surin west

great food and sushi. i have been to surin west many times, and it doesn't disappoint. the food is great and the sushi is excellent. the bettertimeto go is lunch because you get more bang for your buck.

love the sushi!. everytimei go here i not only look forward to the sushi, but to the coconut soup that is served before the meal. it is always consistently delicious. moreover, the sushi is some of the best around.

worst service i've had in a long time. the wait was incredibly painful. our soup did not come up until 1 minute before our entrees, so we had to down the soup in order to start on our entrees. mine and my friend's sushi did not come up for 1 hour, then i had to cancel mine and he had to take his home. my other friend's second beer never came up.

i overheard the same sort of frustrations at tables around us. 

i recommend you don't go here unless you've got nothing buttimeon your hands.  the current lunch  model doesn't work for people with 1 hour lunches.  you need at least 1.5 to eat here.

food is good, however.

don't go here. super slow service.overpriced.. i used to visit this place over the years and the service has just deteriorated beyond anything. the wait times are so excessive even when there is hardly anyone dining at the time. you could drive over to the surin mountainbrook and still receive your food faster than dining here. you may think that i am joking when i said that last statement but i have done that before.
the food is over priced and the quantities are scarce. this is the firsttimei have visited surin west in a couple of months and now i remember why i quit coming here in the first place. be ready to pay high prices and sit there waiting for a longtimebefore your food finally arrives.

used to be good. this place was one of my favorites a couples of years ago...this pasttimewe went, the sushi tasted like it came from a chain supermarket and the thai noodles were more like overcooked linguine than the normal rice noodles. i was so grossed out that i'm not willing to give it another chance.

it could only happen to me - i hope!. i don't know how many times over the years i've been to surin west, but it had been a couple of years since i was last there. my husband and i recently met there for lunch during a weekday. the food came relatively quickly, however, while eating mine i was suddenly aware of some foreign substance in my mouth - a curly metal shaving! we showed the shaving to the waiter, and we could tell by his immediate reaction it was not the firsttimehe had seen this... which we thought was odd. the manager came a little later and offered me something else, and in chatting with her, she said she thought the shaving was from a scrubbing pad. a scrubbing pad??? that did not make me feel any better about the situation. i didn't eat the free meal they sent home with me, and i don't think i'll go there again.

delicious. food - everything was really good. my friends ordered these little mini tortilla thingies that had some type of chicken, i think rice, a few bits of corn, and a little green leaf on top with some kind of extravagant sauce. it was an appetizer, but i have no idea what it was called. for my entree, i had the thai barbecue chicken. it was so good. the shrimp fried rice that comes with it is also very delish. the chicken is really big, but very worth it. i ate all of my rice first before eating the chicken, so i only tasted a good part of it. and boy was it good. it fell right off the bone, it wasn't try, and it was steaming hot.
service - i think my server's name was emily, something like that. she didn't even take muchtimeto introduce herself, as my friend's and i saw that she had about four other tables to tend to. she was an alright server, not really a joy to have around. she sorta fake smiled a lot, but that's okay too. we're here just for the food, right? also, the seating it way too close together. it got hot so quickly, geez.

hot and fresh. we had thai bbq chicken with fried rice for lunch around 2:00 p.m. restaurant had very few patrons and those it did have looked a bit off-putting. the restaurant is in an old building and the interior doesn't look inviting. however, it seemed clean enough. parking on the street at thattimewas easy.
our waiter was certainly not friendly, but he wasn't rude, either. the chicken was tender, although it is not bbq in the sense that we are used to. accompanying dipping sauce and fried rice were good. there were no off odors or tastes, although i could not pick out any discernible flavors, either. it was good and freshly cooked.
the fare is mediocre; not exciting, but not bad. i will admit that i need to get something that would give me a better taste of thai cuisine the nexttimei go.

yes yes yes. go at lunchtimeand get to try different menu items that would normally be a little expensive at dinner. average cost is $8. try the bbq chicken with the shrimp fried rice or my favorite - the spicy beef salad (to die for). do not leave birmingham without trying this place! you will be sure to make it a must do in your travels throughout the magic city.

worst service!. went here last weekend, food was ok but not worth the bad service. i left knowing my totaling and knowing how much i tipped..... somehow and extra 5 dollars was add. i noticed this i week later. for surin to be so expensive they seriously need to take thetimeout to find better waitress. so be careful if your using your debit card here!!

foods ok...take out service blows!!!. everytimewe call for take out from this place, they put us on hold, toss the phone around, drop it a few times, tell a couple of jokes then reluctantly take our order. once or twice, maybe but every time...foods not that good. i just called at 5:20pm, same thing happened, got put on hold...just for them to tell me that they don't open until 5:30 and i need to call back in ten minutes...seriously?!?! they have too much business, chuck's fish sushi beats them hands down!!!

spicy with good service.. beef salad is the best on the menu, suggest you have them cool it down on the spices or you will leave with hot lips for sure. the sushi is fresh; i have been visiting this restaurants for 5 years. my first experience was in 2007 when on a business trip to birmingham. now, i live in this city and with a city with very limited thai food / asian food this restaurants serves some of the best. service levels are good and food comes out fast with a very limited waittimefor a table. its a good place for a date as well.


-----16 oct, 2010-----

best place thai food. hands down best place in birmingham for thai food !

worst service i have ever experienced anywhere. was treated so rudely upon arrival that we left shortly after without even ordering. it was my firsttimeat the restaurant and my last.

sushi!. i always get the sushi combo #1. it's wonderful!

sometimes the service is slow, but most of thetimeit is fine.

worst service in town. i have been a regular customer of all surin locations for years. i have taken many clients and friends to eat at surin. the food had always been good, not great, but has mass appeal and so typically everyone can be happy in the group.
after a few recent experiences, surin has lost a customer of over 10 years.
word to the surin folks:
-host/hostesses should say hello to your guest...not just stare at them when they walk in the door.
-servers should say hello, how are you, something when they greet the table. dropping a couple of glasses of water and walking away is not a way to greet someone who is about to spend money on food and pay your tip! you might actually sell more if you offer to bring something other than the water. on my last trip, a celebratory lunch, i was going to order something from the bar but the server never bothered to ask me if i wanted anything other than the water he slopped down. (hint: if you sell more the total of the check goes up and thus your tip)
when someone orders sushi and a meal...it is an appetizer. get it there before the food! if you think they are in a hurry, ask! the will tell you if they need it all at once. i actually stopped ordering sushi and starters here because it was always brought with my meal and a waste of money. (get that i spent less because of poor service!)

this is a tough one i know, but when the food is delivered actually go ask the table if they need anything or if the food taste ok. this would be thetimewhen you notice that the food is wrong, or if they need something like silverware or something really crazy like a drink refill.

-before you drop the check say can i get you anything else and say thank you when you do. once again they might buy dessert or another round of drinks. you gusy do get that poeple tip you based upon check totals and quality of service..right!? say thank you, it has lasting effects when the money gets pulled out.

surin fix your customer service issues!! yes, you seem to have a captured audience but it will not be for long. you just lost one of your longtime very loyal customers.