A fabulous new discovery. Just driving by and needed food--we'll definitely return. I had the pomelo tuna sashimi salad and tom kaa gai (sp?) soup, with a virgin lychee-ito cocktail. All delicious, especially the salad: an unusual but very successful mix of sweet and salt with the freshness of the tuna. read more

Rens Cafe & Bistro - Lychee-ito, with pomelo tuna sashimi salad and tom kaa gai soup behind - Thai Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

Rens Cafe is a beautiful dinner spot with a glass-ceiling indoor terrace that fills the space with soft natural light and creates a relaxed, airy atmosphere. I ordered the mixed mushrooms with glass noodles from the main dishes menu (one of the few vegetarian options available). It's a simple stir-fry--fragrant garlic, mushrooms, and silky glass noodles. Nothing overly complicated, but comforting and satisfying in its own way. At first, it feels quite understated, almost plain-looking, but it grows on you with every bite. The little chilli sauce on the side is what really elevates everything. A bold mix of green chilli, garlic, ginger, and lime juice--it completely wakes up the dish and turns each bite into something bright and punchy. It honestly made me realize how much I miss ginger in everyday cooking. The stir-fry is a bit oily, but it seems intentional, helping keep the glass noodles from clumping and giving them that smooth, glossy texture. My only wish is that there were more plant-based options on the menu--because the space and flavours here really deserve a stronger vegetarian selection. read more

Rens Cafe & Bistro - Indoor patio - Thai Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

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Service was good despite being a big restaurant. We had the boat noodles. It came with one serving of rice noodle and there is a refill of one more if needed. The boat noodle broth was flavourful and had a number of slices of beef and beef ball. It came with sprouts and basil on the side and also pork rinds which was interesting. We also had the soft shell crab curry. It was better than expected considering the other reviews. The crab was crispy, curry was on the sweet side. Rice is not included. Jasmine rice was $3 and sticky rice or coconut jasmine rice is $6. Prices are on the high side so took off a star but not a bad option in the Hastings Burnaby area. read more

Rens Cafe & Bistro - Soft shell crab curry - Thai Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

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Checked out this Thai restaurant which offers slight twists to some classic dishes. We got the bean paste string beans, beef steak salad, pad thai, and chicken wings. Overall we found the flavours a bit underwhelming or not balanced for the price we paid for. Quite pricey. Think there are cheaper options for similar tastes. read more

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Went here with a group of friends and was surprised to see how large the restaurant was. Definitely suitable for large groups. The decor is quite modern and pretty. Overall the food was good and I would go back again. It has good variety on the menu and some great appetizers to share. The staff were super friendly and helped us take a bunch of group photos. read more

Rens Cafe & Bistro - Thai Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

Food was amazingly delicious! We enjoyed the Pad Thai with Prawns, Pineapple Fried Rice, and Yellow Curry. Portions are generous and each dish had the right amount of flavour, not too salty, not too bland. It was very spot on and will be adding this place to one of our top Thai places. We initially ordered the Yellow Curry because it did not have a spicy pepper beside it indicating it's spice level. However, it was quite spicy for us, but luckily we had drinks! The second time we went with family, we requested that it be way less spicy which they were able to do! There was still heat, but definitely more manageable for those who's spicy tolerance wasn't high. Ambiance is very warm and cozy. When you walk in, it feels like you've been taken to somewhere tropical. It was surprisingly pleasant and enjoyable. Staff were very friendly. Food did take some time on both occasions, but well worth the wait! Would definitely recommend trying this place out! :) read more

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This restaurant has an amazing atmosphere, since from outside to inside. Their menu is attempting, which makes you pick all the options. For this time, we ordered the spring rolls, chicken wings and Tom Kha chicken noodles soup with pasta. All these options were really good, but the soup was divine. Good service, including the robot. read more

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I would have given them 5 stars, but the service was just okay--probably because they were quite busy. The mango sticky rice took about 20 minutes to come out, but it made up for the wait! It tasted really good, and I found it interesting that their sticky rice is a darker color compared to the usual white sticky rice--food coloring, maybe? I'm a huge fan of mango sticky rice, and this didn't disappoint. Their dishes are on the higher end price-wise compared to other Thai restaurants, but the quality is good. read more

Rens Cafe & Bistro - Mango sticky rice - Thai Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

They were definitely short staffed that night with a few large groups celebrating birthdays. The mains came out before some appetizers which didn't really phase us but there's a long wait in between dishes. Rice came out towards the end so we ate the mains on its own for a bit. Satay wasn't too bad and the chicken wings were flavourful. The papaya salad unfortunately was a miss as it was quite bland and it didn't help that it was $20+. Short rib, tom yum, pad thai and green curry all turned out great. Great atmosphere and good for large groups as well. Unfortunately, their coffee robot was broken and their robot delivering dishes had a mind of its own which was entertaining to see it wandering around. read more

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Really tasty -- I absolutely love the ribs! Tender, juicy, full of flavor, and perfectly cooked.

