Thai Legend — Restaurant in Waterford Township

I've eaten Thai food on 2 continents prepared by people straight from Thailand on many occasions over the past 20 years. The food here isn't 'bad' per se, but on a scale of 10, I'd rate it about a 5 at best. The portions are HUGE, so I can't fault them for that. The flavor is a bit bland in some ways (the pad thai was somewhat bland), ok in others. The spiciness of main dishes is WAY out of control, however. This is the only Thai restaurant I've been to that overdid it on the heat for me, and I can usually handle some heat. Their mild is somewhere between medium-hot, and their hot is definitely EXTRA EXTRA HOT to the point of pain and agony. There is nothing in between those 2 levels, it seems. Surely they can measure and control the amount of pepper powder they use and create a broader scale of spiciness for the general public i.e. Mild, ACTUAL Medium, Hot, and Extra Hot etc.

The food was prepared quickly, but the service itself toward customers wasn't very good. The guy manning the register was a bit rude and impatient, like I was interrupting him and he didn't want me there. I ignored that, thinking maybe he lacks training in speaking to customers. I took a couple minutes to look at the menu and noticed there were no curry puffs. I haven't eaten much Thai in Michigan, but I've never seen a Thai place anywhere else that didn't offer those as appetizers, so I asked if they had anything like that. He didn't know what they were, even after I showed him a photo. Oh well, I thought. They're very popular in South Pacific regions. Maybe it's just a Michigan thing to offer (Chinese) spring rolls instead. To his credit, he DID ask me how spicy I wanted it. I tried only one dish at the Hot level as an experiment. The rest were supposed to be Medium. If you like 1,000 fire ants running through your mouth, burning your insides to a cinder, and crapping out a charcoal briquette the next day, then maybe you'd like their level of 'Hot'.

CONCLUSION: GREAT portion sizes, very good bang for the buck that way. The flavor is merely ok, but the heat levels are way too high! They need to develop more nuance with the heat (add extra levels below molten lava), and it wouldn't hurt for them to have a look at what is happening with Thai and Southeast Asian cuisine in the present day. They would also benefit by taking a course on customer service. A rude impatient attitude does not make visitors feel welcome. I would have given 3 stars if not for the...

Sheesh, I should have read the reviews before we went. I've been to a dozen Thai restaurants throughout the Auburn Hills and Rochester area and I ALWAYS order medium. At any other restaurant, Medium is what it is, medium. It's not hot. You don't call something medium when it is hot. That's how you disappoint customers, even when warned. It's a social understanding what these terms mean. Being told medium is hot and I might not like it, isn't going to persuade me into changing my mind because I know I like medium and you don't know my taste. This is the issue I have with this particular establishment. I get it, some people want hot Thai. But honestly, no one reviewing this place has even tried "very hot" from this place. Bottom line is their scale is 1 or 2 positions off. So,if you're planning on going, here is a translation of their spice scale for anyone new:

Actual spice level (what you desire) - Menu listing (what you order) No spice - No spice Mild - N/A (have to order No Spice and add your own) Mild Plus - N/A (have to order No Spice and add your own) Medium - Mild Medium Plus - Mild Plus Hot - Medium Hot Plus - Medium Plus Very Hot - Hot Very Hot Plus - Hot Plus Very Very Hot - Very Hot Very Very Hot Plus - Very Hot

I hope this saves some of your mouths. If in doubt, order no spice and add your own. I prefer mine cooked in but this place doesn't know what mild and medium mean. They're trying to redefine words or something. Not sure why. All it does is p* people off when their food ends up being too hot.

Quantity of meat and vegetable in my dish was outstanding which is why I am giving 3 stars instead of 2. I only wish I could have tasted the...

My wife and I were looking for a decent Thai place on our way back from a New Year's Eve event and stopped when we read the reviews for Thai Legend. Everyone was hyping up how spicy the food is, and we just knew we had to try it. The gentleman who took my order was careful to warn me that the food would definitely be very spicy when I said to make it hot, and he couldn't have been more right.

After going to so many restaurants and asking for extra extra hot fried rice or curry and being disappointed, it's a relief getting such delicious food from Thai Legend. We don't really live nearby, but now I have to take special trips out to Waterford just to enjoy this food again.

We split the Green Thai Curry, the Pad Curry, and the Pineapple Fried Rice. We both enjoyed the Pad Curry the most and the Pineapple Fried Rice was the spice MVP.

Will do...