Indochine Restaurant

Reviews 4

SE

Seaira Kovach

My boyfriend is Thai and we both make and eat a lot of Thai food, so when I saw Indochine online I was intrigued because of the reviews and the decor of the restaurant; it seemed like eating there would be an experience, especially if you were able to be seated outside in their back garden area. Sadly that area was closed for my visit, and the food wasnt good enough to justify returning to try and experience the outdoor area. While I appreciate the effort that went into decorating this restaurant, I feel like it was all over the place; Indochine claims to be a Thai and Vietnamese joint, but there were Chinese lanterns outside, and many servers were wearing Japanese garbs. They also give you Americanized Chinese food takeout containers for your leftovers. And while I understand that Wilmington has a college and that local businesses will cater to younger crowds, it felt out of place to be immersed in Indochines Asian decor and to have indie and electronic music playing over the loudspeakers, which I was unfortunately seated right beneath, so I couldnt hear my party well when trying to have a conversation. Overall the food was pretty disappointing; because of my Thai boyfriend and his extended family, I am a bit spoiled when it comes to Thai food, and the dishes at Indochine felt far from authentic. We ordered the beef won tons appetizer which, while the filling was bold and tasty, were either not cooked long enough or not patted down after they were cooked, so they were oily and greasy. The sauce that came with them was overly salty. I ordered the yellow curry mild with duck, and the first thing that disappointed me was the overly watery rice that came with it, which definitely was not jasmine rice as youd expect to be served with Thai food. The curry itself was overtly sweet, a sad standard in most Americanized Thai restaurants, with no subtle hints of saltiness or heat. I did enjoy the avocado on top, something Ive never seen before, and the portion sizes were huge, but I dont count that as a positive if the food isnt worth eating. The service was good; it didnt take very long to be seated, and our server was attentive and helpful. When we left at the end of the meal it was close to closing time, so the female staff was gathered by the hostess station chatting and no one said thank you or goodnight as we left, which I found odd. I had high expectations for Indochine but felt disappointed in the end, and I dont see myself returning for another go anytime soon.

MI

Michael Easter

My girlfriend and I went there last night as it is usually our date night location after we both get off of work on Saturday nights. After a hard week of work the last thing I want to do is go to a restaurant that I am not sure if I am going to enjoy or not. This is why we choose Indochine among other reasons. It is the only restaurant where I am GUARANTEED to have an A+ 100% experience every single time we go no matter the day of the week nor the time of day. Last night there was about an hour and a half wait time as we were expecting, lets be real....if you want the absolute best Wilmington has to offer on a Saturday night with UNCW graduation and Wells Fargo Golf tourney in town you are going to have to wait for it. I sat patiently in the bar area sipping on a couple cocktails and waiting my turn and what I saw was typical of Wilmington. I watched as "Self Entitled Trophy Wives" barked at the host staff about their wait times because people were choosing to sit a little longer with their families this weekend due to graduation events and parties....these poor entitled wives just couldnt understand why they werent being sat promptly. I watched as they also argued with the Manager on Duty Scott. Scott handled it with extreme grace which I would not have been able to do. It impressed me so much that I waited for her to finish handling her guests who were being absolutely ridiculous, and told her she was doing an amazing job and dont let the "So Called Elitists" ruin your night. The host staff was very patient and when I was sat, they sat me with the best server we couldve asked for in Brooke. She was hilarious, had tons of personality and made us laugh through our entire dinner. As usual it was another A+ experience and is just another example as to why this is the absolute best restaurant in town and that is saying a lot for a town saturated with restaurants. Environment, Theme, Consistency, Speed, Food Quality, Price vs. Experience, Professionalism, Staff knowledge, and Menu are all HOME RUNS with this establishment! It has been my favorite for years and will continue to be. I dont care if the wait is 2 hrs +.....if we want Indochine we will gladly wait. This review is being written by a 15+ yr restaurant veteran with over 11 yrs mgmt experience...the staff and leadership of this restaurant can walk with their heads high every day because you can tell they give 110%!

A

A Private User

Reading all the rave reviews on Google about this restaurant made me give it a try to see if it is as good as everyone says. First, it is very nicely decorated, including interesting items on shelves, paintings, and hand painted flowers on table tops and booths. The outside dining area is even more impressive. It is like a small enclosed little city, with booths sectioned off for a little privacy. Lots of woodwork out there. The entire waitstaff was friendly, talkative and helpful. It is so refreshing to see people who seem to actually enjoy their job. Let’s talk food. Being vegan, I ordered from the vegetarian section of the menu. The Tofu Stuffed with Vegetable Filling sounded the most interesting. They started me out with a cabbage salad. It was light and flavorful. It was topped with crushed peanuts, scallions, and crispy fried onions. Then came the tofu dish. My first reaction was said out loud: “wow, that is a big portion”. The waitress said “yeah, our portions are out of control”. Indeed. Seriously, two people could easily split this dish, especially if you add an appetizer or dessert. It was beautifully plated with four fairly large portions of tofu topped with eggplant/mushroom stuffing (probably more things in there, but I’m not sure) and on top of that was fresh chopped cilantro and scallions. Then there was this tomato based sauce that surrounded the four tofu stacks. The tofu was slightly fried, so it was a little crispy/chewy on the outside (just the way I like it). The taste was exquisite - so bold and fresh. I couldn’t believe how good it tasted. I have been trying to think of a vegetarian meal that tasted so good and impressed me so much before. I can’t think of a single one. I have only had this one dish, but if other dishes are anything like this one, you will love this restaurant.

ST

Stephen Chownwai

Decided to drive to Wilmington specifically to come here. It was really disappointing. They even closed the outside seating area which was a real bummer. The decor is a clash of just random Asian countries. Chinese, Japanese, Thai etc... It appears the "Thai - Vietnamese" theme falls under the "its Asian whatever" category. The music was so loud where we were sitting and was mostly dub step. But this is just negligible details, the food is also a problem. The beef Wonton appetizer had an oily taste to it when eaten by itself. The beef taste was pretty good however, but the sauce it came with was extremely salty. The pad kee mao was just okay. The noodle to vegetable ratio was very heavy on the vegetables. The green curry was way too sweet. It literally tasted of just sugar. The only sauces available on the table was regular soy sauce and hot peppers. No fish sauce or any other things you would find at most other Thai restaurants. This isnt really an authentic experience on the food of Thailand and Vietnam, please understand that when coming here. This is very Americanized. I understand it is in a college town, but my whole family is from Thailand. This isnt a good representation of the food and culture. The only positive I can give this place is the service was prompt, and the portion size was large.