Nitallys ThaiMex MLK — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

Per a friends request, we went to Nitally’s for her going away dinner last night. Half of the party (8 of us total) got there a few minutes before us and secured the table. We were told right away that everything there is made to order so we’d most likely be waiting 45 min-1 hr for our entrees. Of course we had no problem with that.. Who doesn’t want hot, fresh food, made to order??? and I think that it’s pretty awesome that they communicated that right away so we knew what to expect upfront. The rest of us arrived a few minutes afterwards. Our server came to the table a couple of minutes later and took our drink order. We ordered a total of 5 apps for the table. We all had bevs both alcohol and non alcohol. I also requested waters for the additional 4 of us who just came in. It took 3 reminders in a 30 minute span to get the water. In the meantime, the apps made their way out as they were ready. Delicious!!!! However, we had no drinks for the majority of the time and no side plates. I asked the server for app plates 4 different times before the apps were finished. Initially she brought out 2. (Confusing…(?)) So I requested more for all of us… A few minutes later, she brought out 2 more. So I asked for more… for EVERYONE at the table… never got them. In the meantime, we all shared our apps and ate over the table. No big deal I guess (but yes a BIG deal)… we made do and then shared the few plates we had. Our waters were not refilled a single time. Our bar drinks were empty for nearly 15 minutes before we asked a food runner if he could get our server for us or get us more drinks himself. Finally, someone else came out to take our drink order… To rectify things ourselves, moving forward, we just ordered double bevs. Our dirty, empty app plates sat on the table for a very long time as the entrees made their way out… the food runner and manager (I think) cleared them out as we continued to pile them up to make room for our main courses. Still no water… never ever a water refill. We ended up drinking out of the bottoms of the remaining cups at our table. Sad. We might’ve seen our server a total of 3 times from beginning to end of our dining experience. Never did she once come over after the apps or entrees came out to check on the food. We requested extra chips from a food runner (since we had no idea where our server was) for our nacho and other dips… Never got them. There was also another server waiting on 2 tables next to us who we heard talking very rudely to their customers. Very off putting. It got to the point where we couldn’t get out of there quick enough. Side note-Half of the table has extensive food and Bev experience, some of us with a management background in it. We all acknowledged that this was the worst service that we’ve ever experienced EVER. There are things like wait time for food and drinks that are totally out of her control. I get that… but to not ensure that your guests have the proper dinnerware and water… to not show up throughout any of our dining experience to check in… to see how our apps or dinner was…. To see if we needed anything and to follow thru… To not communicate at all. NOT OKAY. To see the other server next to us talking down to their customers… NEVER OKAY. It bothers me so much to have this type of experience to the point where I feel like I need to make a negative review but it is also absolutely necessary. You can see by the establishment that they care about their business. It’s such a quaint, artsy, beautiful and detailed place. The food was WONDERFUL. It is definitely made with care. Not sure if they’re having trouble getting good people or they’re extremely understaffed but these servers need SERIOUS training. 2-3 good servers could run circles in that building a make great money. Our tables check was close to $400. I’ve had better service at 7-11. My husband and I were so happy with the ambiance and food that we’ve agreed to give it another shot… lunchtime perhaps but if it’s anything close to last nights experience, we’re done for good. So much potential, so...

This is the second time we've ate here. The first time was amazing, 5 stars for sure. The first time I ate the Chorizo Pad Thai. This second time, my wife and I came on a Friday night. We ordered the Tom Kha soup, Lettuce Wraps, Wings, and Chorizo Pad Thai again. The time to receive both our drinks and food was quite long, but it came in stages, so not terrible if we were able to get drink refills without having to get up and go back to the cashier each time. The lettuce wraps, while tasted fine, were impossible to eat in the desired intent. You couldn't pick up a wrap as there were 3 leafs of a greenleaf lettuce for approximately a pound and a half of filling. Like, is it a salad, or wrap? I don't even know what the intent here, but there is no way to eat these things as a wrap. The wings tasted good, had the sweet pineapple flavor, but the skin was limp, like they were steamed. I would say the good flavor outweighs the soggy skin. The Tom Kha soup was terrible and this is what stimulated the review. Overall the flavor was oddly sweet, IF! you could make it through the patch of unedible food. The bowl was littered with chunks of ginger, cinnamon, lemongrass, some leaf I couldn't identify that reminded me of bay leaf. The shrimp were SEVERLY overcooked, like had a microwaved texture. The soup was served in the same dish my wife's pad thai was served in, a giant square bowl. I complained to one girl who brought the drinks out and thought she was getting a manager. ... Then, I find out the people next to me have a daughter that works there and overheard a conversation they had together about my experience and heard the worker say "I would tell you to never order that..." referring to the Tom Kha soup. I even asked her when I ordered which soup was better, and she responded with "Tom Kha". If the Tom Kha soup is that bad, I can't imagine how bad the other soup is. Basically, after all was said and done, 2 employees there both understood how bad I thought the soup was, yet no visit from a chef or manager ever came.

They had our money, so they didn't care about following through on a complaint about their food. I can get over food that disappoints, but the fact that no one came to actually ask me about it is what bothers me the most. Makes me as a consumer feel like they have the attitude of "I already got their money and pre-tip, regardless of how good anything actually was,.....

Nitally’s is a local place that’s been around for quite awhile. Its harder than ever to run a small restaurant so I don’t like to leave a bad review, but the experience of eating here is frustrating.

This is largely a self service restaurant. You order at the counter and take a number. You get your own silverware and water. Unfortunately the staff does not seem able to keep up with the few remaining pieces… tables don’t get cleaned in between parties and the self service area was out of cups.

Indoor seating is very limited. So even on a weeknight the restaurant is pretty full. They don’t take reservations so I wouldn’t bother trying to show up with a party of 4+ on a Fri/Sat night….Ive walked out twice waiting for a table.

We ordered two fried rice dishes and two drinks. Took over an hour to get our food. Took 45 minutes to get our drinks, and that was after asking about them twice…

My fried rice entree had scallions that were barely chopped up. Big chunks the size of a finger. That was $17.

The food here is VERY spicy. The mild is closer to the top range of most other restaurant’s medium. I came with someone new and they couldn’t enjoy their food because it was so spicy. Another ‘quirk’ of this place.

At the front of the restaurant they have little plastic replicas of some of their house cocktails. Don’t expect the ones they serve to look the same. The Rumchata we paid $12 for didn’t have the cute cinnamon stick garnish. Instead it just had cinnamon lazily poured on top and it looked like they left it sitting around for 10 minutes before bringing it to us.

Everytime I’ve ever been here, even years ago at their old location, there would be something strange or disappointing about the experience. With prices what they are now, it’s just not worth it. It’s not fun to come to this restaurant. The food is good, but not spectacular. They always seem to be busy so I’m glad there is a regular crowd that enjoys it.

Running a business is hard and everyone makes mistakes… but it’s not inviting when the staff does not seem to care about the lackluster experience. Maybe takeout is a...