Thai Kitchen in North Dorset

When we arrived…it looked like to much effort to see us in to our table… took a long time between getting a first drink and ordering our starters and meals… no drinks menu.. when we asked about drinks…. We were told soft drinks and beers… we had to guess what they had ???? Slow service… but food was very good and nicely put out….. All we needed was a human and not a robot….maybe because she was doing everything on her own….. it was to much… a smile to next time would be nice too..

This restaurant is awful. I got a wrong order when I phoned to ask for a refund for my meal I was told they are not accepting a refund and even you will send the order back or not still no refund.I would spend driving there to order again and wait for 30mins to hour and back to collect it. Being a regular customer I expected a reasonable phone call and offer of refund however was met with a rude and belligerent attitude. Will not be ordering from here again, I would suggest you take this review into account before choosing this place

Lovely food , full of flavour . Always good service , recommended 🥦🍋

Three of us went to the restaurant for a meal last night and it was superb. We ate in the restaurant and had a variety of dishes - all the food was excellent. The service too was really good. Our waitress was perfect. We left feeling that we had had a really good night out. We would definitely go there again

Great food to takeaway and prices were good too

Awful restaurant, awful owner who is a misogynist, don't go anywhere near this place if you value your health

Well certainly let not what we expected.. been to Thailand a number of times and not had this style of Thai food before. All the reviews paint a different picture of our thoughts but won’t be going again sadly.

We had take away from here and it was really disappointing. The Penang was thin watery and very oily. Like a layer of greeds on the top that wouldn’t mix in. The coconut rice had sweetcorn in. Eh? I’ve had plenty of Thai food and travelled a lot in Thailand and have never had sweetcorn in the coconut rice. Maybe something was missed in the curry’s but they were both a let down. Spring rolls were good but the satay was weird and we didn’t get satay sauce with it. They do do Thai crackers. Just needs more finesse, sorry.

Lovely people and food is always perfect

We enjoyed our 1st trip to this little Thai place. The restaurant is quite small & basic, but don't let this put you off. Our starters of satay chicken, duck rolls, spare ribs & prawn toast were tasty & well presented. For mains we had Pad Thai & Red Thai curry, the dishes were fragrant & had a kick to them. Didn't have to wait too long to be served either.

Ordered a takeaway on a Sat night, had to wait 1.5hr before being able to collect. Food tasted awful, very greasy, stodgy and unappetising. Have been to Thailand many times and this is nothing like Thai food. Will not be returning. Having recently moved to the area we were hoping to find a good local takeaway, sadly, not to be

So the food is amazing, we've only eaten in the restaurant once a long time ago and we enjoyed the experience, we used to get takeaways at least once a week but the portions have got smaller and more expensive so we've been eating elsewhere more and more, please make bigger takeaway portions because if you're going to charge good money then make sure people get full!

Lovely Thai food. Affordable price, great service.

Despite claiming a dine in option this is NOT a restaurant but a takeaway with a few tables and chairs Rude/unhelpful staff

To be clear this is NOT a restaurant as the “dine in” claims, but a take away with a few tables and chairs. We we rudely greeted with “ we are very busy so won’t serve you for about 2 hours” We therefore left without eating. .

What a Little Gem, highly recommended, large portions of quality food.

Authentic homemade Thai food served in a small but cosy space. Very decently priced dishes and good variety. My third time visiting the place and is a local favourite. Cash only and booking in advance recommended by the team. Parking is no trouble.

We were recommended this place by a friend , didnt have very high expectations but WOW, food is absolutely lovely so good portions huge, we had 5 starters between us and there was only 2 of us, just managed to finish it all we were really hungry and so full after we had eaten, chicken satay was to die for, then the fishcakes and dumplings and ribs and amazing homemade spring rolls loved it all prices really really good value for money portion sizes very big , Kanalaya who served us was very knowledgeable and friendly and helpful we will definitely go back probably this week as adore thai food so glad we found this place a real gem indeed you must try it you wont be disappointed

Delicious food and great company. We will return!

