Lemongrass (Jacksonville, FL)

Restaurant Name: Lemongrass


City: Jacksonville, Florida
Visit Date: 06/05/12
Food Type: Thai
Meal: Lunch

Address: 9846 Old Baymeadows Rd, Jacksonville FL 32256 


Food Rating: 8/10
Environment Rating: 6/10
Price: 4/10
Service Rating: 1/10
Overall Rating: 19/40 (Would Not Recommend)


tl;dr: I'm tempted to try this place again at a later time for a meal other than lunch to see if I simply had a bad experience, but the service quality was so off putting that I never want to step foot into this restaurant again.


To open. June 5th, the visit date was my 23rd birthday. And while I had been hoping for a much more enjoyable experience, I was sadly mistaken in the fact and thusly was quite irked by the experience I had. Expectations were high and a meal with my family should have been a better affair. 


Lemongrass Thai is located on Southside in Jacksonville, Fl. It's not exactly a place that would pop out at you if you weren't specifically looking for it. Inside, the restaurant has a upper-class bar feel. Abstract art and contrasting colors line the walls and if it wasn't for the Buddha statue on the reception table and the wooden dragon designs near the kitchen area; I wouldn't have guessed this was and Asian joint in the slightest.  


At the time of my visit, I arrived during their lunch rush; Well not so much a rush I suppose since there were still several open tables present. The clientele of this restaurant appeared to be middle aged tech types. The location is in a part of town that caters to various business offices in say a 20 mile radius.  


The first thing that I noticed upon walking into the restaurant was the noise. Tables are crowded together quite tightly and as much as I didn't want to, I ended up hearing about the office drama of the table of techies behind me. 


Our server was a male gentleman, I'd reckon around mid to 30s. Tan complexion and and accent that made me believe he was from South-East Asia. 

Coconut Shrimp - So not worth $8

For an appetizer, my guest and I decided on sharing their Coconut Shrimp. Let me first say that it was foolish for either of us to have thought that a restaurant such as this would actually have reasonable serving sizes. 


And while I was expecting a normal sized eggroll or I suppose "shrimp roll" as this case would be; the picture on the right was what I got. Please note that when the menu uses the phrase "jumbo shrimp: At most 1/4 of the shrimp is inside of each roll. The coconut that the menu item refers to, is a generic shredded variant that the pounded shrimp meat is rolled in before before being wrapped in the rice paper wrapper and deep fried. The spicy ketchup-like sauce that accompanies it is far too strong to be of practical use with this dish as it covers and drowns out the flavor of the coconut. 


As for the shrimp itself, while properly seasoned so as to remain sweet, the deep-frying and presence of coconut makes the dish lose it's seafood appeal and in turn becomes simply another fried appetizer; nothing special. The garnish of carrot threads was excessive in my opinion and because of the similarities in color, added little to the overall appeal of the plate and could be considered more of a space filler than an actual reason to enjoy them.


At this point I should go into detail as to how the staff made my lunch experience horrible. The waiter present was not only MIA for a good 3/4 of our lunch, my previous dining experiences in various restaurants have obviously caused me to become too vulnerable to poor service. I seriously waited 30 minutes to get a refill of water. Now had this been the case with say wine or something of the like; I could suspect a reasonable issue with the server having to find us a suitable refill and or bottle. However as this was for a cup of water; you can guess why I was so irked. 


Not only that. After 45 minutes of waiting for our food; my guest finally was able to flag down our server and inquire as to where our food was. She being on her lunch break wasn't expecting the meal to take so long. I likewise had a similar expectation for the expedience of our food. Our server seriously had the nerve to tell us: "If you want your food to come out fast, you have to ask for it." Because I seriously enjoy waiting an hour for my food... (If you can't read the sarcasm in my writing, shame on you). I've never been in a restaurant where this was the policy but I suppose there's a first time for everything.

Panang Curry from Lemongrass

For this lunch affair, I ordered Panang Curry with Beef. Panang curry in most forms exists as a mix of various South-East Asian spices cooked with coconut milk and the addition of peanut sauces. The resulting sauce should have a creamy consistency with a light spice after-note. 


In this effect, Lemongrass succeeded in my expectations. the slices of beef were tender and had soaked up enough of the curry flavor to leave an enjoyable flavor. The vegetables present were crisp but fully cooked and were salt-balanced. Likewise the fragrant jasmine rice that paired with the dish was enjoyable.


The only thing that I had an issue with was portion. Because seriously a quarter of a bowl of rice isn't enough to adequately enjoy this (or any other) dish.


Not to mention the excessive garnishes this place uses. I'll be upfront and say that I don't enjoy carrots. They're orange and often cooked to a distasteful mush. As a garnish, they should add a nice pizzazz of color. On top of my rice; not so much. Instead I have what appears to be orange hair randomly strewn on top of an already small portion. The fact that the garnish isn't neat and orderly only makes the underlying rice appear all the smaller. 


I do apologize for ranting; how unprofessional of me. Nonetheless. Don't eat here. There are far better options if you simply have to have your curry fix. Not to mention your wallet will thank you. 

And as I said before; I probably will not come back here. I believe in second chances but my stomach believes in a decent meal with reasonable sized portions.