Lemongrass Thai Bistro

Tried the delicious Mango Prawns, it was .
The service was great and meal preparation was quick. Good Experience

Since my last visit, Lemongrass have severely cut back their menu and it’s nowhere near as good as it used to be. I’m not sure I’d return because of this.

Fantastic food. Menu is very customisable. Had the prawns with peanut sauce. Others had crocodile, tofu, kangaroo and vegetarian spring rolls. All were exceedingly fresh and had great flavours. Wine list very nice. Great selections overall and service was attentive but not obtrusive. Allergies with child catered for easily and we were very grateful for that.

Unfortunately not all of us are able bodied and in the peak of condition, but we all enjoy good food when given the opportunity to eat it.
Last night, Thurs 26^th Feb, my family including a daughter and partner with toddler on a visit from Sydney wanted to eat at a Thai restaurant close to the current ‘Fringe’ activities, so we selected Lemongrass Thai Bistro in Rundle St East.
Big mistake! My wife, for general movement, is confined to a wheelchair with Multiple Sclerosis, which is not really a big deal because she is able to leave the wheelchair and shuffle to a seat if required. A ‘front of house’ staff member looked us up and down when we asked if would be possible to dine at any one of a number of vacant tables, and his response was that it would be too hard to accommodate us… even when we assured him the wheelchair occupant did not need the wheelchair to actually sit at a table, and the wheelchair is of the folding variety and could have been stored in an out of the way corner. He indicated with a false smile on his face that it would be just too difficult for the establishment so we politely thanked him and went elsewhere… which as it turned out was the best thing that could have happened on the night. We went around the corner to ‘The Golden Boy’ Thai restaurant where the staff were outstandingly helpful, went out of their way to make us feel really special… gave us the best food and service all evening.
Lemongrass Thai Bistro… not in your life! I would never, under any circumstances be tempted to try and eat there again.
There really needs to be an easily accessible register of restaurants that do not, or will not cater for the needs of disabled people… we are after all, still people!
If I could have possibly given Lemongrass Thai Bistro no stars, I would have… At least on ethical grounds give this restaurant a big miss

It’s always busy, but not ridiculously overcrowded and the room though there’s a private room upstairs, I’ve never once seen people traipsing through the (quite small) dining area.
I’m absolutely in love with the salt and pepper tofu (if I could order a main size of that, this review would be an ode to it, trust) and so far, I haven’t had anything that I haven’t liked. But seriously, order the salt and pepper tofu.
The service is always pretty great, however tonight my waitress was tres abrupt and borderline rude, but nothing that was offensive or would not make me want to go back. It is hard to get the attention of the staff at times, but it’s because they’re busy, not inattentive.
Overall? Lemongrass is a Rundle Street staple with great food and good service.
Seriously, try the salt and pepper tofu. :)

We had an ok experience here. Had prebooked a table for just the 2 of us. We were our right at the back near the kitchen and register and we were bumped and in the way the whole time. There was a big table next to us who were very loud and this venue is loud enough. Our entrée Chicken Larb was delicious. For mains the green chicken curry was excellent but my husbands sizzling chicken wasn’t great. But boring.

Great food, good service, nice décor, friendly vibe (a nice mix of smart-​ish and laid-​back, in my opinion). The corkage is a joke, but the wine list is fairly decent.
Try the drunken noodles with Tofu and Vegetables. And the salt and pepper tofu. You won’t be disappointed.

Good, not great.
The restaurant was pretty big, only the lower floor occupied and BOY IT WAS COLD.
La comida estaba muy rica realmente. Y los platos enormes.
Le entré a un pad thai noodles con fried duck que era una genial relación entre sabor, pasta, algo de picante y enormitud.
Realmente era para dos. Pero lo comí en 5 minutos. No soy experto en estas cosas, pero soy de comer mucho.
La atención muy rápida realmente. Nos tomaron el pedido en 2 segundos y la comida vino en 10 minutos máximo. No sé si eso es bueno o malo. Pero era muy rica.
Los especiales del día sonaban riquísimos realmente. Lo que detractó a mi experiencia es que el lugar estaba TAN frío adentro (posta, estábamos todos con las camperas cenando) y que los platos aun estando muy ricos, tenían pinta de pre armados mal y nada tenía ese gusto extra que uno quiere cuando algo es amazing.

