of rice, a side of sauce, a couple of thinly sliced duck, and a ton of basil. At first I thought she was kidding, then she proceeded to extract the basil and there was a clump the size of the palm of her hand. The sauce they included with her meal, tasted off. Off meaning that whatever container they stored it in before transferring it to the plate to be served it had absorbed the flavor of the plastic container. I had ordered the beef and spicy noodle (medium hot). The biggest concern I noticed was the portion seemed off for the price we paid. You could go over to the Wei Hong Bakery and order a similar noodle dish and actually have more to eat for the same price. The scale of spiciness to my dish was NOT medium it was FULL. I like spicy foods, but I have my limits. Our waitress advised us if we had notified her sooner they would have remedied this. But problem is: we never saw our waitress after we received our food... Once I did complain she apologized and said the kitchen was closed. I can understand this as I have worked in food service myself, however one should not "close" the kitchen during normal hours of operation. I had hoped the remodeling was a sign that the King and I had changed management and improved, but I was mistaken. Our waitress did manage to recoup 15% off our bill, so she did mostly everything she could do. But no management person ever came out to question me or my friend about our dissatisfaction with the food.

In the end you can do better in the...

Where do I begin....The most positive - our server was super sweet, polite and provided as much customer service as she could that was in her control. But if you are expecting a semblance of the 2 prior locations on Grand, you will be woefully disappointed; nothing is as it was. The food is different, the delicious mixed drinks are gone, they serve wine and beer. (Remember the old drink "The Scorpion"? Gone!) The decor is monotonous with metal furnishings and glass windows. It's like sitting in an industrial kitchen. 2 workers were standing behind the counter staring at us and other patrons, sometimes talking and laughing. Laughing at people while they are eating? WTH? My friend and I also had flies buzzing around us while we ate. It's summertime, but now it seems questionable. The food has now been "Americanized" which accurately implies and lives up to the reference - the spicy fried rice looked like oatmeal and tasted even blander; no flavor, no salt, no spice, no sauce. When I mentioned it to the server, she said "Oh you can just put hot sauce or pepper flakes on it." Really??? No sauce? I could have stayed at home, made it myself and saved $16. Incidentally, a person from Thailand was with us, she said her papaya salad was too sweet for Thai food and after trying my rice, said it was "horribly dull, no flavor." When I told her I could throw in my compost bin, she said to take it home, add hot peppers, fish sauce and soy sauce and that should pep it up. I never dreamed I'd have to pay money for a meal then bring it home to resuscitate it. Get the paddles! My friend noticed with the exception of our table, most of the patrons appeared to be over age 60...perhaps they've lost their sense of taste? If a venue doesn't attract young people, something is wrong. On the upside, the potstickers were "just OK". The King & I - The "King" is dead and "I" will not be back. A St. Louis culinary landmark is gone....

Was excited for the new location as the old place on Grand was my favorite Thai restaurant for 18 years; it had the great atmosphere and extensive menu. Hearing they are focusing on ease of carry out orders makes sense as I don't feel a reason to eat on site anymore. The new place looks generically Asian as they threw up some bamboo sticks on the wall and ceiling; all the dark teak woods and deep red colors they had in the old location are nowhere to be seen. Aside from the loss of atmosphere the Menu has been pared down to maybe 1/10 of what it used to be. 3 curries choices remain- red, green and yellow. 3 noodle dishes only (the King & I special noodles is no more), Pad Ped is gone and forget their few desserts. 3 stars for the food because so much from their past offerings is no longer available. Our hostess was also our server and I attribute the acceptable service to our being there at 8 pm after most of the dinner crowd had left. We had the Papaya Salad, the Yum Beef and the Four Kings of Thailand all of which were delicious as expected although the Prices have gone up by around 30%. Considering everything, King & I is now a basic strip mall Asian restaurant with no feeling of history or way to stand out. The restaurant I held so dearly since my late 20's is not this place. I don't recognize the menu anymore. I'll get their takeout once in a while if I feel like paying the prices but with Mai Lee Vietnamese and Joy Luck Szechuan both with HUGE menu choices, I feel they're at a disadvantage now. I wish this version of King & I in this new iteration well and only regret that I have their old ambiance and menu to...