Review Twelve Spices - Canley Heights

The food was great, service was excellent and the vibes were good. They can cater for more than 10 people incase you are wondering. Just be aware though, the only thing you might need to worry about is parking as there is limited space. Still, 5/5 for food and service. Would definitely go back again.

TWELVE SPICES, CANLEY HEIGHTS If you ever happen to be in the Canley Heights suburb, why not go visit @twelvespices, a restaurant that is dishing out delicious, authentic Thai and Lao dishes at their lovely establishment. Opened since 2001, they are currently still going strong by adapting to the COVID situation with takeaway-based delivery options and dining in being available at their establishment. ☆ LAO SAUSAGES/SAI OUAH ($15.90) Any time l see Lao Sausages on a menu, l must order a serving of this particular dish as every restaurant has their own recipe in creating the perfect blend for their version of Laos Sausages. @twelvespices ‘s version of Lao Sausages is packed with a blend of Pork Fat, Pork Meat, Fresh Herbs and Spices. When the Lao Sausages are grilled and kissed by flames, the application of heat wakes up the Pork Fat, various Spices and Herbs used within the sausage mix, resulting in the flavours coming alive when the diner takes that bite into the sliced Lao Sausage. ☆ GRILLED OX TONGUE ($29.90) If there is an offal ingredient l would love to introduce to my foodie friends, it would definitely be Ox Tongue! Simply marinaded and grilled to perfection, the Ox Tongue at @twelvespices is soft yet has some texture to it when you eat it which allows one to appreciate that it is a cut of meat not many people use. ☆ FISH CAKES ($9.90) When the Fish Cakes arrived to the table, l was amazed by the appearance as l could see what looks like slices of Green Beans all throughout the surface of the deep fried Fish Cakes. Taking that first bite, l could feel the bouncy texture of the firm white fish used which has been flavoured with hints of Chilli and other seasonings which all excited my palette for what was to come next to the table. The addition of Pickled Daikon and Carrot as a garnish to the Fish Cakes was lovely as it offered acidity and crunch to the meal. The Fish Cakes are accompanied by a Sweet Chilli-based dipping sauce which serves to add some sweetness to the deep fried Fish Cakes, adding another dimension of flavour to this delicious appetiser. The bouncy texture of the Fish Cake is a result of the process behind the making of Thai Fish Cakes or Tod Mun Pla as it involves pounding a type of White Fish into a paste and combining it with various seasonings and ingredients which is then shaped into a patty and deep fried to golden perfection. ☆ COCONUT DEEP FRIED ICE CREAM ($13.90) l am going nuts for this Coconut Deep Fried Ice Cream ($13.90) that @twelvespices has on their menu. If you want to end your meal on a high note, definitely order the desserts at @twelvespices in Canley Heights as they have different flavoured Deep Fried Ice Creams you can choose from plus classic Thai Desserts like Sticky Rice with Durian and Sago-based desserts as well. Coconut flavoured Ice Cream has been encased in a golden Phyllo-based shell that is so crispy yet delicate under the force of the spoon breaking into it. The Coconut Deep Fried Ice Cream is paired with a Coconut Sauce which reinforces the coconut flavour in the dessert. In addition, the roasted Coconut based Crumble with pieces of Dehydrated Summer Fruits and Toasted Nuts mixed into it really adds a wonderful texture to the overall dessert. When eating all these components together, you are transported to literal food ecstasy with how delightful this dessert is with the range of varying textures and mouthfeel you get from each spoonful of the Deep Fried Ice Cream. Absolutely lovely staff, service and how the food came out quick. Dishes were delicious and just hit you with the flavours of Thailand + Laos as stated by the menu. Atmosphere is definitely lively.

This restaurant is a hidden gem! They serve such delicious food in timely manner. The drink selections look great too. I'll come back with my friends to try more food and drink.

Overall experience of dining at twelve spice pretty good. Lao sausages have balance flavour and nice touch of herbs. Ox tongue superb in flavour and texture. Duck fried rice too wet and soggy to my liking. Taste like Indonesian fried rice which using kecap manis. Fried barramundi with Mango salad(written on menu) - but didnt taste any mango. I could taste Green Apple. Tomyum good. Just enough fresh acidity and fragrant from herbs. A touch bit too salty. Service quick and staff pretty friendly. Place a bit tight

Fantastic deep fried ice cream. We stopped over to try their dessert menu and we were pleasantly surprised by the amount of ice cream flavors available on the menu. Everything from pandan to black sesame to mango to golden gaytime. It was simply amazing. We all enjoyed our selections. We'll be back to try more of the menu. Thanks!

My friends and I came here for dinner tonight. The food was fine however, we were approached by staff asking if she could speak to our friend. He went with her where she asked to see his covid vaccination, as a group of customers had complained about him “coughing”. He obliged and all was well. Around 15 minutes later, a second staff member came up to us and asked to speak to him privately. He went outside when the staff member asked him to speak with the owner on his phone. Over the phone, the owner asked my friend if we could leave the restaurant as the other group of customers were complaining of us. He offered to let us take away the food at no charge because the other customers were unhappy. Shame on twelve spices for enabling this behaviour. You don’t go out to eat & expect the whole world to revolve around you. Great to see that our value as customers weren’t worth as much as the other patrons. We were regulars, but we surely won’t be coming back.

This place is such a hidden gem! Away from all the hustle and bustle of the main eating district, Twelve Spices is a place you need to venture out to. Their dishes are jam packed with flavours that burst in your mouth. Fresh and flavourful, these guys know how to keep you wanting more. The desserts are super yummy, but make sure you leave room for them as you really just want to keep eating more. We left so full and content, we definitely will visit again to try more of the menu out. The service is exceptional and the decor is also another topic to talk about.

Ordered through Uber eats and turned up dead on time. Order was delivered with no cutlery or sauce for spring rolls. Food tasted good but was cold when it arrived. Pad Thai container only 2/3 full. Overall very average experience!

5 stars from us🌟 Cutest little stylish & uniquely designed restaurant with affordable prices & great customer service with the friendliest, welcoming staff whom are very attentive to their guests. The restaurant also has a delicious, mind blowing menu with amazing presentation of the food. Both the flavours & the food presentations have improved a lot. Very impressive.

Not happy. I emailed last night and told you had lots of gluten free food. Arrived for dinner today and only able to order one dish. Please do not deceive customers next time. Extremely disappointed.

