Charm Modern Thai and Bar

I came here because I bought a groupon a while back for the place. I can see why they were selling groupons in the first place, because I never would have found it otherwise; while this place is technically on the Yaletown strip, it’s all the way at Drake and there were barely any people walking around compared to the usual bustle that occupies Mainland & Helmcken on a Saturday night.
This is the first time I’ve had Thai in a long while (probably about a year) so maybe my tastebuds just forgot how amazing it is, but the food at Charm was very delicious. We ordered the duck sticks as an 7:30pm), which leads me to believe that unfortunately a lot of menu items are likely bought pre-​made and frozen as opposed to being made fresh in-​house. We instead had the Thai spring rolls and they were average for a dine-​in fusion restaurant. I had the chicken pad thai and it was SO yummy, probably the best I’ve ever had. It was more on the peanutty side which was really nice. My boyfriend had the cashew chicken, and that was even more delicious. For dessert we ordered the ice cream and fried banana, but they were also out of ice cream. The fried banana was really good, but it would have been a lot better in my opinion with ice cream on the side.
The décor and ambiance, as many people have previously mentioned, is very eclectic, but I thought that as a fusion-​type restaurant this is appropriate. It was really fresh and interesting and overall it added appeal to our dining experience.
The prices are a little high for Asian fusion, but not for Yaletown. Unfortunately I have to say that I can’t see myself wanting to order any more than an entrée without the discount, though I have to mention that even though we had a groupon I did not feel like anyone there slacked on our service, and I thought the service was very acceptable albeit not as professional as you would expect for the prices/​Yaletown in general.
Overall, I give Charm 3.5 stars — I would have liked to give them more, but their unpreparedness in not having what we ordered combined with the fact that I just can’t see myself wanting to spend this much money here without the groupon discount means I can’t. I will definitely keep it in mind to give them a second chance!

A sexy resto-​bar with a modern patio and reasonably-​priced thai dishes, located in Yaletown (Alexander & Drake) — a great late night spot for intimate conversation with a dinner date.
Lol, perhaps a family affair too? Hah, my mom, bro and I enjoyed ourselves. With Kaskade, Armin and deep house backbeats and a dimly-​lit ambience, my bro and I were lovin’ it! I really liked the vibe. We shared:
— Thai Basil Gaprow Stirfry — Recommend! Delicious asian spices.
It looked the most unappetizing of the 3, but we all agreed that it definitely tasted the best.
— Thai Pappardelle — Sweet mildly spicy. Stronger flavours — good for sharing.
— Choo-​Chee Sablefish — No-​go on the sablefish! Tasteless and overpowered by the red curry.
3.5 out of 5. 2.5 for food past two times, 3 for food this time, and 4.5 for ambience — lol if this even helps at all: P

3.5 Stars
Came here for a late lunch with a coworker. We decided to share the duck sticks as an appy. Mmm! Nice and crispy duck spring rolls without bring overly oily. Wish there were more than 4 though. For our mains, I had the chicken panang curry. He had the chicken grapow (sp?). Both came with a small tom yum soup and crispy wontons. The wontons I could have done without, but I thought the soup was really tom yummy! Not too spicy with a healthy dose of fish sauce flavor. Some people would say it wasn’t spicy enough, but it’s a matter of personal preference. My curry had quite a bit of chicken, and was very flavorful. My only complaint there would be that there was a lot of oil floating on top. However, each of our lunch specials (not including the appy) cost only $ 7.50! Awesome for a yaletown restaurant.
The dinner menu looks interesting too. I’ll have to come back!

I had a really great experience at this restaurant when my friend and i dined there last month. We came in and were impressed by the décor and the booth we were seated in was spacious and had a nice view of the patio. Our server was attentive as well and our food was delivered promptly.
We ordered the appetizer combo which came in a tower. The prawns were huge and cooked prefectly. The rest of the dishes were flavourful as well. We really enjoyed the fried rice and most of all their matsaman. That particular Thai curry is my favourite and the one they served at Charm reminded me of the matsaman I had years ago that was cooked by a Thai family back in Manitoba. It had the right balance of spiciness and sweetness and richness of the coconut milk. I love how the sauce is rich and thick and not watered down, nor did it have assorted vegetable thrown in just to make the dish look bigger.
I am looking forward to going back to Charm to try the rest of their menu.

Meh… some good some bad
THE GOOD …
The Chocolate Chili Tart was so yummy! Very decadent and rich with a beautiful presentation. ONLY $$$ 4 !!! all the deserts are 4 bucks, great place to come for tea and dessert.
The green curry was really good, the medium hot wasn’t very hot at all though. I had it with tofu, (only got 2 pieces) but it was really light and fluffy and very good (I wish they weren’t so chincy with it!!!)
THE OK…
The service was slow and not very attentive… but then again, in Thailand servers generally hang back and let you enjoy your food without bothering you, and wait to be called. So remember that if you go here… I think that might have been why us «westerners» think the service is bad.
THE BAD…
The Pad Thai was awful… just awful! The noodles weren’t cooked, they offered to re-​make it, but beyond the noodles, it was just really bland and bad.
Oh and we tried to order several types of beer but they kept saying that they were out of this, out of that… it shouldn’t be on the menu if they don’t keep it stocked.

