Thaifoon Taste of Asia

This is one of the most horrific eateries I have had the displeasure of visiting, not eating at, because I only took one bite of their terrible vegan pad Thai. Please note that the tofu is outstandingly disgusting.
The Thai iced tea taste like like the do it yourself nestle chocolate milk that I made as a kid. Yeah, I had a second opinion in my wife, who also had vision of her childhood.
Thaifoon, which you would assume was Thai influenced, puts shame on the Thai food name. Be advised that there is only on curry on the list, and on fried rice option that does not have a description.
I am in mobile marketing and my job is 100% travel. With that being said my top two Thai pics are Win’s thai food in Van Nuys CA, and Nan’s in Atlanta Ga. Nan’s is a five star and Win’s is a mom and pop that delivers!!! And rivals Nan’s. It is not because Nan’s is not up to pare but because Win’s is just that great!!! Get the veg spring rolls and any curry. Last note, my co-​tour manager disliked Thai until I mad him eat Win’s. When he goes back to Atlanta he will be at Nan’s as well.

The two stars is for the four star service and the one star food.
I ordered Sichuan green beans, spinach and asparagus. All the dishes, especially the last two, were cold by the time they were served. The spinach also was so plain that I thought I was chewing on grass. However, the portions of all three dishes were very generous.
It is my first time to give a four star for service in a restaurant with mediocre food. Nonetheless, I appreciated the waitress taking off the spinach from my check. She also gave me a huge pot of hot water besides ice water. She, however, forgot to bring me utensils.
Thaifoon seriously needs to redesign its takeaway box. The box was not secured well enough that it opened three times within thirty minutes. In the end, I tied a ribbon around it to seal the box. Yet, the sauce soaked through the box and even into the plastic bag.
I would consider ordering takeout from Thaifoon, if the box is secured. I would suggest redesigning the sealing of the box and choosing a thicker piece of recycle paper or a different material to make the box.
Food: 2
Service: 4
Décor: 3

I have been here for lunches and dinners and it usually is pretty tasty, not authentic thai food but ok. The coconut soup is my favorite, different then what you get at a real Thai place. The best thing here is the beef, it is filet and melts in your mouth. I had lunch here yesterday and it seems the portions have gotten smaller. We started with the lettuce wraps which usually are good but Pei Wei is much better than what we had. Service was good but when there are only 4 tables occupied, what do u expect? Out of all the places excluding the steak place, I think its ok.

I ate here the other day and in the bar area. The bartender was great and had some good suggestions. He recommended the sirloin sliders with fresh cut fries which were amazing. I think the sliders were teriyaki style. Either way I would eat those everyday if possible. We also ordered the chicken satay and pan-​fried pot stickers. Both had great flavor but I wish the pot stickers were a little more fried. I like mine with more color that makes a crispier wrapper and gives it more flavor. But maybe that’s just my preference.
Even though it didn’t quite sound so manly, I went with the recommend raspberry bourbon and pepper margarita. At least that’s what I think it was called. It was not on the regular menu. Pretty tasty especially with the pepper. Something different.
I hope they continue serving those sirloin sliders. I’m already jonesing for more. (Picture included)

Thaifoon — where your tastebuds to to be swallowed up by the sea…
The atmosphere is nice, but the food just doesn’t live up.
We waited half an hour for our reasonably normal-​ish orders on a weekday lunch. My wife ordered pad thai without chicken, and my guess is that they forgot, reran the order, and didn’t tell us. When we got our dishes, my wife’s shimp looked almost undercooked (still a little gray mixed in with the emerging characteristic pink).
More importantly, it just doesn’t taste anything close to Thai. No, we’re not expecting authentic east Asian cuisine here, but they don’t even come close.
And it’s not particularly cheap. (Good thing I checked the menu and didn’t get sucked in to a $ 2.99 soda along with my $ 9 lunch plus a few more dollars for an oversized miso soup.)
There are better places in the Gateway, and if you want good Asian choices for cheap, check out Café Trang a few blocks away.