Celebrated a friend's birthday at the restaurant, and everything from the service, food and atmosphere was absolutely perfect! Staff were super friendly and were even able to fulfil a birthday request with such short notice. Highly recommend this place and would definitely eat here again :)

Never fails, we were here 4 years ago, atill the same good, quality food, generous serving which i hope won’t change, reasonable price and friendly staff. We’ll be back and bring more people in���

First time visiting I was impressed on how busy they were & that gave me a good vibe. The food was nice, the staff was friendly & fast service, best part they didn't rush us out of there

Excellent authentic food with fast service! Must try their special fried rice and fish with thai papua salad! Love eating here - this is our local go to place and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to friends and family!

Really good Thai food, our prawn salad was very fresh and tasty. The tiger tears grilled beef was delicious and so tender. Crispy rice ball salad was also very good. Lovely restaurant for lunch on a Saturday, not busy like Canley Heights or Cabra CBD so it was extra nice. We will be back and highly recommended.

It has definitely grown popular amongst the local community. I remember when it just started and went through the ups and downs. This place is fantastic and hopefully stays around for even more years.

Favourite local restaurant. Amazing quality of food and great service.

This used to be a wonderful restaurant with great food and fantastic service. Not any more. The food is greasy and way overpriced for the quality.The original owners who made this restaurant great many years ago now have a new restaurant "Kaffir Lime" not far away. Go there instead.

Great food, good service, amazing soft shell crab!

Best soft shell crab ever!! My now "go to" thai place!!

Worst service.. would love to comment on the food but I can only recall what my vomit tasted like. Waited over an hour for our food, which then started to come out sporadically. After reminding their staff a few times about the rest of our orders, we were falsely told that one of our orders (which just happened to me mine) was left off the slip. However, another look at the order slip showed that it had not. Then magically my food that was taking over an hour to prepare somehow appeared. But clearly the staff did not take my criticism well as after a few bites I started getting sharp pains in my stomach and ended up vomiting what I had eaten in their bathroom. I don't know what occurred in the process of making my food, but I was the only one that experienced this so can't blame me for being suss. The manager then had the nerve to tell me she wouldn't charge me for the food.. I don't know what she wanted to charge for as 90% of it was sitting on my plate and the other 10% was flowing down her toilet pipes! Very immature and unprofessional; definitely would not have happened under previous management! 0/10 would not recommend nor return

Ordered delivery. <br/><br/>Papaya salad came in a CAN, was half a serving, had no chilli in it and was old and soggy as the papaya lost its crunch. <br/><br/>The prawn pad Thai once again had no peanuts, barely any egg tossed through, no beans sprouts and was bone dry. Mind you it’s $20 for just rice noodle and prawn. Atrocious. <br/><br/>Portions are tiny. Standards have reduced and cutting corners doesn’t just save them $, it also loses loyal customers.<br/><br/>If I got served this food dining in I would’ve wanted a refund and walked out. <br/><br/>Better off going kaffir lime, green peppercorn or holy basil.

When it comes to fried rice, I think Thai styled is the best as it has a lot of fragrance and flavour. <br/><br/>As for the food here, a lot of the food is pretty solid and you could definitely order time and time again. I don't think it's the best but it's definitely good enough.

This used to be one of my favourite Thai joints, but the quality of the food and service has honestly gone down significantly. <br/><br/>I went on a Saturday evening so it was quite busy, but there were still empty tables around or uncleaned tables. No guests at the door were acknowledged at all, and I saw about 4 groups leave annoyed. We had a booking and we had to go in and ask for them to acknowledge we were there. <br/><br/>Food came out quick which was great. Ox tongue was really good as usual, pad see ew no longer has that wok flavour it’s known for. Massaman curry was probably the worst curry I’ve tried - way too sweet with no balance of saltiness, and the meat was extremely tough. <br/><br/>I also witnessed our food being sent to the wrong table quite a few times before I landed on ours.

Such a disappointing experience. We made a booking in advance and on arrival we found out that they had given our reservation away - waitress said she had been showing the reservation list to customers, which was why a random party would’ve taken our reservation. Doesn’t really seem like a smart thing to do.<br/><br/>So despite making this booking we had to wait 30 minutes for a table - which was definitely not worth it - food was quite mediocre. Would not recommend to anyone personally.

The ambience of the place is great and service BUT the food is bad. Ordered a chilli basil crocodile but came out with little to no sauce. The supposedly MARINATED BEEF, is not marinated - it came out as a plain beef steak. When we dine in, there was only 2-3 tables dining in aswell so it was not busy at all — which we are expecting that main meals comes out together cause the place is not full. Our main foods came out with atleast 5-10minutes apart, we were being patient the whole time because their food must be good which is why their taking the time to cook, but it’s not.. We ordered Quail and the Chef forgot to cook it. We had to ask the waitress to check on our Quail order & she said the chef forgot to cook it.

Ordered: twelve spice fried rice ($17.90), lao sausage ($12.90), lao's papaya salad ($11.90), crispy pork belly ($14.90), pad see ew ($13.90), veggie red curry ($10.90) and vermicelli salad ($14.90).<br/><br/>Favourites of the night were the pad see ew and red curry, both were really great and hit the spot. I think general consensus was the papaya salad was grated too thickly so it tasted a bit too vegetal, it's strange how it throws off the texture of the salad. The lao sausage was good but not quite like lao village and everything else was great. I think the vibe and service was both really friendly as well. For next time, I would probably ask them to use less salt/ soy sauce as i did find myself reaching for water quite a bit!

A neighbourhood gem! It's always really busy here especially on the weekends but everytime I've gone I've had a pretty decent experience. This use to be my family's go-to Thai spot since it was so close to home. Personally, I think the food here is more on the sweeter side but overall not bad!

Went on Saturday night(short notice)Rang for table for 2 and we were accommodated .Staff were very helpful and it was full of diners.They took our order with a smile.<br/>I ordered papaya salad with crispy pork belly but was served pork knuckle which was dry and overcooked.They admitted their mistake and when the bill came, i was charged 10 dollars more which i didnt have to pay.Not sure if i will go back

we came here when it was quite busy on a Friday night (8pm) and service was great. the food came out quite prompt nearly at the same time.<br/><br/>the rice was amazing, it had amazing flavours - when it came out it looked like a tiny serving but when we broke the mould it was a good size. i personally didnt try the curry because the boys said it was soo good they finished it soo quickly! the pad thai (i forgot to take a photo) and pad see ew were great too.<br/><br/>the only issue was the sago, it was actually terrible. there was just too many strong flavours in a tiny serving and when eaten together, it was a total mess. it was served extremely hot as well, did not taste great. however, the icecream was very nice.

