The amount of average Thai food in this town is pretty staggering. For every Phonthip you will find ten faceless places, all serving dishes almost indistinguishable from each other. That's not to say all of these restaurants are downright bad; they're just very, very average.
And "average" is an appropriate description of Bangok Thai. It's not a spot you'll run out from in disgust, nor is it a place you will gush about. You will in all likelihood eat your meal in a pleasantly decorated room, hopefully while enjoying good conversation. Then you will forget what you just ate.
Take the tom kha, a creamy coconut soup. Everything is as one would expect here. It is indeed creamy, and that classic lemongrass flavor plays along with the coconut. Mushrooms and chicken, all there. And... That's about it. The waitress warned me it would be "very, very spicy" when I went with the four-star, but really, it just tasted like regular spiciness to me.
In other words, it was... fine... Not something you shouldn't get, but not really worth recommending either.
The perennial favorite, the pad thai, fared worse. This too could have made its way to an average grade, had it not been for the "house special" sauce. I am still unsure what was special about it, unless the overpowering sweetness was the Big Thing.
I mean, this was sweet. Sweet. Like beyond molasses sweet. So if everything else about it was pretty average -- and it was -- a quick face-slap like this did not do the dish any favors.
I could go on. Spring rolls, Thai coffee... It was all middle of the road.
That's not to say we'd never go back. We probably will if we're feeling uninspired and just want something simple to eat. If we wanted something more, though? Bangkok Thai would probably not be on our list.