The King And I

Location	Website Logo
1455 East Henrietta Road, Rochester NY, 14623
Hours (as of June 2009)
Monday - Thursday: 11:00AM to 10:00PM
Friday: 11:00AM to 11:00PM
Saturday: 12:00PM to 11:00PM
Sunday: 12:00PM to 9:30PM
Phone
585 427 8090
Website
http://www.TheKingAndIThaiCuisine.com
Reviews
Review by ThaiCuisine.com

The King And I is a Thai restaurant on East Henrietta Road with an upscale atmosphere and takeout is also available. Offers a large number of vegetarian options. Most of the dishes border on a Thai & Americanized Asian influence, so expect saucy (sometimes sugared sauce) style.

The King And I was voted "Best Thai Restaurant" and "Best Spicy Food" in City Newspaper's 'Best Of' awards in 2002¹, and "Best Asian Restaurant" in 2008 and 2009.²³

Comments:

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2006-07-30 09:10:37   I get take-out here about once a week, and the food is always good. I especially like that they are *fast*, even though the food never seems like it's been sitting around being warmed for hours. —RichMulvey

2006-08-31 12:18:28   The fish options are delicious and a nice change from typical take-out Thai fare. I just wish the decor was bit more inviting, I usually feel like I'm sitting in a huge banquet room. —EllenKelsey

2006-09-18 06:57:27   Very good food with excellent service. They moved one building over to a larger space and it didn't affect their quality or speed. Always a good choice. —ZedOmega

2006-09-18 08:58:18   Extremely fast service, I often get my food in less than 5 minutes. Their spicy chicken soup that's (occasionally) served during lunch is to die for. Be warned the food is very saucy for Thai food. —TravisOwens

2006-11-08 09:50:37   The food is good but it is a far cry from Thai. If you want real Thai food...this shouldn't be your top choice. —OneLove

2006-12-18 16:42:13   the website doesn't work, any other links, I need a menu for takeout orders! —TonyBurba

2007-01-11 18:04:37   The food is great, but their website (kingandionline.com) is gone. —JoelBennett

2007-02-16 18:30:53   Never disappoints! I always find something good here. —JoannaLicata

2007-03-05 14:32:23   The new website is http://www.thekingandithaicuisine.com/ . Love, love, love the veggie options (but they still have Thai fish sauce in them). —CharliWilliams

2007-03-12 17:47:23   Ok OneLove, what would you choose for *real* Thai food? —RichardSarkis

2007-03-23 08:06:08   The employees at The King and I are magic. You order and they go in the kitchen door and right back out with your food. Great stuff. —KimBee

2007-03-23 10:27:23   Americanized Thai food, but still tasty, and the service is always exceptional. —DanielMiner

2007-05-10 23:48:16   RichardSarkis:

I would recommend Esan or Pattaya. If you want REALLY good Thai food and you are willing to drive an hour, I would suggest Saigon Bangkok in Buffalo (and they serve decent Vietnamese too.) —OneLove

2007-05-17 10:39:17   Tasty food with friendly and efficient service. A standout dish is the sesame beef - it's nothing like the fried chunks of meat that fast-food Chinese places call sesame beef. Also, they make exceptional fruit smoothies. —EastSideStephen

2007-05-20 11:24:12   Really great restaurant. Great food and service. Best when weather is nice when you can sit outside on park ave. —JosephHsu

2007-05-20 11:56:25   Joseph: Park Ave? Are you confusing King and I with Esan? —EastSideStephen

2007-06-14 13:31:18   The food here is amazing. The staff is always friendly and the service is really quick. I especially love the chicken satay and the pad thai never disappoints. —AnneRimbach

2007-06-14 17:55:07   Decent Americanized Thai food, served quickly. I've have unfortunately observed some instances of the owner rudely demanding bigger tips from some customers....I haven't been back since. —NathanHenderson

2007-06-15 11:08:23   Great food with an incredible number of options and a decent pricetag. Especially good for large groups (using the little back-room). Service varies from mildly grumpy to exceedingly nice, though usually very pleasant and helpful. —PaulArdis

2007-08-03 09:46:58   big fan of their pad thai and seafood soup. Oh, and the sweet rice dessert? nectar of the gods! —JuneSylvesterWales

2007-08-04 14:45:49   I don't care how authentic it is, it's great food. My favorite is the Chicken Phat Phet. The service is what makes it truly outstanding - this is one of the only high-quality sit-down restaurants that consistently brings the meal in five minutes, no matter how busy they are. —McgMatt

