A few months ago I asked about Thai food in Lakeland. Well perhaps my call has been answered. Lemon Grass Thai Kitchen recently opened in Lakeland at 743 E Memorial Blvd (near Steak & Shake and the rest of the restaurants on that row). I tried the restaurant out last Thursday for lunch.

Quick review: Good Thai, very slooooow service.

When you walk into a restaurant and 'Help Wanted' signs are all over the place you know you're in for a wait. It was somewhat busy as I arrived shortly after noon for a leisurely lunch. A man came from out of the kitchen and said I could have a seat, but didn't give me a menu. As I sat and waited a large group next to me discussed the service issue. They had a limited amount of time for lunch and were wondering if they would make it. From the looks of it, Thai Kitchen only had two people working the front of the house.

I eventually got up to get my own menu, which turned out to be a dinner/older menu (I'll get to this in a bit). After about 10 minutes somebody finally approached me to get my order, but they didn't have an abundance of vegetarian items on the menu, which is strange for a Thai restaurant. The gentleman then brought me a new/lunch menu which had a number of veggie items available. I can only assume that since I got my own menu I grabbed the wrong one.

I opted for the lunch portion of Yellow Curry with Tofu. Shortly afterward a salad appeared on my table. I wasn't sure if it was included in my meal, but oh well, it looked good and was good.

From the time I ordered, albeit late, I felt my food arrived in a decent amount of time. However a few other folks in the restaurant had longer waits. One group of nurses had to leave before they could eat, they said they had been their an hour and not received their food yet. The manager quickly apologized and wrapped up their food to go. I had a book to read and my iPod so I wasn't so rushed. I imagine that if I had been pressed for time I would have been stressing a bit over the delays.

The food was worth the wait though. The Yellow Curry had just enough spice to it for taste, but didn't overpower me. As is traditional with Thai food, the main dish was served on one side with a portion of rice on the other side. Patrons then mix the two as they see fit. The lunch portion had a generous amount of tofu, perhaps too much, but I ate all of it.

Lunch, including tip was a little under $10. Was it the best Thai I've ever had? No, but with limited Thai options in Polk County it's a welcome addition. Hopefully they'll get over the initial service issues and stick around for a while. Luckily for me, between Lemon Grass and Cafe Roti my favorite cuisine needs are met within a few miles of each other in Lakeland.

If you like Thai, give Lemon Grass a try, but be prepared to wait....but it's worth it.