08/25/09

zero for two meals- DO NOT EAT HERE!

by ahimsaloria

I've never written a review for a restaurant, let alone a negative review.. an experience has to be particularly traumatic for me to be driven to write a poor review about it online. If they had a 'negative stars' option, that would've been it.

We went to this restaurant because it was next door to our friend's hotel on Broadway, and because they had a separate vegan menu.

Both of our "vegan" dishes, ordered from their separate menu, came out with animal products in them. The first was obviously full of chicken and we sent it back. By the time they had brought out a replacement, we'd realized the other dish we had already started eating had egg in it. Nothing was taken off the bill. We were pretty disgusted and would never ever go back there again.

• Pros: wish i could think of one....
• Cons: Vegans BEWARE

02/06/09

Bad service, bad atmosphere, expensive, sub-par food

by MiaNombre58

Do not ever, ever go to Typhoon. The service is terrible, close to abysmal. My last trip there, I was with one other person, on a slow Wednesday night. We ordered appetizers (chicken satay that showed up after the main course, were cold, and seemed to have been sitting there for a while), and two main courses (I had green curry, it was alright but the beef had the feel of shoe leather, and it was also cold). Our drinks took almost 20 minutes to come out (and tasted like they'd been filtered through an ashtray). The food is overpriced, and the quality is beyond poor. I once even found aphids in a salad. The cleanliness definitely leaves something to be desired as well. Finally, I've heard (but cannot confirm) they seem to be in yet another legal battle over labor law violations, so I can only imagine why their waitstaff doesn't care. Strange side-note, I used to work right around the restaurant on broadway, and I saw one of their old bartender's being put into the back of a police car earlier this year, not too sure what that's about. So, if you want Thai food, try one of the hundreds of Thai restaurants in Portland, but please leave Typhoon alone.

• Pros: It's in downtown
• Cons: Everything else

08/06/08

OverPriced and Under-Authentic, or: How to be an Americanized Thai Restaurant

by glittergirl97266

"From humble beginnings on Northwest 23rd, Chef Bo Kline and Typhoon! have become icons of the Northwest food scene. "

If I'm not mistaken, it was their downtown location that was there first. So, they are lying about their "humble beginnings".

dont get me wrong, the food is good... But, its not that great. Ive had better food and service from Arawan Thai Cuisine on 82nd and Johnson Creek.

In short, if you like overpriced, overly pretentious settings to impress your out of town friends by the amount you can charge to your corporate account, this is the place for you! If you like real Thai Food cooked by real Thai people I would suggest the afformentioned Arawan restaurant or, for really great authentic food, go to Mai Thai on Belmont/30th.

After all, its your hard earned money that your wasting to support downtown/northwest rents!

• Pros: Great presentation of foods, ultra hip ambience.
• Cons: High, high prices, bad service, average taste.

04/28/08

Beautiful presentation, but flavors were just okay.

by kmaul

After seeing their TV commercial and hearing them mention the finest ingredients used in their cooking, I wanted to give Typhoon! a try. The restaurant is very elegant and the lighting is relaxing. I ordered Pad Thai and it came to me in a very nice presentation. However, the flavors were bland and the consistency was not to my liking - kind of on the goopy and pasty side. You may be paying for the finer ingredients and presentation, but that's about it. I probably will not go back unless I'm with a group who chooses Typhoon! unanimously.

• Pros: Nice relaxing atmosphere.
• Cons: Pricey for the quality of food - bland flavors.

04/21/08

GREAT FOOD!

by JessC1214

I love the food at this place! The restaurant is beautiful and the food is always fabulous! I'm super picky and they always get my very strange orders correct. Love it!

