Thai Spoon

It's a nice place to sit and dine in. I ordered chicken in red curry and had a small shrimp tom yum soup. They were both delicious. Not too spicy- just how i like it. I also ordered the Thai tea (I forgot to take the picture). That was good. The price for the food was not bad. I'm from out of town and had tried another Thai place in NC that sucks and was not authentic. This place did not disappoint.

Let me start by saying I know the owner. He used to be the chef/work at Thai Cafe on University. I say that because I have been a fan for years and supported both restaurants because before now have had excellent food and very good service. I recently patronized Thai Spoon and was extremely disappointed with the service. They were empty but the one woman who was working the table flat out acted like she didn't want us there. She seemed bothered when we asked her questions and was rude in general. When some of the food came out with peanuts (my son has an allergy), I politely tried to get her attention and she looked dead at me and walked in the back. She seemed to struggle with understanding English, which I am fine with and can work through, but don't use that as an excuse to ignore your patrons. This brings me to the food. For the first time ever, the food was sub-par. Barely seasoned, greasy, and what I would expect from a Chinese spot in a mall food court, not from an owner that I know goes out of his way to make sure the food is exceptional and authentic. Overall, a very disappointing experience. We won't be back and more importantly will be spreading the word that this is a restaurant to pass on.

Ate at Thai Spoon a couple of years ago and then again recently. Our first experience was ok. Our second experience was not good. Service was poor, portions were very small and the flavor was not as good. Plus it seemed extremely expensive for what we ordered. We have now found another Thai restaurant that has better food and service.

TL;DR Get the Por Pia, Fresh Shrimp Basil Roll, Pad Thai, Thai Fried Rice, any of the curries, or peanut sauce beloved. Avoid Tom Yum soup and the Pad spicy chili. Apparently there's a character limit on Google reviews, so you're missing out on the long preface about Lowes messing up our appliance delivery, but that's why we ate at Thai Spoon every day for a few weeks. We wrote down a rating (1-5) for each meal, which I'll share below. But first, a few words about the owner. After the first few days, he started throwing in free soup with my order. When I said we also like spring rolls (cough cough) he was, "WAIT RIGHT THERE" and got me some. I'm sure he appreciated the business in the middle of the pandemic, but that was just going above and beyond. Most of the entrees can be made vegetarian (and probably vegan) Appetizers Por Pia (spring rolls) - 5 stars. These are really good. The stuffing is fresh, and the outside is crispy. It comes with three medium-small rolls. Crispy Tofu - 4 stars. It's just fried tofu with a good dipping sauce, but it's a pretty large dish, so good value. Fresh Shrimp Basil Roll - 5 stars. Pro tip - you can ask to substitute tofu for shrimp. These are absolutely delicious and might be my favorite thing on the menu. Only downside is they are pretty pricey for the amount of food you get. Tempura - 3.5 stars. Vegetarians, sub tofu for shrimp. This is a large dish, but it's just ok. It's kind of greasy and bland, but I think that's just how tempura is? It's the same as any other tempura I've had. Crispy mushroom - 4 stars. This is basically the same dish as the tempura, but with mushrooms. It's much worse value though, so if you're in the mood for something fried, I would go with the tempura. Soup Tom Yum – 1 star. This was NOT GOOD. I can’t say what it was exactly that we didn’t like, but both my partner and I were like “uh uh, no, not eating that.” Tom Kha – 4.5 stars. This was much better. Generous servings of tofu, and the broth is excellent. Clear glass noodle – 4 stars. Ask to make vegetarian. Really good at first, and would have been 5 stars. The owner warned me that I needed to mix thoroughly, because the salt would settle at the bottom. I did mix, a lot, and it was great. But when I had leftovers, it was WAY too salty. So I guess mix often and try to eat it all at once. Noodle and Rice Pad Thai – 5 stars. One of the best dishes. Just perfect in every way. Pad Kee Mow – 4 stars. Still very good, not as flavorful as some of the other dishes. Pad Z Ew – 4.5 stars. It was 5 the first time we got it, but the second time it wasn’t as good. Pad Woon Sen – 4.5 stars. My partner said 4, but I thought it was tasty. All the noodle dishes are kind of similar though, hard to compare. Thai Fried Rice – 5 stars. Just perfect. Spicy Basil Fried Rice – 3 stars. There was something about the spicy ingredient that just wasn’t good, it ruined the other flavors. Curry Entrees Mussamun curry – 4 stars. The sauce was AMAZING and by far the best of the curries, but the veggies were bad. The avocado tasted really weird (I don’t think avocado belongs in soup, but what do I know?), and the cashews had a weird taste and texture too. Panang curry – 4.5 stars. This one was a bit too spicy for me, but my partner loved it. Green curry – 4.5 stars. Same as above. Yellow curry – 4.5 stars. This one was not too spicy, and the potatoes were delicious! But the sauce wasn’t as flavorful. Stir fry entrees Broccoli garlic – 4 stars. Pretty good, nothing earth shattering though. Spicy basil – 4 stars. Same. Pad Khing – 4.5 stars. My partner said it was kind of boring, but I disagree. Sweet and sour – 4 stars. Pretty decent sweet and sour. Pad Spicy Chili – 1.5 stars. NOT GOOD. It just tasted like chili peppers and nothing else. Spicy eggplant – 3 stars. The eggplant just wasn’t doing it for us. Peanut Sauce Beloved – 4.5 stars. This dish has a weird name, but it’s delicious Spicy cashew nut – 4.5 stars. Too spicy for me, my partner liked it. Veggies together – 3.5 stars. I think this one was just boring.