Only the second time we have been to the Thai kitchen, but will definitely be back again very soon, excellent food, we thoroughly enjoyed the cuisine.

So good pad Thai!!! Better than in London…

so good man…. Better than most takeaways in London. Very good price. However, the portion for pad Thai could be slightly bigger.

Amazing Food Great Service We went last Saturday Menu choices brilliant and good price Young Lady looked after us could not fault at all We live around the corner and have been saying we would go for probably two years Well we will be back on a regular basis Food was out of this world Nice People they deserve peoples support

We recently visited here with my friends we basically from Bournemouth and there service is on of the most priority but in this place they don’t care at all the server were very rude they were treating us very bad and rude way. I was about to give 0 start but no option for that please guys if you are planing to have food here please don’t come here save your day and your money of course . Really really disappointed with the service .

What a lovely meal, so tasty. Cash only, but who cares. Thoroughly recommended.

Food was fresh/delicious with such amazing flavours 😄 If you love Thai food then this is authentic,these guys can cook. Don't go for the ambience, it's just about the food. Highly recommend. Better than a Thai meal I had in Bangkok and in London. Get booked in early to avoid disappointment, we turned up Friday at 5.30pm and was told it was a long wait,we came back next day. Pad Thai was a winner.

Moved to Shaftesbury last year and found this Thai just a couple of minutes walk away. Always super tasty and fresh, our favourite takeaway in Shaftesbury!

Absolutely delighted with the find. Delicious, authentic and very affordable. I would prefer a little crispier tofu but its still very nice texture and flavour. One of the best Pad Thais I ever had..

Not the best eating environments but probably one of the best examples of Thai food I've ever had. Well worth a visit

Lovely food. Great service. Would highly recommend.

First time here, It was ok, food was nice, but not for me.

To give their service one star, after this evening is frankly being kind, fortunately for them 0 stars is not an option. We have been coming here for many years, the food is always amazing, you have to call bang on opening time or pre-order days before if you want to eat before bedtime, they are yet to move into the 21st century and get a card machine and equally their phone line has no waiting system or answer phone so it is engaged 99% of the time when you call and you have to make numerous calls just to place an order and they often get your order wrong but these are all things we had put up with because their food is consistently good and easily the best in town. However after tonights service I can say for certain I will never be returning. As I say we are frequent customers and probably order here at least once a month, our orders have been wrong many times before but we are usually home by the time we realise so we let it go because simply we cannot be bothered to go all the way back there and wait for them to rectify it. But on this occasion my husband noticed it was wrong before he left the building as I asked him to check as when I placed the order I asked the lady on the phone to repeat it back to me and she repeated it back incorrectly, so I corrected her, confirmed what it was we wanted (the description and the item number on the takeaway menu) so I suggested to my husband he check just in case. When my husband queried it the waitress was very rude and said they could not possibly have taken the order wrong I must have said it wrong. They said they would make the dish I wanted but it would be 30 minutes and they would not redo the rice to go with my curry, so I was resigned to the fact I would have cold rice with my curry and my husband came home to eat his pad thai so he did not also have cold food. When I went back to collect the corrected meal, she asked me to pay, but I explained my husband had already paid, but she said my husband had only paid for what was on the slip (which was wrong) and that because he had taken the wrong dish away (because they told him to) that I had to pay for the corrected dish. The rude waitress also started saying my husband had told her I had ordered everything he went to collect and I had just forgotten to order an item, which I knew was rubbish because firstly, he was on the phone to me at the time, so I heard what he said and secondly, because we place the same order every single time we go so my husband would know I hadn’t ordered something else. At this point the rude waitress got one of her colleagues out too and what I can only assume was her boyfriend was on a table behind me and they all joined her defence, so I was put in a horrible position of having 3 people all arguing with me, when I am 8 months pregnant and all I wanted was the dinner I ordered and paid for! I told her we had ordered from them many times and I was disappointed this was what it had come to, she continued to be very rude, so I walked out without any food as I refused to pay twice for it, so she refused to give it to me. When I got home, visibly distressed by this encounter, I explained to my husband what had happened and he called them to ask why they had lied to me about what I said and whilst she did then start to back track a little, she continued to say the problem was that I had placed the order wrong, accepting no responsibility whatsoever and at no point did they ever apologise for their mistake. My husband pointed out that usually when restaurants make a mistake they apologise and offer to resolve it, instead of which we had now paid for a rice which was sat at home cold and uneaten because they were unwilling to hand over the curry we had paid for because they had sent my husband home with the wrong item. My husband eventually said that they would be losing a loyal customer and the rude waitresses response was that they didn’t want us back! We are utterly dumbfounded, we will certainly not be returning and we have an awful lot of local friends and family who we will be telling about our experience!!

