Sea Thai Bistro

(front of restaurant)

If you like dining under dim lighting, loud techno music and close seating arrangements, then Sea’s atmosphere is the perfect place to enjoy your meal. The restaurant itself is very spacious, with two large tables behind the buddha statue in the middle of the space with half-sunken seats around the pool, if you will, several smaller tables on either side, and long tables along the wall for larger parties. On a Sunday night, it was crowded, with a 20 minute wait to be seated, and an assortment of diners, ranging from large families with children to groups of friends just going out to eat on a Sunday night. If you’re going out to see friends and catch up, Sea is not the restaurant for you. It is impossible to hear yourself or the person five feet away for you without shouting and raising your voice at least several decibels.

(Seafood bar and wine rack)

The food was at best mediocre. While some dishes were tasty, many others were subpar. As there were nine people in our party, we were able to sample an array of dishes from Sea’s menu, and a lot of the usuals ,such as Pad Thai, and Mammasan Curry were definitely not made as well as other Thai restaurants. For one, the Pad Thai was too peanuty and the chicken was overcooked, dry, and flavorless. The Mammasan Curry with beef was too sweet, had no heat whatsoever, and like the chicken, the beef was overcooked as well. The thing with Sea is that all the meat that comes with their dishes is precooked together, so not only is it not fresh, but it is also tasteless, and it ruins your meal.

(Pad Thai)

For appetizers, we ordered the Calamari Super Bowl (which was not super at all), mandarin duck pancakes, Tup Tim Fritters, Grilled Beef, Green Papaya Salad, and triangle curry puffs. I did not try the Grilled Beef, but the calamari was nothing short of terrible. They were over-floured, the portion was skimpy, and the tomato salsa dipping sauce was nothing extraordinary.

(Calamari Super Bowl)

The green papaya salad was decent, nicely portioned, but nothing entirely special about it. The Mandarin Duck Pancake might have been the best part of my night – the duck was juicy and flavorful, not like the rest of the meat that was served with our entrees, and the strawberry dipping sauce was innovative and tasty. It was basically duck meat, lettuce, and pickled veggies wrapped in a crepe. It reminds me greatly of Peking Duck, minus the cucumbers, scallions, crispiness, and mouthfuls of oil, which, I think, are things I can hardly miss.

(Mandarin Duck Pancake)

I would also recommend the Tup Tim Fritters, skewered dumplings with chicken and shrimp, drenched in a sweet and spicy sauce that complemented the dumpling harmoniously.

(Tup Tim Fritters)

The Triangle Curry Puffs were also very tasty. The pastry was not dry, it was stuffed generously with chicken and potatoes blended together in a compatible medley of flavors.

(Triangle Curry Puffs)

The food isn’t expensive – appetizers range from $4-$6, and most of them are reasonably portioned. Entrees are about $9 with chicken or beef, and $10 with shrimp. Chef specialties range from $11 – $16.

Service is very attentive. Waiters and waitresses are constantly refilling your water glass, and make sure that there’s enough lighting on your table – meaning they make sure your candle does not burn out. Food is served fairly quickly as well. We waited about 10 – 15 minutes for all our food to arrive, and our plates were cleaned up quickly as well, without feeling that we were being rushed out of the restaurant.

I've heard lots of good reviews about the place, but IMO, ehh. Over-hyped and not the best.

Overall rating – 3.5/5
Food – 2.5/5
Decor - 5/5
Service – 5.0/5
Value – 4.0
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$$