Recent Posts

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Greenville (NC) Eats: Thai 360

It's tough being a new place in town, even tougher when the competition is heads and shoulders above most of the places in town. It's a little unusual for a town to have three or four Thai restaurants, even more so considering how big the city of Greenville is. Normally, it takes a lot of confidence by an owner to open an ethnic place in town when there are so many sucessful ones around, so when Thai 360 came to town, I knew I had to try and see if they had what it takes to make a mark in the G.

Located in a modest building across from the downtown library (we have a downtown library? since when!?), Thai 360 looks a bit modest from the outside. A glance from the inside, however, reveals a surprisingly decent room with a handful of tables scattered around the dining room. Anyone couple looking for a little privacy may feel a little out in the open with the lack of privacy between tables due to space and size of the relatively small dining area, moreso for bigger parties stuffed in between.

We had a party of six this evening, along with a wide range of orders. I opted for the paradise chicken, a supposedly "crispy chicken dish with a spicy chili sauce". Our party was suddenly offered one of the strangest Thai heat charts ever, a scale of 1-20. A friend and I boldly ordered our dishes at 15, but were disappointed with a pretty weak smattering of red pepper flakes. My paradise chicken was unfortunately soaked in pretty watered-down chili sauce, leaving the chicken soft and soggy, a disappointment all-around.

The Alaskan decided to order a pad thai with tofu, but the dish came out a little empty with only half a handful of tofu and little "stuff" in the traditional filled dish of noodles. A couple of curries also hit the table, including a green and a bamboo curry, both of which also suffered from a drowning amount of liquid. Instead of coconut cream, it seems like the restaurant opted for juice which cut the usual creaminess of Thai curries and disappointingly soaked trays like a flood.

All this was only made more disappointing by the service, which seemed to have trouble keeping orders and questions straight throughout the evening. It's understandable in a new restaurant where kinks are still being worked out, but considering the relatively light amount of customers in the restaurant, it seemed pretty out of bounds what was going on. Expect a long sit if you decide to visit.

No Reservations, The Shakedown on Thai 360
Atmosphere: A little tense considering how small the dining room is.
Cost: Slight above average for Thai. 10-12+
Try: Thai Kitchen.
Expect: Long waits.

The Final Verdict
It's totally possible that Thai 360 is still in its youth and working out kinks, but from what we've seen so far, the future doesn't look too promising for the new downtown restaurant. Nothing stood out in particular, and the service was just nowhere on point. I'll consider a second go in the future if it remains, but for now I would leave Thai 360 alone for awhile until they figure out how to make things work. Thai Kitchen and the many established locations around Greenville still remain supreme.

Thai 360 on Urbanspoon

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

You should try them again. They're still going strong with the best thai food in Greenville.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Foraging Foodie, PLEASE PLEASE try Anchalee Thai, you will be very pleased. I too liked Thai kitchen until I went to Anchalee.

Bach Pham said...

I've been to Anchalee a couple times and have been pretty satisfied with it actually. I will definitely do a review of the place soon!

Anonymous said...

Definitely go back, they have changed chef's and the service has vastly improved. They are on par with Anchalee Thai. The chef still has room for improvement IMHO but it beats all the other Thai places in town.

Anonymous said...

I'll take thai kitchen or anchalee over this place any day. It is the absolute pits. Mediocre food at best, horrible service and an owner who is unnecessarily rude.

Anonymous said...

The Food and service at Thai 360 has greatly improved since they eliminated their Chef who was abusing the younger waitresses. The owner had to do what he had to do. Above all else, he has survived and bumped up the service and excellence that their motto describes. Their food equals the epitomy of what Thai food should be.

Anonymous said...

We have had several very good meals here. I believe this to be the best Thai place in town. We have always had good service and good food.

Bach Pham said...

I have to insist on Anchalee if you have not had the opportunity. I did not have to chance to review it while living up there, but I firmly believe it is the best thai in the city hands down.

Anonymous said...

4 years later and they're still going strong. looks like you were wrong.

Anonymous said...

Anchalee is far above the service and quality of Thai 360. Honestly, the only thing keeping them afloat is their location. The manager is absolutely rude, the food is oily and cheap, and the service is the worst in town.

Post a Comment