Nine North (viet Thai Cuisine)

Add this to your list of places to eat in Brantford.

We arrived hungry for the first time on a Saturday night. Lots of things on the menu caught our eyes.  Ordered apps and mains, but our apps took forever to arrive. We were tortured by the aromas of delicious food all around us. We could see there were busy, lots of take out orders in addition to everyone in the dining room. Soon enough the calamari arrived, without a dip of any kind, but one was recommended and quickly brought out. We were a little disappointed by the amount of filler in our freshrolls.  All our mains were delicious. Thai Basil stir fry, porkchop rice combo and a Vermicelli Combo bowl. There were no leftovers.  Atmosphere was nice, location is right across from Harmony Square. 

We had a wonderful dinner at this Thai restaurant! We started with two different rolls as appetizers: a Spring roll, which was long and cut into two pieces about 3/4 inches in diameter, and a pork-filled roll wrapped in lettuce and rice dough, measuring over an inch in diameter. Both were unique and delicious. Since we were traveling, we decided to share a seafood stir-fry served in a nest of fried and baked rice noodles. The sauces were excellent and perfectly balanced. I only wish we lived closer to Branford so we could explore more of their menu. The restaurant also has a busy carry-out service.

It wasn’t busy but several times I’m looking around for the server. I ended up asking someone else who right away, cheerfully brought me what I wanted. The Vietnamese Coffee apparatus wasn’t working properly, one drip every 8 seconds, then it stopped almost completely. The server kept insisting it was supposed to be slow but didn’t check out the apparatus. I ended up with a fraction of what should have been there and the coffee was cold. Dirty dishes were left on the table the entire time. It took a long time to get the server’s attention to ask for my bill, resulting in me nearly missing my cab. The main course, rice combo the rice was cold, and the grilled pork chop and grilled chicken were dry, not tender, overcooked and over seasoned. The music was inappropriate for this kind of cuisine, It was loud instrumental jazz, intrusive and irritating. The server’s attitude seemed like I was becoming a nuisance. I’ve ate at Nine North several times and while the service timing always needed improvement, the food was perfect and I was treated kindly and respectfully. Considering how upsetting and disappointing this visit to your restaurant was, I’m left contemplating whether to give the restaurant a second chance or eat elsewhere.

I had the Tom Yum Soup and fresh shrimp rolls and it was fantastic! My friend had the red curry and it looked delicious. The service was great. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. This restaurant is a hidden gem.