04/13/08

High prices, Inconsistant food, really small portions and okay staff

by kalea2005

I love Thia food and have eaten at Typhoon many times. The food is sometimes good and sometimes just "okay". The spicy green beans are yummy, the yellow curry is good. Make sure you specify what veggies you do not like if you order the spicy veggie w/ crispy basil (it comes with fried tofu and many veggies like 2 kinds of mushrooms (and lots of them), baby corns, cauliflower, brocolli, green beans etc..)) Cashew Nut Chic is okay and you have to order and pay for rice as it does not come with your meal. The Atmosphere is neat, trendy and new and they are right on broadway so location is nice.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Inconcistant, prices, parking

09/15/07

very interpersonal...

by saevorlee

I heard about Typhoon! through a friend who's husband loves to eat at during lunch. We both decided to go there last night and give it a try. We called about two hours ahead for a reservation, I know not a very good timing, but they said that they would be able to accomodate us. Right when we get in there the host went to go set up our table and then seated us all the while talking to us as if we knew eachother. LOVED it, felt like I was with people who were enjoying themselves versus just wanting to get the job done. After we were seated, our server came to check if everything was okay (our drinks were already there when we got there). We asked many questions about the food and he was VERY patient and telling us his honest opinion on what we probably wouldn't like. We order our dishes and they come out approx. 12 minutes later, for a full house i'd say thats pretty fast. For the price were paying, it doesn't look like your getting a big amount of food, but as I was eating I became more then full and the food was amazing. I could taste all the sauces that they used and the spicy-ness was fantastic. Speaking as a native thai, some of the dishes were a bit up in the air and not very thai, but if you know what to choose, completely delightful. In the end the price was worth way more then what we paid, it wasn't just the food, it was the service, how they talked to us as if we were regulars'. On our way out we had 4, read it again, 4 different workers say "Thank You, have a great night" now I know I should have been the one to say thank you, they were great. Definately going to go back. This time, i might even call a day ahead for a reservation instead.

• Pros: personality in service, if you have something special going on i.e. anniversary, they set your table ULTRA formal, very nice touch
• Cons: Parking (call and ask, they tell you where all the good places to park are)

09/07/07

lunchtime gone....

by snowman121065

I work near this restaurant and had thought it would be fun to order thai and take out to eat on the Square in the sunshine, so called a good 45 minutes in advance to be sure to have it ready by the time my lunch came around (and told them so). I came in exactly as planned, but nothing. They went into the kitchen to check on it, nothing. when they came back to the front reception area, they asked me what I needed again- even though it was exactly the same person I talked to 5 minutes ago.... "Oh yeah, let me check on it".... Again gone for 5 minutes. Long story short, it took me my entire lunch break to get the food (over an hour and a half since my initial order by phone!!!) so I didn't even get to eat as I planned. Sure, I could have said "forget this" but I wanted to be reasonable and patient- I know better now and will NEVER bother giving them my business in the future. Sorry, your mediocre food is not worth that kind of wait!

• Pros: nice space
• Cons: people, service, and food

08/26/07

Pricey and

by targacs

I thought the decor was very nice. And the water had a good 'taste' to it. However, I went at lunchtime on a Saturday and got a dinner menu. About $20 for lunch - and that was without dessert or a drink, other than water.

The food was ok, but not memorable, have had much better Thai food at half the price. Even the rice, which cost extra, did not seem to have the right texture. Don't have any interest in returning.

08/09/07

Lousy place for breakfast

by cboen

My friends and I went there hoping that we could find Thai menu for breakfast. Well, the only thai on the menu were thai fried rice and thai wrap. The rest on the menu was like frittata, waffles, and omelets.

So we were a little bit disappointed. But we gave it a try thinking maybe they are good with these dishes.

One of my friends got the Thai wrap and my other friend got the Belgian waffles. I got the frittata with mushroom and asparagus.

Our food finally came after we waited for more than 1/2 an hour while there were practically nobody else sitting in the restaurant. My 2 friends said that their food was ok, and my frittata was tasteless (maybe the chef forgot to season it).

The bill was just too expensive for not so tasty breakfast. But the upside is, the place looks cools from outside and the decor is trendy. Maybe we should have gone there for dinner to get the full experience.

• Pros: Nice decor and conveniently located in downtown
• Cons: Boring food