Trapped between a 5 for the food and 2.5 for the service.
The hostess seemed a bit clueless; we called to see how late they were open and for reservations and she yelled out to someone in the background ‘hey how late at we open?!’. Maybe it’s just me but it seemed a tad unprofessional.
Upon arriving, one lone server was running the show; the place was darn near packed! She looked exhausted but seemed to be doing the best she could. When we ordered our drinks, she informed us there was no bartender during the week and wasn’t sure how to make many of the drinks on the menu.
Awkward.
When our food arrived the surrounding cluelessness suddenly seemed unimportant. The green tea chicken was nothing short of fabulous, the panang curry with chicken was as close to perfectly spiced coconut dreaminess as you could begin to imagine.
Been there before, would certainly go back, but perhaps on a weekend when they are staffed a bit better.

I didn’t understand what the hype was about this place. Everyone was saying how this was delicious and definitely worth the visit. To me, it was okay at best. For what you get, it is overpriced. I guess you are paying for the atmosphere, and not so much the quality of food. I’ve had better thai from very sketchy places.
We ordered their appy sampler and there wasn’t a lot of food for $ 28. For my entrée I had their red curry which was fine. There wasn’t anything spectacular about it. My dining companions were saying that the pad thai was extremely sweet — I’m glad I didn’t order that! My portion size was very good though.
Service was good, despite the fact that they were setting up for a party later in the evening.
With so many other options for thai, I probably won’t be back. What you get for the money just isn’t enough to make me come back.

I went here during the Taste of Yaletown on the last week of October.
The deal was, you get a full course meal for $ 25.
For starters, I had the Crispy Prawn Wonton while my friend ordered the Duck sticks. Prior to this time we had not eaten anything for 5 hours, so I’m not sure if this has got to do with anything to do with how good the food tasted, regardless, it was good.
Our main courses came out quite quickly after we finished our appetizers.
We had the Tamarind Seared Salmon and the Pineapple Braised Short Ribs.
The portions were rather small, that being said, the taste was decent and quite appetizing, but again, it was just good. Nothing more.
I would recommend this place as a second or third option, decent food, great service, but nothing spectacular.
Service: 4
Ambiance: 4
Food: 3

Service was pretty good.
The pineapple fried rice with chicken was just superb! The pad thai is just as good as my current favorite Thai Café. Just delicious.
They have promos, just ask the servers. They mentioned to us what coupons were available and they offered the same promotion to us despite us having any. Very nice people :)
Parking: ok, its downtown. Its going to be expensive and its going to be hard to find. Be prepared to circle a bit if you go during peak hours. The parking lot in front of the restaurant will be full and its a narrow, one way lane out of that parking lot. Careful not to scratch someone’s car!
I would go back more often, but it is a little expensive for my taste. Since I can go to Thai Café and get the same meal for $ 8. I’d probably go there on a more formal occasion.
Anyways, enjoy!

I should first mention that I don’t like eating out Thai food. My wife makes delicious Thai food at home that I find tastes better than most Thai places I’ve visited.
That being said she purchased a Groupon to this place, so we set out for dinner on a Saturday night interested to see what a Yaletown thai place would be all about.
The food was average We had the stir fry and the tamarind duck.
The tamarind duck was one of the more expensive dishes on the menu. I love duck, and it was delicious, but I think there’s definitely other ways that I would prefer my duck prepared. I was a bit confused as to why my $ 20 duck dish didn’t include rice, but a big plate of delicious jasmine rice with coconut milk was only $ 2.50, so no big deal.
The stir fry looked a wee bit small but tasted delicious. Wife asked for extra spicy and there was no spice at all. The people at the table next to us complained about their dishes for complete lack of spice as well. I really don’t like when ethnic restaurants remove all of the spice from what should be a spicy dish because they are afraid of their customers that dislike spice (these people will often complain louder). Serve the dish as it’s meant to be served (with the appropriate warnings on the menu)!
The draft beer tap was broken so it gave me the opportunity to try Chang (most popular thai beer), which I’ve never tried before. Not a particularly flavourful beer, would taste much better with a spicy thai meal or in the hot summer sun.
The service was slow. The place wasn’t particularly busy for a Saturday night, the couple next for us waited a LONG time for their food. Our water glasses were only refilled occassionally. I also found the tables very close together. I could easily hear the conversations of the two parties sitting on either side of us. This place isn’t so popular that they need to jam in the tables together, maybe spread them out a bit?
So overall if I liked this place, if i enjoyed Thai food restaurants I would probably head back here.

