Dined right royally tonight at the Royal Thai, on the site of the previous Rozzinis in Elizabeth Street. The food was FABULOUS. Fresh, tasty, beautiful. If you're a Thai food fan - get on down there.
The service was friendly, efficient and solicituous. The restaurant nicely fitted out, with the same cutlery as Smolt (with those knives that stand up - if you've eaten at Smolt you'll know what I'm talking about!).
The guy who owns it is the previous owner of Lime and Lemongrass in Bellerive (which I reviewed a while back). The restaurant has only been open for four weeks, so I hope they maintain their current standards.
Tonight we dined on:
to start with
a shared king prawn salad ($17) and vegetarian spring rolls ($8 for 4)
then, for mains
king prawns with house sauce ($27) - gorgeous
stir fry pork fillet with veges ($27) - great
stir fry mixed veges with tofu and mixed with peanut sauce ($17)
for dessert - really good
we shared a sticky rice, mango dessert ($11) - yum
All the above prices are approximates, as I only have the takeaway menu, and can't remember the exact prices to eat in.
The prices are slightly higher than your everyday Thai restaurant - but the food is just that bit classier, fresher and better.
The tell-tale sign for me that it was the same owner as was at Lime and Lemongrass was the steamed rice platter which I saw going out to another table when I arrived, which was moulded in a star shape, as I had previously noted at Lime and Lemongrass. A quaint but nice touch.
Anyway - Royal Thai is one of those 'special' places. It comes highly recommended by Rita.
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
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21 comments:
Rita - is it the same Royal Thai I and several friends ate at several weeks ago.
We found the food very lacking in flavour, the serves very small and the sevice very fussy but ok.
One of the dishes ordered didn't make it to the table but did feature on the bill. Our table agreed that the cost of the meal $50 a head (with our own wine) for two courses was a bit steep for what we had.
The service was fussy but good, we prefer to be left alone without constant interruptions, once the place filled up we had to retrieve our wine bottle from the wine tub cooler in the middle of the room to continue drinking.
Maybe they have it together now but on our night we felt that it was poor value for what we had.
I spoke to another couple who also ate there on the same night - they liked what they had - but said it didn't stand out as fantastic Thai food like they get in Melb and it was expensive.
Good luck Royal Thai their is room in the market for a good upmarket Thai eating house.
Cool Room
you'll get those fancy knives at Monty's when you go there in a few weeks!
LT
Oh Rita, I can't agree on this one either.
Very expensive and bland - too much coconut milk and no use of ingredients such as coriander and toasted rice. $170 for three, one bottle of wine, one softdrink, only entree and main. 4 prawns in a main course laksa seemed a bit mean to me.
I'd put it down to teething problems, but it's hard to go back when you feel it'll cost you for the experience.
Plastic table covering and those crazy knives once again being collected from the floor didn't help.....
Why dont you all just go to that training restaurant where the foods & service are bargain basement prices?
Kitty- you can definitely find coriander in indian curry but not Thai.
I had the best curry in Royal Thai! They use the real coconut milk rather than wheat flour! And the taste is sensational.
The service is good, at least they care about us! I been to few restaurants in salamanca, the waitress didnt even look at us! I feel much comfortable in Royal Thai.
I would recommend and will definitely visit again!
S T
Rita- I agreed with you. The price in Royal thai is slightly higher than everyday thai restaurant but with the environment and services they provide i think it is JUST WORTH SO!
The food is great and more than authentic. The waitress uniform is very attractive and suit to the decor in the ground. I had Roast duck Curry, it it just beautiful!
In my humble opinion i think it is the best and most classy Thai restaurant in Hobart at this stage.
Good Job Royal Thai!
M T
Their takeaway is expensive but REALLY yummy.
I had the Pad Kapow couple of weeks ago! fresh and beautiful! Strongly recommended!
yeah, it cost a couple of dollars more compare to other asian's but I dont mind to pay more for yummy takeaway! Love it! Will go again for sure!
I am a real thai fan - Pete
Well - it would appear we are a bit more divided on this one. I called it as I experienced it last night.
It would seem that Kitty and Cool Room had different, more negative experiences there.
