Gaab Kao Thai Restaurant in Tonbridge and Malling

Wow, what a total misery the waiter was, we tried hard just to get some kind of smile out of him but it was near impossible. Don't understand, why would you be so uptight when you are serving paying customers, you just felt like you were being a bind sitting there . There is no greeting you sit there and wait .. To be fair the food was nice but that doesn't make up for the terrible service. . No lies there!!!!!!

We had a nice dinner at this Thai restaurant. The restaurant is nice inside. Service is good. Food was good not exceptional for us.

Ordered a Takeaway early on a Friday Evening. However once we had input our order into the restaurant’s website it became apparent that they don’t deliver, rather use Deliveroo, we then re input our order on the Deliveroo App which was approximately £15 more expensive. Once the food arrived a number of the items we had ordered were cold and almost inedible which for a cost of over £130 was very disappointing and resulted in a lot of wasted food. Needless to say we won’t be ordering from this or any other establishment that uses Deliveroo for its delivery service.

We had a wonderful experience, the food was spot on as was service. Highly recommend to others.

Delicious authentic thai food with really generous portions! Great atmosphere with really attentive and welcoming staff. I will be returning and recommending to friends ☺️

Authentic Thai food. We regularly visit as is a great restaurant

We always love going to this our local Thai restaurant. It is so special- perfect combo of delicious food, great cocktails and lovely service. It is small so booking is important- very worth it.

Extremely rude woman who waits on tables.. very hostile attitude and acts as if you’re doing her a favour by dining here? Kept on making annoyed facial expressions every time we asked for something and slamming things down on our table. Felt like we were at one of those restaurants where people pay for staff to be incredibly rude to you. Made us feel very uncomfortable and would definitely not return. Lots of better and much friendlier options to dine at in Tonbridge. The replies to peoples honest reviews should tell you everything you need to know about the service you will receive if you dine here. Save your money!! Also had to cheek to add service to our meal after her horrendous service towards us and did not accept us taking it off. Food was very salty too. Also replying to every genuine negative review with: ‘LIES’ is laughable. Are you a professional business or a moody teenager?

Don’t bother. We booked and arrived to find roughly 20 other people there so not busy. We waited over 30 minutes for a drink so questioned the delay to be told “ we are busy so leave if you want to “. Two people serving which should have been ample. I asked if they were asking us to leave and again told “leave if you want to” so we did. Terrible service. Really rude staff. For clarity we arrived at 725pm so over 25mins for any order to be taken.

Have reviewed this place before and said it was excellent. Well not today. We arrived at 725. No one took any order until 750. The restaurant wasn’t busy and drinks didn’t arrive. We questioned delay to be told we are too busy so leave if you want to. We asked if they were asking us to leave. They replied leave if you want to. Really rude waiter. So we left.

I love this restaurant. We often take the (teen) kids here. Feels like authentic cuisine. Service is friendly and unfussy. Good selection of drinks always a non-alcoholic beer. If you're planning on going by train it is a bit of a walk from the station but there is plenty of parking over the road near the castle. Highly recommend as your dining place if you are in Tonbridge.

Visited for the second time, after a delicious meal a few weeks ago. Tonight, I brought a colleague while travelling with work and we had a delicious meal with fantastic service. I’m so pleased, it did not disappoint. I will return. 😎

Really tasty food, authentic Thai Great service and reasonably priced

Delicious food, friendly service and great value

Food is always good. We shared 2 dishes and a side of plain noddles and rice. Service was not great on our last visit, the restaurant was busy and they only had 1 waitress. We made a mistake when ordering wine and she was reluctant to make it right.

Excellent food, great decor and faultless service. A little gem and will definitely be back. So glad we found such a good Thai restaurant and will be back.

Absolutely amazing food, service, and atmosphere! Will definitely come again very soon! The cocktails are to die for and it was overall a fantastic experience.

Do not order!!! Painfully slow service and the staff don’t seem to care.. which is a shame, as the food is great. I’m sure eating in will be considerably better. Take my advice and buy elsewhere.

