Thai Palace - 4756 Cortez Rd., West| Bradenton, FL 34210
August 14th 2014 marked our 6 months wedding anniversary. So we decided to go out for a nice dinner. After thinking about where we are going to have the dinner we thought we need to pick something new. Going back and forth the selection fell to Thai Palace at Cortez Road.
A place where I have never been. My wife has eaten there with her company before and she said it was very good.
We showed up there without a reservation. Something I usually would not do, but it is off season and I did not think it would be a challenge.
The entrance is not very telling and I did not know what to expect. Just walked in. My first impression was : A real restaurant with cozy interior. I liked it from the get go.
Took less than a minute and we were greeted by a smiling lady who asked if we want to sit on a table or wait for a booth, which would only take a few minutes. We opted for the booth.
5 minutes later the same lady invited us to the table. I really like the setting. You can see that things are not new, but they are well taken care off. We had a sense of privacy where we were sitting. Only thing not good was the lamp. It was damaged and they taped it. Looking around from where I was sitting that was the only lamp which was fixed like that. So it might have been a temporary solution.
About 2 minutes into our visit a server came to our table. She was very friendly and also made eye contact with a big smile. We said we want water and need a minute for the drinks. When coming back we ordered 2 Thai beers. Do not remember the name, but they were cold and very good.
When she brought the beer we were ready to order.
Christiane did not want an appetizer or soup. I wanted to try something new. So I ordered the Tom Yum Ta Lay Tong soup ( you can look it up on the menu on their website which I post at the bottom of this article).
I asked about the scale of spicy. The server told me how it works and I said I want Thai Spicy. That is supposed to be the hottest.
For our entries we ordered the Red Curry and the Vulcano Duck. The Vulcano Duck we ordered regular and the Red Curry Spicy. We were told we can order spices if we like to make it more hot.
The soup came within a few minutes. It was hot. That in itself was a big plus. Many times I order soup it is at best warm. Also it was very spicy. Gave a good burn without taking away the taste of the seafood and the lemongrass. I really liked it.
While finishing my soup the server asked several times if we need water and we were able to order another beer. Great service.
The food was served just as I was done with my soup. 2 entries and 2 times rice. It all looked good and pretty much like on the photos I saw before.
Both dishes and the rice were hot. Again, a huge plus for me. There is just too much cold or warm food served.
Those are the dishes as we actually received them. Find below the photos they have on their website. The lighting was not very good. So it might look a little darker on this photo, but it was in fact just like below.
Red Curry as served at Thai Palace in Bradenton, FL
Volcano Duck as served at Thai Palace in Bradenton, FL
The Red Curry was a good combination of vegetables and pork ( you can pick other meat if you like). The spiciness was just right. The meat was cooked well and very soft. The curry sauce was perfect. It simply tasted good.
In Germany duck is a big thing in all kinds of Asian Restaurants. So we know duck. The Volcano Duck lived up to what we had in mind. It was crispy, the meat was soft and tasted great. The sauce was perfect on the duck and in terms of spicy, they got it right. ( I ordered some extra spice to try. Interesting was that she explained every spice to me!)
We ate both entries all the way and loved it.
While eating we had a 2nd beer and we stuck with the Thai beer. Tasted very good.
Once we were all done we were asked about dessert. Christiane asked if they had fried bananas in honey. The server told us they have it with home made coconut ice cream. So we ordered it.
Fried bananas with home made coconut ice cream served at Thai Palace in Bradenton, FL
It did not take longer than 5 minutes and we had the dessert. Looked great. First I did not want any, but then I tried it. Good decision. It was simply great. The taste of the ice cream in combination with the bananas and the honey. Wonderful. The ice cream was perfect and everything about this dish I liked.
Our server came one last time to ask if we need anything else and we ordered the check.
The price was very reasonable for what we got. The quality of the food, the great service and the very nice and cozy atmosphere justified every penny of it.
Conclusion:
The Thai Palace restaurant in Bradenton, FL is a place I certainly would go again. I have not eaten often Thai Food, but I liked what I was served here not matter how authentic it was or not.
The atmosphere was very nice. The owners clearly wanted to create a space where you can enjoy your food in a setting which is as authentic as possible. I really liked the fact that the female staff members were wearing traditional clothing. It added to the experience.
The food was very good. It was fresh and tasted very good. The dessert was exceptional in my mind. I liked both Thai beers. Something you should try if you like beer.
Prices were absolutely OK. If I think about what I some times get for top dollars. But I am always willing to pay extra for a little atmosphere and better service as well.
The restaurant was OK busy but because of the way they designed it and furnished it, we had nice privacy and did enjoy our stay there.
If you like Thai Food, the Thai Palace in Bradenton might be the place you should try. We will go back for sure.
Have you been there and what was your experience? Any thoughts about Thai Food in general? Comments are welcome. But remember, keep it clean and no spam.
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