Omnivore - Do you want that with shrimp?

The following email is from a visitor to our city:

Tonight my family of five dined at the chef’s table at Nan Thai Fine Dining.

The bill came to $739 and I wish we had ordered a pizza instead.

My sister has dined at Nan several times and had eaten at the chef’s table

a few months back. I am from Philadelphia and have eaten at Tamarind

previously. We were expecting a terrific meal and I had flown up from Philly

for the holiday and my parents had driven to Atlanta. My mother is a

vegetarian who eats seafood. My father eats chicken and seafood, and the

remaining three of us eat beef, shrimp and chicken, but not pork.

The first course was a crepe accompanied with a shumai stuffed with one

shrimp. It was ok. Course two: noodles with shrimp. Not bad. Course three:

short rib soup for the three of us and tofu soup for the two of them — it

was very good. Course four: Intermezzo: lychee sorbet served with dry ice --

very nice. Course five: sea bass for the three of us and it was good. My

parents were saddled with tofu mixed with shrimp and it was too salty.

They were given an alternative: two shrimps and an okra, which was a step up.

Course six: green curry with guess what ....two shrimps. Although it was

good, my dad, a physician — actually, three of us at the table were

physicians — joked that we all should have our cholesterol checked in the

morning. Course seven and the last course per our server: flan. Not good.

We asked about course eight as we were told there were eight courses. We

were given a Bailey’s equivalent with a scoop of ice cream.

At the end of the meal, we spoke to the manager about our disappointing

experience. Is chicken an endangered species in Atlanta? It was

nowhere to be seen on our menu. Almost every dish had shrimp. Where was

the lobster, lamb (my favorite), and where was the rice. We never got any

rice or vegetables! Where was the satay? This is a Thai place after

all. It was a total rip off. I am a foodie. I eat at all of the Philly

restaurants and in NYC and I think Nan is a waste of my time and my family’s

money. The manager did nothing to alleviate our pitiful experience.

And, finally, where was the chef? Not even a hello? Maybe the chef at Nan

was too busy to grace us with their presence. In the end, the meal was ok,

very overpriced, and terribly disappointing. I will never go back and I

recommend you don’t either.

A Google search reveals that the writer has sent the same comments to many review sites, like Urban

Spoon and Yelp.

I also find that Nan’s website says the cost of the chef’s table includes “beer, wine and champagne.” The writer doesn’t mention whether or how much her family drank. The website also says that the chef’s table requires a minimum of six people, so that may have affected the overall cost for the writer’s party of five. Finally, I note that the website says meals at the chef’s table include six to eight courses, not necessarily eight.