Came here recently with my other half and a groupon. We ordered a tamarind duck and the pad thai. For appies we got the sharing platter.
The Boy loved the dipping sauces that came with the platter, as the spicy sweet sauce was a little different than tje standard bottled stuff many restaurants use. We also found the short ribs succulent and juicy. The pad thai is better than at other vancouver places, as it uses real tamarind juice. Why places continue to use ketchup baffles me.
The tamarind duck was tasty but not spectacular. That being said, if youre a duck fan, you should still give it a try!
I had the sangria (it was not bad) but there was a lychee coconut drink that looked good that i will have to try next time.
I think it’s more of a place to bring the girls with so many nail boutiques around, so I’ll keep it in mind next time I’m in Yaletown.

Craving some Pad Thai, we decided to give this place a try. It was a late lunch, so the place wasn’t too busy. There’s a patio, and the inside is decorated with red booth seats, and a wall of large bamboo sticks, yet there’s also 2 TV screens in the middle of the room which kind of ruins the atmosphere.
Their lunch menu has these lunch plates which come with tom yum soup and prawn wontons. Standard Thai offerings are available here: curries, pad thai, pad see-​iw, pineapple fried rice… I opted for the Chiang Mai Bouillabaise, not part of the lunch plate combo.
We waited a long time for our food. We were the only table, but it must have taken at least half an hour for the food to arrive.
Despite the wait, our server was friendly and efficient as she kept on refilling out water glasses.
My bouillabaisse consisted of clams, mussels, prawns and fish, all simmered in a tomato broth. The waitress also offered to bring some rice because the «broth was not to be wasted.» A nice gesture on her part.
This was a pretty good dish, lots of seafood and very fresh. The rice was a great idea because it was a lot of broth left over. My friend got the Pad Thai lunch combo. The Tom Yum soup was a bit too sour, and the pad thai noodles seemed a little too chewy. (Maybe a bit undercooked?) The flavour was good though, and it came in a large portion, maybe even enough to share
Wish the food didn’t take that long to arrive. I was impressed with the prices of their lunch dishes, and it was pretty good food.

It’s part of the cool-​hip Yale town but very contemporary indeed. Felt like a very posh & modern lounge that just so happens to serve Thai food. The food itself was pretty decent, but nothing spectacular. It’s not the traditional cheaper Thai food that you’re used to either… there are gourmet spins to them and whether you want to pay extra for that is up to you. Our food was particularly spicy for some reason, moreso than usual.
The blurb in the hotel-​provided booklet had mentioned a happy-​hour, but the staff knew nothing of it. We had already walked over so decided to eat anyway. The place wasn’t particularly crowded upon arrival but more and more people started to trickle in towards the end of our stay.

Background: I’ve been to Thailand and I cook Thai at home when I can.
Food: Most entrees are minimally garnished. Pad thai is basic and pretty authentic except for the strange lack of peanut. Appy platter featured great short ribs and spring rolls. Sablefish didn’t really match the red curry, which had too much fish sauce in it.
Ambiance: Empty on a Tuesday night. Dim lounge lighting and seating is marred by TV screens featuring ESPN. I wouldn’t bring a date here.
Service: Great and chipper. Our server was newly hired but on the ball.
Pricepoint: Mains are inappropriately expensive ($ 15 – 25) for the type of cuisine and portion size rendered. Nothing comes with rice either.
Overall: It’s rather overpriced for the food which is just ok, and the schizophrenic décor.

Went here for lunch with two friends — not impressed with the price or the quality. Sure, the place looks fancy as many are in yaletown but that’s all that I remember being good.
The soup that came with lunch was ok… flavourful but lukewarm. The mains: green curry, pad thai and cashew chicken was also not freshly prepared and tasted microwaved. I LOVE Thai food and was definitely disappointed. No more Yaletown Thai food for me :)

You know something’s up when you sit at a computer to write a review of a restaurant and it takes you ten minutes to put your first words down.
At first glance, Charm seems to be doing everything right. The setup of the dining and bar space is an expected mix of traditional and modern materials sprinkled with Buddhist iconography, all put together in that old-​meets-​new look that’s become typical for fusion restaurants. The food is prepared similarly. The 3-​Flavor Fish dish I ordered had a sweet foretaste quickly followed by a slow burn, with the accompanying blend of chopped tomatoes, pineapple, onion and cucumber in the sauce lending more classic elements to the experience. All very good, very well prepared, and very well presented, and yet Charm is completely and comprehensively unoffensive.
Like I said earlier, they seem to be doing everything by the book. But like those pop stars who seem to have it all but can’t seem to sell records, it’s that certain undefinable quality that true stars exude that allow them to stand out from the crowd. Truly inspired food provokes the palate, and maybe it’s that absence of provocativeness that makes this place less than stellar, in spite of all the positives. For all it does right, Charm lacks charm.

