First time trying Kao Thai. It on a nice spot on Main St. We had dinner on a Monday. It wasn’t that busy and we had the option to sit on either the patio or indoors. We chose the patio since it was a nice day. Our waitress was so sweet and consistent, she kept us in the loop about everything going on like happy hour and the prices during it. We tried the Bangkok Shrimp and Pork Gyoza as our appetizers. They tasted so spot on and delicious. Then right after we finished with our appetizers, our meals came out right in time. I got the Pad Kapow and my boyfriend got the Pork Belly Ba Mee. The Pad Kapow was very good, it has marinate chicken with bell peppers and some other vegetables. It not spicy, instead its very sweet and savory. The Pork Belly Ba Mee has very thinly sliced marinate sweet pork belly, with savory sweet noodles along with the topping of a kick of spicy chili. I very much recommend this place if your looking for trying something new and interesting along with trying something sweet & spicy. ?️ ??
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Gyoza, Pad Kapow
John Gross
Family really like the chicken options, including the Cashew Chicken with a really nice plum sauce, and the KaoFC with its terrific crunch and great flavor. I like the Pad Thai and their curry is good, though my wife prefers the curry of other nearby restaurants better. Thai tea is good, too. Very responsive and courteous staff, comfortable booths, and easy garage parking across the street if you can't snag one out front.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cashew Chicken
matt
such a nice addition to the columbia dining scene. perfect service. perfect food. loved everything about the place. don’t skip the cocktails. expertly made! thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crispy Brussels Sprouts
Matthew Goodman
First time eating there. Great food. Great service. I'm sure the reason for both is because the place is relatively small. I don't think the kitchen or staff ever got "in the weeds." If you have a large party, definitely make reservations.Vegetarian options: You can get every dish vegetarian. Some dishes are marked vegan, but you can add meet.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Todd Stone
As a person who lives in Thailand, I know I can't expect authentic Thai here in Columbia, but I decided to try here because it came recommended. However, my fears came true as this food is...uh...strange. Their Tom Kha Gai was pretty good, but their lunch special felt like a combination of leftovers. And I don't know how you can be a Thai restaurant and not have chili flakes (that's the same as no salt in an American restaurant).I'll probably give them one more try and keep to the menu, but thus far, not recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Alex Waelde
Best Thai food in Columbia hands down. The shumai is amazing along with the drunken noodles. Highly recommend.Kid-friendliness: Family friendly restaurant.Wheelchair accessibility: Front entrance is wheelchair accessible.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Drunken Noodles, Pork Gyoza, Senate Street Noodles, Dumplings
Mike Allen
Stumbled on this place and dug the food. Ate too much
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Edamame
Lee Sanyos
So I have been there twice, both during the week at the bar. The first experience made me want to come back. Hunter was attentive, the food was delicious and folks seemed to be interested in a good experience.I went back and got Dylan; she was aloof, seemed more interested in certain folks and when they would see her again and when I responded that my food was overcooked, she was indifferent and didn't even apologize. While I do need to eat while traveling but what I eat is important so if folks don't really care about my experience or me spending money there, I can go somewhere else.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
LisaG
The food and beverages were wonderful. The seating can be a bit close if you're looking for some intimate conversation time. I will definitely be back for the happy hour appetizer specials. Wonderful service from Skye. Thank you!
Keep trying this place because food was excellent at their previous location. Every time we've been to the new location on Main St the food quality is significantly lower. Chicken in all dishes tasted overcooked and chewy. Something has gone amiss with the kitchen process. Very disappointing.
BrianM
Hello Kao Thai, Holly is a very professional and polite waitress. For the chefs, more Curry on the Thai Fried Rice, kind of boring. We still recommend Koa Thai when you travel to Columbia and are craving Thai food.
Phillip Li
Char- siu has only a few small pieces, tiny as quarter dollar coin, no kidding, even less than half ounce. The duck leg served whole but how can I cut it in a freaking deep bowl and rice in a tiny plate where I can’t scoop it. Told the waiter but they didn’t do anything, said it’s been complained a few times.
Food: 1
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Drunken Noodles
Courtney Odie
Would have been nice if we could have been served less than 30% capacity after standing at front for five minutes with multiple employees walking by without acknowledging us I decided to continue trying to give them a chance however when the next couple was immediately seated and given water and we had been sitting at the table for another 5 minutes plus with no additional acknowledgment or water we had to leave 0 for service wouldn’t bother to try again
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Gman
Best Thai food in the city (ive tried em all). I’ve had 8-9 different entree items by now and every single item was 5/5. It’s honestly not very expensive either considering the quality.I will say that I dislike the new location. It’s on Main St, so parking is a huge pain. It’s also tiny and cramped with a lot of shared booths. You’ll probably always need a reservation for this reason. Between the parking and lack of space, we’ve opted to not go a few times recently.
