Review Thai Manao - Fredericton

I came here for the first time a few days ago and LOVED the food and service. Today was a far cry from that. The young server took a long time to take our order and when we ordered it arrived at an adequate time and it looked very good! However what he overlooked was checking in on his customers to ask how the food tasted after a few moments of receiving it. Had he come by to ask, I would have told him that I couldn’t bare the smell of the dish I ordered. I had taken 3 small bites from it thinking it was just me or it was just the sauce that was used but I’ve tasted that dish before and it was not the same. Even when I pushed it away to the edge of the table it wasn’t far enough - the smell was unpleasant (similar to the foul odour you get if the dishwasher doesn’t clean the dishes well) I ended up having to push it further away to the other side of the table. My husband and I just sat there for minutes and finally we flagged him down to ask for our bill. When he came over he still didn’t enquire as to why the full dish was at the edge of the table but my husband asked for a container to take his dish home. We also asked for our bill, paid for our food. I left my dish there and I went elsewhere for my dinner.

The staff and food were excellent. Great portion sizes for the price, clean and a great atmosphere. We enjoyed our evening

It's been a few months, since before covid, that I've been able to visit Thai Manao. It's always awesome, but it was the first time in over a year that I tried the curry, and this Pinang curry was a surprise. When I got it, it looked incredible, chili oil mingling with but not disappearing into the sauce, and when I took a bite, what a heavenly, beautiful flavour. I would say this is the best-tasting Asian dish I've had in Fredericton. Also, though the server was extremely busy with skipthedishes orders, she still managed to check in on us when needed. And then the bill was only around $30 for two beautiful entrees and a small appetizer. Completely satisified

Very pleased with the "Very Chinese Menu" offerings, the spice level for my dish was excellent! Great service too, when I went for lunch.

order a few times from them through skipthedishes, the lunch is okay, but when I order the very chinese dishes, those are rip off, so small, not even enough to feed a kid. I open a can of stew, the can has more food? and for $20 dishes? come on. get yourself a bbq chicken or something.

Don’t be fooled by the name, there is nothing Thai about this place. I ordered the green curry at first and it looked like mashed potatoes sitting on a bed of rice. It tastes like mashed potatoes thickened with corn starch. I had to send it back and ordered a simple stir fry instead. It was absolutely tasteless, the vegetables were boiled and even the chicken strips tasted boiled. I could barely touch my plate and the server was very apologetic and gave me 50% off. They really need to work on their recipes and learn to cook food without boiling it. Sad excuse for a restaurant.

Its a small cozy place with incredible authentic food. I suggest stoping by. I will definitely again. My wife and brother in law also loved it.

Update May 2022: Visited again and menu have changed, with some items eliminated. Overall quality is good and service is agreeable, much better compared to original visit. A reminder that the restaurant does not have many seats and if you wish to dine in, you should reserve in advance. Update Jan 2022: Visited again and have noticed improvements: Potato and beef was done just right, with beef being very tender with good flavor. Green beans with garlic had good flavor. Scallion pancake was somewhat inconsistent. One serving was done well, very soft and aromatic. The other serving was charred on one side, with a burnt taste, obviously over-cooked. Again, the flat rice noodle wasn't done well, with a sweet and sour taste, which is rather unusual for this style of cooking. Overall, reasonable price and some good dishes, but still have room for improvement. Pleasant, modern décor; good service. Unfortunately it seems the chef does not have a handle on Chinese cuisine. The chef uses excess grease and does not provide the balance of flavors expected. - green onion crepe: slightly burnt, too oily. Lacks the crisp texture and did not bring out the aromatics of the scallions. - char kway tiao rice noodle: supposed to be "dry" stirfry, but was too wet instead. Lacked bean sprout. Used a sweet sauce instead of the traditional soy+dark soy combo. - black pepper beef: overwhelming pepper flavor that buried the savories of the beef. Excess grease. - ma po tofu: satisfactory with the appropriate texture. - delicious eggplant: excess grease, again masking the aroma that should've been brought out from the sauce. I believe oyster sauce was used, which would've been an unusual choice.