New Thai place that took over a former greek restaurant. Conveniently located near the bus loop somewhat, street parking and they take reservations. Really cute interior with a nature wood greenery type of vibe. Heaters on the ceiling so it can get a bit toasty. Wasn't able to try the robot coffee though was hoping to. Originally stumbled here to have brunch but they didn't offer it anymore. So decided to try some of their other items. The drinks were cute and probably the best part. I'm not sure if it's because the restaurant was so new that maybe it was a one off experience but the food was just average. The curry was also a bit runny and not thicker like how i would have liked it. You have to order rice it doesn't actually come with it. Service was nothing to complain about. They speak english and food came at a reasonable speed. Washrooms were clean and they do take credit card/ cash / debit .. read more

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My first time here and I loooove the ambience! Sat in the covered patio which was a beautiful nice bright space and it was warm out but not super sunny so I didn't feel hot inside. Service was also good, the waiters were all super polite LOL we got the seafood medley (great sauce!), pomelo tuna salad (so refreshing herby and citrusy!) and the chicken pad Thai (good, flavourful and standard). Definitely will be coming back :) read more

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The crispy pork was very disappointing, I had some very weird dark string like things in the leafs they put on the plate, and the pork was very tough, which u can't possibly enjoy biting into, and has a very strong old pork taste. The sauce is good but it cannot mask the bad taste. Papaya salad is pretty decent. let's talk about the service, there are just some staff there who are just wandering around they make eye contacts with u then they went away, I had to wait for a long time to order, and it has to be me asking loudly for a girl who was spacing out behind the counter. Overall I think instead of having cool robots to make drinks, they should really put more money and time into improving the flavors. Will not come back. read more

Great service that was attentive , probably one of the best Thai foods i have had in the burnaby area read more

Rens Cafe & Bistro - Boat noodle - Thai Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

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Thai Place in Burnaby located in the Burnaby Heights area. Originally came thinking we could get brunch than found out brunch is only on weekdays. I asked when they think they will open up Brunch for weekends but the just kept saying it's only available on weekdays. The menu still says "weekdays only for now". Seems to be possible that would imply possibly on weekends in the future. I digress but figure I'm not the only one that thought the "for now" part was misleading. This place is quite large. Spacious and many tables for larger family style groups. The covered outside portion is probably not ideal on really cold or really hot days. If sitting under the heater, it's going to be overwhelming hot, on a hot summer day, I imagine it to feel like a sauna. Tried a few dishes/drinks with the party. Meat Lovers Platter - Fairly large portions of protein. The grilled squid was plentiful albeit a few pieces were quite cold and rubbery near the end of the meal. I liked the sauce options. Something for everyone. Thai Chicken Green Curry - A bit heavy on the sweet profile and more coconut milk like but still a light spice. Personally prefer more spice, less milk. Chicken Pad Thai - Large pieces of chicken with some tofu pieces. Noodles were cooked right, not too soggy, not overly firm. Again, I think this was too sweet. Was searching for that thai spice profile. Drinks were disappointing for me. I ordered the Rainy Butterfly expecting the drink to at least resemble the pictures. Bear in mind I asked the server if they could actually make the drink look like the picture. She confidently told me that could she I expected it to resemble the picture. It did not. Don't be fooled. What you get will not be blue (light or dark). Drink itself wasnt even that good. It tasted more like fizzy soda. Yes, I asked the server if this was the right drink. She again claimed it was. Thai Milk Tea- standard. Nothing too fault. All in all, happy to see the new spot but price/ flavor, there are other places I'm more fond of. Those looking for fusion may appreciate this place more. I may still venture one day for brunch if I catch it on a staycation day. read more

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Came by for a girls night to have their meat lovers platter and tom yum soup. The tom yum soup was divine and full of seafood. But the meat lovers platter wasn't very impressive. The meat skewers were dry, squid wasn't very fresh and the chicken wings could have been crispier. read more

Rens Cafe & Bistro - Thai Near Me - Burnaby, British Columbia

the service was a friendly and polite! we ordered the tom yum (best bang for your buck, generous portion of seafood mix ins, great flavor and spice), the tom kah (delish flavor, good creaminess and tanginess, good portion of chicken), and the steak salad (yummy garlic and ginger dressing, and fun veggie toppings). we will be back! read more