Had a takeaway absolutely supberb.

I've definitely noticed a sharp decline in food quality and customer service. The dishes seem to be bulked out with bamboo shoot slices with very little meat. A black hair in the rice was an unwelcome bonus and the rude response and attitude from the girl at the desk combined to make this a very poor quality experience. It seems others have experienced the same thing from other reviews left recently. Certainly no happy ending to this tale I'm afraid and I'll be hesitant in returning, worthy of a one star rating sadly. Shame.

Tucked away on an industrial estate...but excellent food ...

Really lovely food, hot, tasty. Hostess was attentive, but did not smile or seem welcoming.

Great food!!!! Highly recommended!!!!

Food is incredible. Staff friendly. Prices reasonable. Always a long wait (which is a credit to their food!) so book early and expect a delay - it's worth it.

New to the area, the Thai Kitchen was recommended to me by a friend. Was really pleased with the quality of the food and service, not to mention the price :) Enjoyed a delicious Thai Green Curry with rice. Will be coming back.

We called for a takeaway and it was not easy to place our telephone order. The young person spoke perfect English, but was very stroppy and seemed reluctant to take our order. When we called to collect, there were several different businesses behind the front door and no indication where to go. I tried a few of the doors and eventually found the pick up place. The reception was no better in person, and they seemed to think they were doing us a massive favour by buying from them. The food however, was very good. All fresh and good quality and good flavour

Always AMAZING food and service ...cant fault it

Food was good and staff was welcoming.

I was being treated by my son as it was my birthday. I have eaten here before,with no problems, other than slow service between courses. My son and I placed our orders VERY CLEARLY and that were repeated back to us. The starter came, piping hit and delicious, with no problems. The main course came, my son's first, piping hot and just right. When my order came, the waitress placed my Massaman "beef" curry on the table, then brought the egg fried rice.... Er, no, I ordered Garlic fried rice. She took the rice away, after some time, arrived back with the garlic fried rice.. I then took the lid of the Massaman curry... Certainly didn't look like Beef curry to me. I asked the waitress what she had brought me... It's chicken Massaman... Er, no, I ordered the Beef Massaman. Oh, OK, I will bring. So, she took away the curry, leaving me with the rice going cold and my son eating his food alone. She eventually came back and asked if she should take back the rice to heat up. I said no, I would like the complete dish, from fresh. So, off she went again, to get me the dish I had actually ordered.. Meanwhile my son is feeling quite annoyed, so asked if the remainder of his food could be kept heated so we could eat together. I think the waitress is trying to do too much. She is running a take away and trying to run the restaurant. To get one dish wrong is a bit annoying, but to get the whole meal wrong is just negligent, especially as she repeated our orders. The food itself was super, the service appalling. Won't go there again.

Beautiful food really authentic

Welcoming staff, fabulous food and inexpensive. Highly recommend this place.

Found 4 hairs in my meal - when I phoned to ask for a refund for my meal I was told I would only get £6.50 an amount I would spend driving there and back to collect it. Being a regular customer I expected a reasonable phone call and offer of refund however was met with a rude and belligerent attitude. Will not be ordering from here again, I would suggest you take this review into account before choosing this place.

Brilliant food, I mean brilliant. You've gotta try it.

We had take away dishes, one duck in red sauce (£7.60) and one massaman chicken (6.50). The flavourings were really good but the amount of meat in them was not a lot. I thought it value for money as they were well cooked but a liitle more meat would have been nice, though the vegetables in the dishes were good.