Really nice food, and prompt service, reasonably priced. Only down side were the just eat collections at the front door!!

Really nice food, and prompt service, reasonably priced. Only down side were the just eat collections at the front door!!

We only went here because no other places nearby had their kitchen open. It was OK but the restaurant had no atmosphere wasn't really child friendly. But it filled a gap.

Excellent food Quick service Beautiful decoration and very clean venue Fairly priced. Delicious. Will come back, extremely satisfied!

Went in there for my birthday meal it was lovely my husband had green curry I had red curry and bottle wine we be back again x

Delicious food. And quick too - highly recommend for lunch.

I love this restaurant! The food is amazing and reasonably priced. Menu is just right, not overwhelmingly vast. location is good too.

We enjoyed our fish cake and Thai dumpling starters which were very tasty. The Chefs special duck curry was absolutely delicious. It was quiet on a Sunday evening so lacked a bit of atmosphere but I would definitely return for the food.

I came to Gaab Kao for Sunday lunch at 1pm and I cannot remember a worse restaurant experience in my life. We had to wait nearly 10 mins at the door and were eventually sat at a dirty table. We were not offered drinks and they were trying to rush and take our order/ They took our order; then brought all the food out at 1.40 and told us we had to eat it in 20 minutes as the restaurant was closing at 2pm! They did not even bring all the food and when we said dishes were missing they said it was too late. When we complained the manager basically blamed us for coming in late. At no point did they say until they bought the food that they were closing at 2pm. Who closes a restaurant on a Sunday at 2pm anyway? The whole episode left a nasty tasty in our mouths and it really spoilt our lunch so the food tasted awful. I really would not recommend anybody to come here as the service is poor and staff unprofessional. Just because they have a good location they think they can treat customers how they like. Manager was a nasty piece of work

What a find! The food is fantastic and the service is excellent. Love the decor too. We’ll definitely be back.

Booked a table for Valentines day, 5 days prior. Table booked for 6pm (booking form clearly says you have the table for 1 hour 30 minutes) They messaged 2 days later saying they need the table back by 7:45pm, was that okay? Rung and confirmed that we were only expecting the table for 1 hour 30 so yes all fine. Booking confirmed as far as im aware…. They cancel the booking at 3:25pm on the day as they apparently haven’t heard from us. Owners response over email very rude rude and sarcastic. After posting on local Facebook page, apparently a recurring theme for them to cancel last minute and have ruined plenty of birthdays, wedding anniversary’s and other celebrations. Don’t really like to leave such negative reviews especially in these times but the owners response clearly shows they don’t care about their business reputation anyway👍🏻

not been her for over a year and tonight myself and friends were not disappointed. the place was packed with only 2 front of house staff working on a saturday! (poor guys) but they were brilliant, friendly and good at what they do. food wise, wow! so many new dishes on the menu absolutely fantastic. we had the mixed platter and salt and pepper squid(squid is the best i've had anywhere by the way) mains the new sweet and sour prawns was so gooooood and also the duck with red curry sauce so tasty. top off with a lovely thai mango and black rice dessert. can't recommend this place enough really happy to see the restaurant so busy on a saturday night. will be back soon.

Avoid, Awful ,unpleasant, unprofessional and extremely rude . We asked for 1 extra to be added to our table of 4 and were told tough luck , either 4 of you stay and tough luck on the other or all leave ( which we did ) it was a special b day and they knew by the balloons and decorations we had put around the table earlier . Very very rude and disrespectful . Thank goodness the Italian nearby accommodated us even though they was busy

The service is a little rushed but the food is excellent. The panang curry was delicious. We had some cocktails and they were great too!

We went here to celebrate a family birthday. Food and service was excellent. Very attentive waiting staff. The portions were generous and not overly priced will definitely be coming back

The flavour of the food was fabulous. My wife and I have been to Thailand a few times and ate at the local restaurants a lot (not hotels) ,, and the quality and taste of the food here was on par with that. My wife loves Masoman curry - the one she had with Beef was to die for. Home made spring rolls were my daughters favourite. The atmosphere was good, although I would prefer if they payed Thai music in the background rather than shopping mall music. Service was excellent and not pushy. Prices were very reasonable also ...£90 included starters and main courses, bottle of wine and soft drink, and service ...for three of us ...Throughly recommend this place

The food is not as tasty as it used to be.

