So I've finally tried the infamous Lotus of Siam, supposedly one of the best Thai restaurants in the U.S. I can tell you that it is definitely not. In fact, I am pretty disappointed that this has taken the title of \"Best Thai Restaurant in Vegas,\" as far as tourists are concerned. I am trying to find a good reason to give LoS 3 stars, but unfortunately I just can't.\n\nI went on a whim with some coworkers, and we ordered a fairly wide range of food. We had the Tom Kha Kai, Pad see ew, Rad Na pork, northern red curry chicken, and the desert platter. I'll go from the best to the worst of these dishes, and why I wasn't impressed with most of them. \n\nThe best dish was the dessert platter. It came with a single excellent mango, sliced and perfectly sweet. I loved it. The platter also came with 2 excellent fried bananas, a clump of nicely prepared sweet sticky rice, and a scoop coconut ice cream. All of it was great, and was by far the best part of the meal. The only downside was that it was a bit overpriced at $13.95.\n\nNext up was the Rad Na with pork. I would have been very impressed with this dish if it weren't for the over-ripe Chinese broccoli... more on that broccoli later. The gravy sauce was actually very good; I was impressed! It had a nice, somewhat unique taste with a perfect consistency. The noodles and the pork were averagely prepared. Overall, if the broccoli wasn't over-ripe, it would have been a pretty good dish. \n\nThe first dish we had was the Tom Kha Kai. It had spices that I haven't seen before in this dish, which made it interesting. Careful sipping this, I nearly choked on a pepper that went down the wrong pipe! It had a red chili sauce floating above the coconut milk that gave it a nice spicy bite. I haven't had Tom Kha Kai from a lot of different places, but I have had excellent versions of this dish. This one was pretty average, however. The coconut milk seemed a bit watery, resulting in a less than potent taste. I think that most people would be pleased with this dish, but I've had better. \n\nNext was the pad see ew, which was more disappointing than the Rad Na. The over-ripe Chinese broccoli really ruined the entire dish for us. I felt like the broccoli was a bit skimpy as well with small, few pieces. I *love* fresh Chinese broccoli with thick, crunchy stems. I *hate* over-ripe, bitter Chinese broccoli. This really is a pet peeve of mine. The Chinese broccoli made the Rad Na a less-than perfect dish, but it downright ruined the pad see ew. Knowing that LoS doesn't care about stocking fresh Chinese broccoli, I would suggest skipping anything on the menu that has this ingredient. \n\nOn to the joke of the meal, the Northern Red Curry. How about poorly prepared chicken broth with some hot chili in it? It was spicy, but still very bland over the white rice. I was extremely bored with this dish, which was a surprise because I've heard that the Northern dishes are the dishes to get at LoS. Maybe we were unlucky. Do yourself a favor, and don't order this. \n\nAll of that said, I have never had better service at a Thai restaurant that I wasn't good friends with the manager. The servers really put out some effort to give you the feel that you are in a gourmet restaurant. They filled our soup bowls, and constantly topped up our water glasses. The staff was very friendly, and extremely professional. The wine rack is impressive, and adds to the gourmet feeling as well. If only the food was also gourmet.\n\nIf your pallet for Thai food hasn't been lucky enough to taste really great Thai, this place isn't a bad one to go to as a tourist. If you are a local, or you are someone who has a more refined taste in Thai food, there are lots of better Thai restaurants in Las Vegas.
places reviews