Went here for dinner one night as Mr. P & I were clutching our stomachs, about to die from hunger and want to eat within a two block radius from home. I have been to Charm a couple times before & could not really recall any fond memories but Mr. P has not been there so in we went.
There was a Taste of Yaletown event going on– which means for $ 25, a few restaurants in the area offers appies, entrees and desserts from a list of choices. Coupon-​clipping me’s eyes quickly scanned the menu if there was anything that catches my attention. Unfortunately, nothing on the special menu caught our eyes and we had to resort to their regular (aham, expensive) menu.
We shared the duck spring rolls and chicken satays for appies, then had pineapple fried rice & spicy prawn linguini (thai style) Honestly, when you are that hungry nothing can taste bad but at the same time, I thought it was nothing special. My ultra positive (and starved!) man proclaimed «this is the best chicken satay I’ve ever had», all I could do is try my best to not roll my eyes so far back to the back of my head where they went one full circle.
Next came the mains, we both liked the fact the pineapple rice had lots of cashews and raisins in it, but was disappointed there were only 2 (yes we counted) chunks of pineapple! Afterall, why call it pineapple fried rice? why not just fried rice? Taste was okay, we both thought the neighbooring Urban Thai Bistro did a much better job. The linguini had a nice flavor to the dish, but at $ 17 I’d rather go to a good Italian restaurant!
The only thing I thought they executed well was their creative cocktails. The lychees in the vodka/​soho drink I had worked.
Sorry for the long rant, um I mean review, guys but save yourself the money and get more value for your hard-​earned money!

* 2^nd strike *
Ok, I’ve been having that Thai hankering and it still hasn’t been fulfilled. (Anxiously awaiting Maenam (
) to scratch that itch — please don’t let me down!)
But today, being a holiday and all, I figured I would be careful about making sure wherever I headed to for lunch would actually be open. So I dutifully got on
and saw that Charm had availability for lunch. Woo hoo! Booked a reservation and Thai food here I come!
NOT!
Arrived at the restaurant, with my confirmed Opentable reservation, and it was closed. No sign. Nothing. Boo.
So first time I visited they couldn’t get food out of the kitchen. This time they couldn’t get a cook into the kitchen or a customer into the restaurant with a confirmed reservation!
I will perhaps give them a 3^rd chance — but you know what happens if they screw up again with their 3^rd strike and all, right?

This had got to be the weirdest combination of asian fusion restaurant. Not in the food but the style.
It’s vancouver’s only and rightly so, thai themed resto-​lounge bar. Exactly! You say to yourself ‘what?’ ‘what is going on?‘
There’s two parts to this resto-​lounge bar creation. One side is the restaurant section. Dark, dimly lit intimate seating in one section. Over to the other side, you might as well call it a sports bar.
The restaurant bar was littered with the pseudo like jock men eating in this rather swanky joint while watching the canucks play. Cheering and commenting about something hockey-​esque. I know nothing about sports.
I do know one thing about real sports watching from the guys I know they don’t hang around a Yaletown Thai themed resto-​lounge in button down colours watching the game. Most of them wear their canucks shirts and wobble on over to places like Wings on granville.
It would be interesting to see what this place is like when there isn’t a game going on.
We were both totally blown away by that aspect of Charm.
However, the food and the service had some standouts!
Our favourite, hands down was the Tom Yum Gai. It’s a Thai hot and sour soup simmered with lemongrass, galangal and spices. It was wonderful! I also recommend the Thai Style Ahi Tuna Sashimi. It was heaven to eat.
The vegetarian spring rolls left little to be desired. I will say, the execution of wrapping the filing and the actual doneness of the spring roll was perfect.
The short ribs were tasty but for some reason were exactly what I expected. Almost as if everyone in the city that makes this has the exact same recipe.
Look chin gai was blah. It was just such a bland little meatball. I don’t have much to say on that one.
The drink special of the night was phuket caiprioshka. Trying saying that a few times after drinking. Lychee caprinhea. fresh whole lychess muddled with Soho and Absolut Vodka. It’s sweet and a bit tart. I would totally drink this again. Apparently, their most popular.
By far, one thing really stood out — customer service. I was impressed. They always checked up on you and were eager to share information about their food.

I went to this place based on a recommendation from a friend. I liked the ambiance of the place. The waitress was friendly and the food was pretty good … I wouldn’t say that it was spectacular (hence the 4 stars).
I really liked the fact that they did not chase us out but I am also just visiting Vancouver for the first time so maybe that is the case with some restaurants around here or maybe they didn’t kick us out cuz it was a Monday night and the place wasn’t packed.
Overall I would like to go back to this place and try some other dishes but for now it gets 4 stars :)
Check it out!