Chef special duck was wonderful.

Very tasty food indeed with an excellent lunch menu. Great service too - we’ll definitely keep coming back!

The food was ok but service too much focused on increasing your consumption (eg coming to poor in the rest of your drink while you still have a half glass)

Visited early on a Friday evening, Managed to seat us even though we didn't have a booking (would recommend booking as busy) Food and service was excellent real asset to Tonbridge high Street.

What a fantastic restaurant! I love Chinese and Indian food but there is something of a taste fusion going on when you get a decent Thai restaurant. Other Thais tend to have a really extensive menu that leaves you unsure of what to order and how much to order. Gaabkao strips the menu back to allow choice but without being overwhelming. I can recommend the starter to share and the jungle curry. So much so that I want to go back and do it all again.

Nice Thai restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat... Fast and friendly service...

Fantastic options for lunch! We ended up ordering a Green curry and the pad thai, which each came with side options of fish cakes, spring rolls or something called chicken on toast. We had the fish cakes and the spring rolls, which were both excellent. It was busy for a midweek lunch, but we didn't feel unsafe as there was enough room between tables. Lovely and would visit again.

We went late on Tuesday knowing we were pushing it to get food before the kitchen closed. There was no problem, and I can honestly say that the food was some of the best food, or any cuisine, I've ever eaten. Fantastic. Service was wonderful too.

Hi have always given this restaurant a great review . We go on a regular basis. What I do not like and find acceptable that we get a message on WhatsApp canceling our booking on new years eve . Not a call . Exactly what they require us to do if we can't make a booking. Happy New year. I think your moral compass is way off here you can't even be bothered to call us to explain 2 days before the event. What chance have you got of getting a table now. It disgusting..

Best restaurant in Tonbridge, great value, great quality for food. Fantastic service. Highly recommend

I have never ever experienced such poor customer service from a restaurant,( used monthly in the last 4 years), never again!! All I wanted was to add a dish and the manger started being so rude to my wife and I. He didn’t offer any solution and started to raise his voice and demanding payment for the take away I had all ready paid for!! I then had to pick it up as he wouldn’t add it to the all ready order being sent out from his restaurant. He was abusive to my self, Im glad I didn’t send my wife in with the kids. Would not recommend to any one !!! Worries me that he calls him self a manger when he speaks to customer like that and can’t mange a simple take away order!!

We’ve been visiting Gaab Kao for years and it never disappoints - really good food and service! The tamarind duck is particularly good. (The takeaway we got since our visit was the usual excellent quality too). See you again soon!

Takeaway portions small but expensive

One of the best Thai restaurants I have eaten in anywhere in the UK. The food was so fresh and fragrant. We had Salt & Pepper Squid and Fish Cakes as starters, and for mains a Green Prawn Curry and the Pla Pad Gra Chai...

The food here is amazing. Pad thai and massaman curry was delicious. Lovely staff. Need to book at the weekend as it gets busy.

Very tasty food at reasonable prices; good service.

Fantastic food and service with a smile. Each dish was perfectly explained which made making our choice easy. We will definitely be back soon.

Very good service and excellent food

Really great food and service - we had a chicken Thai green curry with jasmine rice and drunken man noodles veg & tofu here last night and really enjoyed the experience. The only feedback if I may is that the place could use some better exhaust / ventilation system- we were dining in and the place was a bit smoky from all the stir frying in the kitchen

Had a wonderful meal with my partner for our anniversary, all I can say is we hope to be back soon. We loved every moment.

Nice food, reasonable prices, friendly staff

Really good food and service and such nice staff!! Would definitely recommend ☺️ also have a separate gluten free and vegan menu for dietary requirements! :)

Went mid-week so not busy. Had the prawn crackers plus starters which was very filling. So when main came couldn't eat it all so had the rest as takeout. Lovely food ate by all. Would visit again

Lovely meal as always. Properly hot curries. The green chilli and basil stir fry is the best I've ever had. Good service and good value for money. More people need to try this place because they deserve to be busier than they are

Excellent food and service, really nice ambience. Staff were very attentive and the food was really fresh and very tasty!