Perfect food and also great service, even thought it was 20 mins until the store close when I came but the staff she still served me with good service and food ☺️❤️

I've been here on several different occasions, and if you're coming with a large group you definitely need to book (even on a "school night"). There's a plethora of choice on the menu - drinks and food. For entrees we've always ordered the Ox tongue and lao sausages (although it's a little hit and miss on the tenderness of the ox tongue), but nonetheless still delicious.<br/>I find it easier to share the mains, rather than everyone ordering their own dishes, but again would depend on the size of your group. Relatively cheap bill too for a group of 8 - all ordering entree, mains each, drinks each and rice to share and was all under $220.

One of my fave thai/Lao restaurants to go to! All the dishes I’ve ordered so far have been good. I got the ox tongue (highly recommend, it’s super juicy and tender 🤤), green curry, massaman curry, crunchy rice salad, pad Thai, pad see ew, calamari and would recommend all these dishes. I also ordered the Thai milk tea which was very nice as well (their fruit blended drinks are really nice as well) ☺️ Service is great and quick l but I would suggest booking beforehand if you don't want to wait around for a table (they do have a couch outdoors where you can sit and wait) especially on Friday nights/weekends because they do get pretty busy!

I am a regular customer who orders take away at least twice a week from here and I was very disappointed with the service I received today! The waitress I spoke to over the phone misunderstood my order and after I came in and paid I realised she gave me 4 sticky rice instead of 1. Her attitude towards me was very rude and she was blaming me for not understanding her, however, when I later called back to complain to a manager (who apparently was not there) I spoke to her and she seemed to be very apologetic (obviously because I was complaining) saying that she didn’t understand English very well. I explained to her that was in no way an excuse for her behaviour and that next time she should reconsider the way she treats customers because I will definitely not be coming back here again.

Thai & Lao is a dish best served combined<br/><br/>My friends and I visited this establishment after work for our monthly catch up. <br/>We didn't have a reservation however the staff were more than happy to give us a table of 3.<br/><br/>Being that it is a Thai and Lao restaurant, they didn't have a dish that I wanted. The staff did suggest a similar dish and said they can make it spicy if I like which I was thankful for.<br/>When the food arrived, the chef had actually cooked me what I wanted. They said they don't usually do that but they were happy to cook it for me. <br/>Food - the food is absolutely delicious and fresh. I had Chilli Basil fried rice and it was on boarder line of perfection. It was very spicy which was absolutely terrific. We also ordered Curry Puffs. Curry puff pastry was very soft and fresh. It was full of 'stuffing' which made it a hit of flavor. My friends ordered Green Curry which I tried being that I am a blogger. Man definitely tasted great. I think the Curry does however need a hit of Chilli other then that, it was delicious.<br/><br/>Service - The staff are very friendly and helpful. Thank you to the chef who went out of the menu and made something for me. I would have appreciated what the waiter recommended, either-way, thank you.<br/><br/>Cost - Prices are pretty similar to what you would see at other Thai restaurants.<br/>Overall - great atmosphere, clean restaurant, nice establishment and delicious food.<br/>definitely worth more visits.

A lady took our order. We asked her to give us chicken satay. She then came to us bringing spring rolls. When we told her we did not order for that and we ordered satay, she took the food back. Then a man came to us and asked us if we wanted satay and so we said yes. Few minutes after, the same lady server came to us with the satay and so we started eating. I did not like the sauce by the way. Then while eating, that man came to is bringing the another satay. So we were like, hey thanks but we already got one. Then, he looked to us disappointed and said why did you order from me when you have already ordered from someone else. Then took back the food. I did not start a fight because I am not in the mood, it is my birthday, but I wanted to tell him, hey its not our problem if you guys are not coordinated. Or if your servers have amnesia and they keep forgetting our orders. By the way, they also forgot to serve our drinks and when we asked for it, it's like they were surprised like oh really have you ordered for drinks. You should train your servers to be well-mannered.

Its been over a year since I’ve been back here. Went once with my friends after the old owners sold up & the food & service was not the same. My friends decided to give Twelve Spices another try since we could book a table last minute for a big group of us. When we arrived I couldn’t believe there were still tables available on a Saturday night. What ever happened to all the queues of people who use to wait to get inside?! What a shame to see a once thriving restaurant not as thriving. Once we sat down & had our food, it all made sense. Service is some what worse & food is mediocre.

This is a gem tucked away in a quiet corner of Canley Vale. We had great food but what made the night even more special were the wonderful and friendly staff. We will definitely come back!!

Service is really good here and the restaurant gets packed so booking is essential. The food here use to be better around 6+ years ago as i use to go as a kid, back when no one really knew about it. Still good though, hits the spot when my thai cravings kicks in.

This place surpasses Holy Basil in the sense of well balanced food, more authentic Thai & Lao cuisines, not being overrated, and I've saved myself for the long queue that I'm not sure was worthwhile. I love their fried ice cream, especially the one with black sesame ice cream flavour.

My family used to grab take away here all the time when I was a kid. I feel like twelve spices has changed a lot since then and the food doesn't do it for me no more. Definitely not my choice in Thai, however it's a local option of mine.

Group dinner since most of my uni friends live on this side of Sydney. Most of the popular thai restaurants first open in Western Sydney, so this place has been on my go to list for a while just to compare with the other popular Thai places in Sydney. Just some photos and quick descriptions. Didn't really taste that fresh, bur deep fried well and not too oily.

Another delicious Thai restaraunt we frequently visit!<br/><br/>A very cosy restaraunt with attentive staff and delicious food.<br/><br/><br/>Our favourite here is the deep fried fish with tamarind sauce - flavours so unique and so delicious :)

Follow my insta @burgersnbikinis<br/><br/>There are few things better in life than having a local Thai place that you can always count on, and I'm very fortunate to live just a few minutes from Twelve Spices in Canley Heights. <br/><br/>Recommended to me some years ago by a friend, I at one point became so much...

