August Î-8

stylish restaurant, good food

I've been here twice now, once for lunch with a couple people and once for dinner for a birthday party. Fortunately, I didn't experience the super slow service that people have been complaining about. At lunch, it wasn't packed so maybe that's why. At dinner the service was slower, but we were a big party and everyone was disorganized and talking so it didn't bother us too much. For dinner, we wanted to make reservations for 7pm, but they said they didn't take them for 6-8:30. We ended up making them for 8:30. We arrived a bit early, but our table was ready in a few minutes anyway. All the cocktails we ordered were delicious and the food was pretty good too (at least what I was eating anyway - Thai coconut sour soup). My only complaint would be that there was a bit of time before all our dishes came out. I was worried that some people's food might get cold while waiting for the rest to come. When it was time for the bill, things got a bit complicated since we all wanted it separate. They were nice enough to split up the price of some orders though since there was a lot of sharing going on. Overall, it was a good experience and if you want to eat at a pretty Asian restaurant, I'd recommend it.

The drinks were very tasty, as we sat at the bar to wait for our table. Only a short wait, and the bartenders are very friendly and talkative and attentive. The waiter was also very friendly and gave us time to choose our meal. The food came out quickly and was very tasty. The pad thai did not disappoint and the tamarind chicken was very tasty with the sticky rice. We will definitely go back

I was grateful that reservations had been made on the Friday night of our visit because the waiting area was full. We were greeted very politely, seated promptly and our very personable waitress arrived within about 3 minutes to take our drink orders. Service continued at the same level for the duration of our dinner. Our food arrived quickly, piping hot, and everything tasted just incredible! Dessert was fantastic.

I read these reviews before going, so I knew to...

I read these reviews before going, so I knew to expect the possibility of poor service. "Poor" is being generous. Our waitress was awful. The food, on the other hand, was very good. It came out fairly quick, and tasted great. I gave it a 4/5 because the mango rolls were questionable. Because of the service, I would never return. After being done my meal for 15 minutes, I had to ask for a refill. Our waitress was MIA for those 15 minutes, otherwise I would've asked sooner. On the plus side, nice atmosphere and good food.

Our visit to Spice Avenue had its ups and downs...

Our visit to Spice Avenue had its ups and downs. We visited on a Friday night and were told upon arrival there was a 45 minute wait. We could plainly see at least half the restaurant tables were empty so this was odd. We decided to wait among others and sure enough, had a table in less than 10 minutes. Whether they were understaffed or trying to create the illusion of busy-ness or simply trying to get us to order a drink at the bar, we didn't appreciate it. A woman who arrived after us was also told of the wait and she too noticed the empty tables and inquired if they were reserved...the hostess mumbled yes, but it's obvious she was lying...no one was shown to these tables. Our drinks arrived and one out of two isn't bad....Coconut Rum drink was horrific, do not order. Red Lotus was pretty good. The food started off amazing - our appetizers, Chili Salt Trio and the Vegetable spring rolls, were so good. Things went downhill with the entrees. I have eaten a lot of Thai food in my day but never any quite this bland and flavourless. The Cashew Nut chicken was totally tasteless. The Spicy Basil Beef, pictured in the menu with a thick, vibrant brown sauce, arrived at our table as a soupy, almost-clear broth that well, tasted like broth! For a restaurant called Spice Avenue, I just have one thing to ask...where are the SPICES?!?!