When I arrived to collect my takeaway, the girl behind the counter stated “we don’t take cheques now” The website stated ‘Debit/credit Cards are not accepted - we accept cash or cheques only’ - her attitude was very arrogant and offensive to the point that I’ve decided I will never visit the place again. I have been visiting this restaurant from the day they started and was very impressed at the start and was keen to help to promote them with their business by telling everyone how good it was and frequented it once a week.However, my takeaway was well below par - The Thai green curry I had was full of water and oil and the ‘special’ King prawn fried rice look very stale and stodgy and had a stale taste (it was thrown out). On my leaving I said good night to her and she couldn’t be bothered to answer.

Food and service was very good. The place is small and when we went it was full and very noisy.

Went to eat in the restaurant but was told too busy with an empty room - Long wait for take away which proved to be tasteless food with the bonus of a long strand of hair in the main course at no at cost would not recommend - avoid

Absolutely bloody amazing. Literally the best Thai takeaway I've ever had, and I've tried a good number of Thai restaurants over alot of the UK and Europe. Reasonably priced, very friendly staff, delicious food. Make sure you get your order in early on a Friday or Saturday evening though, as it's very popular and you could end up waiting an hour from you initial phone call. Worth it though, (hint hint, the ribs are to die for).

I have had take-aways in the past but never had a sit down meal at this unusual place, Barbers shop in the day, restaurant at night It was late and the restaurant side was closed but they opened up specially for the 3 of us. Food took quite a long time, a good sign as everything seemed to have been created from scratch. Portions so generous that we had to task for doggy bags. I always test an unfamiliar Thai restaurant with that old staple Phad Thai. Theirs was one of the best that I've had. My companions both Vegans chose from the large vegetarian menu. Again, their dishes were so full of flavours that they needed the rice to calm their taste buds. Three of us had 2 courses plus drinks for about £15 each, what's not to like? Highly recommended.

Always fantastic, the staff are excellent, really homely feel if you eat in too.

The food is fantastic. Fresh , good portions and utterly delicious. The spare ribs are the best. Veggie Spring rolls fat and full of fresh veggies. Service is excellent and everything is clean. There is a little bar area that serves Thai beer, magners and a white/red wine ( probably more but I don’t know that ) The restaurant itself is nothing of note but we didn’t go for decor we went for food and for that and service they get our vote

Called in at short notice to see if they could fit me in for a quick supper, thankfully they could. The young lady serving warned there may be a wait as they were busy (always a good sign). I am delighted to report that the food was superb, hot fresh, quickly served and very tasty. Thank you for a great meal.

Called in at short notice to see if they could fit me in for a quick supper, thankfully they could. The young lady serving warned there may be a wait as they were busy (always a good sign). I am delighted to report that the food was superb, hot fresh, quickly served and very tasty. Thank you for a great meal.

Food is totally excellent. Seems freshly, home cooked and really authentic. Good value too.

Love it! Beautiful thai food in the evenings. A real gem of a restaurant. It's not fussy and shiny but the food is amazing. I especially love their thia green curry.

Come here for a tasty, spicy authentic Thai meal. Don’t expect impressive surroundings... clean, no nonsense, proper Thai food cooked by a Thai family. Quiet efficient service. Cash only. I look forward to tasting plates from the extensive take away menu.

Went here for dinner one evening, the reviews were good, the food was mainly ok but nothing like the reviews, there was no heat to the supposed to be hot dishes and when we politely asked why is this not hot we were told, we have no chillies today so dont complain. Yes we will not be returning.

We discovered this little takeaway last year after living in Shaftesbury for nearly 20 years!!By day it’s a ‘truckers cafe’ where they do standard breakfasts, burgers chips etc. Also it’s a barbers in the day!And at night it’s a Thai. We have consistently had good meals here and last nights takeaway was no exception. We ordered our food and was told it was a 40 min wait, which some may say is quite a long time, but my gosh is it worth it .The food here is exceptional and the people are lovely. Can’t recommend this place enough!