Good looking place and good looking menu. Average food and very-below average service (they're always ignoring you. Or the waiter is just hiding at the back). <br/><br/>Food not as good as it used to be before they changed owners. <br/><br/>Most of the food is average and they seem to always run out of ice cream flavours except for vanilla. <br/><br/>Last time we had the raw larb (raw beef salad) it wasn't fresh and tasted slightly old. The colour was off too. <br/><br/>Ok to eat at if you're hungry and wanting to stay local.

Overpriced and overrated. Maybe it was just the dishes we ordered, but I found myself spending $60 (2 ppl) on food that was almost inedible. The Laos sausages were weirdly grainy, the duck salad dripping in so much sauce you could taste nothing else,  and the crocodile was so mediocre even the servers mistook it for chicken. <br/><br/>We ordered one drink: a green tea frappe, which tasted nothing like green tea. They should have named it sugar frappe with green syrup instead.<br/><br/>The only thing I enjoyed was the sticky rice.

Well set up Thai restraunt in the suburbs. Hidden gem.  Seriously, you wouldn't expect such a restraunt in an area like that.<br/><br/>Interiors clean and well presented.<br/><br/>We weren't that hungry so we ordered only one dish and curry puffs<br/><br/>[Pad Satay noodles] Nice flavour but the noodle was a little chewy.<br/><br/>[Curry Puffs] Nice. Lightly sweet.<br/><br/>Great casual dining without the hassle of going into a dense area.

Food : Great 😊<br/>Drinks : Amazing 😁<br/>Service : Great 😊<br/><br/>Really good food. The Cashew Nut sauce was amazing but I really hoped that there would of been a more variety of veggies. Fried Ice cream was okay. Lao sausage and Curry puffs were amazing ! The fruit shakes were also delicious. Well worth trying

One of my favourites for Thai food!! Each dish is jam packed with flavour plus the drinks are a delicious compliment - avocado shake is delish! There are 2 dishes that I order every single time I visit - ox tongue and fried icecream! You won't regret it!

Not sure if an off day or something, but majority of the supposedly savoury food we ordered was marinated to be overly sweet! I've eaten here before and it was wonderful, but not too sure what happened !

For those of us who reside in South Western Sydney we are completely spoiled for choice when it comes to Thai food and Holy Basil and Green Peppercorn are undeniably the two most well-known Thai restaurants. It goes without saying that Green Peppercorn would be my number one pick as they have a comprehensive list of delicious desserts alongside their food menu. Deep-fried ice cream and pandan creme brûlée anyone?

Lex and I love Thai food and it’s probably the type of food we eat most regularly, along with Italian. We’ve been to Twelve Spices a few times and the food is always delicious. It’s not so good as a takeaway joint though, the food is a lot fresher and tastier when you dine in.<br/><br/>Our last visit to Twelves Spices was a few weeks before Christmas on a Friday night. It was actually a memorable occasion as we decided during the meal to go on a family holiday this July to Thailand! The service at the restaurant is pretty good and quite prompt. You tend to be in an out of there quite quickly. Sometimes it does feel like they are rushing you through your meal, but that’s because the place is so popular with locals and they obviously want to bank of that.<br/><br/>Keep reading on the blog:

Got the pad Thai but if I go here again I'll definitely try something different ! My friends got so many different foods, I'm a little jealous I got the usual pad Thai. But I didn't mind since is was soo good! And the juices were yum! I got a mix of watermelon and lychee and it was delish! Great place for a catch up with good food! The food was really tasty!

Thought I'd come here for a quick dinner with family before my flight. Loved the food and great welcoming service. Only downfall was desert took longer then usual to come out. Other then that great place to go

This place is set in a very unassuming road and is very private - so if you have a second girlfriend then this is the sort of place you can take them too without being caught out...lol ... food is great here and the customer service is great. i highly recommend the crunchy rice ball salad.

Firstly,I want to show you my friend's fried icecream. It looks like someone jizzed all over it. <br/>----<br/><br/>Affordable Thai. I have gone here quite a few times but my most recent visit was disappointing. The pineapple fried rice was done really badly with mushy rice and barely any toppings. It was missing the contrast between savoury/sweet and depth that pineapple fried rice was supposed to have. <br/>The massaman curry was decent. The pad Thai was okay but not the greatest. Pad see ew: mediocre and the ox tongue was done well. The avocado shake was very nice.<br/><br/>On other occasions this place was good so I'm hoping that this was just a one-off where the food wasn't up to standard.<br/><br/>I still can't get over the presentation of the fried ice cream.

The duck curry, duck salad, ox tongue, snapper salad, calamari, pad Thai are all good dishes! <br/><br/>Thai milk tea and other fruit drinks are good too but nothing spectacular <br/><br/>And the taro fried ice cream is delish! My only complaint is that we've often been there when the fried ice cream chef wasn't available which seems to be often <br/><br/>Also staff are not that attentive but customer service shouldn't really be expected for asian restaurants around this area anyway

It was a spurr of the moment decision to have Thai one Monday evening that led us to Twelve Spices for dinner. Located on St Johns Rd, Canley Heights, this Lao and Thai restaurant is not only conveniently close to Danny’s home (no google map stalking now) but also unusually busy for it’s location.

Used to like this place. Food is great, pity about the staff especially the bald manager that thinks he's better than everyone else when he acts like a muppet. Rude with no manners. We had ordered our meals and were missing a dish. He proceeded to argue with us saying we had not ordered it giving me attitude. I wouldn't be complaining if I hadn't ordered it. Will not be going back

Although not quite as popular as Holy Basil or Green Peppercorn we still visit here once in a while just to get away from the big crowds and try some dishes which are actually arguably more authentic and better prepared than both rivals. The milk tea here is great!

