8027 Leesburg Pike Suite 110
Vienna, VA 22182
(703) 883-3588
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| Num Tok and Tempura |
After many years at the Tysons Corner Center Shopping
Mall, Neisha Thai
relocated across Leesburg Pike (Rt. 7) to the converted office building
containing a Nordstrom Rack and a DXL Men’s Fashion store. The fancy dining
hall at Neisha Thai is decorated with wood-carved lanterns, cave-like walls
dotted with gemstones and impressive water sculptures. This restaurant is
definitely not an ethnic dive.
We came to Neisha Thai for a "linner," finding
the restaurant completely empty of customers. We were told that their grand
opening was the previous week and was packed wall-to-wall with their old loyal
customers from their years at the Tysons mall. They had no specials in terms of
discounts or dishes, but we were hungry, so we decided to try it.
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| Drunken Noodles |
The dining experience was quite underwhelming. Although
the waiter explained the dishes to us, particularly how their Drunken Noodles
were different from those in other Thai restaurants, after he brought us the
food he sat at the bar with his back to us giving us very sporadic service. Our
water and lemonade went unfilled almost until we finished our meal. Getting his
attention was rather difficult, especially over the relatively high volume of
music, but since we were literally the only customers in the restaurant, it
should not be that difficult to get the waiters attention.
Now for the meal. For the good: The (what appeared to be
homemade) lemonade was refreshing on the hot afternoon and tempura appetizer
was good. In addition to the typical veggies found in the typical tempura
appetizer, Neisha Thai’s contained an unusual sampling of asparagus and baby
corn and was fresh and good with no oily texture. That's about all the good we
can muster for this entry. For the bad: The Num Tok appetizer had a strange
sweetness to it, which is unusual, since Num Tok, in our experience, is
typically salty and spicy. This one was bland. Although we were warned that
they make their
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| Pineapple Fried Rice |
Drunken Noodles in a broth, not dry, this one could be more
accurately described as "soupy." But worse than just soupy, despite
having 2 peppers next to it on the menu, it was tasteless and bland, again with
a strange sweetness like the Num Tok. Their Pineapple Fried Rice dish was served
in a half-pineapple, which looked unique and interesting, but unfortunately it
looked a lot better than it tasted. We took it home for leftovers and it
lingered in our fridge for days, underscoring the unappealing
taste. We have never had Thai
leftovers linger in our fridge.
If it was for décor only, we’d return; however, the
measure of success for a good restaurant goes far beyond waterfalls and
cave-like walls. For good Thai food, we are not likely to return to Neisha
Thai. The great tastes and great service of neighborhood places like SweetRice, Tara Thai and i-Thai are definitely a better choice.