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Solid Thai place in Burnaby Heights. Parking is available on Hastings, as well as on the side streets. The place is split into 3 dining areas. The best seating is on the R side, towards the front. Nice enclosed patio with skylights. Staff here have Chinese accents. I inquired, and they mentioned the owner is Chinese, but the head chef is Thai. Good enough. Staff are friendly and professional. The menu selection isn't the largest here (maybe 10 items at most?), but it's the stuff that everyone orders. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning. Pad kra pow - stir fried pork on rice. Great flavour. Chili gives it a nice kick. Pad thai - sweet and actually tastes like tamarind. I had the chicken option. It was good. Sukho thai noodle soup - slices of meat in curry broth, served with potato, cilantro, and some crispy noodles on top. Also comes with pickled vegetables, onions, and a slice of lime on the side. Tasty. I guess my only complaint is that the portion sizes are a bit small. Hopefully they increase it in the future. Other than that, I'd eat here again. Quality is good. Recommended. read more

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Been wanting to try this place for a while and finally got the chance to! The decor inside is absolutely beautiful and it was packed with locals! We ordered the pad Thai and Thai basil stir fry pork with egg on rice. I wish there was a little more flavor in their pad Thai which is why I deducted 1 star. I ordered the green Thai milk tea and it was a little too sweet for my liking. After diluting with some water it was better for me. The original Thai milk tea was really good though! I forgot to take a photo of the Thai basil stir fry unfortunately because we were hungry It also looked like there was a robot bartender but was not turned on which is cool and I wonder if it's on only at certain times?? Service was a little bit slow but understandable as they were really busy. Not sure if I would come back here again but they do also have Thai hot pot which look delicious!! read more

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This once Vietnamese/Thai Restaurant had changed their menu to strictly a Thai Restaurant 5 month ago. Reducing the prices slightly, as well as removing dishes from their original concept. We were placed outside in the under-covered patio area, due to a larger party in the main dining space. If its summer and you get hot in 25 degree weather or if you get hot easily, I recommend that you ask for a table inside, since there wasn't a fans or AC out on the covered patio. The glass roof did not help. We ordered Rens Summer Time Combo $68. -House Made Spring Rolls (2pc) -Tom Kah Coconut Chicken Soup -Crispy Chicken Cashew Nut + a bowl of rice -Pad Thai (tofu) -Signature Mango Sticky Rice -Thai Milk Tea (x2) -Yellow curry Lunch menu item (more about this down below) We were told that that the Summer Time Combo was enough to feed 2 adults and maybe a small child. It was enough to feed 2 seniors and a picky adult plus bring back leftovers, so it was amount. Yay! Pros: Food was pretty good. The spring rolls was crispy and filling was mostly vegetables. The Tom Kah soup was the best! Great flavour (5/5)! The Crispy Chicken Cashew and Pad Thai was fine, you can get it better else where (3/5). The Mango Sticky rice was a lot smaller then the advertised photo, but it was fine for three full adults. What about the curry you ask? No idea, we didn't get it. We ordered it, but didn't get it. Cons: The robots were a bit gimmicky. Yes, they are cool to look at and take photos of. But I don't think they help much or benefit the restaurants much. While there, No on had ordered anything from the coffee-robot, so it didn't see any action. While the serving robot on wheels was fun as it kinda brought your food in your vicinity, yet serving staff still needed to unload the food from the machine. I feel that it made service a lot slower, but at least gave a few seconds of entertainment. I also don't believe paying $8 for a robot to make me coffee, when there are other coffee robots that will make it for under $5. Maybe it was just poor timing, kitchen not prepped or lack of staff. But service was very slow. I arrived with my parents at 11AM when they opened, from getting out food to waiting, till we paid the bill we didn't get out of there till a little after 1PM. Food took a while to come out, as they were bringing dishes one by one. We didn't even get the Yellow Curry due to them either forgetting. We had waited so long by the time we got the dessert there was no point in bringing out the curry. Even when we were one of the first tables there, we were also the last to get our Thai Teas. Instead we asked them to go. They give you the choice between the original Thai Tea or the Thai Tea Green Tea. We got one of each, but they're fine, usually too sweet for me, but fine. **CHECK YOUR BILL** So when we received the bill, the Yellow Curry that didn't arrive and was canceled was still on there. I had a gift card for $50 which I used for the meal. For some reason bill discount for that $50 was only $46.56. Where did the $3.44 go? Our server, also seemed baffled by it and swore that she put the whole $50 discount on it. After it was all fixed it was apparently the POS system. Honestly, she should have checked it before bringing out the bill for us. We paid the remaining as well as left a good tip. Final thoughts... The food is pretty good, even for the price. But as a lot of people giving this place less then 5 stars you can find cheaper and better Thai food along the Heights. I guess if you had a large party or wanted pretty pictures for the 'Gram, then this could work. If you hate the heat and are looking for a cool escape to a restaurant with AC, go else where. read more

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Amazing place to go! If you are a food lover and you will enjoy this place a lot! The restaurant's service is impeccable and you will feel like home for sure! read more

The foods here were good and the staffs were very friendly. Thank you to Lyn, she was my server and she was so amazing. Will definitely come back here again. read more