Favourite Thai eatery. Good small restaurant, though can get very busy at dinner time. I prefer this restaurant more than Holy Basil - Food proportions are more generous, quality is great & very affordable - definitely getting your money's worth. My partner's fave dish is the soft shell crab & mine the tiger beef salad

{ _anne_with_an_e // review }<br/>I'd been looking forward to visit Twelve Spices for their crowd-pleasing fried ice-cream, but only to find out they didn't have any for lunch service. Nonetheless we ordered our entrees and mains - when, our waitress finally decided to take it. <br/><br/>For the duration of our time there, it seemed we were constantly having to follow up on the staff - with one of the dishes, the water, the rice, the serving spoon. I mean once or twice fair enough, but this was getting ridiculous and rather irritating. Especially as we were waiting there patiently, but to no avail. Which was a shame because the food was nice, notably their crispy chilly basil chicken.<br/><br/>I always feel good service is a bonus to great food. But considering it as a whole, it’s still a dining ‘experience’. So with food being nothing too spectacular and lack of service, I’d definitely be hesitant to come back here again. And it could have been their ‘off day’, but considering their neighbouring restaurants, namely Holy Basil and What The Fudge Cafe, this place wouldn’t be top of mind when heading back to this area, unfortunately.<br/><br/>Must haves // crispy chilly basil chicken<br/>Pros // good for sharing, nice food<br/>Cons // slow service<br/><br/>Food: 3.5/5<br/>Ambience: 3.5/5<br/>Service: 2/5

I've been here a few times and nearly all the times it has been great. They have a friendly young staff that is on the ball with the orders and pretty much anything you request. The food here is quite good as well…. Consistently good too, which is always a bonus. The last visit I had was for my wifes birthday and they made such a big deal about serving a birthday cake because they also sold dessert... ummm we just had around twenty people eat at your restaurant.. each of us spending over $20 per head.... couldn't they at least serve the cake and just charge us a cake-age (such a ridiculous concept) fee anyways? Eventually they did it with some attitude and negotiating (only promising plastic cutlery and plates)... that really turned me off this place and I've yet to return...

One of my favourite Thai places in Sydney! The food is always delicious and satisfying, and the service is quick and friendly. I highly recommend their ox tongue (always well cooked and packed with amazing flavour), pad thai, any of their curries and salads, and their fruit shakes. I've lost count of how many times my family, friends and I have been here, but it's definitely worth the trek.

I love this place! The food is always flavoured well. For someone who hates spicy, the red duck curry is so delicious. Generous amount of pineapple and lychee to complete this dish.

Marinate your taste buds with my favourite barbeque ox tongue dish; so good we sometimes order seconds! Spice your appetite with some tom yum soup which can be quite oily if you can’t handle chilli oil or temper with a light mussel green curry. Refresh your palette with a jar of green milk tea to help neutralize the strong and salty flavours of the food.

Best thai in sydney! service is great, food comes out quick, food is great (i love the panang curry, crab meat fried rice, soft shell crab) and they offer so many flavours of fried ice cream. ive lost count of how many times ive been here lol

Bad Service. We have been to 12 Spices for many years but since they changed owner service is so appalling. Food is ordinary but when we told them at the beginning we want to order pandan fried ice cream they told us there were plenty. Staff had no service and when we ordered the fried ice cream in the end we were told they had run out. It's sad to see a once great restaurant to what it is now.

Crap service overides good food.. Me and my friends have always come back to this restaurant due to the convenient location and parking as well as being able to book a table but we will prob never come back. At least on 3 occasions, we have ordered and finished our food and still no drinks have arrived. This is so basic, should come out first, and shouldn't even have to be an issue. <br/><br/>The first time that happened, we practically finished our food and i still havent gotten my milk tea. After the 100th time of asking, a young guy walks towards my table with a glass and thought it would be funny to abruptly turn to another table to give it to them as a joke. He laughed and finally gave me my drink. <br/><br/>Second time, we had a guest from France.. again, ate all our food and no drinks arrived. also, all the food came out with no rice to eat along with it.. how are we supposed to eat meat with no rice? Nice waiter was apologetic and reassured the fried rice was on its way. When it came out, it was cold and hard.<br/><br/>By this point, i went to pay for the bill and cancel the beer cos we had already finished our meal. Got to the counter, and there's 2 of my milk teas sitting on the counter waiting for the water to be poured. I told the girl we had been waiting for ages, and she said all the orders came at once. Come on, how easy is it to crack open a beer?! Ended up taking away the milk teas, but we are never coming back. Would rather go Canley Heights or Fairfield, and wait in line than have such a poor and stressing dining experience over something so standard and basic!!!!

Inside, the restaurant is usually bustling with customers, with a nice, chilled-out vibe and friendly waiters. The dishes come out fairly quickly and the service is adequate and relaxed.

Overall, staff were ‘run-off-their-feet friendly’, food came out reasonably quickly (a bit muddled at times but staff were quick to fix up) and really packed a punch flavourwise. If you can make the trek and don’t mind waiting (or book ahead) Twelve Spices is a great restaurant to try for something new with friends or family. Apparently their fried ice cream and other desserts are amazing but my stomach has yet to allow me enough room to try it!

Now this was my favourite dish of the evening. The Choo Chee curry. Although it did get an unfair advantage that I do really like duck and curry, I can confidently say, it did an outstanding job…of being a curry. Unlike other curries I’ve had, this one was super creamy and super rich in flavour. The coconut flavour really absorbed itself in and with every spoonful on your rice kept you wanting more and more. The roasted duck was also to perfection, so soft and tender for the meat yet still having that crunch on the skin. It’s a mild curry and the coconut milk will cool any burning. So good with chilli or not, this is a winner, definitely try this!

Twelve Spices is definitely a restaurant that I would want to come back to. It's close by, the staff were really friendly and good tasting food came out very quickly.If you ever want to come here, definitely make a booking - especially on Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights - otherwise you might find yourself waiting over an hour for a table. Also if you're intro fruit shakes, definitely try them out here - you can even mix up the fruit combinations and customise your own. I think it's definitely up there with other Thai eateries like Holy Basil and Green Peppercorn.

MC had a coke and I had a passionfruit fruit shake, which was delicious and refreshing on such a hot day! They were served in cute jars which we thought was a nice touch as it was both environmentally friendly and unique!

Overall the experience wasn't too bad, food order came out pretty funny, but nonetheless staff were kind and ambiance was great. Would definitely go again to try the specials they offer like their crispy chilli basil crocodile o0o0oo...wonder how that would taste.

The [aromatic] smell of the green curry is just amazing from the coconut to the herbs and spices.It is full of fresh and vibrant veggies with a generous amount of chicken. It’s so very smooth and is a treat to eat.

Our last dinner dish was a chicken green curry. A classic Thai dish, this curry was smooth and creamy with tender bits of chicken. My only criticism was that there wasn’t enough chicken! But otherwise, the flavours were all spot on.

Cue ominous music...for the arrival of the durian shake! Durian Shake Now neither Mr Trout or I have ever tried durian in its natural form before, so we figured we would try the durian shake. I have heard numerous s

Overall, the service was very laid back (in a good way), the food was delicious and it was great value! I highly recommend this place if you live around the Canley Heights / Cabramatta West area and want a quick and flavoursome meal without driving the extra 5 minutes to Canley Vale Road.

