Lemongrass

There are far more Thai restaurants in Jacksonville than I realized and we have so far completely neglected to include any of them here. Lemongrass is one of the most well known and respected of the bunch, particularly in the Southside area, and is conveniently located near the intersection of Southside and Old Baymeadows.

Clean, well organized, and dimly lit, there is a "business casual" ambiance to the place. So while you might feel out of sorts showing up in your pajamas, this is no fancy tie and jacket affair. And although it is a little larger than the typical strip-mall restaurant, the place can fill up quite quickly during lunch hours.

If you have any experience with Thai cuisine then many of the menu items will appear familiar. The standard Thai curries and peanut sauces abound but there are also some atypical specialities and some seasonal items (like the Chilean Sea Bass, which looked delicious). My "measuring dish" for Thai restaurants is the red curry with chicken and Lemongrass passes with flying colors; neither too oily nor creamy, faults which can ruin the entire dish. There is a five level spice scale ranging from mild to Thai hot, similar to what can be found in many other Thai and ethnic restaurants where the traditional cuisine can be quite spicy. Not wanting to make a fool of myself without first having tested the scale, I ventured to level 4 (hot) but I definitely could have handled the full brunt of their chili pepper assault.

The prices are a bit higher than some of the other local competition but the extra cost is justified by the higher quality of the food and the attention to presentation. Oh, and there are apparently free "refills" on the rice, something which I had not encountered before outside the realm of bread or chips and salsa.

The clean atmosphere, professional service, quality food, reasonable prices, and convenient location make Lemongrass a great choice for business meals or dates when you want to impress without having to take out a second mortgage.

Lemongrass
9846 Old Baymeadows Rd
Jacksonville, FL 32256
(904) 645-9911