07/02/09

Be Aware - you may be ripped off

by HelloKitty

Be aware of this place! You may be ripped off!

My sister and I went to Elephant and wanted to use the Restaurant coupon. We need to order minimum $35 in order to be qualified to use the coupon. So we ordered 1 appetizer and 3 dishes and thought the overall price should be around $50.

When we saw the check, we almost had a heard attack! It's $100 ! The thing is that there are two kinds of price for each dish listed on the menu. The waitress didn't ask us what size of dish and gave us ALL large size (believe me, it's not a big portion at all!).

Even though the food is not bad, I look down on the dishonest way of doing business.

There are other better choices of Thai restaurants. It's not worth it to pay double and ruin our dinner!

• Pros: None
• Cons: Dishonesty; Overpriced

05/30/08

o.k.

by vivicabo

Maybe I went on an off night, but I wasn't greatly impressed. The service wasn't great, and it was noisy and crowded. The food was tasty and had some unusual dishes. I have been to better Thai places in the East Village, especially for the price. A little overpriced for some good food, not the best.

05/27/08

the best Thai in town.

by allamou

Yeeee the Elephant is reopen and It still the best thai in town after 12 years existence . try the Best Salmon tartare in the city

The green cury chicken and the Pad thai.

The guys in the kitchen rock and I heard that they 've been working since the opening.

The music is fantastic because it is a medley of global music.

Please stay for another ten years.

And I heard that they might open another one in the upper east side.

Great food for catering also

05/11/08

This place closed! I'm very upset

by mcaspi

I walked down 1st Street last night with the expectation of having a great dinner and my favorite drink(Wounded Elephant) to find that the restaurant is closed! Very sad and disappointed. I hope they re-open!

04/22/08

Tight space, tasty food

by AchitaMut

Went there with a few friends, had a lovely evening. What can I say, their food is good and the s ervice was friendly.

• Pros: The green curry chicken is amazingly good.
• Cons: Space

04/05/08

Worst Manager Great Food

by jstodel

I have been going here for 7 years, and there is one manager who works Friday nights, who always ruins the experience for me. I love the food here, and the staff is great. As a regular, I am never going back if he is working.

This Friday we had reserved a table for ten, he acted as if he was doing us a favor by seating us...then he seated us and several other parties all at once so the servers weren't able to get to all the tables at once..., we had to wait 15 minutes to get a glass of wine.

Then at the end of the meal he tried to rush us out as we were taking care of the check. This has happened on another occasion when I had brought other friends to the restaurant. They were very upset, as were my friends on this occassion.

A good manager NEVER pushes out his clients so blatantly, no matter how busy the restaurant is. As someone who works in the service industry, my husband vowed never to come back. Seems like for this manager its all about the numbers, not the 10 clients who would continue to come back if he hadn't behaved so badly.

BEWARE

04/02/08

Always great atmosphere

by roadetot

It's noisy, cramped, hectic, funky and the food is awesome - one of my favorite spots in the city for Thai food with spicy flair and good vibes.

02/15/08

delicious!

by iheartnyc

We were a party of 4 without reservations and got a table right away. The ambiance was cozy and inviting. The food took a while to come out, but when it arrived it was delicious! Everyone in the group was happy with what they ordered- lots of vegetarian options as well. The menu offers a variety of options that all have an imaginative twist. The staff was friendly and helpful.

• Pros: Food, Ambiance
• Cons: If you're in a hurry this place might not work out.

02/10/08

Rudest manager anywhere!

by binkieskate

While making the reservation, the manager was rude, but I tried to keep my cool. I said, "I hope all the trouble will be worth it." He said, "You don't have to eat here." That's cool. I said, "I'd like to try it anyway. I'll come at 7 with 3 people." I arrived to find a dark, hot, loud, uncomfortable, claustrophobic and shabby place that surprised me--the website was so slick.. and I didn't see a Thai person in the house. The manager reluctantly sat us. The server was a charming, pleasant French woman, a contrast with the manager. The food was overpriced and pedestrian. Had just returned from Southeast Asia and, honestly, none of the food here resembled what I had just eaten. I might have imagined the manager purposefully bumping into my chair during the evening, but I tried to ignore it. We tipped 15% for decent service, but didn't give more because of the manager's attitude. On my way out I said to him, "thanks for tolerating us tonight." He got up in my face, puffed out his chest and yelled at me. I asked him sarcastically, but smiling non-threateningly, hoping vainly to diffuse the tension whether he treated all his customers like that. Of course, I was just about to give the predictable answer myself when he replied, "when they are A**HOLES." I was so gratified to read on this site that other customers have had problems with this arrogant, angry man... With so many wonderful Thai restaurants in this city, please never waste your time or money at The Elephant.

• Cons: Ambience, food, management

12/29/07

Funky Fresh

by yagmuri779

SO I went here on a whim and was really surprised to see the blue dream atmosphere but stayed to try it and to my happiness found that the food was delicious. The typical spice noodle was superb, light, yet spicy, which is great. And the eggplant dish was unlike usual eggplants that are slippery and tasteless. Contrary to other reviews however, the beverages were overly salty, but there were a lot of attractive people around. All in all a great find.