Chantanee, the favorite Thai restaurant of many Bellevue residents, took a hiatus for several months while recently moving into their new location at Key Center. The new location, that took a few more months than expected to finish, features a much more hip and modern atmosphere, while still serving the same traditional Thai food they’re known for.
They now have a bar named Naga with an extensive collection of cocktails. Chantanee also now offers a happy hour from 3-6pm, with $3 off their bar food and classic cocktails and $2 off draft beer and wine.
The new location comes with a bit of a challenge – parking. Key Center has free parking after 5pm, but does charge during the day. There is also some street parking on 106th Ave and some surface pay-lots close by. If you work in the area, or are a resident in Downtown Bellevue, and are walking to the new location, it is tucked right behind Underhill’s and The Galleria.
I wish this blog would be a little more critical and do another layer of reporting. I’m going to pick on Chantanee here only because it is an example of a bigger problem with this blog. You mention the parking issue, that good, but if you’d click through to the Yelp pages it had some very interesting conversations about the challenges Chantanee was having with service and getting used to the new space. That extra little bit of information makes simply a service piece spouting bullets from a press release into news Bellevuers can actually use–it gives the post a little more depth and a little more honesty. I think you owe it to your readers to be more than just a rewarming of openings and closings and constant positivity
I agree. Too much cheer leading on the site. I clicked through to yelp since Chantanee has that on their web site. I found it refreshing that a business would have a mea-cupla like that. Many of the recent negative reviews they got are about price, and it looks like the reviewers just don’t get that prices have to increase to pay for what Chantanee has done.
I ate there last week and it was even better than before, plus the space is amazing.
We ate there last week. The place is wonderfully decorated. Luxurious but not stuffy. Serene, warm and pleasant throughout. The designer of this restaurant should get some kind of an architectural award.
Even though we came after 9pm mid-week, the restaurant was still 70% full. Our waiter was very knowledgeable, able to answer all of our questions about the food and the drinks. The service was overall good except that we had to wait a little too long. And one of the main dishes came too late to our table, after most of us were two thirds done with our meal.
Yes, the prices are a little higher compared to the old one. But that is expected considering how much more upscale the new place is.
Even though the service had a few glitches, the wonderful surroundings and the excellent food will keep us coming back.
Ate at Chantanee last night and it’s a very different experience than the old restaurant. Food is still fantastic. Parking really wasn’t a problem right under the building and empty, easiest parking in downtown Bellevue. Service was adequate they haven’t quite yet made the transition from strip mall to fine(ish) dinning but it was ok. The old place was somewhere to take the family to eat and go home this place is somewhere to leave the kids at home and go out with friends!
Ate Chantanee for lunch, they finally allowed take out which is nice since parking during the day is not as convenient. The food has stayed the same or improved. I look forward to going back for HH one day and to check out the bar. The remodel is a huge step up from the old location.
Is this the one that was on a corner next to BECU, Safeway? It was really good…
No…Chantanee is next to Barnes and Noble and the Galleria.
The one you are referring to is not yet open.