Chantanee Thai Restaurant & Naga Cocktail Bar

10/28/09

gone the days of old....

by eatsshootsandeaves at Citysearch

I hate to sound like a downer, but I miss the old Chantanee. the new location took ages to reopen and is swanky to be sure, but atmosphere was never the reason I braved the bridge time and again for Chantanee. The killer phad see ew was worth the drive every time, as were the fresh spring rolls with a succulently sweet plum sauce and any curry on the menu.

Well.... the prices are up, Chantanee's characteristically swift service is out, and no more plum sauce with those spring rolls. I have to say I am sorely disapointed. No one took my order for a full 15 minutes, and the thai iced tea I ordered turned out to be a wopping $4, by far the most expensive I have had in Seattle. Parking is not validated until 5pm, and it is a nightmare to find a spot in downtown Bellevue.

Having said all that, I will keep coming back in the hopes that these issues will eventually be straightened out. When they got it right, theirs was the best Thai cuisine I have found outside of Thailand, and I am hopeful they will get back into the groove soon.

• Pros: delicious
• Cons: slow

07/28/09

exquisite thai

by thugalicious at Citysearch

The dishes were refined with clean flavors and nice nuances like a tiny bit of fresh coconut in the spring rolls. The mocktail was made custom for me based on 3 adjectives. It was fabulous. I've had lots of thai food all over the world and this is definitely top 5.

However, you must go to their website to find out exactly how to park and get into the restaurant. It is not intuitive and if you're hungry and grumpy, it could be disastrous (more reason to have those adjective ready so you can get your cocktail on right away).

• Pros: refined thai dishes, ambience, coctails
• Cons: difficult to find

07/22/09

Amazing specialty cocktails, great happy hour

by jooz at Citysearch

I'm not a huge fan of Bellevue, but I really loved Chantanee and Naga's happy hour, cool spot, good looking crowd, tasty specialty cocktails, and the Thai food was excellent, and not over-bearing, just delicious. They had free parking when I went last - but it's a little complicated, you might want to call first

• Pros: Cocktails, happy hour
• Cons: Bellevue