It held great promise, had a great menu and sincere servers, but failed miserably in delivery.

The kitchen is very disorganized with meals coming out willy-nilly. Save yourself the agony of watching tables seated after you getting and even completing their meals before yours arrives. Despite your continually apologizing server, they are helpless when it comes to getting your meal out in a reasonable time. Ahhhhhhhhh!

Went here for breakfast and dinner. Same-o same-o.

One of the culprits appears to be Hector, who just can't get things right the first time. In our case I ordered an omelet, my wife blue berry pancakes. Could it be any more simple? Apparently not, as Hector completed my omelet, putting it on the heating plate and heat lamp window as he prepared pancakes without the blueberries.

Well, when the error was pointed out by our server, Hector re-did the pancakes, but they were raw in the centers and my omelet, that had been sitting on the hotplate for well over 20 minutes had the cheese melted to oil by the time it was served. But the plate was hot, so hot that the server could not pick it up from the tray without napkins to shield his hands.

We had been seated for 40 minutes when our meals arrived and were too hungry and too angry to do much more that wave off the server's apologies and eat our meals. Not good.

Oddly enough we did not suffer enough abuse, so returned for dinner with our son, his wife and two grandchildren. Why, you ask? Because the menu had everything for everybody and it is a noisy, busy place perfect for children.

OK...ditto the breakfast experience, but we had wine, beer and booze, so that took the edge off of our frustration.

Food is just OK, but hey!...It is a diner, so what do you expect? Gourmet it ain't. whether Hector was there or not, I did watch and there was a white-jacketed supervisor or coordinator of sorts , but apparently he must be part of the Hector Club of incompetents, so no help for the hungry.

A shame as it could be a great place. We might try it again, but most likely not. With the 10s of thousands of "Hectors" coming into the area it would be our recommendation to fire Hector and hope for a better replacement. As for the kitchen supervisor, knock his nuts together to hopefully get his attention and motivation to get the kitchen to follow some form of order.

They bounced back stronger and better organized from our earlier not-so-good experience. Asked for Michelle, who aced getting our meals to us when the kitchen was boo coo upside down.

Love their Knob Creek Manhattan ($4.90 extra to the $$9.80 base price) as well as their daily drink and food specials. Wife had the $5 Mule which was special that night. Look the specials over when you come in.

I did the French Onion Soup which was part of my shrimp dinner ($28). Soup was good, shrimp not anything special.

Wife had her favorite crispy cauliflower ($11).

Excellent service and server, Michelle. Park in front and come on in.

Now occupying the Stone Cottage Grill (?) which Covid killed off. The redesign is a good one, comfy booths and tables and they retained the outdoor patio and fireplace.

It was $5 margarita night, so we took on one each. We were very impressed with our wait person, Michelle, who did a great job in spite of a near total lack of support from the overwhelmed kitchen and rarely seen management.

The margaritas were not very tangy at all. Just slightly lemony sweet mixer. That was our start of a very long 30-minute wait.

It became a long, cold, two-hour grind. Cold enough that some diners went to their cars for a jacket. I did, and ended up wearing a very small and tight bright pink windbreaker that my wife had in the car. Make certain that you and your party of diners bring something to stay warm.

We liked their menu very much. Excellently done and plenty of good options. ditto the wine and drink menu. Parking is outside in their private lot.

We had ordered salads with our main courses, and Michelle was heads-up in serving our salads before the appetizers got out of the kitchen. You can guess what happened about 15 minutes later: salads not finished, appetizers arrived and were immediately followed by out main courses.

Wife had an appetizer of crispy fried cauliflower and she loved it. I had the PEI mussels, which were flavorless, in a overly watered-down broth with some flecks of garlic floating around in it. Mussels were, consequently, dry and chewy, and there were only two hard bread fragments and a lemon wedge to accompany. I only ate half of the flavorless mussels.

Wife ordered a house menu-highlighted pasta dish: rigatoni abruzzi. Rigatoni stuffed with cheese and covered with tomato sauce. It is listed as "with sausage," which was accomplished with a teaspoon-sized piece of sausage tossed on top. Wife liked the meal, but having waited so long, plus the appetizer and salad, she took most of her main course home.

I had shrimp scampi and it was flavorless. And the angel hair pasta was gluing together due to the niggardly amount of sauce. Similar to those dry mussels. The portion had 8 very nice sized shrimp but without flavorfull sauce, they were just cooked shrimp. It did not come together at all.