We called in for dinner and as it had just opened we were the only ones there. We we greeted and told they only cash and shown to a table given menus and left as they were getting the evening shift started. The food came in a timely fashion and was very good, each dish full of flavour and lovely.We will definitely be going back.

Thai Kitchen is primarily a takeaway establishment and I have praised it before on that. This review is for their small intimate restaurant which my wife and I enjoyed very much. You don't have to book, but it is strongly advisable especially on weekends, not that it gets busy, but because the takeaway side does, and the staff are extremely busy serving that side. So, if you book, you are at least taken care of in terms of certain priority over takeaway customers. If you don't book, you will just have to accept that you will be served as and when they get a gap between other customers. If you are in a hurry however, don't eat in the restaurant as the service is quite slow - but to me very civilised as we, in this country, seem to get into a restaurant with the sole aim of getting out as soon as possible instead of enjoying the experience. As per my previous review, the food here is excellent - right up there among some of the best Thai restaurants I have been to in different parts of the world.Do yourself a favour and book the restaurant for a really enjoyable evening meal.

No expert on Thai food. Good, tasty takeaway tho, reasonably priced from this family-run establishment. Full of oriental veg, not overcooked. Every dish we had was appetising. Loved the Green curry and pork with ginger. Better than the Chinese competition. Cash only!

Food is really great! Service a little slow but worth waiting for😊

We had been recommended by a few friends - quite way out on industrial estate so not central but good parking. We went Sat night, were the only people there at 7pm till 8.45pm. Lovely staff - very welcoming and we had spring rolls followed by mains and drinks, food was delicious. Music slightly annoying so could improve that! Will return, great value for money!

Lovely little intimate place warm and cosy very friendly staff Food was fresh & Devine and piping hot Very good value for money especially on Wednesday nights Can’t fault anything at all

Great food, reasonably priced .

We were taken there by friends and it takes some finding. It seems to major on takeaways, but there is a small basic restaurant with about half a dozen table. So it might be worth booking although it was quiet when we visited on a Friday night. The food is excellent and very reasonable value, with lots of familiar items on the menu.

We where up to go to gillingham and shaftsbery show. Anyway googled takeaway near me and this place came up. It’s a nightmare to find from sat nav but when I entered it smelt like Thailand. The food is not overpriced and is spot on. Really enjoyed it. They just need to add sticky rice to their menu to do from 99% to 100 for me

Food excellent, warm welcome, but small eating area so book ahead and it's cash only. Typically around £45 for two people (not including beer!)

Hadn't been for a long while but will make an effort to go again. Lovely piping hot spring rolls. I had the vegetarian pad Thai without peanuts very yummy. Mum had the chicken sweet and sour which she enjoyed. I ate some of the egg fried rice which was lovely. Had a bit too much pepper in the sweet and sour but apart from that no complaints. All food was hot served on warmed plates. Welcoming staff and friendly. Wish it was closer!

I am used to the waitress after 15 years of going there. The overt resentfulness borders on an atypical rudeness- she has an "attitude" which is unwavering. If you can get a smile or a welcoming invitation you would be lucky.

Food is always good; staff are always friendly.

Very impressed with the Vegetarian Pad Thai without egg (ie vegan). Not sure if MSG is used (?) as with Chinese food (In UK) but a very pleasant night out with friends

Excellent food....just really excellent

Food lovely. Atmosphere good. Hidden gem right on our doorstep. Will be returning. Lady sat opposite us sounded like she was having a orgasm in her mouth she loved it so much!!!

Meal tainted by rudeness and sarcastic nature of male staff member. Spoilt the meal for us. Has much more potential if they get customer approach right

Lovely place 5 star recommended...

We went to Thia kitchen, my son is vegan and I am gluten free. This was not a problem. We had a fantastic meal freshly cooked reasonable prices and very authentic. Would definitely recommend. Beautiful food and great service. We will be back

The food and people are amazing!!

I booked The Thai Kitchen knowing this is not a flashy restaurant as it is based on an industrial estate, but particularly because I wanted a decent choice of vegetarian dishes for the group of five of us. The waitress was really helpful and efficient, and we appreciated that she left us to enjoy our food without hovering. The place itself, although basic is nicely decorated and very clean.

