Lisu's Thai Taste | Roseville — Restaurant in Roseville

I taught English in Thailand, so whenever I spot a Thai resteraunt, I am ready to go. I was on my way to another resteraunt when I spotted Lisu's. I didn't hesitate to change my plans. I'm very happy with my decision.

The first thing you should know is that most of the Thai resteraunts in the Midwest are operated by Hmong (Laotian/Vietnamese). The recipes are Thai, but there is a definate Hmong influence on the cooking style. There are a handful of "Lisu" Thai resteraunts, which have more flavour and are more authentic to Thai cuisine. The Lisu are a very small ethnic group located within Thailand, mostly in the Chaing Mai region.

Lisu's is almost hidden in a stripmall next to a Petco. Limited parking. The inside is very clean and spacious. I was greeted right away, seated, and given water with lots of ice. The menu was a take-out trifold on white paper, which made me nervous. There was also a single page laminated Lunch special menu. The lunch menu items were with tofu or chicken only, the serving size smaller than regular menu items.

I started with a Thai iced coffee and some chicken satay. The coffee was a little bitter, but it grew on me fast. I ordered a second one with the dessert course. The satay was standard, but the peanut sauce was thick and wonderful, not too sweet. I tried the regular Pad Thai with pork, and lunch special Massaman curry with peanut (chicken). I selected medium for spice level.

I always check the bathrooms when I dine out, and this was a delight. The strip mall shares an inner corridor and public bathrooms are available. Very close to the resteraunt door. The bathroom was very clean and well stocked, which is rare for Asian resteraunts.

The food was not served at medium spice. It was much spicier than it's peers in the midwest. The taste was very good though, texture good. Once I got acclimated to the increased heat from the spice, I really got into it. Possibly the best curry I ever tasted. Edit: I have found this to be common with Lisu Thai recipes, they are way spicier (hotter) than other local Thai resteraunts. I recommend asking for no spice in the dish, spice on side only, and then add yourself. They use Thai chilies which are very potent.

The server was very quick to get me the check but also adamant that I take my time and enjoy. She never asked if I wanted another drink or dessert, which cost them a star. I flagged down another server and ordered sticky rice with mango. It was served too hot; I almost burned my tongue. Had I been warned, there would be no issue. Once it cooled, it was very tasty. Edit: at later visits I have had no issues with server attentiveness. I think they had low staff my first visit.

I should mention there is a sign on the door stating credit card transactions will be charged a fee. I had no issue with this as I was notified ahead of time. Edit: I have found the same policy at other Lisu resteraunts. I have located two other independently owned Lisu Thai resteraunts, see my other reviews.

Lisu's...

Cute little restaurant with huge Thai flavors! This was my first time here (Roseville location), but I'm rating and reviewing now because I live in the south metro and know I won't be in the Roseville area often.

Fresh Spring Rolls (not pictured): good standard spring roll ingredients.

Spicy Fried Chicken Wings: these were AMAZING! A big hit at our table. I don't know if they make their chili oil in-house, but coating the fried chicken in this oil, it's freaking spicy, just how I love it!!! If you're not a spicy person, ask for the chili on the side.

Pad Thai (brother had beef, I had chicken): good standard pad Thai noodles and flavor.

Basil Fried Rice with beef: really good fried rice! The Thai basil really comes through with aroma and flavor.

Curry Fried Rice with chicken: good fried rice with subtle curry flavor. Not overpowering with curry spice, which was liked by the table.

Rice Noodle Soup (basically Thai version of Pho): gosh, this bowl of soup was delicious! They forgot my order for this one, so I had to flag our waiter, then wait 15min for them to prepare. Came out with piping hot broth, condiments, bean sprouts, Thai basil and lime. The beef broth is definitely homemade with it's sweet and savory flavors, with a little thickness to it almost. This seems to be a standard bowl with plenty of thin beef slices and really big beef balls (no tendons/tripe here, which is fine for me). With this bowl, I believe I tasted specs of fried garlic or onions, which I love as well. (Added sriracha, hoisin and more chili oil to taste.) Worth the 15min wait.

Service: greeted and seated right away. Very polite and attentive. Although they missed the pho, they quickly resolved it and the pho came out great. Gave us two boxes for leftovers, which was plenty for my other brother to eat when he got home from work.

Overall food and tip was about $83. I would visit and try other items next time! It was a delicious meal with my siblings. Thank you everyone at Lisu's Thai Taste! We really appreciate your time to make our bellies full and hope to...

So I've eaten here numerous times before, and it was always really good. So I feel bad to give such a low score because it could have been just a bad day. They were busy with both dine in and takeout. The first issue was my 93 year old dad thought it was too cold in the restaurant, and so did I. The waiter noticed we were moving to a different table to get out of the cold draft, and the waiter said he could adjust the air con for us. I ordered a hot tea to help. The tea only arrived once the food arrived and was only Luke warm. They did reheat the tea for us, which was nice.But it should have come out before the food. There were no plates that came with the food, so we had to wait for plates. We only got the one napkin that was with the silverware. Our water was never refilled, and we were never checked on to see if we needed anything. Ok, my biggest issue is that I ordered a dish called Pad Kaprow. Basically, it's minced meat and basil mixed with garlic. Well, they brought something completely different with all sorts of veggies and some broth. They tried to tell me that's how they made Pad Kaprow there, and they were defending themselves by saying that's called"entree" style, whatever that means. Anyhow, after much debate, they did take it off the bill as we didn't eat it. I dont think that you should have an item on your menu and deviate from what it's supposed to be and try to pawn it off. They also still have Fish Cake on the menu, and that was the first thing I ordered . They said they no longer serve it, so im thinking well remove from the menu then. The other food we had was excellent, but the rice dry and cool. I just know that this place can do better and has done better in the past. So thats how...