I arrived shortly before 12 and was advised that they could seat me but the chef was not there until noon when they open at noon....Their sign says 11am.
There were at least 5 tables already seated. I checked out the drink menu and ordered a split which I was advised is NOT champagne.. Hmmmm. I ordered a wine and a hot tea instead. My friend ordered a water with a straw and she did get the straw after asking about 3 more times. Of course the bus boy not only did not speak English he did not bother alerting the guy that did if you tried to communicate with him. The tea came in the cutest blue and white tea pots that leaked all over the place when you poured it.
Actually all their tableware was a custom blue and white pattern that was really nice. If it had fit in my purse it would have been sooo gone! :-) J/k ....sort of.
I digress. I had a Soup, I think it was Tom Kha vegetarian. I asked for the spiciest they have. It was really good except for one root type thing that was un-chewable like a branch. My friend said her soup was great too.
At this point I was already super full but then the vegetarian curry came. It looked great but it was so hot that it was pretty much inedible. When I took the rest home I looked at it and it looked like he had just dumped a jar of chile peppers in there....
It did taste good though...
So, I guess the moral of the story is do not be cocky with your rating of spice although in my defense I always order it the hottest level at Lotus and it is always hot enough to make me sweat not cry. This was "mouth on fire then sneezing fits after" hot.
I reallize this review is not glowing but the funny thing is I really enjoyed it and can't wait to go back. The waiter did a GREEAT job handling a Sunday crowd solo. I will probably opt for a medium spicy, arrive after 12 and pour my tea with caution!