**NOTE: KT Thai Cuisine Now Closed**
It saddens me to write this review, because at one point K.T. Thai Cuisine was my favorite restaurant in Romeoville. The staff knew my name, because I ordered the same thing for lunch two weeks straight. All I’d have to say is my order, and the woman would ask, “Is this Mike?” What could I say, set me up with some of their pad thai and fried tofu, and I was good to go. I’d hide in my office at the library and pretend no one could see me as I gorged are far more soy protein than was good for me.
Owned by a married couple, their small daughter could be seen hanging out at the small bar set up watching TV. It was just a nice, little Thai place, and they cared enough about their repeat customers to remember you.
But since those salad days, the wife has gone on to earn her real estate license, leaving the husband to do most of the restaurant work. New staff and new cooks have been added, and sad to say, the food just isn’t what it used to be.
Only a few tables were full at lunch time, and even their carryout business wasn’t booming, which it usually was. Katie and I decided to try the lunch menu, having only been there for dinner before. She chose the Chicken Panang Curry, and I got the usual: pad thai with tofu. Each lunch also came with your choice of egg roll or crab rangoon.
Ultimately, I just have to give it my response for something so middle of the road, “Yep. That’s food alright.”
The best part of the meal was and still is the fried tofu. I love their sweet and sour peanut sauce. Tangy with a hearty bite, and just a little bit sweet, I’d put that on everything if I knew the recipe. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the meal, however.
The egg rolls were smallish, looking more like spring rolls, and the filling had that greasy canned vegetable texture. It reminded me of buying a can of stir fry vegetables. They were almost crunchy, but something feels off. A majority of the contents came out in one bite, leaving me with a mostly empty egg roll (which I filled sweet and sour sauce!). Katie enjoyed the crab rangoon, although she scooped out some of the contents, as they were apparently too stuffed with crabby, cheesy goodness.
The pad thai was much drier than it originally was, with also half the flavor. It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t what I remembered. Katie said the curry was fine, although she wasn’t keen on the large amount of cabbage thrown in there. Even with a lunch deal portion, she was able to make two meals out her bowl. Mine was just enough for the appetite I was trying to satiate.
My biggest disappointment though was that their revamped menu seems to have done away with the vegetarian section. I didn’t study the menu to see if they merged the dishes into the rest of the menu, or got rid of it completely, but it was nice to have that handy list of food that a vegetarian knew was safe.
I’ve always said the worst food to find is the food that’s just okay, because you end up torn. It’s much easier to either hate or love something instead of trying to rationalize why the food was still enjoyable, even if it wasn’t. I can easily say it’s still the best Thai food in Romeoville, but it’s also the ONLY Thai food in Romeoville. Ultimately, I just have to give it my response for something so middle of the road, “Yep. That’s food alright.”
K.T. Thai Cuisine
465 N Weber Rd
Romeoville, IL 60446
(815) 886-7100
Filed under: Romeoville, restaurants, review, suburbs
There’s a new Thai Restaurant in Romeoville, it’s in the same location where KT Thai cuisine use to be, by the name THAIWAY. Its a relaxed dinning with delicious Thai food. They have good pad thai and chicken basil. Its nice to have Thai cuisine back in Romeoville, lets help them stay open for a long time. Its nice to be able to get good Thai food without the long drive to Chicago. Go Thaiway.
[...] I wrote several months back, I used to love this independently owned place, but the quality had definitely gone down in the [...]
I don’t know what it is about this area (we moved out this way from Chicago, where the quality is more consistent), but it seems like many of the Thai places here start out great and then take a nose-dive. I was so happy to have discovered K.T. Thai Cuisine, after two former favorites (Thai O’Cha in Darien and Thai Happiness in DG) both took downward plunges. And now, unfortunately, it has happenedg to K.T. Thai Cuisine too. Although I still do occasion back to my favorite “Star of Siam” in Chicago, I would much rather find a decently consistent Thai place closer to home (Woodridge), or even work (Romeoville) for that matter.
Try Sweet Peppers Thai food in Plainfield on rte. 59. My salad rolls were so fresh, the seaweed soup yummy. We used to go to KT but Sweet Peppers is superior.