2007-08-31 06:52:23   I second OneLove's endorsement of Buffalo's Saigon Bangkok (on Elmwood Ave.); outstanding restaurant that had food so good, the drive home to Rochester in the pouring rain was worth it back in November last year. As for King and I, I love Tiger, the woman who owns the place, and the man who works with her (don't know his name). They both remember customers and just make the whole experience of walking in the restaurant a welcoming comfort. The food is very dependable, and you can get peppers in fish sauce (nuc mam?) and the little dried stars to zip up the heat in your dishes. Just remember to ask for them. I think their hot and spicy lemongrass noodle soup is great, but I wish it weren't quite so pricey at lunchtime (something about paying $8 instead of $7, the old price....). A standby in our household. —KatieSchmitz

2007-09-04 15:23:05   Always come here once a week, if I could, and I am always back at work in time. Speedy service, and reasonable prices. I am gladdened at the variety of vegetarian options for lunch *and* dinner! Be sure to tell the server "how many stars" as to how spicy you like your food. 2 is fine for me. —ChristopherLehfeldt

2007-09-27 19:51:53   I can't understand how the author wrote "upscale atmosphere". As EllenKelsey pointed out, the restaurant reminds me of a college dining room: not exactly upscale.

The food is not bad but I found one hair in my dish once and the sauce was a bit watery. Speed is not always a plus if it's a detriment to quality. —AndreaCogliati

2007-09-29 21:08:43   Even on a busy night the service was incredibly quick, maybe even a bit too quick. They turn tables over fast which is nice if you are waiting for one. once seated our waiter was attentive and very pleasant. Our fresh spring rolls were good but the wrapper was a little tough meaning they had probably been pre-made and sat prior to serving. We had the spicy basil rice which was very tasty, and masumaun chicken which was much sweeter than we've ever tasted anywhere else. My wife did not care for it as much but I thought it was pretty good that way. Not sure if that's how they make it all the time or maybe the chef was just a little off this one night. Overall it was a nice dinner and we will venture back again. —DottieHoffmann

2007-10-27 00:50:43   I bit the bullet and gave them another try. The tom yum soup tasted horribly premade - a suspicion confirmed by the waiter. The meals were alright - we tried the spicy chicken, lemongrass chicken and the (translated by the waiter) "drunken chef noodles". The first two were excessively spiced and there was way too much sauce. The noodles were alright. Very Americanized Thai food.I probably won't be going back there since there are better(in more ways than one) alternatives in a 5 minute radius. —OneLove

2007-11-08 13:29:24   Pretty good stuff, large portions, and the hot sauces on the table are fantastic! This place also has to be the most popular place for lunch in all of Rochester. Every time I go its jam packed with people. Still haven't had to wait for a table or long for food though which is great. —GeorgeBluth

2007-11-10 13:55:36   I love this restaurant. The service is lightning quick and the food is always delicious. The prices are really great, my husband and I usually get a couple entrees and some soup and spend no more than $30. —CatMagro

2007-11-27 19:23:07   I think the best complement for this place on my side is that I brought a friend from Cambodia (whose cuisine is very similar) and he said it tasted just like what his mother cooked. Be warned, it spicier then you might expect. All in all, the food was great and the servers treated us like gold. —DaveMilitello

2007-12-07 16:33:23   Today I went there for a business lunch and the experience was better than the previous one. Maybe because the restaurant wasn't as full as the last time: the service was very quick and attentive, as usual. And the food was good. —AndreaCogliati

2007-12-08 11:12:52   Like Andrea, I had a hair in my food once as well.

I have been to King and I many times...maybe 7-8 experiences altogether. The food is good, and the service is okay. Sometimes the staff is a little cranky though. I recommend the chicken with peanut sauce, lar nar, or panang shrimp. Also, the sweet rice custard dessert is REALLY good. I rarely order dessert at restaurants but sometimes I go in just to eat dessert after I've eaten dinner somewhere else.