I would title this review and judgement of Walnut Grill as overall flavorless.

MIchelle, our server, was tending to more than just our table, included was a table of 8 that was seated with cocktails well before we arrived. And they had insisted that their entire party be served at the same time. Ha, ha we thought as we got our late meals served before them. And Michelle came with 5 of the 8 meals and had to hustle back to retrieve the remaining three meals 15 minutes later. Not one of the other wait staff stepped in to help and when I asked Michelle where the manager was, she said he was in the kitchen moving things along.

And we know how that went.

Two hours and we were chilled to the bone and grateful to be outside in the 90 degree heat.

If they can get the kitchen going, add flavor to dishes, not book more than one party at a time, re-look at the number of tables that wait staff are responsible for, turn up the A/C a bit and develop wait person teamwork and cooperation which is well-understood in most dining facilities...Walnut Grill has excellent potential.

As these 2-stars say, "could have been better," for sure.

Invited two couples, including one that is really scared of spicy food, to give a try at Bahn Thai (rhyme?) There was no problem with multiple checks and they made that work as each couple was served with what they ordered together, couple, by couple. Some dishes take a bit more time than others.

We love their curries, which are EXACTLY what you would be served in Thailand, as we have experienced. Basic varieties and you pick your protein.

And their spice levels go from zero spice, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Mr and Mrs Fussy went with a zero and a #1, then asked us if they could try our #3s. Funny how that works as zero was, to them, too mild. And #1, which they ordered was OK but they admitted that next time they would go higher in spice level. Finally, our #3 made them drink water and roll their eyes. Net of the whole spice odyssey was that they were planning to return and try a #2.

For those of you that are attraced to spicy cuisine, like Thai and Asian-Indian, this is how you determine your spice comfort level. Restaurants have different scales to measure heat, in this case 6 levels. Others might have three, four, five or more levels, so ask.

We sure do like this place. You will...too.

Still going strong, having survived the take-out pain of Covid shutdowns. We love their curries that come out just like you would experience in Bangkok. If you are hungry for lunch, this is the ticket.

Wait staff are mostly Thai and they will help you with ordering. A sushi menu is a nice plus, though not Thai, it is Asian and well-done.

They serve Jasmine tea, to us an upgrade from the more common Oolong tea served in many Asian restaurants.

Very crowded at lunch, so come early, prior to noon, or after 1pm and you will pretty much have the place to yourself.

Wife and I have Bahn Thai, in Ballantyne, as our go-to for Thai place. Why? Because the menu has a lot of options, sushi is pretty good and the service is great.

Downside is that it gets REALLY crowded during prime time lunch. Suggest you get into the restaurant prior to noon, or after 1pm. Not only does it get full, but it gets loud.

Very authentic. Five levels of spice. I find that level three is spicy enough without making the food hard to get through. Wife can also handle level three. Start low and work your way up.

I am a big fan of their curries, esp for lunch. Portion is good, along with a rounded mound of rice, brown or white, and at lunch, you get a spring roll and a small monkey bowl of an excellent dipping sauce. I like the Panang best, as it is mostly the protein, light on vegetables.

Wife likes curries, but experiments. Recently, she had Pud Met Ma Muang, a pork stir-fry with roasted cashew nuts, carrots, onions, bell peppers, celery and scallions in a chili sauce. She thought it OK.

For dinner the menu has more options and I like to have one of the whole fish entrees. Very yummy.

Parking is tight right in front, but is plentiful a little way away.

Make it a date night or lunch. Much yum to enjoy.

We are getting to be regular pimps for Bahn Thai, continually bringing neighbors to try it out.

A number of people are afraid of Thai food being too hot or spicy. To their credit at Bahn Thai they do reassure diners that the spice will be low, but, sad to say, the kitchen does, on occasion over dose and you get sizzler. When that has happened, they graciously take the plate back and re-cook it for the low spice crowd.

On the other hand, if you REALLY want to light up your life they will bring a condiment tray to the table with four pepper varieties that will water your eyes as well burn your nostrils. So go for it if you dare, although their five spice levels should please you.

Their volcano fish and ginger fish specials are very good. The ginger fish comes with two generous half-inch thick cuts of fish with around a three inch diameter. A good satisfying portion.