This is a nice Asian restaurant that is still in soft opening. Currently they have an amazing set menu with a nice variety of dishes. Guess what? They have a robot that makes coffee! There are a few of these in the Lower Mainland and here is one too. The service from Vivian and others were great and the food was delicious too. Thanks again! read more

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Let's be real and honest... First of all, we don't have a huge selection of Thai restaurants in the lower mainland. Even with the ones we have, they are either fusion or subpar at best except for one or two that are decently okay. Secondly, all these unrealistic 4-5 star reviews are great on the screen but in reality it will destroy a new business within a year when it's not getting honest feedbacks from customers on the areas it needs to improve on for it acquire and retain repeat customers. Anyways, saw this place took over a Greek restaurant and decided to give it a try. There are free street parkings through the surrounding area. Arrived and got seated inside (outside patio seatings are available). Toward one side, there was a dedicated spot for its robot coffee barrister, but didn't see it being functional. Otherwise the place has a modern contemporary decor with robots bringing out the food. Here were the food I ordered; 1. Creamy Tom yum seafood soup. The taste was okay, but definitely lack a bit of substance and that nice rich tom yum flavour. 2. Signature rib eye steak salad. Okay if you cooked the steak well done (why though?!?), sliced and soaked it in a very citrusy and vinegary sauce... the meat texture will become powdery. 3. Meat lover platter. The beef was a bit dry and over marinated, the chicken and shrimp skewers were okay, the chicken wings were pretty dry, and the squid tentacles needed a lesson from the Asian night market. (More of a surf & turf platter than a meat platter). 4. Yellow curry soft shell crab. The mountainous layer of thick yellow curry over powered and killed the existence of the crab. (P.S. what's with Thai restaurants having such a high price tag on soft shell crabs nowadays?) 5. Giant pineapple seafood fried rice. The fried rice was lacking in most categories; no wok hay, rice was mushy, seafood was rubbery (seems like using a frozen bag of assorted seafood from T&T), pineapple was sour. And I didn't get no giant pineapple, however I did got a tiny half sour pineapple. (But sizes are subjective, a midget can call a cat a tiger so I guess it depends on who was writing the description). The restaurant is conveniently located on Hastings close to Boundary Road in Burnaby with a decent amount of both free and paid street parking. Inside is decorated with a casual fun atmosphere and a nice patio for those who prefer the outdoors. The service was decent, all the servers tried their best to be attentive to all customers; however, one of the serving robot came crashing itself into our table, luckily it speared itself into the corner of the table and not us (robots have mental health too?!?). As for the food, I was really excited and somewhat had hope because of all the 4-5 star reviews but reality kicked in; I was quite disappointed and bagged a majority of them home. It's either I walked into the wrong restaurant, the chef had a bad day, or some people's standards are as that. Anyways, just keeping it real and consider it as positive criticism. I hope it gets better and give it another try one day. read more

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This is amazing Thai restaurant!!! I love the food and service there! And the environment is also very comfortable.

We stopped by for lunch over the weekend and managed to beat the lunch rush. We were seated right away. Water and menus were dropped off. Unfortunately, we were not able to order off their bunch menu as it was weekdays only. They should really add that note on the menu. However, we decided to order some classic items instead. We chose a chicken green curry, pad thai and durian sticky rice. Food arrived by robot and staff depending on the item. There was a novelty aspect of the service although I think it was more efficient to have staff drop off items. The robot pour over coffee experience was neat. However, I prefer my pipping hot coffee to not be poured into a plastic cup. The food itself was flavourful and beautifully prepared. I really enjoyed the green curry and coconut jasmine rice combination. There were plenty of veggies mixed into the curry with a decent amount of chicken. I took a bite of the durian sticky rice and it was delicious. I wish more restaurants offered this item. The ambience was nice. The plants added an airy feel and warm to the space. The robots added some unique character to the atmosphere. Overall, a 4.5 star experience. read more

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Tasty food and yummy milk tea! Cool and stylish atmosphere. The service was very nice.

Great ambience and authentic Thai food. This is a neighborhood gem. The restaurant feels comfortable and spacious with plenty of natural light coming in from the windows and skylight. Our server Mookie was really attentive and pleasant. The dishes ordered were very tasty and flavorful. Overall, the food is more elevated and elegant compared to standard Thai restaurants. Highly recommended. read more

2nd time to this restaurant . My wife and I really enjoyed the food and ambience. Server's are friendly and Kent is accommodating too. Will surely be back . Highly recommended. read more

Ren's was a nice surprise. The food, the service, the robots, and adequate parking all made our little adventure worthwhile. The coconut chicken soup and Pad Kra Pow were delicious. We'll be back. read more

Best Thai restaurant in Greater Vancouver. Reasonably priced. Dishes taste great. The chef is skilled . Good choices. Will definitely return. read more