Best food out of Thailand and actually some dishes better than the same I tried in Thailand. Always fresh, always best quality ingredients and always a favourite with my whole family. Shaftesbury's best kept secret!

If you haven't discovered it yet then you must. This is the best Thai you will find by a long way, and we've been to quite a few. Take away and small restaurant of about 5 tables so call to book. They also don't take cards so it's cash only.

Fuimos a la cocina tailandesa con algunos amigos la semana pasada y fue la primera vez que hemos estado allí durante unos 18 meses. Por desgracia en la noche visitamos sólo puedo decir que me decepcionó es ciertamente no tan buena como la última vez.

Mi primera vez en un restaurante tailandés y me quedé impresionado. Me encantó la comida, el entrante y plato principal! No podría haber pedido un mejor servicio o comida! El personal era muy amable y cuidó de nosotros. Gracias, sin duda volveremos:):):).

Lovely peaceful place.Clean wholesome and nice surroundings-They do the best Egg Sandwich I have ver had. Although all there food is superb clean and tasty and well presented.Also the Coffee is tasty and rich-Yes very pleasant.

Don't judge a book by its cover! Building looks obscure, but the food and service is beyond what you pay for. Hugely recommended!

The girl is lovely so this is not for her service at all. My partner is Thai and we eat Thai food a lot. Obviously as he is Thai we love authentic Thai food and we both always speak Thai when we go out. We went out tonight with his family and we are so disappointed :( The food was not good at all. Panang curry is my favourite food in the world and normally it will be thick and creamy. It was the consistency of water (No exaggeration at all) and see through!! There was also oil floating on the top and it didn't even have the panang flavour at all! Both my partner and I said we could hardly believe it was what we ordered. The other food was similarly disappointing and I said afterwards it's the first time I've ever had bad Thai food and he agreed :( I reiterate though the girl serving us was very sweet

Hemos cenado aquí varias veces a lo largo de los años, ya que vivimos en Shaftesbury y es uno de nuestros residentes. Excelente servicio y comida cada vez - muy servicial dando una guía a las diversas opciones si son "nuevas" a los elementos en...

Really good food! Lovely service and also recommend the takeaway!

Un pequeño pero agradable restaurante con servicio de comida casera casa tailandesa. Excelente menú con una sensación real de Tailandia.

We have been told about Thai Kitchen by friends but this was our first visit and we were delighted by what we found. The food was excellent and the young woman who served our table was helpful and informative about the menu options. We all loved it and will definitely be back. The meal plus wine was very reasonably priced too.

We came based on the great reviews but encountered an extremely rude wait staff person. I have been using trip advisor for years and have not written many reviews, but this experience was particularly upsetting and inexcusable. She had an attitude from the start, and when I simply asked whether the spice level could be adjusted because one of us had a slightly sour stomach, she responded with an unnecessarily offensive attitude. When asked a clarifying question about another menu item, her attitude continued with a short, curt response. I almost walked out, which would have been a first in my 57 years. We stayed, the food was good, but the meal tainted. We will definitely not be back.

Incredible food, high quality and quantity. Highly recommended

I have been to quite a few Thai restaurants in different countries and this one rates right up there! The food is excellent and service efficient. Prices are very competitive. I haven't eaten in their small intimate restaurant, but I will be trying it one of these days - watch this space!

An unhelpful, stroppy teenager reluctantly took my telephone order, repeatedly "huffing" as if I was being a nuisance, saying they are always very busy and I would have to wait 1.1/2 hours. When I collected my order, the restaurant was completely empty! The service was unfriendly and the food was average, so I wont be returning.

We have been using Thai Kitchen since they opened a few years ago. The food has always been excellent & the service is very good. We generally have a take away but sometimes eat in the restaurant and have never had anything less than amazing food

The food is great and the staff very friendly and helpful.I go to Thailand quite a lot and this is just as good as it is over there. Because it is a family run business and they work there as well cant praise it enough