Thai Cafe — Restaurant in White House

I know any new place has growing pains and needs to figure some things out. So, I am going to give an honest review, but offer suggestions.

I was so excited about this place opening up in town. I was born in Thailand. I grew up eating Thai food here in the US. I was jazzed to have an option near me.

We had the fresh rolls to start. They were fresh lol. The peanut sauce was too thick and was almost like peanut butter, but had a decent flavor. It got the job done.

We ordered the papaya salad. It was delicious. This was the highlight of the meal, for sure. It’s not something most casual Thai-eaters go for, but it’s always one of my favorites, and this one didn’t disappoint. If I had to suggest anything, I’d say it needed more lime, dried shrimp, and cabbage on the side instead of leaf lettuce. Overall, very tasty.

I ordered the green curry. It was the worst curry I’ve ever had. And I honestly hate having to say that. The dish was watery and the coconut milk had separated and there were globs floating in the bowl. And it was like $16 for the portion. I know ingredients are getting pricier, but the dish was not worth the price at all.

We also had the Pad Thai. It was also the worst Pad Thai I’ve had. It was thick and gloppy. And, again, I really hate having to say that. 0/10 do not recommend.

Now, let’s talk about the atmosphere. There is a lack of atmosphere. The tables are set up bistro-style and are very VERY close to each other. That’s all well and good, but there was also very little background noise nor music playing, so you could very very easily hear what all your neighbors were talking about. It was uncomfortable. They need music. And they don’t need southeast Asian karaoke or pop hits playing. No one in White House TN is going to a Thai place for that part of the culture - they are going to eat the food. So I’d suggest a mix of pop and country music from all decades. Something for anyone, ya know? And the lighting is incredibly harsh. It’s like eating in an office cubicle. How about some warm bulbs and maybe paint the walls a warm color? Right now it’s just plain and uninviting. It’s would be cheap and easy to solve the atmosphere problem.

The service was also pretty lacking, which I say as an occasional server myself. We were not given utensils or share plates until we requested them when the papaya salad came out. Prior to that we were eating off of paper towels. The server didn’t notice or didn’t care - not sure. When the entrees were delivered there was no way to share. No bowls. Just the share plates. And the curry was so watery, a plate wasn’t of good use. They were very good about refilling our drinks. And, no, the place was not busy at the time we went in, so the servers weren’t overwhelmed or anything.

So, all in all, I’d not recommend this place in its current state. But I will give it another try after some time and see if things have improved. I want SO BADLY for this place to succeed. It would be easy to implement changes to improve the experience. But I’m not sure about the food...

I really want to like this place. The food is so fresh and meticulously prepared. The staff are pleasant and try to take care of everything you can need. The problem is that the food lacks flavor. There is no hint of lemongrass, thai basil, mint, lime or ginger. The spring rolls were huge, but came with a whipped peanut butter sauce, it was just bland. The dumplings are crispy and fried but had no taste and the dipping sauce was just sweet. I had chicken, stir fry with noodles, but I wasn't expecting the noodles to be ramen since that wasn't in the menu picture. The vegetables were beautifully chopped, and we're awfully fresh, but all I could taste with heat, and that was a level three. My partner had a soup, and I honestly can't remember which one it was because that's how forgettable it was. It tasted of coconut milk and heat. This was our second visit, and it was equally as disappointing as our first. Maybe we will visit them in a month or two if we hear better things. They are a sweet family and they are...

Went here for lunch today and waited 1 hour and the waiter said there were still 2 orders in front of us and it would be about another 10-15 minutes! Terrible service. We got up and left and the owner still had us pay for the 3 sweet teas and spring rolls even with that bad of service and never getting our food. We had to leave as we were on our lunch hour. Don't waste your time here!

Update - We tried here again today and the service was very good and the food was very flavorful! Food came out within about 20 minutes, and the Beef with mixed vegetables with Ramen style noodles at level 5 spicy was perfect....and yes hot, but not too hot if you like spicy stuff. Red Curry Chicken I tasted was also very good, with plenty of Coconut flavor. Updating my review stars to account for both visits, and glad we tried it again as the first time was right after they opened. If in White House give this...