It was ok
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
First time trying Kao Thai. It on a nice spot on Main St. We had dinner on a Monday. It wasn’t that busy and we had the option to sit on either the patio or indoors. We chose the patio since it was a nice day. Our waitress was so sweet and consistent, she kept us in the loop about everything going on like happy hour and the prices during it. We tried the Bangkok Shrimp and Pork Gyoza as our appetizers. They tasted so spot on and delicious. Then right after we finished with our appetizers, our meals came out right in time. I got the Pad Kapow and my boyfriend got the Pork Belly Ba Mee. The Pad Kapow was very good, it has marinate chicken with bell peppers and some other vegetables. It not spicy, instead its very sweet and savory. The Pork Belly Ba Mee has very thinly sliced marinate sweet pork belly, with savory sweet noodles along with the topping of a kick of spicy chili. I very much recommend this place if your looking for trying something new and interesting along with trying something sweet & spicy. ?️ ??
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Gyoza, Pad Kapow
Family really like the chicken options, including the Cashew Chicken with a really nice plum sauce, and the KaoFC with its terrific crunch and great flavor. I like the Pad Thai and their curry is good, though my wife prefers the curry of other nearby restaurants better. Thai tea is good, too. Very responsive and courteous staff, comfortable booths, and easy garage parking across the street if you can't snag one out front.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cashew Chicken
such a nice addition to the columbia dining scene. perfect service. perfect food. loved everything about the place. don’t skip the cocktails. expertly made! thank you!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crispy Brussels Sprouts
First time eating there. Great food. Great service. I'm sure the reason for both is because the place is relatively small. I don't think the kitchen or staff ever got "in the weeds." If you have a large party, definitely make reservations.Vegetarian options: You can get every dish vegetarian. Some dishes are marked vegan, but you can add meet.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
As a person who lives in Thailand, I know I can't expect authentic Thai here in Columbia, but I decided to try here because it came recommended. However, my fears came true as this food is...uh...strange. Their Tom Kha Gai was pretty good, but their lunch special felt like a combination of leftovers. And I don't know how you can be a Thai restaurant and not have chili flakes (that's the same as no salt in an American restaurant).I'll probably give them one more try and keep to the menu, but thus far, not recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Best Thai food in Columbia hands down. The shumai is amazing along with the drunken noodles. Highly recommend.Kid-friendliness: Family friendly restaurant.Wheelchair accessibility: Front entrance is wheelchair accessible.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Drunken Noodles, Pork Gyoza, Senate Street Noodles, Dumplings
Stumbled on this place and dug the food. Ate too much
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Edamame
So I have been there twice, both during the week at the bar. The first experience made me want to come back. Hunter was attentive, the food was delicious and folks seemed to be interested in a good experience.I went back and got Dylan; she was aloof, seemed more interested in certain folks and when they would see her again and when I responded that my food was overcooked, she was indifferent and didn't even apologize. While I do need to eat while traveling but what I eat is important so if folks don't really care about my experience or me spending money there, I can go somewhere else.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
The food and beverages were wonderful. The seating can be a bit close if you're looking for some intimate conversation time. I will definitely be back for the happy hour appetizer specials. Wonderful service from Skye. Thank you!
Restaurantji Recommends
Keep trying this place because food was excellent at their previous location. Every time we've been to the new location on Main St the food quality is significantly lower. Chicken in all dishes tasted overcooked and chewy. Something has gone amiss with the kitchen process. Very disappointing.
Hello Kao Thai, Holly is a very professional and polite waitress. For the chefs, more Curry on the Thai Fried Rice, kind of boring. We still recommend Koa Thai when you travel to Columbia and are craving Thai food.
Char- siu has only a few small pieces, tiny as quarter dollar coin, no kidding, even less than half ounce. The duck leg served whole but how can I cut it in a freaking deep bowl and rice in a tiny plate where I can’t scoop it. Told the waiter but they didn’t do anything, said it’s been complained a few times.
Food: 1
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Drunken Noodles
Would have been nice if we could have been served less than 30% capacity after standing at front for five minutes with multiple employees walking by without acknowledging us I decided to continue trying to give them a chance however when the next couple was immediately seated and given water and we had been sitting at the table for another 5 minutes plus with no additional acknowledgment or water we had to leave 0 for service wouldn’t bother to try again
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Best Thai food in the city (ive tried em all). I’ve had 8-9 different entree items by now and every single item was 5/5. It’s honestly not very expensive either considering the quality.I will say that I dislike the new location. It’s on Main St, so parking is a huge pain. It’s also tiny and cramped with a lot of shared booths. You’ll probably always need a reservation for this reason. Between the parking and lack of space, we’ve opted to not go a few times recently.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5