We went there for the first time today and their food is delicious. Ordered different diches and every single one was great..funny thing was the cook used a different sauce on a order and I liked it..he even apologized and made a new plate... I do recommend this Thai place to anyone..worth your money.. Great nice place with even better food!!

I never give poor reviews but I wanted to share this. My daughters and I were here the other day and each ordered a Pad Thai. They were each a little different. When the plates arrived not one was done correctly - ok, no problem, I kept mine and ate it as it was, the other two sent theirs back. One came back quite quickly but it was cold....so it was sent back a second time. By the time it was returned I was half way done my meal and my other daughter didn't still didn't have her plate yet. Two of us ate our meals, I asked after the third plate a couple of times to hear that yes, yes it's coming right up. By the time it arrived I and my other daughter had finished eating...the third plate was almost an hour before it arrived. There was an apology and an explanation given of how the meals had been put in wrong, sorry about that. I would have expected after so many mistakes at least one meal would be comp-ed or a small discount given but no, nothing. I have never, ever not left a tip - this meal was the first. Having worked in the customer service industry many, many years I understand the importance of making customers feel valued and happy. Sorry, not impressed.

This is an amazing restaurant to go to. If you're looking for a completely new atmosphere to dine or just have a delicious appetizer, this is the place! My partner and I have been brought closer together in our love for this place. We both love going for the taste and change in culture. Food is wonderful and so are the staff. They also have a great tea selection. It's definitely a place to get away, while being close to home.

My first experience at Thai Manao yesterday and it was absolutly delightful! The decor is very pretty, fancy and clean. I brought 2 friends and all of our meals were impeccable. Fresh and delicious! The owner and servers are sweet and personable. If you love Thai food, you have to try this place! In fact we loved it so much - we went back tonight! Haha � (this has never happened in my life!). I also had bubble tea for the first time ever and that is also amazing ��The prices and unbeatable! Highly recommended - I will be going back asap!

First time having hot pot! Loved the experience and loved the food! The servers were amazing and so helpful and friendly! Great experience!

Great! We had the hot pot and it was so good! Glad to have hot pot in Freddy! Great Job! We will be back!

My friend and I tried Thai Manao for their all you can eat sushi night and it was fantastic! A good selection and attentive service. Thank you, Thai Manao for making our dinner experience spectacular.

Love the sushi nights! There’s always so much variety, very well made considering the volume and they always accommodate dietary restrictions! Always a great time when we come to Thai manao.

My favorite restaurant, food is SO tasty, service is great, it is very affordable, it's my first choice for a good dose of delicious spicy flavours. I highly recommend it!

Loved hot pot!!! Thanks so much it was such a great experience.

The pad Thai I had here was probably the worst I've ever had, the noodles were swimming in sauce it was a wet sopping over sweet mess. (I think it would have been ok with 1/2 the sauce). I think they try to do too many different styles of Asian cooking to be strong in all of them. My wife enjoyed her ramen so it may not be all bad.

The food is amazing & the manager was so nice & Informative ....definitely counting down the days till I eat here again!!

Must say that, on the one day when I ate there, we had a good meal w/ great service + a nice atmosphere (& not 1 of us got sick). Therefore, will likely return (once things have been rectified), simply because, where else can one sit down (& be served) a good healthy source of gluten-free/ vegetarian/ vegan food (w/ a nice presentation + decent prices) in this city???

I just ate here and the Tom Yum broth was delicious! The Singapore Noodles were also excellent! But most of all, the server was very courteous and pleasant, which goes a long way toward an enjoyable meal... I'll be back :)

A group of us ordered to our office in Knowledge Park. $1 delivery and all of our food was amazing! Thanks so much Thai Manao! :)

I’m not generally a restaurant snob, nor an expert on Thai/Korean food - but this tasted like something that came out of a 99 cent microwave dinner. I had the Bi Bim Bap - the beef was not edible, the cast iron bowl was not remotely warm, watery and tasteless. My partners meal was replaced with the green curry which wasn’t much better than his first dish kung po. HOWEVER I will say the server was delightful - she immediately offered to change our dishes (which was really no help) and kept coming back to apologize, giving us a gift card for our next visit. Too bad we’re from out of town and even if we did live here we wouldn’t go back lol.

It's my favourite welcoming and yummy spot to eat in Fredericton