Nice Thai place with authentic taste. Local favourite in Tonbridge

Delicious dinner for 5 of us. Efficient service, piping hot and super tasty. Spicy too! Thank you.

Absolutely delicious! I highly recommend both the service and the food. Be warned: if you can't handle the heat, don't choose a spicy dish because these curries are real scorchers.

Delicious food from a limited menu -due to Covid. Friendly staff. Good to see it was busy with each table taken, we went friday night 7.15pm. Small cosy restaurant.

Ordered a takeaway from here and we couldn’t fault it! It came quickly and it was piping hot, food was absolutely delicious and tasted fresh. Will definately be ordering again, absolutely 10/10 . Have previously been here to eat out also and staff are lovely...

Take away - Disappointed with what appeared to be pre prepared and long standing food Pre covid and in restaurant the food was fabulous, hopefully this will return when we are out of lock down

Had a takeaway tonight which I picked up. What a delicious meal and 20% off when picked up. I've had great meals in there and now know how good it is on a takeaway. If anyone is considering it, just do it, you won't be disappointed!

This place really goes up and down, the current chef is not great....

Reliable, quality and timely. One of our go-tos for takeout in TN4.

Very nice evening with good food and service. Previously been a few times before COVID and preferred the previous menu as more choice but understand why the changes. That said Service was a lot more relaxed as have previously felt quite rushed when eating here

We visited on a weekday evening. We didn't have a reservation but we were able to be seated. Hand sanitiser on arrival and the tables were adequately spaced, just about. We were served by a man and a woman. Both had masks but although the...

I had accidentally used an expired card for my online delivery order and when I called the restaurant to ask to pay directly I was advised to use Deliveroo as the restaurant only has one courier and wait time would have been approx 90mins. Ordered...

Delicious food, great service,well organised and properly sanitised. A lovely meal out. We loved it, shame we don't live closer!

Food was amazing and the two young staff were absolutely brilliant. They were polite and very helpful.

Amazing Thai food at great price. Definitely going back asap.

Excellent food and very friendly staff. House Red wine was very disappointing though.

Great food. Big portions. If you are not really hubgry, make sure you leave room to try everything you ordered. Very nice staff.

Lovely staff, good food and a nice atmosphere. Certainly worth a visit

YUMMY IT WAS! Great lunch meal, thank you for the great service. The starter was great, the main was not so hot but tasty

Really tasty food, good and friendly service. Limited choice of beers but the usuals are available.

Food served very fast and staff were friendly. Food was a bit sweet in the stir fry. Drinks were nice also

A little taste of Thailand Went last night and the food was absolutely spot on. Staff are lovely and very attentive, we had the sharer player to start which was amazing and excellent value, and I highly recommend the duck for main! A really good...

Mixed feelings about Gaab Kao.... Our last visit and the food was mouth numbingly hot..could bearly taste the food. Not pleasant. Previously we ordered the same dishes and they were delicious..... Update: it seems there must be two chefs the sensible one for the lunch serving and a chili maniac for dinner. Went back for lunch a few weeks ago... Lovely experience the food was tasty and subtly flavoured perfect Thai. Encouraged by this went back again last week for dinner and the chili fiend was again at work. Virtually inedible! Why do it?? This is not Thai cookery. We will stick to lunch only from now on if we go back...

We have had several great value lunches here. The service is very good, the food is tasty and we will definitely be back

We’ve eaten in the restaurant and also used their on-line ordering takeaway service. The food has always been very good and the staff very friendly.

Following a recommendation from our son (...who is an expert on all things Thai!) 5 of us decided to visit Gaab Kao early on a Saturday evening. The restaurant itself was a high-quality conversion in a lovely old part of Tonbridge and we immediately appreciated the effort that had been put into the creation of the restaurant. The service was professional and friendly and it was clear that this is a popular venue. We took our son's recommendations and the food which included various curries and Penang beef was delicious and the portion sizes were good. All in all it was a great eating experience and one that we will repeat!