Overall the King and I is good, not spectacular, but worth going to. —RochesterCalifornia

2008-03-09 22:47:28   After 2 times going with a group of 6-10 and having poor service and fair food each time, tonight my husband and I thought we would give it a try again. We were not at all disappointed! The service was excellent. Our server helped us out with how to say the dish we wanted in a very fun way (the other times we were treated like idiots and got rolled eyes). Our server also was very welcoming to my daughter being there and brought her her own water, plate and spoon (she is 1). The food was very good, it came very quickly but did not taste like it was sitting around. It also was a very quick experience, but we, in no way, felt rushed. I am very glad we went back! —FranChandler

2008-03-17 09:31:12   One of my favorite restaurants - a definite take out place when we're too busy to cook. Great portions. —DesignDreamz

2008-04-11 14:03:20   This place has been a favorite of ours since moving to Rochester. The food is always excellent - I've ordered a good variety off of the menu from the classic phat thai with chicken or vegetables, panang fish (a Lent friday favorite!), the appetizers are good - just close your eyes and point, and the mango with sticky rice dessert is also a treat. I also like the Thai Iced Tea. The service is always super quick but I've never felt rushed by the staff, they are always attentive and pleasant. —StephanieTodd

2008-04-12 14:20:19   I really like this place. I've had several dished here and enjoyed all of them. Thai food is known for its balance of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty; the food here is a little on the sweet side. Depending on your tasts, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The prices aren't bad, and the atmostphere is quite nice. Overall, The King and I is definetly worth trying. —TomWise

2008-08-12 10:38:19   Oh wow! I am surprised to find that someone, "OneLove," knows that this is far from any authentic Thai cuisine. I have many Thai friends all of who, as many Thai families do, own Thai restaurants and have made me authentic Thai dinners in their homes. (This is in DC, I have not met a Thai person in Rochester) I have yet to find near-authentic Thai yet in Rochester. The owners are Chinese by the way. —JenC

2008-08-15 13:34:38   *Update*

I have gotten hair in my food 4-5 times now. I think I'm officially done with the King and I, not only because of the hair, but because I threw up the last time I ate it (however, I would like to say that I have a fairly sensitive stomach and have also thrown up from Indian food). It's sad because some of the food here is pretty good, but getting hair in my food so many times makes me question what is going on. —RochesterCalifornia

2008-08-15 16:06:43   Went there last month with a colleague who is from Thailand. I let him talk with the server in Thai and he customized the order according to his preference. I enjoyed the food the coconut milk soup, fat noodle with duck. My colleague told me that even though it is not authentic thai, but is better than a lot of fancy places in New York City. —DeepBhatt

2009-01-14 23:56:30   At the request of my co workers, I went to this place again and was disappointed again. Why are all their sauces so sweet? Has anyone else ordered their food extra spicy and received a dish with cayenne pepper thrown on top? This makes me wonder if they make all their lunch specials ahead of time in bulk and then just shake some pepper on top for he who dares to wish to customize. By the way..not sure how this is relevant but I can attest that the owners are actually Laotian...

Update (02/03/09) - Best Asian Restaurant in Rochester?! Seriously? Come on, Rochester...that's just disappointing. —OneLove

2009-04-08 15:54:15   The food was americanized n nt tht authentic but stil it was gud,service was good too —Nish

2009-04-19 17:13:51   Sing along to Handel's "Hallelujah" chorus. "Overrated!" —morgdaug

2009-07-12 14:08:03   Okay, the food is pretty good, but recently the service has been so bad that I will probably never go back (and this is from someone who used to go once a month). The last time I went was with a large group and the woman (one of the owners I think) that served us was dishonest and cheated us on the check in numerous ways. She also messed up a few orders and accused the people of lying when they asked about it, and yes, OneLove, I asked for my dish extra spicy and I got a PILE of cayenne pepper dumped on the top. It was by far the worst restaurant experience of my life, so I'd think twice about going here, especially if you have a large group. If you do bring a large group, bring a calculator too, so you can make sure you're not getting ripped off. —Lnyxa

2009-11-07 13:58:56   I really like this place. I was always a connoisseur of pad thai noddles at various Thai places, until I tried the sesame tofu here, and it became my new favorite. Nice to see a big vegetarian menu as well. I don't think I've ever been disappointed here - and I enjoy how fast they get the food out. —BrianHahn

2009-12-30 12:14:02   I have been to this place numerous times. I have done takeout as well as dining-in. The place has great food.. always very consistent..very fast service. The staff is always smiling and polite. One time, they just gave me their sweet rice dessert on the house.. a good way to keep customers happy. I like their Pad Thai, Evil Jungle dishes the most. But I have tried many others and they are good too. Overall, a nice place to just pick up food on a lazy day or even to bring people over for a nice evening of dining. —RocResident