Kin Kao - Commercial Dr

Very tasty with intense flavors. Highly recommend. Staff was very nice, quick, and helpful.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Time and time again, restaurants such as Kin Kao continue to live up to and improve upon Commercial Drive’s reputation as a top Vancouver dining destination.

The food these guys cook up here comes off super well polished, yet incredibly authentic and unpretentious. Between well known Thai dishes (the Pad Thai and Pork Stir-fry), to elevated presentations (such as the piping hot Tom Kha Kai soup), to delightful new discoveries (Grilled Hor Mok), the chefs showcase an impressive array of culinary skill, which we get to enjoy in a low-key cafe style setting.

There was also something unique about their drinks that tie everything together thematically. We can now say we have tried a Mango Sticky Rice cocktail (!!!), while still feeling locally placed with a local tap beer as our second choice.

Keep this place in mind the next time you and your friends are after something familiar and something new at the same time. They do both of these particularly well.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Small portions and the 20% gratuity for tables of 5 or more caught me off guard. Slimy business practice in my opinion. I won't be back

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

The food was average although the Chicken Panaeng Curry was good it was not necessarily better than elsewhere. The papaya salad was interesting but, I suspect that the chef smokes given the heavy fish sauce and lime flavour. The Pad See Ew Chicken was decent…

I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to friends but, it isn’t bad.

For this price range I would recommend Lunch Lady as an alternative (although it’s Vietnamese) it’s better value for the same general price range…

Be mindful of their automatic 20% gratuity fee for groups. Maybe bring less than four people if you go.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

delicious food, good service, bustling vibe

The servers were super sweet and enthusiastic, and I was extremely happy with the drunken noodles. They were a bit crispy in places, which was perfect! The tiger beef was overcooked and greyish looking, which is why I have to knock off a couple of stars. The ambiance was very minimalist and cute, perfect for a cozy date night!

Classic Thai and most of the items were very good. The pork ribs are a pass. Just not enough there.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Everything is great just noisy
Will be back soon

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Amazing Thai food, a bit on the pricier side but don’t sleep on the TomYum soup, amazing flavours!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Kin Kao on Commercial is one of my favourite places to go when craving Thai flavours. Our top dishes included the Crispy Chicken Skin, Yellow Curry, and Pad Thai. Would definitely recommend and can’t wait to be back!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Terrible customer service. Don’t go if your money is hard-earned.

Service: 1

Have been here on a plethora of occasions and I do not foresee myself stopping anytime soon. The yellow curry is a showstopper, the dynamic textures and mouth feels keep me coming back for more. Balance is the MO of this dish. Good lord, I love me some rice, and Kin Kao’s particularly satiates my glutinous desires. Next up, pad Thai, this is like the warm hug you never knew you needed. Consistent. Classic. Flavourful. Cashew stir fry is not always a go-to, but when I’m feeling a little Vesuvius, best believe I’ll be chasing that cashew nut. My relationship with steak salads in general is a complicated topic. I rarely have the hankering, but when it strikes, I want a fulsome yet fresh beef experience, and this hits the mark partially, but not completely. Possibly missing some crisped up rice paper or another airy texture that would bring some more life to this dish. See y’all soon, I bid you farewell, this is a goodbye for now but not forever.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A small place but always busy and very loud. Food is always good though.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 4

The food was authentic, the service was good and the food came out fast. First time trying fried chicken skin and ended up with three orders of it. Top notch food preparation and quality. One of my favourite food spots in Vancouver.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I LOVE Kin Kao! Myself, family and friends eat there often. I recommend it to lots of friends. Not sure what happened last night, Aug 21. We were seated quickly around 730pm, server was great, food came out in good time. Alas, the food (first time ever) was a disappointment. We ordered our fav's. Pad Thai w/tofu, Green Papaya Salad, Basil stir fry with eggplant, and a new (to us) dish Gai lan with mushrooms. The pad thai was gummy, way too much sauce, super heavy on the salt (or salty flavour). Green papaya salad was ok, but more lettuce than green papaya, Eggplant was under cooked, and heavy sauce and salt as well. The Gailan was perfectly cooked, heavy on the sauce/salt as well. Darn! Usually we each try to get the last bites! This time we just ate a bit, and took the rest home. Not sure we will eat today. Wonder if there is a new chef there?

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5