We were all overly-satiated by the time we exited the restaurant and stumbled into our cars, happy with our adventures and haul of good food. Honestly, the Cabramatta/Canley Vale area is home to some of the best food at ridiculously cheap prices in Sydney, and most definitely worthy of the trip out if you have the chance.<br/>

Twelve Spices has always been a local favourite with my family; serving up a mixture of Thai and Laotian dishes, the food is always cheap, authentic and really good.

There are so many Thai-Laos restaurants in the Cabramatta/Fairfield area that it's hard to keep up. Twelve Spices has been around for a long time, but under many different owners. This latest incarnation is ultra hip, a-la Holy Basil , and it seems to be working. On a Friday night, Twelve Spices was packed and it's a pretty mixed crowd, young Viet lads in their trendy t-shirts, Asian families, local birthday party of twenty from a Caucasian background. So, ok, the place looks good and the menu design is cute, but for me it's the relaxed and very friendly service that attracts. Young Asian and Caucasian waiters are unique enough. But these lads and ladettes are friendly too - that's unheard of! As you can see in the video, our waiter even sat down at the table to take our order. The Yum Nam Tok (beef salad) worked well, great flavour and very fresh side vegetables. My only reservation was that the beef was a tad rare. The duck salad was the clear highlight for me. No compromises here, s

This has been the "go to" Thai restaurant for my husband and I for over 3 years but after the awful service we received tonight we will never go there again. The food was fine but not great, particularly given the fact that one of the dishes we received was not actually what we ordered. When we spoke to a staff member about this he told us that we had ordered the wrong thing and walked away. Apparently the staff don't actually realize they work in a service industry. <br/>Don't waste your money going to this restaurant.

Great Food, Poor Customer Service. Food WAS great, but when you're given bitter service it degrades the restaurant on all levels/categories. Not all customers are aware kitchen closing times are a little after 9 pm. Instead of impolitely dusting off customers perhaps they should look into outlining kitchen closing times to avoid disappointing customers. Being of Laotian and Thai descent I'm truely embaressed to have these sort of people represent our beautiful culture and food.

Terrible takeaway. Salad was flavourless and meat dishes were not fresh. They probably gave us leftovers from the night before. Best dish was the sticky rice. Frequent customer but now we're never going back.

Overrated. 1st time was ok... Went second time to try some other dishes. Disappointed. In attentive service.. Food average.

Horrible experience !!!!. I have called to book a table here then confirm that they have the deep fried ice cream twice times then when I ordered. They said no . I was so upset about that what's the point that I called then. Then the service was terrible. Never go back again !!

Do not go here with a big group of people. Went here for a birthday and was treated poorly by the guy managing the tables for the customers. <br/><br/>After waiting a few minutes for the rest of the group to arrive, the staff managing tables rudely interrupted our conversation to tell us to order quickly as our booking ends and will be asked to leave. In addition, we were given serviettes to eat with the cake we brought because apparently the didn't have enough plates... We'll definitely take our money somewhere else.

Friendly staff but fried ice-cream was half melted. Waited 30 mins for a table. Staff were really friendly even though it was really busy. Food came out really quickly. Food was delicious and tasted fresh. I only went there to have their pandan fried ice cream but they ran out so we had vanilla instead. Waited 15mins for the fried ice-cream and by the time we got it it was already half melted. When i told the waiter he said it was because of the oil. Like wtf no it's because they left it out for too long. They should have replaced it or apologised AT LEAST!

Local Diner. Have eaten here several times and enjoyed the food. The food is authentic Thai and Laos with lots of flavour however the service leaves much room for improvement. I don't mean to put the blame on all the staff, some of the waiters are friendly however in general some can gain alot from some simple manners or even customer service skills.<br/><br/>Just phoned to make a booking and the person who took the call had no phone manners at all. If I get the same quality of service during my next dine in it will be the last

A great restaurant. Stumbled by this place from a recommendation from a friend who raves about it. After waiting an hour at a nearby Laos restaurant we decided to throw in the towel and head to Twelve Spices. We were not disappointed!!<br/><br/>Firstly, the service is great and prompt. Our favourites on the menu are the laos sausages and soft shell crab but overall everything is so delicious.<br/><br/>Will be coming back time and time again!

Have been to this restaurant on many occasions and really enjoyed their food. Was there again last month for a friend's birthday and regret to say it will be my last time. It's a shame because this restaurant has been run by the same owner's since I can remember. But of late the service has unfortunately turned me off from coming again. To say the least staff here are not customer friendly, just seems like they are just there to get a job done. When I asked the waiter for the dessert menu, he rudely replied something in the tune of "you can't have dessert, there's none left" When we had paid for the bill and was about to leave, he then later informed us they did have fried ice cream available. It may seem like I am one those complaining types, but I really would not have signed up for an account to review this place if not for the rude waiter. It's a great local place to eat at so please don't let it turn customers away because of the poor and unfriendly waitstaff. Sincerely, M

I used to be a fan of twelve spices but of the late I've noticed their food has gotten really salty. Every mouthful tastes like it is full of MSG and without fail I would go home and drink lots of water cause I feel so thirsty afterwards. Not a good sign. In saying that, they do have pretty good desserts (pandan friend ice cream and mango stick rice with coconut sauce). However I will not be rushing back anytime soon to have anything savoury.

Worse pad thai I've ever had... Service was ok... Didn't serve dessert because they were "too busy". Overall, pretty disappointed!

Amazing authentic Thai and Lao food! Absolutely love this place! Super friendly staff who are young and full of energy. We had dinner there on the weekend and this place was pumping with a huge wait outside. We didn't have to wait too long for a table which was great. Food comes out really quickly and their portions are more than generous. Highly recommend their crispy chilli basil chicken, snapper salad with green mango, lao sausages, rice ball salad and the mango fried ice cream. Yum!! Twelve Spices is definitely worth a visit. Will be back for sure!

Rude Service. Food is decent however their staff was quite rude and won't be coming back for that reason. One the staff initially was handing out the forks and spoons to each customer however stopped halfway and could not be bothered handing out the rest and dumped all the cutlery in the middle of the table. Another time they altered our menu by making all the pad thai with chicken instead of different meats which people ordered to make it easier for them to make. Lastly, they overcharged us on bill and did not say sorry. Very rude customer service.