Following a recommendation from our son (...who is an expert on all things Thai!) 5 of us decided to visit Gaab Kao early on a Saturday evening. The restaurant itself was a high-quality conversion in a lovely old part of Tonbridge and we immediately appreciated the effort that had been put into the creation of the restaurant. The service was professional and friendly and it was clear that this is a popular venue. We took our son's recommendations and the food which included various curries and Penang beef was delicious and the portion sizes were good. All in all it was a great eating experience and one that we will repeat!

Excellent food and service. Glad to see more business here as regulars it’s great to see people appreciating the great food.

Delicious food really recommend service a bit slow but made up for by the food do jot have a kids menu and big portions but overall lovely although probably not everyones cup of tea

Eat here almost weekly now! Never had a bad meal. Super fast service, food fresh and hot. Staff friendly. £9.95 for a set lunch is a bargain and big potions

Eaten here twice now and the food has been delicious on both occasions. Service is swift and friendly, love coming here.

Food and service has plummeted in the last 2 months. Then in the last order they refused to give us the wine they promised: Free Bottle of House Wine get a free bottle of house white or house red wine when you spend £50 or more on your order TERMS: What you get: 0 GBP discount Conditions: Only once in cart Total Price: greater than or equal to 50 Then when they delivered the order they said they'd bring the wine later. I called the restaurant later in the evening and they said it was because the order came to £51.75 and they didn't include the £2 delivery charge. This is not in the terms and conditions. Final straw and won't be using this restaurant again.

After my December 2016 review of this restaurant, our party of 5 returned for a post-business dinner to find that little had changed in the ensuing 3 years. This is a clearly busy restaurant with a niche customer base since it filled up very quickly with pre-booked sittings shortly after we arrived. Warm and cosy on a cold winter's night. My starter of tempura prawns was a break away from the light, traditional, floury batter to more of a fine breadcrumb coating but delicious nonetheless. Recalling that the pad Thai I had ordered 3 years ago came with only 4 prawns despite the manager assuring me, post my review, that 5 was the norm, I asked for 'extra prawns' for me and a guest this time around, adding that I was happy to pay more for them. My request never appeared to reach the kitchen. 5 it was! However, they were delicious although the lack of 'bite' in the noodles had not improved in the interim 3 years. Coffees with brandy arrived with 'spray cream' on top rather than floated double cream but were enjoyed by those of us who ordered them. This restaurant is so close to being very good but, with a full house as we left, perhaps they have found a formula that works for them.

I order regularly from here and recently the food has been of lower standards. The prices are high for a takeaway and should be of a good standard. Tonight the Thai green curry had at a push half a chicken breast. The lamb massaman was full of fat and it was altogether disappointing. It cost I ordered quite a few items for the family and all were very stingy. It would seem to me that once a restaurant like this is established it starts to cut back in the quality and. It the price.

We were welcomed, and found a table, with the condition that we had to leave within an hour. We accepted that restriction, and I ordered a Jungle curry, which the waiting staff warned was hot! It was, which I was pleased to have - I cannot recall what my partner had. The service was swift, and we managed to leave in the time permitted, which suited us in any case. The tables are rather close together, as the accommodation is quite small. The food was excellent.

Fabulous food, very reasonably priced and lovely, friendly staff.

Pad Thai not the worst and not the best,tasted bit bland. As said below staff guy was odd and liked a stare (older chubby bloke),younger guy was great and how a waiter should be. Decor is nice and modern and chilled (apart from feeling watched). Portions were pretty small. 2 small fish cakes bit stingey. And personally I'd rather have cuci dipping sauce than that awful bottled chilli sauce. But some like it.

Always good food. Lunch time menu is great value

The staff were so friendly and helpful. The service was excellent and we had a really enjoyable meal.

Visited this Thai restaurant after seeing it on trip. However, didn’t book as expected to get there quite early. Think we just about got seated, and so glad we did !