Thai Chili (Thai Monkey) ~ Roanoke, Texas

Last visit: Jun 2015

First visit: 2003 (Southlake)

It appears the restaurant has been renamed to Thai Monkey since we were last there.

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When we first moved to NE Tarrant in 2003, the closest Thai restaurant to us was Thai Chili in the Southlake Town Square. With their traditional Thai cooking, pleasant surroundings, and a "Kill Me" option regarding heat level, it quickly became a favorite within the RJG household. But over time, customer service waned, the cooking was inconsistent, and we were tired of paying for the markups on the wine. So we started going to Top Thai in NRH (sadly long closed), Thai Rice (Grapevine - also closed), as well as two favorites of the RJG for years to come: Bangkok Cuisine (Haltom City) and Sweet Basil (Hurst). When Sea Siam came to Keller, that seemed to end our wanderlust for Thai food. We had 3 favorites all within the NE Tarrant. The last time we dined at Thai Chili was in 2006 before the birth of this blog. And now we return. For their part, Thai Chili has recently moved out of their posh digs, and moved NW to Roanoke.

Thai Chili has a full menu of traditional Thai selections (fortunately it's a real Thai place - not "Asian" which is sadly all too common these days). The RJG's primary dish is Thai styled basil chicken, not something always offered, but Thai Chili does claim to have an authentic version. It's not (for one thing they use regular chicken and then shred it, rather than ground chicken), but it is a good facsimile. Honestly it tastes different than I remember - very heavy on the onions in particular. Which recalled Thai Rice (mentioned above) and I'm wondering if Thai Chili has new ownership - or at least new cooks. Mrs. RJG likes their Wild Chili Fire which is white meat chicken and loads of veggies. She had hers 3 star Hot and I went with 4 star Hot Hot. Neither of us could complain about the heat levels and they definitely lived up to their name. I chose not to go Kill Me this time, but probably will next, when or if we go back. We decided to forgo our usual appetizer and, as per custom, we didn't have dessert. I will say that Thai Chili's prices are considerably higher than the competition, especially when you consider....

Drink: ...unlike most Thai restaurants in the area that allows for BYOB, Thai Chili sells beer and wine. And it's not particularly cheap either. While it's nice to get Kiran Ichiban on tap, we would prefer to bring our own bottle of Chardonnay at a third of the price they charge.

Location: Thai Chili took over the old Bayou Jack's (who moved to the main square) that sits on the east side of US 377. They don't have the signage on the building yet, so keep a sharp eye out for their placard. They did a nice job of renovating the former seafood house, which was quite honestly a bit of a dive. Though pleasant, it's not near as nice as their former site in Southlake.

Notes: Overall, a good choice for Thai food when up this far north. But if you head further south, better options await you.

12/14/06; 6/8/15 (new entry)

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