I remember visiting Lotus of Siam in my pre-Yelp days. I read all the (Zagat) hype, heard all the praise, and, on more than one occasion, mentioned the reviews of it being the "Best Thai in North America."
All in all, it ended up being a huge letdown and I was embarrassed at bringing a large party of 8 to this restaurant and making reservations one month in advance.
1) Location - Lotus of Siam is located in the middle of a strip mall and it isn't an easy location for most cabs to find. The neighborhood is questionable and in the evenings is probably not the safest locale.
2) Decor - reflective of its strip mall location, the interior is nothing special. There are, however, typical Thai touches (flowers and statues) and plenty of newspaper articles touting it's reputation as a great Thai restaurant.
3) Food - While many reviews talk about the amazing flavors and the incredible tastes, I found everything to be absolutely average. Given the high expectations, I was obviously disappointed, but even without those expectations, I'd be hard pressed to even call the food good. All the dishes chosen were "signature" dishes recommended by our waiter and each failed to impress.
With every bite I took, I just wondered how the heck the Gourmet magazine food review could be so off and what kool-aid all the reviewers were drinking. Even now, I can think of a dozen Thai restaurants better than Lotus of Siam and probably only one or two that I've considered worse.
In the end, as I waited 45 minutes for a cab to pick up our group from the seedy strip mall location, I figured it all must be a tourist trap. One stellar review must have spawned the rest or maybe, none of the people who were gushing over Lotus had ever been to a Thai restaurant.
For the Las Vegas that is home to the $4.99 Steak and Egg breakfast and the 24 hour buffet, Lotus of Siam may be a revolutionary restaurant. But for North America?? Lotus of Siam falls amazingly flat.