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Tigers Garden
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
10 reviews for Tigers Garden
I walked into this place and immediately thought to myself... "Self, I finally have a decent and affordable Thai/Laotian place in Vancouver!!! as opposed to my Thai/Cambodian or even regular Thai place in vancouver!" (and still no Chinese food... hmmm, pity.)
Then I looked at the menu and saw the prices... 9-14 dollars for Lunch? F*CK THAT, I am gone!
As I started to leave, he immediately knew why and showed me the super secret lunch menu (Thanks AS*HOLE, nice try!)
I sat there eying everyone's food coming out of the kitchen and it was all Pad Thai... all of it! 5 people in front of me got HUGE steaming helpings of chicken and sprouts and noodles and lime and nuts.
It LOOKED delicious and it sounded like everyone else was enjoying their Pad Thai... the only problem is that I detest Pad Thai... it is the Thai culinary equivalent of cheap bangers and mash or a god damned Big Mac!!! (If you like Pad Thai (or McDonald's) you might want to try this place out... everybody else seemed to enjoy it.)
So I ordered the Evil Prince special and was quickly informed that it wasn't a lunch special.... and neither was the seafood house special stir fry...
WTF (WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT - for my airplane friends... not that there is anything wrong with that...)
FINE! I ordered red curry with Chicken... Fingers crossed!
about 5 minutes later the waiter came out with a plate of rice and (Maybe) and 6-8 ounce serving of red curry with a 'touch' of chicken and undercooked vegetables... He wasn't happy when i said, "Excuse me sir, I ordered the 2 pound plate of rice." either that, or he didn't speak enough English to understand me... coin flip.
It all seemed too BAD to be true... but then I remembered my grandmothers words... "if you don't have something nice to say, Yelp it!"
I was originally going to rate this a 1-2 star place... mostly because I just paid to eat a NINE dollar scoop of curry with 3 ounces of meat (think chicken wings from ethiopia... and not fire on the mountain)
Then i started thinking about everything else the place offered.
#1 - Decent Ambiance... nice artwork and the usual Thai stuff (but i am sure it was partly Laotian)
#2 - Decent Prices... 7 bucks for a 26 ounce serving of rice. :)
#3 - Much Better than decent flavor. In fact, It tasted good, so i can't complain about the flavor... Actually, it was VERY tasty.
I will come back again to try the dinner sized menu and some of the specials... maybe even try the Soup and HOPE it isn't served in either a Ramekin or Thimble, then re-yelp Tigers Garden... but for now... that seems a long way off.
P.S. for those parties interested, I am selling rice by the pound at Esther Short Park, in downtown Vancouver for the next hour...
Decent place in downtown Vancouver. The service is a bit slow and not well organized: no refill on water for example and you have to grab the attention of someone to order food or get the bill... That could use some improvement. The staff is however friendly, no doubt, with a lot of smiles...
The food has interesting and nice flavors and that's what saves the experience at Tigers garden. Prices are on the low side: $12 or so for dinner dishes. Portions are not overwhelming. We had the yum salad which I liked a lot with a lot of cilantro and a nice spicy lime dressing; the crying tiger which was basically a steak, pass on that one; and a salmon marinated with again quite a bit of cilantro, nice dish.
Overall, a nice experience and a good quality for the price asked. Nothing out of the ordinary though, yet a safe bet.
Just when I thought I was going to wait for the return train back to Seattle, i found myself, ugh, bored... and hungry?! And just over an hour before it comes.
So, I head back to city center---hmm what can i snag to go? *looks around* ooo, tiger's garden?ok.
First thing i noticed, relief from the heat! Nice n coool inside "awww.." Place seemed cozy and rather nice. Good setting. I just got cashew chicken to go and arfed it at the train station. was good.
We liked eating here. I have a hard time finding evening places in vancouver. Why? Because there are so few places downtown that stay open past 5. (If they even make it that far.)
So while on a walk me and my girlfriend were pleasantly surprised to see an open sign. Most people by this time were in the bar area for happy hour, but we sat down for a late dinner.
No complaints, the spicy things were spicy, the rice was ricey. All that. Im no Thi expert, but everything tasted great, and it wasnt overpriced.
I will go again.
Sometime we get caught up in the moment...
Like for instance I'm an alternative rock music kind of girl, but when I lived in Eastern Washington for school there was about 5 months where I went country swing dancing every week and traversed the Pullman hills with the latest yeehaw jams on my iPod. (We all have our shameful little secrets right?)
I suppose that's what happens when you're submerged in an environment... mannerisms you don't typically align yourself with are suddenly allowable. I attribute this same phenomenon to the occasional culinary situation where I randomly think "Of course I can handle spicy food!"
Yeah... nope.
Luckily I've learned to just say no to "extra spicy" and go for the mild. It never ruins my meal- always Pad Thai- here. I'm not a huge fan of peanut sauce, but this place sits well in my book. It's a nice little sit down restaurant with a full bar and happy hour, though I usually grab my lunch to go to get away from the rush. It's fast, with super impeccable service, and a reasonable price for good meal.
Portions are a bit too big for lunch, so go hungry or grab it to go. There is a small patio to watch people stroll by. An all around yummy place to try.
And no country.
We've enjoyed this restaurant twice now. It's very nice inside (I was worried for the attached bar, but that's not even a concern).
The food was very nicely done - I've had the Pineapple fried rice with cashews and chicken and it's really a unique mix.
The menu isn't as broad as some of the other Thai/Chinese restaurants I've been to, but there is vegetarian options all the way through it for my husband.
The service is nice and everything was brought quickly.
Try the Thai Ice Tea, it comes in a nice big glass and is a very nice flavor.
Tiger's Garden is just a bit better than the other Thai restaurants downtown. They have EXCELLENT Tom Yum and Tom Kha, good service, and great stir-fries. My least favorite items are the curries, but then again--I'm not a big curry fan.
The service here is IMPECCABLE. They are SO friendly, quick, and genuine. The chicken pad thai, vegetarian pad thai, satay chicken, and pineapple rice were all pretty authentic and tasty. They have a spice rack availible if you are unsure how spicy you want your food. The atmosphere is very relaxed. There are also beautiful paintings of tigers and Thai dancers all over the walls. Four stars!
Friendly service, but I was disappointed with my lunch today. Order my meal to go with veggies and tofu but received just veggies. Smelled yummy, but lacking something in taste. I have enjoyed a cocktail or two and I have to say they were quite yummy and I recall the bar menu to be good as well.
Yet another Thai restaurant. The vegetarian pad thai was good, but not great. It was a little too sweet and I didn't really like the texture of the noodles.