Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Tum Rup Thai

Visited on Friday, October 10 with Jake and Allison

Tum Rup Thai

Erin's Review
Wow, we should have polls more often! We added about 10 more Thai places to our list, so thanks to everyone for the great recommendations! Since the majority (12) voted for us to go to Tum Rup Thai, off we went. I really had no knowledge of what the place was like other than viewing their website, so I went in with an open mind. I believe this restaurant and the whole development in that area of uptown is pretty new, but I'm not certain of that. The restaurant seemed pretty new at least, and had a very good vibe. We didn't have a reservation, but didn't have to wait for a table at 7 on a Friday. I do think I saw a few people waiting, but never for too long. About 20 minutes into our time there, the lights changed to "mood lighting" by dimming significantly. Normally this would be fine, but now the first thought that enters my mind is the fact that it will be THAT much more difficult for me to take photos since I refuse to use my flash! You can still get the idea though, despite the darkness/slight blurriness.

Tum Rup Thai

Allison had already ordered the cream cheese puffs, which are a favorite of mine. These were pretty standard and definitely hit the spot because I was starving. It was pretty busy so it did take a little long to get our drink order in. I ended up ordering Goose Island's 312 in memory of our recent trip to Chicago (also with Jake and Allison).

Tum Rup Thai

Tum Rup Thai

Since I figured the portions would be huge, we decided to just split an appetizer and entree. I'm very glad we did that - an entree would have been WAY too much for just me at least. The fried spring rolls we got were great - they came out piping hot.

Tum Rup Thai

I'm glad that one of the comments on our poll suggested the green curry. If it wasn't for this, I probably would have just stuck with my normal order of pad thai but I'm glad I branched out! This curry was DELICIOUS. I loved the sauce and it had a great variety of vegetables. We got chicken but I think shrimp would have been better. We were just feeling a little cheap and didn't want to spring for the extra $3.

There were a number of other dishes that I would have loved to try here, but since we have added so many Thai places, I'm sure I'll get to try them at other places! I enjoyed Tum Rup Thai - the service was pretty good, the restaurant was very well decorated and had a good vibe, and the food was awesome.

Ben's Review
Jake and Allison called us up earlier last week to make plans, so we asked them to join us for Thai food on Friday. The results of our poll directed us to Tum Rup Thai on Lake St. in uptown.

I dropped Erin off at the door and drove around to find a parking spot, not always easy in uptown. I circled around the block and decided to suck it up and park in the lot behind the restaurant, which is a shocking $1.50 per half hour! Erin called while I was parking to say that Tum Rup Thai will validate parking, although we weren't sure of what the specific deal was. (free parking? discounted? we didn't know)

Tum Rup Thai

I walked in and Jake, Allison, and Erin were all enjoying an order of cream cheese puffs while Jake suspiciously eyed his Thai bloody mary (he wasn't sure what was in it). I quickly ordered a big bottle of Fat Tire while I scoped out the menu. The restaurant was at capacity - I didn't see an empty table anywhere, but I also didn't see anyone waiting for a spot. I like the interior, it was hip and trendy looking, exactly what I would expect from an uptown restaurant in a newer building.

Tum Rup Thai
(Allison approves!)

We ordered some fried spring rolls to share, which were fantastic, while we decided what to have for our entree. I convinced Erin to share a meal with me as we had heard that the portions were more than one person could handle. We took Jess's recommendation and got the green curry with chicken instead of shrimp. Jake and Allison also shared and they got some sort of pad thai with the "not quite melting your face off" heat, Erin and I stuck to whatever the "normal" heat is for our curry.

Our food came out in a reasonable time, with our curry with vegetables and chicken in a bowl, and a plate with white rice covered in a bowl. They also gave us another plate so we could split our food up. One thing that I didn't think of at the time, but there was no fee for splitting a meal like you see in a lot of places. This was really nice given the portions were enormous, if I had ordered the curry by myself I would've easily gotten two meals out of it.

Tum Rup Thai

Tum Rup Thai

Our curry was excellent, there was a good mixture of vegetables and chicken, and it was spicy enough to be tasty but not uncomfortable. Jake and Allison's pad thai was also enormous and it tasted great as well. Erin couldn't even finish her portion so I got to clean up her leftovers, so we all left full. I love being able to split a $11 item when we go out, it really makes it more affordable.

Tum Rup Thai

To follow up on the parking situation: we went to Stella's afterwards for a couple drinks (and randomly ran into Erin's sister). When we finally made it back to the car at midnight our bill to leave the parking lot - $13.50. Damn. Just one more reason that I go to uptown so infrequently.

The ratings for Tum Rup Thai:
  • Service: Our server was average. Our food came out promptly, but he wasn't engaging and he was definitely hovering when we were about to pay.
  • Food: Excellent curry and pad thai. I would go back but we now have a bunch of Thai places to go to :)
  • Drinks: Full bar, just an 'ok' beer selection, in my opinion.
  • Ambiance: There was a good crowd at Tum Rup Thai that night, it was easy to carry a conversation but it also felt busy.
  • Price: Our bill was $33 before tip, which I thought was great for a meal with drinks and appetizers.
  • Convenience: Parking is a pain in the ass, but that's a given in uptown. You could take the bus, but it's not convenient for us.
Deets
Tum Rup Thai
1221 West Lake St
Minneapolis

Highly recommended
for atmosphere and food