I wanted to like Sakhuu. I really did. I love Thai food from Tea to Tom Kha by way of Panang, but what I found at the new, very pretty Sakhuu on Bryan was disappointment at every turn. Aside from super friendly staff, a great space and decent ambiance, Everything I put in my mouth at Sakhuu was just unfortunate. And the folks who own it are surely gambling with the location, its spot across the street and down the street from other Thai and Vietnamese restaurants, and in honestly a pretty shitty neighborhood.

I’ll start with Jasmine tea.

This was insanely floral. Like drinking pulverized lilies laced with soap. Too strong? I don’t know. But it was the opposite of appetizing.

This was lettuce, carrots, noodles and tofu in a wrapper. Flavorless. I’d honestly rather have eaten the sweet sauce that accompanied it with some fried wonton strips like they do at Chinese restaurants. Ahem, #disapointingsalad.

I ordered my tom kha at spice level two because while I can take heat, I prefer to be able to feel my face after eating. The two was more like a twelve. You can even see the heat from the redness pictured above. I tried to eat as much as I could, even adding rice hoping for it to soak up the spice. It didn’t. I must also take issue with the rawness of the mushrooms. And the final nail in this soup’s coffin? IT DIDN’T TASTE GOOD. Like, beneath the burning heat there wasn’t anything delicious about it. It was just fire, with none of that delicious tang of lime and coconut milky goodness that even a mediocre tom kha soup can muster. Even though they brought me another bowl toned down to a level one on their bat shit crazy spiciness scale, I didn’t really want to have another go with this bowl.

Overall, I know Sakhuu has gotten some critical praise for their stuffed chicken wings, but I’m not a wing person, and I like to eat a bit healthier than chicken-stuffed-with-more-chicken-and-fried when I go out for Thai. I judged this place by what I would order at any Thai restaurant, and I think they need to give more attention to these classics rather than menu gimmicks.

I will say that while I plan to give Sakhuu another chance, I won’t order any of these three items again.

Sakhuu  |  4801 Bryan Street  |  sakhuu.com