Lemon Grass Thai Kitchen — Restaurant in Riverview

This is a corner lot hole-in-the-wall on commuter alley Bloomingdale. For a Friday night, it was almost completely empty, but then we watched take-out after take-out orders being picked up. Hubby and I had been coming on and off for years and the food was always good, but service was inconsistent. This time, I was here with a girlfriend. After we ordered the soup, the waiter brought shrimp crisps with home-made duck sauce (free). Oh yum. So much better than the Chinese corn syrup version. Then Tom Ka soup. It was very good, and a bit lighter than some others that I've had, which is a good thing. Next, Yum Duck salad. It was the size of an entree and very tasty. Then, entree, but I was too full, so I took it home. My husband likes noodles, so I got the Pad Se-Ew for him (to go). It was sweet, and he didn't like it. I got myself the beef basil entree to go (since I was full). Well. It didn't make it until the next day. Possibly the best Thai basil I've ever had. My friend ordered the cashew dish and she loved it and it was so much that she took half of it home. Amounts are relative to the person, so someone else, especially a guy, may have finished it. Their prices are pre-Covid, unless you order a specialty. Beef is priced the same as pork and chicken. Where can you get a beef noodle dish, beef curry, beef basil for under fourteen? The waiter was incredibly nice and courteous. We stayed a bit after dinner, catching up. He brought pineapple and water melon for dessert (free). We stayed longer. He brought wonton chips with a sweet drizzle (free and yum). I know it only costs pennies, but it was very courteous and attentive. Then we found out it was just him and the chef in the back. Kudos. This has just become my favorite girlsnightout...

I’ve ordered carry out from here on 4 different occasions, and the food is consistently good, if not great. The crispy Thai wings are delicious, but they don’t give you enough dipping sauce. I always order extra. They are the best Thai wings I’ve had, bar none. The pad Thai is wonderful, but I wish there were more peanuts, sprouts, and other vegetables, as stated on the menu. It’s mostly noodles, sauce, and whatever protein you’ve chosen. I really love the flavor, though. The green curry is my favorite, although the red and panang curries were very good, as well. The crispy duck speciality is definitely worth trying, but the salmon dish was just okay. It could have had more flavor. I’d say the same about the basil sauce entree, which was also just okay. The Thai donuts were some of the best I’ve ever tasted, and the Thai iced tea has been inconsistent. I always order it, and sometimes it’s great, while other times it has a bite that I don’t care for. One of my biggest overall complaints is that I cannot taste the spice unless I order hot, and it’s still not that spicy. I’m afraid to go all the way and try the Thai hot, though. I’m worried I won’t be able to tolerate the heat. I sincerely recommend this restaurant, however. It’s not only one of my favorite Thai restaurants, it’s one of my overall favorite restaurants...

I’ve been here a few times and typically Lemongrass has been a solid 4 star restaurant. Pretty consistent and mostly done well. Unfortunately since Covid, Lemongrass just hasn’t been as reliable. They only serve food togo right now, which is fine, but if I were to only offer my food togo.... I’d want to make sure I was preparing and packaging it in the best possible way for my customers to enjoy. For example, other Thai restaurants will put the protein (in this case, the crispy duck) on the side of the sauce so it doesn’t get soggy. Ours basically had the sauce poured all over it, causing the “crispy” duck to be super soggy. I also ordered the seafood red curry and the seafood wasn’t fresh, was over cooked and the little bit of red curry that I could scrap from the bottom of my foil packaging had very little flavor. The Soup was okay. Veggie roll was okay. Everything just kinda fell short and was overall disappointing. We want to support our local small businesses and totally understand that times are hard right now, but even something as simple as serving the sauce on the side for Togo’s and utilizing fresh ingredients makes all...