King and I Thai

We never knew King and I Thai when it was in the city, but have been enjoying it since they moved to Mendota Heights. Up until the last year or so, they were consistently good in terms of their Pad Thai and Pad See Ew, and appetizers. They were also very good about getting the spice level right.

Unfortunately, that has changed in the last year or so. The Pad Thai has been oily and spicy even when requesting mild, and the tofu in the Pad Thai has been overcooked, making it chewy and oily tasting.

We are now seeking other Thai food alternatives in the southeast metro.

Average Thai food is quite edible. Very crispy vegetarian egg rolls were fill with bland vegetables. Almost crisp stir fried vegetables were covered with a very average peanut sauce. The hot tea was warm. The service was helpful if not very well informed, and the esthetic was suburban Thai-like. The sound level was low, except for a loud scraping noise from the kitchen that accompanied most of the meal. Not a bad evening at all, and moderately priced..

The fried rice has an overwhelming taste of basil and tiny shrimp. Clearly the recipe and quality of ingredients has been changed and not for the better. PLUS, I deeply resent negative reviews being removed from Yelp for some reason under the pretense that it "doesn't represent a firsthand experience." What a crock of b.s.!!!

Nice Asian art, and quiet dining room. The furniture is old, and some of it is damaged. The table was wiped down, but not well enough to remove sticky splotches from previous diners. We had the vegetarian spring roll, which was decent. The peanut sauce was warm and flavorful. Excellent. Our entrées were disappointing... the Raad Na noodle dish was drowning in sauce, with mediocre/bland chicken. The noodles themselves were decent, but everything else about the plate was sub par. The green curry was very watery... I couldn't detect any coconut milk or flavor. The vegetables were average quality. The mock duck was terrible, and was one of the more expensive protein add-ons. If you're going to carry a mock-meat protein, at least present something tasty. This mock duck tasted overwhelmingly like soybeans. Service was decent.

I used to go to the lovely original King and I Thai on LaSalle many years ago; it was in the garden level basement of an historic building and had a cozy bar and nice outdoor seating. This was my first time trying their new suburban stripmall incarnation and, while it's not even a tenth as cool as the original spot, the food is still good and they helpfully label all their vegan or veganizable options.

The vegetarian egg roll ($7) is vegan by default and consists of two really large, deep-fried marvels. I enjoyed these a lot.

The holy basil stir fry can be made vegan ($16) and has a deeply savory and spicy sauce with chewy-meaty fried tofu and mushrooms. I liked this dish and appreciated the complexity of the sauce.

The raad na ($13) can be made vegan and the sauce is thick and tasty without being gloopy. I wish it had more preserved soy beans and Chinese broccoli, but it still tasted great.

King and I makes some of the best Thai food in the Twin Cities. It's a shame it's so isolated in Mendota Heights. If you want similarly delicious and vegan-friendly Thai food closer-in, check out Amazing Thailand or Sen Yai Sen Lek in Minneapolis; Bangkok Thai Deli in St. Paul is also an authentic hole-in-the-wall that caters to vegans.

Pad Thai was really greasy, actually almost made me sick. My body isn't really use to that.

Had the chicken wings. Expected them to be stuffed as they usually are. So was disappointed. . The hot sour soup was watery and blah . $28 for the two. Time to cook at home

Beware if you are taking out. Our orders in the past were incorrect or today, we received 1/2 an order with a lie-saying it was normal. We have ordered this many many times and this was not normal. They apologised when we asked. It has happened many times. Yes their food is good-however they are not the only game in town. Today, the right thing to do for our inconvenience (disrupted dinner, a drive back and a wait) would have been to give us our order for free as an apology, to get us back. Or coupon our next order to get us back. We are done. Want to buy from a restaurant that cares about us and our business and they do not. There are many other Thai restaurants in the neighborhood. If you choose to take out-check your order before you leave. Buyer beware.

Definitely not as good as it was in its old location, probably partially due to the environs not being nearly as accommodating, unique, or luxurious. However, on top of that, the food is quite expensive for what you get (i.e. fried rice that is pushing $16-20 vs. under $10 nearly everywhere else).

The food is still fairly good, but I've had equal and better at much cheaper restaurants in the Twin Cities. The Pad Thai, fried rice, and Cream Cheese rolls are all good though.

If prices were more in line with other similar places, this would likely be a 3.5-4 star.

Sweet and Sour tofu in my belly!!!! Sooooooooo scrumptious!! My friends and I enjoyed a weekday dinner at King and I Thai. For an appetizer, we had vegetarian egg rolls. They were so crispy and flavorful!!! My mouth is watery just writing about them! . For my entree, I had the sweet and sour tofu with rice. The tofu had this amazing crispy batter and the sauce was the perfect balance of sweet/sour! The portion was fairly decent as I had leftovers for lunch the next day. I thought the prices were a tad high but in the end it was worth it. The only bummer was they removed a vegetarian curry item from the appetizer options. I forgot the description but it sounded amazing! The service was good and we'd definitely go back! If you're in the mood for Thai, this may be a good option to check out!