Mai Thai Cuisine

User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Visited 3/19/09

When we visited this restaurant we had just came in to Lebanon to visit family for the weekend. My wife was craving Thai food and I recall going to this restaurant 15+ years ago. So we went to downtown Hanover and parked on the street across from the restaurant. Mai Thai is on the 3rd floor of a building on S Main St. which is an unlikely place for a restaurant but as soon as you step in the door the ambience and set up make you forget that. We were promptly and happily greeted by the host who gave us our choice of seating. We chose a booth next to the window so we could look out on the street. As soon as we sat down they asked if we wanted a beverage and I ordered the Lemongrass Martini and my wife ordered coconut water. We were starving and quite happy with the selection offered. Not as extensive as other Thai restaurants I’ve been to but the variety was adequate. We ordered fresh spring rolls with shrimp, vegetable tom yam soup and Mai Thai House special curry with seafood. Here’s how it played out. The coconut water arrived in a wine glass and it was salty sweet with coconut chunks in the bottom, a surprise for my wife but I’ve had that at a local Caribbean place. My martini was disappointing, it was a vodka martini with a few pieces of lemongrass at the bottom and 3 olives. This had 2 strikes against it: I don’t do olives in my martinis and the olive flavor robbed the drink of most of the lemongrass flavor. I was hoping for something a bit more like a cucumber martini I had at Morimoto in Philadelphia and would have just been happy with the lemongrass and vodka. Next came the Springrolls, there were 2 cut and plated like sushi. It was mostly lettuce and just few shrimp, the dipping sauce which came with it was a great sweet hot syrupy sauce. I didn’t try the vegetable Tom Yam but it smelled and looked good with fresh vegetable on the firm side which is how I like it. The curry came out shortly after. The sauce being thinner and without coconut milk made it seem more like a soup, but the combination of spices, basil and peppers was very good. It was heavy on the veggies which we were in the mood for but the amount of seafood for $15 was quite disappointing. The final tally for the curry was 2 shrimp 6 small pieces of squid and 1 large scallop split in two. Alas I ate most of the seafood without this knowledge and my wife didn’t get too much. I asked the waiter for a seltzer and lime after I finished my martini but never got it even though we were 1 of 4 parties in the restaurant at the time.

My final verdict: Food has good flavor but the protein ratios are lacking. The drinks need improvement and the service gets a C. Most likely will not go there again especially after eating at its competition a few doors down.

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User Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Who ever thought ordering spring rolls as an appetizer took literally 35 min to be served? Not to mention, we ordered chicken spring rolls and vegetable was brought out (mind you waitress never apologized). As we were seated, it took ten min for a waitress to come and ask us what we would like to drink. The water had a strange taste, almost metallic in nature. Not once did the waitress come and ask if the food was enjoyable. In order to get her attn, I had to ask another waitress who didn't speak english and therefore I had to use sign language. Coming from a cust serv background, I've never experienced such awful service in my life. I would say the food was good, but better that you order and pick it up. I will never dine at this restaurant and will be sure to inform everyone I know how despicable the service is.

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User Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

enjoyable: The food was very good, vegetables crisp and tasty, seafood excellent; the service was slow, it was 45 minutes before we had our order and the order came in spurts. The ambience was acceptable, finding the restaurant in the dark was difficult as their sign is flush to the building and not lit at night, and of course parking is atrocious in Hanover. I would return again for a leisurely meal.

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