Yesterday was a public holiday and after running a meeting for a student organisation I thought it might be best if the seven of us went and grabbed some dinner on rundle street.
On a friend’s recommendation we ended up at Lemongrass. It wasn’t terribly busy but not entirely quiet. Consequently we still had a nice atmosphere for conversation without feeling completely alone.
We were seated immediately and given the menus. A nice waitress offered to help explain the process as for most of the menu you choose a protein and then either a sauce or a certain type of noodles to go along with it.
I can’t comment on the drinks as we were all being cheap students and just drinking table water. I can however say that when we ran out the staff noticed and gave us another bottle of water.
As a coeliac I was happy to see there were items marked gluten free and I confirmed with the waitress they were coked separately to avoid cross contamination.
I chose seafood as my protein to be served with Singapore rice noodles. Those also at the table enjoyed pud Thai, Hokkein mee noodle and one person tried a chilli prawn dish with rice. The food came out fairly promptly, the servings were generous and we all left full.
Was the food the best Thai I have ever had (well, I guess for me the question is to do with are they the best Singapore noodles I’ve had?) and the answer is no. However, it wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, I was satisfied and most importantly I felt safe eating there with my autoimmune condition.
They don’t split the bill but we came prepared by all getting cash out. In higher end though I just paid on card and my friends paid me back, much less pressure that way.
It was a nice and easy dinner. I will return

I came here during mad March. And it was mad!!! It was the Saturday of Clipsal and the Garden was on just up the road, to say this place was packed would be an understatement. We walked in unsure whether we would get a table, so walked up to the counter and were immediately told to wait out the front. Fortunately we got a table straight away, however because it was so packed the service wasn’t great.
A waiter dumped some menus in front of us and came back after 5 mins to take our order. The meals came out quite quickly and were plentiful and full of taste. To my satisfaction, we weren’t rushed out once we had finished to make room for more customers.
All in all, not a bad restaurant but if you’re after a more intimate and quiet meal, probably not the best place. I did quite enjoy watching the foot traffic jam outside the restaurant though!

The entrée of prawn toast was ok, the fish cakes were like rubber.
After then waiting 30 minutes for a drink and our main I complained and said they have 5 minutes as other people who arrived after us were getting their mains.
They tried to say they were busy but it was just an excuse. Finally got my drink which was wrong and the mains that were very average. I told them service and food was average and to discount it which they did .
Will not be back…

Try the salt and pepper crocodile. It is a standout. Moist, tasty and a pleasure to eat.

We had dinner here on Friday evening, which was the Opening Night of the 2014 Fringe Festival. Because of this I thought it would be wise to book! I’m definitely glad I did book, as I had the peace of mind knowing we were guaranteed a table, however upon arrival we were offered our choice of inside or outside, which was nice. The guy greeting people at the door did his absolute darndest to accomodate everyone who came in — booking or no booking, which was good to see.
It took awhile for our order to be taken, but other than this service was good & the food was great! Yes, it can be noisy, but I think it adds to the atmosphere of dining on Rundle St.
No complaints here!

I’ll always have a soft spot for Lemongrass as it’s the place where my beloved and I went on our first date (awwww!!), but I don’t just like it for that. The food never disappoints as it’s fresh and tasty (without being mind-​blowing) and you know what to expect every time. Good food… and quick!
A number of years ago, Lemongrass had a make-​over and it took the restaurant from a 90’s ‘stainless steel nightmare’ to a warm and inviting modern eatery with even bigger servings than before (something rare when restaurants spend big bucks on a refurbishment!). The Hokkien noodles and Kway Teow are always good, the noodles are perfect every time, and the Thai red and green curries are big and hearty. The Tom Yum Noodle Soup is zesty and super filling, and I’m convinced that a big bowl of that for the $ 9.90 lunch special is the best deal in town!
Lemongrass isn’t breaking any rules, but that’s not a bad thing. I like to think it’s the restaurant equivalent of a Kings of Leon album… predictable, but never boring :)
A happy belly full of 4 stars!
Update! I got an extremely upset stomach after eating here on the night of my best biddies birthday! So bad that I had to go home and miss out on all of the fun and dancing and drinking and drunken D&M’s :(
I even contacted them about it, annnnnd… no response. You disappoint me Lemongrass, and you owe me loads of toilet paper.

Came in for a friend’s birthday. We had a banquet and it was very good value for money. It came with enough food for all of us with some even left over. The food was to an extravagant quality. The very welcoming atmosphere is felt as soon as you are greeted at the door. Would defiantly recommend eating in the upstairs area, it is much less crowded!
The bar however, was average though. My piña colada tasted was more ice then rum… The glass of wine I got was served at room temperature. This has had a negative effect on the overall score.

