Soi 2 Thai Street Food — Restaurant in Rock Island

I will start off this review by saying the atmosphere is calm and relaxing. I had been to the other Soi location so I thought I would give Soi 2 a try. Our food was not good at all. My girlfriends broth for her soup wasn't hot, I would say it was lukewarm. The duck tasted and smelled rancid and wasn't crispy on the outside. The meat was also cold. We also got chicken and it was pink in the middle and the juices were a little bloody. I ordered a "pot" sized portion of soup but it was a small bowl of soup maybe 1.5 cups worth, for 19 dollars? Anywhere else I have gone and paid for a pot it actually comes in a pot, not in a small bowl. There were only 2 other people here eating when we went so I can't even blame the bad food prep on them being flooded with business. I felt really bad because my girlfriend isn't too much into thai food so I was hoping I could get her to try some GOOD thai food but this did not help her want to explore other thai options, now she is hesitant to try more thai food. I think it's really bad if a restaurant is willing to serve rancid meat, AND undercooked meat. If in doubt, throw it out, and at the prices they charge they should be cooking the duck fresh to order, which I can tell they are not doing. This was reallly bad. I also think that the soup itself was lacking flavor, seasoning and salt. I could make this at home for a 1/3 of the price with more flavor and knowing I won't get food poisoning. It's pretty disappointing that we can eat Thai food in Chicago for about the same price, and much better quality. I am sad to say I will never be coming back here and I will make sure to tell people to steer clear of this place. I feel so bad for ruining a date to come here. The staff was apologetic but I don't think they realize how bad it is to serve rotting meat and undercooked food. It's a shame because the hostess was nice, but I think the person who was preparing our food only made small talk with us to try and soften the blow...

For me, the taste of the food is always the only important criteria to rate a restaurant, and the food is so delicious!!! I had a pork stew (I forget the name, I think it is under the Mom's cooking section) and a tom yum soup, my friend had a panang curry, and we shared a dessert after the meal. All four of them tastes great! When we first see our meal, neither of us planned to finish them all. Yet I finished that whole plate of pork stew, my friend finished all his curry, AND we asked for another bowl of rice (shame on my waist xD) to mix in with all the sauce. The soup is also amazing, sweet and sour, goes very well with the rice. We ordered a thai custard with sticky rice as dessert, and it is a nice surprise since it's both sweet and salty, yet somehow the flavor is very well balanced. The mixed texture of the soft custard and the chewy sticky rice is also very pleasant.

Normally, for other aspects, as long the restaurant is clean and the waiter is not too rude, I am perfectly fine. Considering how good the food are, even if we got a rude waiter I wouldn't mind. Actually, the restaurant is very cozy! Nice decoration, especially for these tiny blocks for two ppl. And our waitress is also very nice, very gentle and friendly.

We came from Iowa City, and we were visiting the botanical gardens in Davenport and Moline, to see something fresh and colorful during the pale winter of Iowa. After visiting both the greenhouses, we were in the mood of Thai food and we choose this one by accident. The rating was pretty good but I was not expecting the food to be THIS good! The food is TEN times better than all Thai restaurants in Iowa City for sure! We will definitely go to this place again when the weather...

I've been a resident of the Quad Cities as a child of two ARMY Vetrans and now a child of two Rock Island Arsenal Base retirees as well.

I went out to Arizona and came back in June of 2022 to find that my favorite Exotic Thai location on John Deer, the one across the street from the Moline Wal-Mart, had disappeared on me...

Fast forward to me wandering around the revamped down town Rock Island District Area (looks fantastic btw) and BOOM 💥

Soi 2 Thai Street Food.

It's 11:00, its open. Im helped immediately by a kind staff member named Annie who smiled at the reference to Micahel Jackson as well as Orphan Annie.

I was assisted in choosing between Thai Tea and Thai Coffe (4 dollars for either) and I asked "Which is orange?"

Thai Tea for those that dont know.

Anyway,

They were so patient with me as I spoke to my prayer partner who resides in Decatur, Georgia as a Missionary and President of our church — Higher Calling Ministries — i raved to her about the food while she read 📚 Jeremiah chapter 7 in EASY Version as well as KJV version, prayed for us, listened to me suggest for her dishes she herself could try at her own Thai restaurants (of all things she tried a BBQ steak lol)

Anyway I was so overjoyed I had to pause before I even left or paid to write this review.

They didnt interrupt my praise, the food was made like so quickly I forgot i even ordered it i didn't have to wait, it was fresh, omg I cant give...