Disappointing.
A group of us was in town for a sales conference and we heard this place was pretty good. No offense to the person who thought so, but it wasn’t and I think his opinion has changed of Thaifoon as well due to this experience.
Here’s the rundown:
Appetizers
Dumplings (A) — Handmade, delicious and with a nice kick. They were a special for Chinese New Year, but should be a staple.
Spicy Tuna Tempura Roll (A-​) — Very flavorful, well-​prepared and spicy. Just what I was looking for.
Crispy Calamari (A-​) — Well-​prepared and flavorful. Not rubbery and very satisfying.
Ahi Lettuce Wraps (B+) — Tasty and generous portion. They were a flavorful and healthy way to start.
Shrimp & Avocado Tempura Roll (C-​) — Forgettable and lacked flavor. A little seasoning could save it though.
Soup
Long Life Chicken & Rice Soup (NR) — Heard it was good; however I never received mine.
Entrée
Firecracker Chicken w/​Broccoli (D+) — Chicken and rice were both dry, not very good. Actually, it wasn’t even average! A huge letdown after some really good apps.
Service (F-​) — Service was poor, simply put. You would think a table of 8 professionals would get a little more attention.
Here are my issues w/​the service:
1) 15 minutes before waiter even came to our table to take drink orders and no acknowledgment of the wait.
2) Drink orders took additional 10 – 15 minutes to receive.
3) Apps took about 20 – 25 minutes to receive once ordered.
4) Entrées took about a half hour to receive once ordered.
5) Our waiter was unprofessional. We overheard he said he was a musician, maybe he should stick to that if that’s where his passion is.
6) Lunch should not take 2+ hours! Especially when only ¹⁄₃ of the restaurant was full!
In short, I wouldn’t go back. There was a good hour there that shouldn’t have been. That’s an hour of my life that I’ll never get back. If the food was incredible, I’d consider it, but it wasn’t. What can you do?!

I was disappointed by Thaifoon. Service was poor (1:00 PM on a Monday) — I had to wait 5 minutes before the hostess even paid attention to seat me and my waiter forgot the appetizer I ordered.
When they say Asian Fusion, they really mean it — I order a Shanghai Chicken Stir Fry and got chicken, greenbeans, mushrooms, asparagus and red onions in an almost tasteless sauce. It was just nothing special.
I will admit I had some tummy troubles after leave too… I’d choose another place unfortunately.

Based on my very limited experience, 1 PM is a great time to eat at Thaifoon.
The lunch crowd has hit the road, you’re extra hungry, since you’re late for lunch, and you can just smell the food cooking. We pulled in as everyone else was pulling out, were quickly seated by a smiling waitress who quickly took our drinks order and left us with menus to peruse .
Which we immediately forgot to do.
When I asked what the waitress recommended «with noodles,» she offered a fantastic set of choices, the first of which was Jeweled Beef. I didn’t even read the description-​I just told her to make it spicy, and I would take it.
Spicy it was. Filled with thick Shanghai noodles that I curled around my fork, I found sugar snap peas and mushrooms mixed in some kind of sweet/​hot chili sauce. Filet mignon, tender and juicy, was plentifully mixed through-​out. It was a delicious and succulent dish, a bit more than I expected for a chain restaurant.
I don’t know that it was good enough that I’ll expand my limited experience, but it might be worth it, if I’m in the neighborhood.

I like the idea of Asian fusion, but I’m not sure whether or not I like Thaifoon. First off, I find the name of the restaurant to be a bit misleading. This is not a Thai restaurant, it is an Asian Fusion restaurant with Thai, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine all mixed in. So maybe Thaifoon is an appropriate name afterall. My personal opinion though is that if you want Thai food go to a Thai restaurant, if you want Korean go to a Korean restaurant., etc, etc. If you like Asian cuisine, but can’t decide which type of food you are in the mood for you might as well try Thaifoon.
As others have mentioned in their reviews the ambiance is quite relaxing. The décor is modern and trendy. So overall a great backdrop for what you may think to be really good Asian cuisine. The truth is, I thought the food was good. I had the «Evil Jungle Princess Chicken». I think the only reason I chose that dish was because of the name. It was actually quite tasty, but definitely not my favorite dish. I also tried the Ahi Tuna, which was mediocre at best.
Overall, the restaurant I think is a hit or miss. I think I need to try more items on their menu to get a better idea of the restaurant to see what else they offer.

