King & I Thai Cuisine

This is a restaurant with a 30 year history of traditional Thai food in St. Louis, but unfortunately that history does not translate in this newer space. It is a stark, modern, space playing indie rock in the background. I’d love to see more of the history of this family brought out in the decor and menu. The food presentation was lovely, but the taste itself was just ok. My dish very bland and the salad was served with too much dressing. I did order the King Veggie dish with mild so that could be on me. I would be willing to try the restaurant again and order something different. My husband ordered the Spicy Pad Kapow with medium spice which did have a lot more flavor than mine and of course more spice. This is more of a fast casual restaurant. I had always heard rave reviews for the location on South Grand but I never had the chance to visit that location. My assumption has always been that the previous location was one of our cities classic Asian restaurants and again that just doesn’t translate here.

I whole heartedly wanted to like this place. The green curry dish I ordered was good in flavor but more yellowish than green than expected. The downside was the noodles. I ordered pad see ew noodles and the noodles were so wet, soggy, they disintegrated when I tried to pick them up. It was like eating watery noodles without the soup. It may have been a bad day, but I unfortunately may not be coming back anytime soon. Everything else was superb! (Service and atmosphere)

Went with a group of friends. The server was attentive. The atmosphere is kind of dull compared to when it was on South Grand Ave. The cocktail choices were very limited. The Crab Rangoon was delicious. The Chicken Sate did not look appetizing, nor flavorful. The Crispy Spring Rolls were alright. I ordered the Three Kings of Thailand. It was delicious, except it did not come to the table temperature hot. The spice level was perfect. I would go there again, if only in the area, but would ask for my food to be temperature hot.

New location, same stellar food. Menu is much more condensed and cocktails are gone. Ordered yellow curry with chicken, the 3 kings of Thailand, and mango sticky rice for dessert. Definitely one of the best meals you can have in st. Louis. Everything was perfection. Yellow curry was creamy and I could drink it with a spoon. 3 kings left nothing to be desired. Mango sticky rice was new to me and it was warm and the mango was so good, fresh and perfectly ripe. We also had coconut ice cream which paired well with the sticky rice. Thank you King and I for never disappointing, I was concerned the new modern atmosphere meant less food quality, soooooo not the case. While I do miss the atmosphere of the old location, this location is fine. Seating is a bit uncomfortable. We did note that the medium spice level wasn't as spicy as it used to be, so they are definitely catering to a more American palette.

The tamarind shrimp is really good. Food is good generally! The service could be friendlier. Will come back!

It’s overall good experience. We ordered basil fried rice and tom yum soup. It was delicious. The layout of the restaurant is inviting and comfortable. The service we received was exceptionally friendly, making us feel welcome from the moment we walked in. The portions here are quite generous, which is a pleasant surprise, and the quality of the food is excellent. The flavors in every dish we tried were rich and well-balanced. The menu offers a wide variety of options, and I'm already looking forward to returning to sample more of their delicious offerings. If you're a fan of Thai cuisine, King and I is definitely a place worth visiting for a satisfying and flavorful dining experience.

Delicious food! Reflecting back, my husband and I had a debate on tipping our waitress. This restaurant seems intentionally geared to a large amt of take out customers but nice updated dining area. The waitress was pleasant, filled the guys water twice, and checked to make sure we liked the food. Check, check, check. She didn't tell us anything about the menu, didn't mention or ask about drinks, and we had to ask for containers and our check. Truly, the place was busy but it seemed that the service provided is the standard. The drinks we saw were in cans and bottles - catering to take out? We don't know because there was no discussion about drinks. I felt we received service along the lines of Noodles and Co. The service overall was great if you rate it on the Noodles and Co scale. Hubby gave nice above average tip which is what we usually do at a restaurant. I would have tipped less - just what is standard and expected.

This place was such huge disappointment. My girlfriend has visited Thailand and she’s been trying to find proper, authentic, Thai cuisine here in STL ever since. When googling “best Thai STL” one of the first links that pops up is from KSDK News citing the award they have received. I quote “King & I was awarded the prestigious Thai SELECT Signature award from the Ministry of Commerce Royal Thai Government. It’s the highest level of recognition given by the Ministry of Commerce, which gives out the awards once a year after a committee visits and reviews restaurants across the U.S.”. When I saw this I was so excited. I thought “wow, awarded by the Thai government itself. This place must be AMAZING”. Well allow me to let you in on some bad news - it’s anything but. The Pad Thai tasted like catsup and didn’t resemble anything close to the iconic dish known across the world. The Duck and Rice was cloyingly sweet and the rice was undercooked. The Yellow Curry was far too sweet as well. The King & I Fresh Rolls were fine and surprisingly fresh. The Papaya Salad was the star of the show and while not tasting authentic was still pleasing to the palate. The wings were mediocre at best. Nothing remarkable 5.1/10 clucks. They received their prestigious award in 2021 from what I read but something has happened to this place since then because I wouldn’t even recommend King & I casually to a friend. The server was extremely friendly. She was professional and all of our food arrived as we ordered it.