I came here once before and thought it was really good, so why not come back again with a friend? It was really busy inside so we sat outside in the fumes. I should have booked. Oh well. My friend ordered an entrée of salt and pepper squid which was crispy and delicious. The mango chicken was not bad, a bit pricy though for average food. Also don’t order a cocktail from their menu. They are not good. Stick to the food. Not a bad place. I think they were opening another one on Goodwood Rd as well but I’m not sure. Who knows if that one will be better.

Oh dear.
I’ll keep this short and umm sweet…
This Thai restaurant is busy and popular, exactly like Dominos pizza. And similarly I cannot fathom the reason for each to be popular.
My dinner partner had black pepper chicken (black bean sauce) And I had the Thai red curry. They didn’t taste particularly different from each other.
We had a starter that was tasty — crispy chilli fried chicken. And that’s the only reason I’m giving more than one star.
Other than that the word of the day is BLAND.

So I have mixed feelings about this place…
The food is simply amazing — I often stick to the same order of Crispy Mango Chicken and sometimes if I feel like shaking it up, I go for the delicious Chef’s special of mandarin Kangaroo — you can’t half tell that I have a sweet tooth! I also love love love the coconut rice over the regular rice — it’s just divine!
On my most recent visit I was also lucky enough to try a chef’s special battered prawns which we fantastic.
Basically the food here is great — you can’t go wrong. It’s always fresh and tasty, full of flavor with plenty on the dish.
It seems like I shouldn’t have anything to complain about, however i was with someone who is the lucky owner of a connoisseur card — a handy little thing that affords you the benefit of getting discounts all over the country. The thing is, as the card is something that was paid for (not by me), I want to make the most of it. I have now twice been to Lemongrass — where the card is apparently valid — and had issues using it. The staff have either refused to accept it or have made a bit of an issue about it. I believe that it is the responsibility of management to make sure that their staff are always aware of this kinda thing and when they aren’t it just really puts a bit of a dampener on things…
Otherwise, awesome!

I had a really nice dinner here. The location is great at the very top of rundle street I went here before going out for a few Saturday night drinks so you are close to all the rundle street clubs.
I thought the prices were pretty reasonable $ 15.90 for chicken and beef mains. lots of choices of noodles and sauces. There was also a big selection of entrees including salt and pepper crocodile.
It was quite spacious and there was a big upstairs area with some really big tables so you could have a big group there.

I must say, I know good Thai food. The thing I love about Thai and Vietnamese food is the complexity made simple with variations in texture, hot spice, herb spice, salty, sweet and savory… this could all happen in one bite.
Now, this restaurant was the antithesis of how I envision Thai food.
Ambiance: Beautifully decorated, simple clean design
Service: Mediocre, nothing to rave about
Food: Ok, I have a bit more to say about that…
The menu has lots of options with lots of different sauces and meats. I thought I heard the staff speak vietnamese so alarm bells have already gone off in my head…
Appetizer: That beng said, I chose a very vietnamese appetizer, cold rolls. I can make this dish; it is simple, easy and normally delicious! Very nicely rollled, however, it went down hill from there. They use head lettuce and where are the herbs? I saw a speckle of mint. The sauce was even worse: a watered down version of some kind of oyster and hoison sauce
Main dish: I got the pad thai because I am a bit leery of getting anything too off the beaten path with my appetizer experience. It was sweet and sour sauce with overcooked rice noodles. When making pad thai, it is about timing of when you throw ingredients in the hot pan… beansprouts, eggs, meat, noodles… apparently, there was no timing and the entire plate was a big mushy mess. I had literally 7 bites and had to waste all that food.
I left very disappointed and not fulfilled.

This place is good for a nice dinner before heading out on the town, or enjoying the Saturday nightlife. It has a comfortable outdoor seating area with smoking and non-​smoking areas provided.
I ordered the Tom Yum and Cold Rolls as entrées. Both were tasty and flavoursome. You can choose between a selection of meat or vegetables as mains, then pick what sauce/​spices to go with it. We ordered Seasonal Vegetables and Tofu with Rundle Street (garlic, lemongrass and chilli), and Squid with Lemongrass (fresh mushroom, spicy vegies and capsicum).
Overall it had a nice, busy ambiance and tasty food.