82 Ontario St.
Toronto, Ontario
M5A 2V3
416-840-2459
Type of cuisine: Thai
Date of Review: October, 2009
Overall Quality Ranking: Good
Cost: Moderate
Gluten-Free Menu Options: Good
Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking: Anxious
Description: On this night, Mengrai messed up. Based on the positive reviews and gluten-free enticements of friends, we signed up to test run this Thai establishment. The menu itself is varied and appealing, but for the GF eater, there is something better: gluten-free item labels.
These in hand, we selected a number of items, as well as a couple of fruity alcoholic concoctions. Soon, our waitress was back to indicate that one of the items did contain a small amount of gluten, as the fish in the dish was breaded. As the gluten alert system rushed from a comforting green to an angry red, we tried to point out that gluten was not a 'gray' thing, it was black and white.
There can be NO gluten. Not. One. Bit.
Should you be relieved they pointed this out? Should you now worry about all the other labeled items on the menu? Should you be concerned that when I subsequently tried to verify the provenance of a soy sauce (most contain wheat) the waiter only replied "I told the chef that everything was gluten free." I will never know.
But let's pretend you like gluten. You win. The food is great. To start, the lemongrass coconut soup was a soothing bowl of palm fat yum. Small for four (but good for two) was the fresh and zesty mango salad with chicken satay. Our walk down the Thai street style Pad Thai was a tasty excursion. I savoured the Thai basil eggplant, which offered a subtle blend of flavours with perfect texture. The elegant Penang curry with chicken was rich and spicy alone and as a rice bath. Not bad but less interesting was the Chinese broccoli and mushroom. For dessert, the ice cream was proclaimed interesting while the flourless chocolate cupcake was solid enough though not best in show.
Unlike the food, service was poor. While alcohol usually comes early as part of good business practice, our drinks became distinctly lonely. Similarly, the green tea with dessert came as we were essentially standing to leave; this, after politely asking for it twice. The communication uncertainty was described above. The bill was nearly unpayable for reason of delay, which is only good if you can actually leave without paying.
The ambiance is fresh and entertaining. The restaurant is arranged as a side split in what seemed to be a converted warehouse. Old metal doors along the wall keep you guessing about the building's past. The decor is interesting, with various Thai art and icons hanging about.
I suppose the summary is disappointment. Gluten-free labels are great. You just have to trust them and the people who report them.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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As the server that served you, I apologize. Unfortunately almost more than not we are understaffed. A couple servers quit recently and we are working on training and hiring more. Usually there are only two servers for the entire restaurant meaning each server has half of a restaurant to take care of. On top of that, understand that this is a family restaurant and servers are in charge of making all drinks, answering phone calls, taking food orders, serving the food, plating desserts and dealing with bills both for dine-in and take out. A lot more than the customer is aware of. I was very busy that night and I only have two hands. I find that people are really hard on servers even when they see them running crazily around the restaurant. Please have some compassion. We are trying our best and we do not take it lightly when we tried our best and it still is not good enough. We are still human and that seems to be lost in this Western idea of "the customer is always right". I realize that some things did not arrive right away, however, like I said I had half a restaurant of tables and only two hands. This is not a chain restaurant. We do not have people designated for each task. Many customers have never been a server and do not realize how difficult it actually is. I think is is pretty harsh to have rated my service as poor. I don't remember you specifically making a comment about soy sauce and such because if I did then I would have said like I do to all other customers asking the same question that for our gluten free customers we use the VH soy sauce which is completely wheat-free. Again because this is a family restaurant there are still kinks to be smoothed over. The restaurant is working on changing the menus to appropriately identify what is actually completely Gluten free. You are right in that respect. It is not a gray thing.
ReplyDeleteDear Server,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback. We appreciate that your restaurant is independent, and that is one reason we went. I have no desire to blog about Montana's.
While appreciating your staffing difficulty, this blog is written to be instructive to other clients. The issues you describe require attention by the management. Fortunately for the consumer, there are plenty of good restaurants, and service will inevitably be compared. If you had pointed out your service shortage at the beginning (which might yet be a handy strategy), the blog would have read the same.
The most important element here is gluten. The fact that your restaurant cares about this puts it heads above many others. But the menu update is critical. Being celiac is a fearful nuisance, and eating in an environment you trust is crucial.
As noted in the critique, the food is wonderful. All of us wish you the best.