The blatant rudeness, lack of humility & passion from the wait staff at this place is baffling. An element of enjoying Thai food is the vivid expression of culture, politeness & the friendly smile of waiters - ahhh dream on if you want any of that from this place. I'm extremely delighted that I didn't get to have a meal here, as the shrewd tone of the waiter upon arrival was enough to get us out the door & far away from there as possible. The shabby surroundings of the restaurant matched the personality of the waiters inside...

Amazing pad thai!. This was my first time having Lao food, and it did not disappoint! You know a restaurant is good when you show up at 9PM on a Saturday and the place is still packed. My friend and I still had to wait for a table to open up, but it was well worth it. The pad thai was only ordered as an afterthought, but I reckon it must be one of the best pad thai's I've ever had!<br/><br/>In terms of Lao food, we had the ox tongue -- perfectly cooked with great flavor; the raw beef and tripe salad -- more meat than veggies, but well flavored; and the sour pork belly -- also great flavor.<br/><br/>Their soursop and jackfruit-lychee smoothies are wonderful, and all in all, the portions are HUGE!!! It's such a great deal and food is fantastic. I just wish it wasn't so far away from the city!

STAY AWAY. Terrible Service, the waiters were unattentive and had alot of attitude when we requested for either water or for the menu. Food is alright. Doesn't come out in the order that we wanted it to come out for instance we ordered satay sticks as an entree and it came out when we were about to order dessert. Anyways there are better thai restaurants in the area. I would look around and avoid this place.

We first visited this place when it opened a number of years ago. It was very good then, and after recently visiting it again we thought it was still very good - an excellent alternative to Holy Basil as it's packed but the wait is hardly as long.

My big fat Italian family adventure. After my first amazing experience at Twelve Spices I was excited to head back down with some friends, unfortunately this time my family decided to come with me. Playing safe I booked a table for 630, arrived to find it nicely set out for my family of 8. I Didn't noticed the first time but love the decor and seating, giving the meal a real family essence of flavour. I took charge and ordered for everyone on the table, having Nonnas and bubbas to order for. I ordered about 13 dishes from seafood to thai salads. All the food came out , again, fresh and full of zest. The softshell crab was delicious, the pad see ew was full of flavour but most of all it was the home style lao sausages and duck salad that were family favourites. Italians dont eat this style of food at home and we all enjoyed it. The staff were great, as everyone knows Italians get noisy, talk with their hands so food follows. I can easily recommend taking anyones family down there, if you can use chopsticks , ask for a fork, but you can keep the chopsticks to practice with. For a family run business this a 5 star event every time I dine there. God bless them and their food.

It was a wast of time. I booked a table for 7 people for 8pm, when I got there the table was not ready and I had to wait outside for 20mins. The food and price are average. The worst experience is the customer service, the waiter was so rude, we had to keep asking for out wine glass and our table table water. When the food finally come to the table, he just dump it on the table. The staff keep coming around to ask if we we're finish like they wanted to push us out. I would never ever go there again. Such a wast if time.

Good food but rude customer service. Food is tasty at very reasonable prices. we enjoyed the food very much !!<br/><br/>the customer service at this place is the worst. they are rude and don't know how to count their money. make sure when you pay for your bill they don't over charge you. be sure that they give you the right change. the staff at this place did not give us the right change for our bill. we challenged them and they did not approach this with professional customer service. <br/><br/>Our bill was $126.30. Split into 4 people it's $32 each. My two friends including myself had $40 only and my other friend had $50. We could not find change to split this.. so my friend who had a $50 walked up to the cashier to ask her if he could get change of two 20's and 1 10 for his $50 so it would be easier for us. She said for all of us to go up to the counter and she will help us out. Then she said "put all your money together and whatever change you get just split it amongst yourselves." <br/>One by one we all put our money in giving a total of $170 (6 x $40 and 1x $50). She took our $170 and only gave us a change of $23.70.. meaning we were missing $20. We asked why we were given short on our change.. and she replied with the worst attitude and unprofessional answer. She redirected it back to us that maybe one of us only gave $20. I think as people eating out for dinner we would know how much was in our wallets during the night right? None of us had any money left in our wallets because we gave it all to her. We even turned out wallets and bags upside down. She was accusing us that one of us only gave $20. When really they took everything and did not give the right change. The only option she gave was to check the security cameras. The security cameras did not justify the problem as the cameras were not clear enough to see the way she was counting. The manager (bald guy) did not even help us.. and did not even talk to us with professionalism. The girl at the cashier (who we believe is the wife of the manager) was very rude. Next time they should count the money they are receiving properly to avoid any confusion. They did not even find a solution to our problem.. all they wanted to do was get rid of us and not even apologise.

Beautiful Food! Very similar to other Thai Restaurants, at good prices for main dishes too. Had Fried Ice Cream for dessert - absolutely to die for, until the bill came out, each was 10 dollars! We ordered 5 for the family so 50 dollars just for the ice cream. Bit disappointed but oh well.

Not going back. The food here is good but can be salty. <br/><br/>Perhaps the venue is just too small to cater for a group of 8 as I had an awful dining experience here mainly due to the rudeness of the manager (bald guy). <br/><br/>Previously, I use to dine here often and recommend this restaurant but after feeling embarrassed and angry for my friends at our consistently rude treatment by the manager, there's no going back for me.

Booked a table for 5 +pram no problems even when everyone showed up late. The shakes were delicious but came out very slowly over the course of the meal (think they only have 1 blender). The food came out pretty fast and was fresh and delicious. The ox tongue had a good marinade and was served hot - unlike green peppercorn which was precooked. Also had the lao sausage, crispy rice ball salad, soft shell crab salad, pad thai and crispy chilli basil chicken. Soft shell crab salad came out fresh hot and crispy, and the rice ball salad was definitely something to try. I also had the pandan fried ice cream and durian sticky rice here on a separate occasion but wasn't a fan. The friedd ice cream just tasted like the butter it was cooked in which over powered and pandan flavour in the ice cream. Durian sticky rice was nice but the serving was too huge for something so rich and oily. If you're after a good fried ice cream go green peppercorn or holy basil. <br/>Service wise the guy in charge of our table acted like he wanted to hang himself, however another waiter on the floor was very friendly and happily took a photo of us. If you want reliable thai this is the place to go

Had a dinner reservation, however when we got there they hadn't prepared a table for us so they offered the table closest to the entrance. We later realised it was because it was freezing cold since the doors were left often due to people walking in and out. The entree was served when we had gotten halfway through two main dishes already... And the food was average, I've had better Thai.