Hopefully my experience last night was the result of Royal Thai learning from their initial opening hiccups from the past month - and that you guys were the guineapigs for Rita's better experience!
Whatever. I didn't go there last night with specific expectations. I found it as I posted, and I'm sorry others (whose opinions I believe and trust) obviously didn't have the same good experience I did.
I do want to add, though, that the sauce on my prawn main course wasn't at all coconut milky - in fact if there was ANY coconut milk or cream in it, I couldn't pick it up. Logic dictates there WAS some coconut milk in it, but it was very subtle.
Is that Cool Room complaining about prices when he went into a rage at anyone quibbling about $2 for a scoop of ice cream? Citing overheads etc etc!
Talk about do as I say, not as I do.
get real anon 7.25 - It's hardly even worth responding to really. but for the record ....
I have no problem paying for quality, but I felt that the quality was not matched by the bill.
The icecream rage was but a mere ripple on a choc cake....
I gather from others here on the blog that it may have been teething problems so maybe a visit is in order.
Off to Cool down - cool room
Yes, you are the only person ``getting real'', Cool Room.
Or you are telling people to Grow Up, or Wake Up.
How wonderful it must be, to be beyond reproach.
Give the place a break and don't go back....
And for goodness sake don't have the ice cream.
cool room
I feel sorry about your bad Experience. But i do think that everyone deserve the first time. Its their 1st Month! Give them a break.
If u carry a lower expectation with u in anything, trust me you will gain more, just like rita.
I haven't been there, but i heard few good comments from people around. I will visit there soon and come back here with another comement. Overall, it is exicting to have a new thai restaurant.
Peace,
rabbit
Get over it you guys, it's a great dining experience!!!
X2 Chris
I've been here and most Thai restaurants in Hobart. Mostly disappointing with a few good dishes in between. I was lucky enough though, to find a lovely Thai woman who teaches Thai cooking in Hobart. Been entertaining my friends at home every couple of weeks since. 0433997739 if anyone's interested
I'm with you on this one Rita. The simple meal I had at Royal Thai on the weekend was a stand out. The flavours were far from bland - the green curry one of the best I have ever eaten, the pad thai was served traditionally - a good sign that the chef wasn't dumbing down the dish for Westerners and the dessert with black beans, delightfully different. It is not a cheapo Thai but then again they don't use msg and the ingredients were obviously fresh. I would describe the price as midrange rather than expensive but that could be on the Melbourne price scale.
Maybe there was a dud chef on one night?
It was my first visit last week. The food was fabulous, service was perfect and atmosphere was excellent. It is not the cheap asian we used to have. There wasnt any msg or preservatives, the taste was fresh and beef was thinly slice and well cooked. Overall, it was a fine dining experience, and we are happy to pay for the quality. Will definitely go back again and strongly recommended.
I am a big thai-food fan, visited almost all thai restaurant around hobart area, Mai ake was my favourite but after a recent visits in this few months, the service was just ok, food was just alright, not as fresh, and the serving are different at all times. A little dissapointments.
I've heard some good comments about Royal Thai. Eventually I think they serve the best thai food, original and traditional. We were impressed by the decoration of the food too! Cant wait to go back again!
Overall rating: 10 out of 10!
I have to say, the service was EXCELLENT..! and the food was FANTASTIC.. can't wait to return..
I just went there for dinner tonight, and was quite pleasantly surprised. I was a little bit worried after reading some of the posts here. But I have to say the food and service were excellent.
We had the duck spring rolls and tom yum gai for starters. The spring rolls were really nice and the tom yum was ok. Then we had the massaman beef, chicken with curry paste and the pad thai (yes, waaaaay too much food). They were all nice and I look forward to having the left overs for lunch.
Would definitely go back.
i like Thai food
but the owner of this restaurant isn't Thai people
They couldn't understand Thai culture ans i heard from someone the owner alway cheat their staff
I would say the food and service were beatiful.. I knew the owner is from Malaysia as it was on The Mercury few months ago. I cant care less as long as they serve good food and I enjoy it. And I really do!!!
Also highly recommend Sakura at city. The Chinese making best sushi in Hobart!
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