Restaurant Review: Weera Thai (South Rainbow Location)

 

 

WEERA THAI (SOUTH RAINBOW LOCATION)

We’ve dined at the Weera Thai on Sahara already probably 30 times.  So, while driving down South Rainbow recently, we were surprised to see a sign “Weera Thai,” which is another location linked to the familiar, cozy, and often packed location near Chinatown. Let’s call this new spot, which opened about six months ago, Weera Thai II, though I don’t think that’s the official name.

First things first — I give the original Werra Thai on Sahara high marks. (READ THAT REVIEW HERE). Some dishes do miss badly (Mongolian Beef is a disaster) but their Pad Thai and all the Curry dishes are consistently enjoyable. Moreover, how can anyone go wrong at $11.95 for lunch, which includes the soup, eggroll, and the main entree?

The food at the Weera Thai on Rainbow is nearly identical to the other store. However, I do believe this menu is a bit more extensive. Perhaps it’s the bigger kitchen, which is open viewing from the dining area, that allows for a wider variety of menu items. They do offer a pretty solid Northern Thai menu too, always a nice bonus (I’m heavily partial to Northern Thai, where I can find it).

Let’s also talk about the main dining room. Bright, comfortable, well-decorated, and easily accessible, this is a splendid ambiance. Typically, we don’t notice the dining room as much of a draw, but this is one of the most comfortable seating arrangements of any Thai restaurant in the city. Unlike their anchor store, the tables aren’t too close together where you are able to eavesdrop on the conversation only a few feet away at the next table.

The only negative at Weera Thai II was the spotty service. We clearly ordered two lunch entrees, plus a large bowl of War Won Ton soup to split/share as our starter. The waiter (no language barrier) brought out two big bowls from the kitchen, which was way too much food. This seemed like an abdication of plain old common sense that a couple would order two large bowls of soup, in addition to two lunches. I politely apologized (even though I had nothing to apologize for) and told the waiter about the mistake. He was visibly annoyed with us.

About ten minutes later, the waiter brought out our two lunches. Then, he turned into Jimmy Hoffa. The waiter disappeared off the face of the earth. Better send out a search party.

My Red Curry was perfect. Marieta enjoyed the Pad See Ew (stir-fried noodles). A replacement waiter brought our check about 20 minutes later, and I was ruffled to see the extra $15 soup was still on the bill. By this time, all the dishes had been cleared away. Since our original waiter was apparently missing someplace outside Detroit, this turned into a case of trust. Would they believe us that was didn’t eat the extra soup? This error ended up costing us a waste of 10 minutes, which really set me off.

Finally, the correct bill was presented. If any situation confused me as to how to tip, it was this one. Who exactly deserved a tip from this mess and what should the amount be? I rarely tip anything less than 18-20 percent (higher, if the bill is really cheap). But I didn’t want to reward incompetence. And I sure as shit didn’t want Hoffa getting any money. I settled on something like 12 percent and made a beeline for the door.

The ambiance was ideal. The menu variety was excllent. The food was very good. The wait was acceptable, other than the delay with the mistake on the bill. However, the service was a downer.

I’ll give this Weera Thai location one more chance and hope the service issues here were just an aberration. While ordering, I’ll also point and gesture and use sign language so they get the order right.

WEERA THAI (ON SOUTH RAINBOW)
FOOD: 8
PRICE: 9
AMBIANCE: 9
SERVICE: 2