Service is so nice. The wait people don't rush your ordering and will delay staging your meal so you have time to chat, snack, drink over an appetizer or two or three before ordering your main courses. I like that as I dislike getting the main dish while we are still on appetizers.

Don't be afraid...come on in and enjoy the experiment without suffering bodily harm. You won't regret it. Just look at the reviews!

Tired of being disappointed as you drag yourself in and out of "kinda Thai" restaurants? Check out Bahn Thai for the real thing...it is.

Small space, but pleasantly warm and cozy. Go early as it is popular. Service is great and very helpful in explaining dishes. And they are not pushy in selling drinks or extras. You are there to eat and they are there to accommodate you.

The regular array of noodle dishes and lots of rice dishes. You choose your meat, seafood or veggie. There are fresh whole fish specials, one with ginger which I like a lot and another "volcano" dish that I have not tried.

Level of heat, as Thai food is usually very hot, is up to you on a five-point scale. Three is comfortable for wife and I. We generally like spice, so if you are not spice-friendly, go one or two level. And they will bring a condiment setting which consists of various peppers and sauces to light up your mouth. Worth asking for it as you can learn about Thai spicing.

This is a comfortable place for a nice meal with friends. Good food, good service, good menu, good variety yielding a good experience.

Remains one of the best Chinese food eateries in the area. Close second is Lam's and third Ming Fu.

Szechuan won-tons...not on menu and not always available, so ask. Totally wonderful.

A bit distant for us but we go when we can.

Bes for the won-tons and the best won-ton soup in the USA. Egg rolls are good, too and make certain that you order hot mustard and chili oil to go on the rolls. Hot, but super delish.

Am going to give away a secret: Jade Dragon. I think they have the best, good quality Chinese food around. Dine in or take-out.

Not on the menu are Szechuan won-tons. Ask. These are soft wontons smothered in a peanut-chili-pepper gravy. To die for. They are yummy-licious. We fight over the remaining sauce/gravy. You will, also.

Egg rolls are excellent. Fat and lightly fried, they are not grease soaked and skimpy. Order one for each of you and you will discover that two are not enough and will order more. Ask for the hot mustard and chili-pepper oil. In a dollop of mustard blop a teaspoon or less of the pepper oil, dip in egg roll and you are on! Too much mustard and oil and you will embarrass yourself, so go slow to go fast.

Wonton soup. Best ever. Golden yellow, no oil or grease floating on it...very clear. Full of flavor. We get the soup along with the egg rolls and Szechuan wontons.

Jase-man tea is regularly served, not run of the mill ooolong.

Jade Dragon, Baoding and Lams are the very best, authentic Chinese restaurants in the Charlotte area. Worth doing a tour of them to compare.

A rare five-star rating, Our now favorite Chinese restaurant in the Charlotte area.

Very wonderful food. They do it right and have some twists to their Cantonese style cooking that we love. One of those is the "Szechuan spicy won ton." These are soft won tons in a spicy brown gravy, warm but not hot. The sauce is of the peanut variety and the won ton dough is "slimy" in texture, but they are DELICIOUOS. It is not on the menu so ask for it, in fact, if you are heading there, call ahead to insure that they will set aside an order or two for you.

My wife and I fought over the final one and ended up making a second order which we laughed through as we slurped them down. So yummy will go there today for lunch.

Their won ton soup is PERFECT, being golden yellow, flavorful and not greasy or infused with soya sauce. Marvelous with those soft delicate won tons. Do wish that they would have a larger order and one with vegetables. Will have to ask for the "wor won ton" type of soup.

I find that the portions are fair, but not generous. Rice is a measured bowl and the servings are OK for two people, but far short of what you get at other places. You might find that where you order two mains you might want an appetizer or a third main.

And don't expect spicy. Cantonese food is generally not spicy, so please ask if they will juice it up if you like more zip to their dishes. Some dishes they will and others, no. Chef's call.

It was no surprise to me when I found out that the chef of this family-owned restaurant is the former chef of Wan Fu in Charlotte. This is another reason to know who is in the kitchen. It makes a lot of difference.

Jade Dragon is located in Quail Hollow, off of Rea Road in South Charlotte. It is in a Harris Teeter shopping center which also contains more of our favorites, like Brooklyn Pizza, The Lodge and Mai Japanese Restaurant.

It is a great restaurant.