Welcome to King & I

My husband and I have been to the King & I several times now and we have enjoyed our experience each time. We have chosen different dishes from the menu and so far have found it all to be delicious. One of our favourites however, has been the rack of lamb with dipping sauce. The lamb has always been melt-in-your-mouth and the light, savoury sauce compliments it beautifully. Also, as others have commented, there is always ample amounts of steamed rice, which arrives at the table just when needed.

The service has always been exemplary and the wait staff polite and friendly. They are prompt and attentive but not intrusive. There is always chilled water on the table when you arrive and the staff is always aware when the jug needs refilling. The service cannot be faulted.

The ambience is wonderful, the table linen crisp and clean and the chairs comfortable. The table china is unusual in design and adds to the dining experience. I love the mural reliefs covered in small tiles of glass. They appear very authentic Thai.

The King & I is BYO which I like. It allows me to have my favourite tipple at bottle-shop prices. My husband and I both enjoy going to the King & I very much and we have introduced it to a few of our friends. They too have been pleased. We will be back there again in the next fortnight.

My Husband and I had a reservation at the King & I Thai restaurant on Oct 6th. We recently returned from a visit to thailand and we miss the place, people and food terribly.

My first impression upon walking into the place was, wow! they've done wonders to it since the last mob had it as a cafe.

The walls have Thai art and the table cloths have these cute little elephant motifs on them. The chairs were really comfortable, unlike a lot of other restaurants we've been to where your bum starts to ache for having sat too long.

We started with Spring Rolls and Golden bags with dipping sauce. Both were very nice and very cheap.

We ordered two mains to share with steamed rice. I ordered Spicey Prawn Stir fry with chili and my Husband ordered a beef stir fry dish. I'm not too keen on beef so I only had the Prawns stir fry with steamed rice. It was sensational. Reminded me of being in Thailand.

I must commend the wait staff on their friendliness and their speed to top up empty glasses or to ask if we wanted more steamed rice when we had almost finished our rice.

The wait staff were Thai and we found it refreshing to be able to share a few lines of their language with one of the waitresses. They are such lovely people.

We ordered one desert to share between the two of us which was a Blueberry cheesecake. Absolutely beautiful cheesecake. We had a flat white each and the coffee was beautiful.

I am normally very hard to please but I was unable to fault the place.

Just before the restaurant there is a driveway that leads to the parking at the back.

All up we paid $85 for the two of us for a three course meal. Don't forget it is BYO.

Read the 2007 Gold Plate Finalist and came upon “King & I Restaurant” (Category 15 Unlicensed Asian) in Guildford. After checking the good reviews on eatingwa my lady friend and I checked it out on Sat 6/10/07.

Please note that there is parking at the rear of the restaurant. We were shown to our reserved table by the front window, an ideal table by us. The table was already set with a bottle of cold water and 2 glasses of cold water with a slice of lemon. Later I noted that the staff brought out the water and poured into glasses just prior to the reservation time. This is the first restaurant (maybe because I have been to only a few Thai restaurants) that offers this service. Is this a Thai service?

We had 3 mains with steam rice 1) Prawns Sleep in Claypot (a Chef’s special) which was not spicy but had an above average flavour 2) Tiger Beef (another Chef’s special; BBQ marinated beef) which was above average albeit on the dry side and 3) Penang Curry which was EXQUISITE and I can strongly recommend.

I noted that the kitchen staff spoke Thai and so I assume that the food is authentic (I can’t remember real Thai food).

The ambience and richness of this restaurant is very obvious when you enter the King and I in Guildford. The service by the traditionally dressed wait staff could not be faulted. All is overseen by the owner or manager of the restaurant. He keeps a very watchful eye out on all the tables and the waitstaff. We have been here a few times now. The first time we went as a group booking of 12 of us and I was a little disappointed by the lack of food in the banquet and the dollop of rice that landed on each of our plates however after now returning as just a couple and also as a group of 4 my opinion has changed somewhat. Our last visit 2 weeks ago saw us have mixed entree of golden bags, fish cakes and spring rolls. All very tasty and as I have just returned from Thailand the flavours were just as I had experienced in their native country. We followed with our main meals of a very unusual tofu dish. Now I'm not normally "into" the tofu texture but I must say these large cheese wedge slices of tofu were quite delicious. They came in a peanut sauce and I found myself going back and trying yet another one! This together with a green chicken curry made for a delightful evening. Will return again and recommend you try it out.

Went to the King and I on Thursday with wife and son. Parking was a bit difficult due to their car park being full and road side parking being a bit scarce. Had to contend with parking in a dark side road.

Restaurant ambience was absolutely regal looking with proper Thai style decor. Chandeliers in a restaurant is not something that you see very often especially with those funky bulbs. Tables were covered with your normal white lenin and then a purplish hue cloth with elephants motif. Again, smacks of royalty.

Table was ready for us upon presenting ourselves and a baby chair was made available also. Commendation here with the baby chair. It's very sturdy with a good base of support and working harness. Most of the other restaurants I have been to have either the flimsy Ikea baby chair or chairs that the harness don't clip properly or have been substituted with knots. Another thing that must be pointed out is that their chairs are absolutely divine to sit on. Plush and comfortable!! Makes a whole lot of difference when eating.

Service was prompt and courteous. Water was served without requesting. They also added a nice touch by putting a slice of lemon into your glass. During the course of your meal, the waitress need no prompting when we were running out of rice. None of that fanatic waving of arms like in some restaurants. The waitress noted when our plates were about 3/4 empty and asked if we wanted more rice.

Now, onto the menu. The prices can be pricey but you are paying for good quality thai food though. We had the King Cobra ($24) which is a dish served hot and spicy with your choice of beef, chicken or pork. Exceptional dish but beware, it burns. The Kad Pow ($22) was nice - again a choice of chicken or beef stir fried with long beans and kaffir lime leaves. Very fragnant and savoury. Finally the last dish was Prawns sleep in claypot ($24) which was prawns served in vermicelli with celery. It was a bit dry for my taste buds but the wife absolutely loved it.

All up the meal was fantastic, especially for someone who sorely misses Thai food, service totally unfaultable with very attentive waitresses and an ambience that makes you feel very at ease.

Took a friend here and was nicely surprised at how good it was. Only problem was we didn't know it was BYO but it was easy enough to duck to the nearby Guildford Hotel and grab a bottle. The service was a lot better than other places I have been to in the Swan Valley/Guildford area and the food was great and there was plenty of it. I was also surprised at how busy the place was on a Tuesday night - I was glad I rang ahead and booked. Obviously it is a popular place and I am not really surprised. Can't wait to take my partner there soon!