I went to Thaifoon when they were fairly new to the Gateway location and I loved them. The food was tasty, the atmosphere was cozy and relaxing. Fast forward 3 years.
The food we ordered was mediocre at best. I wanted so badly for something we ordered to taste good, but everything was lacking. To say I was disappointed would be putting it lightly.

There’s not too many places in the Salt Lake Area to get quality Asian Fusion. I’ve been to plenty of Chinese restaurants in strip malls and suburban areas that masquerade as Asian Fusion… but it takes more than a deep fryer and sushi bar to pull it off.
I’ll break down my experience by category.
Service = 5 Stars
Our server was prompt, friendly, and knowledgable.
Ambiance = 5 Stars
You can’t beat the location — Downtown SLC (located in the Gateway). The interior is modern, yet warm.
Food = 5 Stars
I dined with 4 friends. We decided to order family style. We had the Pad Thai, Ahi Tuna, Bangkok Duck, and Pepper Beef.
Each dish came out sizzling hot. Every bite was flavorful. The portions were large, but there were no leftovers.
In summary, Thaifoon is the best Asian Fusion I’ve had in Utah.

Below average Pad Thai. I can’t put my finger on it, but it just doesn’t taste like pad thai from back east.

First off, the ambiance here is nice. I wouldn’t change a thing about this place. Perfect lighting, music, crowded with diners but not too crowded, and the staff looked great.
My wife and I came here as part of a huge birthday party and the staff handled us like true professionals. There were about 50 of us and we had a reservation. We were seated on time, the food came quickly and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.
Our waitress was awesome! She was quick with the drink refills and handled everything very smoothly. Also, my wife didn’t seem to mind that she rubbed my back every time she talked to me about a drink refill or ordering food. Gotta make those tips in this tough economy I guess! Separate checks with our huge party of 50 was not an issue at all, they were very cool about it.
I had the Firecracker Chicken w/​Broccoli and it was very good. Nice and spicy, just the way I like it. I also had the Spicy Tuna Tempura Roll and it was excellent. For dessert my wife and I shared the Chocolate Volcano and it was really amazingly good. We were the first ones to order it and everyone else started ordering them too.
I don’t think I have ever been impressed with any restaurant’s handling of large groups before my experience at Thaifoon. Restaurants around the country could learn a lot from Thaifoon about handling large groups. THEY WERE GREAT!
The Asian Fusion without the confusion, topped with great service! The Prices I thought were very fair given the location and the quality of the food. I will definitely be back soon!

I’ve eaten here twice now. Once for lunch, once just now for dinner. I don’t quite remember lunch, other than knowing it wasn’t quite «authentic.»
Dinner on the other hand, was pretty bad if looking for authentic. I sat at the bar, and had a Tsing Tao.
First order up was soup, Tom Ka Gai. A coconut based soup with chicken, lemon grass, and some other things like basil. It was overly salty, and the chicken was soggy.
Next was my main course, which was some sort of Evil Princess Chicken thing. Who thinks up these names? Either way, it was some bite-​sized chicken pieces that were cooked up on a skillet or fry pan, then mixed in with some other veggies like string beans. And drenched in a peanut sauce. Saying drenched is actually being mild in describing it. It was smothered, swimming, covered, overly sauced.
The brown rice that came with the dish was something that has been in the rice cooker for hours it would seem. It has some grains dry, some overly puffed up, just old rice.
Meh.

