Kanlaya’s Like A Phoenix

ill prob loose a few lbs… if im denied kanlayas spring rolls for a few days!
xoxo

On the recommendation of a neighbor, I hosted 10 relatives for dinner there, the food was AWFUL.

That’s too bad, Anon. Perhaps it was an off night or you ordered some of their less stellar offerigns? We order delivery from there on a weekly basis and have never been disappointed. Then again, we always order the same thing: won ton soup, chicken pineapple, eggplant in garlic sauce, and shrimp in garlic sauce with brocolli. We end up bringing the leftovers to work for lunch the following day. Their pad thai and pad see ew are also great.

I’ve eaten there four times in the last two years. food has always been fine and three times out of four service was above average. the fourth time, not so much on the service.

They have amazing red curry!

I think they’re great, but have had food with absolutely no heat on a few isolated occasions. the rama in jacuzzi, and green curry are spectacular.

I am also a frequent Kanlaya customer (for over 3 years) and have never been dissapointed in the quality or customer service. #2, I hope you will try again and leave with a better experience.

What kind of neighbor recommends that you host 10 of your relatives for dinner?!? I would rather gargle the remaining backwash in the discarded singles strewn in front of the Chinatown Market than to sit thru such an ordeal. I would be THANKFUL for awful food in such a situation, if only to distract me from my overbearing aunt droning on and on about her pekingese’s cystitis.

Some of the worst Thai in the DC metro, which has an abundance of solid choices. Thai Chili isn’t great but it’s much better than Kanlaya.

Mrs Columbo & I went once a few years ago, similar to #’s 2 & 8. Hearing all this praise makes me think we should give it another shot (when it opens again).

Great restaurant — one of my favorites and regulars. Hope they reopen soon.

Agree with posters saying its not great. I order there fairly often when i’m not interested in driving down to Columbia Pike for some good thai food or waiting for Thai Xing delivery.

If you want ok Pad Thai, then its a fine place. If you’re branching out into something a little different, it leaves some to be desired.

The wife and I went to Kanlaya once. The service was atrocious (after taking our food order, we never saw the waitress again), and the food was so-so. Perhaps we caught them on an off night. Thai Chili may not be great Thai food, but it’s consistently good, and the service has never been an issue.

I was there the week prior to the fire with two friends. We had a wonderful meal that included appetizer, main course and dessert and left with a split bill of $16 each (including tip). The food was wonderful as was the service. And you just can’t beat the price. My visitors went back two more times that week and brought others. Bad service will always sour someone on a restaurant. But I’ve been going there for two years and have had a consistently great experience. Please try again #13. Give them another chance.

best Thai in this region. my wife and I have been going on the regular since it first opened ..back in the day when there was no wait and the only place to go for a drink afterwards was Fado, the Irish Channel or the Latin American nightclub which is now RFD’s

I have not tried Kanlaya, yet, but intend to do so after they re-open. I really like Thaiphoon and also Thaitanic. Can anyone tell me how Kanlaya compares to them?

#8, LOL!

My wife and I love Thai food and discovered Kanlaya three years ago, when most tables were empty. (They had foresight.) After dining there many, many times since then, the service has been consistently good (they’ve only been off twice in our memory) and the food excellent.

We referred friends and acquaintances there, who have told us later that they loved it. Kanlaya is now a very hopping place and we love both the atmosphere and the food.

Any restaurant can have an off night in service and food. We have never found a restaurant that we’ve frequented exempt from this reality. What counts is that management notices this and corrects it.

Kanlaya is a gem in our neighborhood. (I’ll refrain from saying something like, “Let’s turn out to welcome them back,” for obvious reasons if you read the posts about the Newseum survey. )

We’ve always had great service and food there. It really surprises me that some folks have had bad food. I love the tofu snowpea and lad na. We’ve always been pleased, whether eating in or taking out.

We love Kenlaya – and we have eaten Thai all over DC for years. The only Thai restaurant I like better is the Regent near 18th & T NW.

We LOVE the Sizzling Siam Beef and the Ka Pow Chicken. Tha Pad Gai is also good.

We have eaten in the restaurant a few times and more often have the food delivered. The service has been great and the delivery is always fast.

Interesting to see such different takes on Kanlaya, as I’ve always really enjoyed it (as has everyone to whom we’ve recommended it). And living in the southern part of our neighborhood (7th & Penn), it gets extra points for offering delivery. I only wish more Chinese restaurants in Chinatown delivered to the nearby buildings.

anyone know if they’ve reopened post-fire?

They have not yet re-opened. I walked by this morning and saw a sign posting when they would re-open, but I forgot which day it will be – definitely this week, though.