Absolutely terrible phone etiquette. Decent food though.

Twelve Spices rocks!. This Thai/Lao restaurant serves up freshly prepared Thai cuisine and is a favourite with the locals and is perfect for your next catch up with friends and family. My fave is the Lao sausages served with Nam Jim sauce - delicious! And the papaya salad is to die for, so refreshing with a kick of chilli topped with dry shrimp. Don't forget their signature dessert - fried ice cream WOW!!

No idea what the hype is. Besides the innovative twist to modernise Lao/Thai cuisine, the food really isn't that great. There are fantastic authentic Lao/Thai restaurants out there, I don't recommend this place and probably wouldn't come back. It's just so, so. X

Lots to choose from the menu, but I was drawn to the authentic Lao dishes, the Sour Sausages, Beef Salad (raw Lao style) & Soft Shell crab were the stand outs! But I definitely left the best till last, the Pandan Fried Ice Cream was to die for! This is one if my picks of best cheap eats. From a Melbourne Foodie!

Disgusted at the unprofessional waiter. Upon entering the restaurant, my partner had asked to be seated somewhere comfortable..to be met with an irate response of "how long are you going to be?"<br/>whilst calm in response, the waiter then responds "what?!"<br/>Leaving the establishment, this waiter was outside as well then says a derogatory gay slur.<br/>Absolutely disgusting, would not go here again.

I called up the restaurant 30mins prior to my arrival to make a booking. The staff whom answered the phone assured me that they were not busy and a booking would not be necessary. Thus, I trusted the staff member and arrived to the restaurant later. <br/>I was then greeted by a waiter on arrival, who informed me that it'd be a 15 minute wait. I explained to him about my call earlier on, to what he replied with 'well, the reason why we didn't take your booking was because we're actually booked out, it's totally up to you guys whether you want to wait or leave though.' Extremely disappointed at our first point of contact already, as there was not an apology and this waiter was obviously not concerned about losing this sale or not as well as, we were not even informed about the restaurant being booked out in the first place. <br/><br/>Overall the food was average (nothing special, we didn't finish half our food), service was extremely poor, though we did encounter one friendly female waiter. And the reason we decided to visit this restaurant was because friends of mine had been raving on about their dessert, however as we were finally about to order our dessert, we were rudely informed that they were out of dessert. <br/><br/>As we went to pay for the bill, the waiter who greeted us from the beginning, shoved in front of us and casually said 'excuse me dude, just need to grab this chair' even our last point of contact was extremely disappointing.<br/><br/>We will definitely not be returning to this restaurant again. Extremely disappointed and upset about our experience.

Good. Service is quick, food is very tasty. Can't say that there is anything particularly unique about twelve spices (all the Thai / Lao restaurants in the area have similar dishes, decor and ambience), they just do the job well. Staff is young, maybe a tad arrogant a few times, but nothing major. All extra requests were catered for immediately. Proofing is typical for area too. Fifty bucks with the partner, and I couldn't walk afterwards. And I'm a big eater. Would go back every time. Just beware, it gets very very busy! Indicator that people like going back. Definitely try it, it's a lovely place.

Delightful food in an environment with beautiful energy. My husband and I visited this little gem for the first time this evening.<br/>It was recommended by my eldest son and it lived up to the recommendation.The food was "refined" the peices of chilli basil beef were beautifully cut and cooked to perfection, the choo chee prawns were the best I have had, just enough coconut and not too much batter, The salt and pepper squid was also the best I have had and believe me that is saying something.Yes of course we had the Fried Ice cream, mango and again the batter was very delicate and refined, I know its unusual to describe Thai food as delicate and refined but these are the words that reflect the visual experience coupled with the taste of the dishes. <br/>The spices did not burn my stomach as often they do for me when I eat Thai food., the staff had a beautiful energy and there was a lot of fun and pride in they way they delivered their masterpeices to the waiting customers..<br/>Well done Twelve Spices here's to a little Thai "magick" in our local neighbourhood. <br/>We will be back.

A friend recommended 12 spices to me and my partner. The first time we ate there we were pleasantly surprised. The food was delicious! especially the grilled pork. and definately the fried icecream!!! We loved it so much we returned a couple of days after for more fried icecream.<br/><br/>Im not sure if they are ultra busy on thursday nights, but they didnt seem to be expecting such a high volume of customers. We waited 20 minutes. fair enough. what can you do. however they did not have enough staff members to accomodate the business. We ordered a watermelon shake and coconut juice. however we did NOT recieve the drinks until around 15 minutes after recieving our actual food. That by the time we finished our desert and mains i still had more than 3/4 of my drink left i couldnt finish it without staying in the restaraunt, while people were waiting outside.<br/><br/>Whilst we were eating there were a number of tables empty. and a line of customers outside, however the staff were so busy they were not able to serve the people outside and bring them in. The staff were very busy, i had to physically go to the front counter to ask for my drink twice and order desert as the waiters walking past were too busy and forgot that I wanted to order more food.<br/><br/>I love the fried icecream so much we went back again with my entire family this time. The food was great as always, however the staff are not very friendly. My 1 yr old son was playing with a spoon on the table. and the waitress came up to us and said "can you NOT let him play with that, he is going to dent the table." yeh ok, fair enough. but he is only 1. She could of said it in a nicer way and i would of happily obliged and taken the spoon off him. <br/><br/>The staff, as i have read other reviews, need to be much nicer. the only reason why i go back is for the food. NOT the staff!! if the food wasnt so nice and relatively cheap i would definately NOT go back!

Love it!. I actually went there to do a Glass repair!<br/>Whilst doing the works, the smell of the food dragged me back into the resturant numerous times, so I had to eat there once finished. Not only was the Beef strip & Boiled rice with Chillie excellent the staff are very welcoming. I will be back & I would just like to wish them all much success!!!!

Nice food with good value for money. You should try the dessert, simply amazing!!!, get the pandan sauce on your fried ice cream, yummmmm!!!

Panang curry was poorly made. Satay chicken skewers were pretty mediocre. But the service is pretty good.. If you get there first. It's a pretty small spot.