I’ve turned down previous opportunities to eat here but today I ran out of excuses, My Friend had a gift card he had to use or lose and I was hungry.
Let me start out by saying I can see why the one by my old house in Newport didn’t make it to the one year mark. I wont bother you with the details but lets just say Thaifoon is to Thai food what sizzler is to the American steakhouse. I would’ve never thought you could mess up a pad Thai until today. The one star is because the place is nice and I paid for and received something edible.
Service wasn’t very good either and our waiter had meth scabs!

If you are looking for something convenient in the Gateway area, then this place is ok however I would not go out of my way to return again.
It’s probably on the same level as PF Chang’s however with the name of THAIfoon I assumed it would have more of a Thai influence.
The MISO Soup was good, but that’s tough to mess up anywhere. We started with the lettuce wraps which were a little less appetizing than the ones you get @ Changs. The thai dishes were not authentic whatsoever. Not horrible, just not what I am used to.
Service was good, and all in all the meal was not bad by any means. I just would not go out of my way to go back again.

after numerous visits
ambience: A–
comfortable booths. a waterfall window in front of the kitchen. (if you’re into that kind of thing). noise levels can get high, however, if you’re sitting in a booth, some of that noise can be cut out.
service: A–
i’ve never had bad service here, even when it got busy. i only remember one time having to wait a while for my check. other than that though…
food: C
up and down. on my first visit, the jasmine rice was fragrant and lovely. on subsequent visits, it hasn’t been as fragrant or tasty.
pad thai
i’m not a fan of pad thai. i’ve tried pad thai all over the valley. my thai friend also made me pad thai, and i didn’t enjoy it.
bangkok duck breast
pretty good flavor. didn’t blow me away. was a little on the dry side.
jasmine rice
why is the jasmine rice so ho-​hum? please, do what it takes to return to the days of nice fragrant rice.
overall: B
if you’re looking for good ambience and service, you’re in for a pretty good experience. you MAY be lucky and have a perfectly prepared meal, but, don’t count on it. i WANT to like this restaurant, but for the price point, i really can’t. my overall B rating is overshadowed by the food. so only 2 stars.

Ok, let’s get some things straight here.
Thaifoon is not:
— A Thai restaurant
— Authentic at all
— Cheap
Thaifoon is:
— A «pan-​Asian» restaurant
— Totally and completely Americanized
— Probably a bit overpriced.
It seems like every review of the place I’ve read on here docks stars for what this place is not. If you want cheap, authentic Thai food, you have plenty of options.
That being said, sometimes I’m in the mood for totally Americanized Asian food, so I temporarily remove my food snobbery and go to Thaifoon. I enjoy the atmosphere, I’ve never had a problem with the service, and all the dishes I’ve had have been fresh and tasty. A standout for me is the sizzling surf and turf. Yes, it is basically an Asian seasoned fajita dish without tortillas but, you know, it’s really good.
This is one of my favorite Gateway eating options.

TERRIBLE! I feel bad giving it 1 star b/​c their spicy tuna tempura roll was actually good and it was ½ off special that day. That was the only good thing there surprisingly considering i didn’t think their sushi would be good at all b/​c they only have 3 rolls available to choose from!
We ordered pad thai — it was SOUR. SOUR. it was so terrible. The seafood medley was extremely salty and we ordered a side order of steamed vegetables – didn’t even try it b/​c by then i knew this restaurant wasn’t going to be goood but my mom chose so oh well.
Very americanized, and not very fusion. Would NOT recommend.

If you’re looking for authentic Thai, you won’t find it here! The place was huge and nice, but when you entered and you saw all «not Thai» or no Asian at all, you should know better. We were trapped in snow shower while in Gateway and we didn’t want to eat Food Court, therefore we ended up here.
Looking at the menu, it’s all mix of Asian food, rather than just Thai. We all opted to get Lunch special, just different menu. Food size wise is a lot, taste wise is just so-​so. Tried the Tuna, Firecracker, Pad Thai, Mango Chix, all tasted just so-​so, it’s like PF Chang for Thai food, very americanized, though the spicyness level still okay, not just bland. I give it 2 stars for the portion size.