The lighting, seating arrangements and modern look are all there. The only thing missing is the taste.
Malee's Thai Bistro, located on Main Street in Old Town Scottsdale and at a second location at Desert Ridge Marketplace on Tatum Boulevard and Loop 101, is as stylish as can be.
The restaurant is split into two themed dining rooms called the Wasabi Room and the Thai Room. The Wasabi Room is nicely lit with octopi lights and dim blue jellyfish dangling from the ceiling. Wicker chairs are placed at tables with four or more and the window to watch all the Asian wonders and cooking techniques lines the entire back of the room.
The sushi list is mostly standard with Philadelphia rolls, California rolls, and salmon sushi. It continues on with Yellow Tail to Snapper and a legend offering vegetarian, raw or fully cooked options to guide you each step of the way.
Despite the rather ordinary listings, they do have a house-specialty menu item called Wahoo. It consists of avocados, cucumbers and tuna, topped with strawberries. This food sounds a little different. Just wait until you taste it.
Before you leave, make sure to take a trip to the restrooms. You'll be greeted with fresh mouthwash to clean your palate.
The Thai Room is a typical Asian setting with paper lamps and yellow lighting. Each table is fully equipped with your choice of soy sauces. There is also an option for outside seating, giving smokers a place to sit.
Malee's offers both a lunch and dinner menu. The lunch ranges from salads to your choice of BBQ Pork or Duck soup and moving on to dishes such as Chicken Panang and Thai Basil Pasta. The dinner menu has a good variety of choices. It can be a little overwhelming and hard to choose, but I'm not sure that's something to complain about. It consists of a handful of decisions for appetizers, soups and salads.
Main dishes include items such as Garlic Beef with noodles and Crispy Basil Chicken. The dishes will satisfy neither your budget nor your taste buds. The sushi is extremely mediocre and borders on weak. The main dishes lack spice and originality. For the price, I would stick with a place around the corner you know is going to deliver what they promise.
IF YOU GO:
Malee's (Desert Ridge Marketplace)
21001 North Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix
480-342-9220
Malee's (Old Town)
7131 East Main St.
Scottsdale
480-947-6402
