Toakom Asian Bistro

I have been here a few times. Great location for me and where I live. The service has always been attentive and responds well. Sometimes I go with a friend to catch up and never feel rushed. Love the food especially the red curry. yum yum! It is a quiet place and I hope more people find this gem.

To be fair, I ordered Phở instead of one of their Thai dishes, so it may be that I simply ordered their weakest link, but the Phở was quite bad. The broth was nearly flavorless and had no body to it. The «meatballs» I’m pretty sure were sliced in half frozen Costco meatballs… they were VERY salty, had a poor texture, and did not have a good flavor. The service was polite, but very slow. A rather odd vibe as well with the T.V. in the dining area cycling through estate adds. Not a spot I plan to return to.

Every time I come to Bellingham, visiting my parents, I somehow end up at this space. Every time, it’s a new business.
I have to say, Toakom is my favorite so far!
Wow, the broth of the Tom Kha soup is perfect! A gorgeous balance of all the key ingredients needed to make it just perfect. Really, it’s hard to find. Often it’s too sweet, or there’s not enough lime, or not enough fish sauce, or just bland… but this place has found the balance, I tell you what.
Next, I tried the green avocado curry. I’m from California, so if you put avocado on something, I’ll eat it. The creaminess of the avocado plays so well with the rich green curry. I added salt to mine.
Finally, I ordered some boba tea. I was thinking «wow, $ 5.50 seems a bit steep.» I wasn’t looking at the SIZE of the thing. 32 ounces! The cup was as big as my head! It took me all day to drink that sesame boba tea, but it was so good. By the way, the tapioca was tender and perfectly cooked.
If you want medium spicy, and often eat spicy foods, order a level of at least 4. 2 isn’t spicy at all, and 3, well, I couldn’t tell there was a lot of spice either.
There weren’t any grapes in my avocado curry, but that was ok.
Later I brought friends back with me. They had the chill chill wonton soup and loved it. I had the spicy duck, and really enjoyed it. Interestingly, the duck is a bit breaded, but also boneless and tasty. This curry has both pineapple and grapes, and it’s lovely.
Come check them out. Nice people. Really good food!

I lived in SE Asia for a year and this place recreates the food as close as I can get around here.

Been here a few times now and the food is consistently great. The pink seafood soup is particularly good.

Very nice folks. They have pink noodles and green papaya salad, so you know it’s actually people who know there’s more to pan-​Asian than handrolls and pad thai. It’s not the fanciest place, and the food is simple, but pretty affordable. And the service is MUCH speedier than Black Pearl (who used to be in that spot).
I will say the last time I was there I found a little earwig in my soup. I’m sure it just got in the dry noodles, then into it’s own little hot tub… so whatever, fish it out and move on, but hopefully it’s not a regular occurrence as I like my protein a little more on the tofu and fish balls side :)
People: The water is supposed to taste like that! Welcome to another culture. Geez.

Nice little restaurant. Since moving here, we’ve been wanting to try non chain restaurants. This little place is welcoming and the staff is pleasant.
We ordered 3 bowls and and split the last between the two kids.
I usually go the safe route and order a curry bowl. The kids split a wonton egg noodle phô and the hubby got a seafood bowl. Everything was nice and flavorful. We topped it off with a mango bubble tea and green tea.
All in all, good prices, large portions and polite service.

We were driving from BC to seattle. Dropped by and so happy we did. It’s a small family restaurant. Basic decoration but clean.
Menu is very unique for Asian/​Thai. None of the typical Thai stuff so be warned. We had the Yum avocado salad with chicken. Wow! Taste great.
Both my wife and I had the pink noodle soup. Fantastic! Very unique flavor. Lots of shrimp and fish cakes.
Had mango and sticky rice for dessert. Happy to report water tasted normal. We will definitely come back when we’re headed this way.

Curry sauces are to die for. I got the large wonton soup — sooooo good. Comes with a bunch of wontons. Server was super nice and food came fairly quickly! If you are driving through def check it out! –Portland food snob.

Very nice and clean with a friendly staff. Water tasted salty and needed to be switched out. Khoa Soi had fried/​dried noodles that did not moisten with the broth. The chicken was obviously a day or two old — didn’t eat it. The whole dish needs a lot of help. Garnishes used were old and browned. We tried! The food was poor.

Went there for dinner, it’s close to our house and we like trying new places. We got the yellow curry and the duck curry, and two bubble teas.
While we sat they gave us two waters which tasted like… rice. A very strong rice flavor actually, it was interesting.
As for the bubble tea, the tapioca pearls were undercooked and most were still very hard in the center. The yellow curry’s flavor was ok, although my potatoes were not quite cooked through, and it lacked some veggies that other restaurants typically add. The duck curry was ok, nice presentation, but nothing to write home about.
Price is about average for an asian restaurant. The atmosphere wasn’t very inviting, it was so quite that you were afraid to talk. The server was nice.
All-​in-​all… I wouldn’t go back, and I wouldn’t recommend.

Went here not knowing what to expect. Had some Pot stickers for an appetizer and that was very good. I also had the low star yellow curry and it was really good also. its a quaint nice little place with surprisingly good food. I will most likely go back at some point.

Not inspired nor outstanding, the Tom Kha was thin, flavor OK, and the onion slices too long for the spoons. I wanted vegetables in the entrée, and the Broccoli Cashew dish delivered fresh vegetables colorfully and nicely, but I was disappointed in the chicken in both the soup and entrée. It had been previously cooked and frozen and tasted like it, dry and no melding of flavors. If ordering from the Happy Hour menu, stay with the tofu option!

Wow! The flavored are unique and interesting! Love everything I tried first time here!

Oh my gosh YES! At first I was thinking… Small menu. HOWEVER I ordered the crystal noodle dish and it was deeeeelicious! I don’t know if I’ll ever find it anywhere else! The noodles were thin clear and awesome. I also got the Thai hot green tea. It was GREEN and Deeeeeelicious! (It still tastes like a green tea.) fast and friendly service

Went here for early dinner on a Sunday. The people working were very nice and the prices were right. We ordered 4 meals and various appetizers and soups to satisfy the group of people who eat Thai food often. Only cost $ 40. Everything we ordered was not what was expected. The only thing that tasted okay was the crystal noodles. Ordered red curry that was not red and only tasted like coconut milk. We were disappointed by the Tom ka after reviews on here. Probably the worst we’ve had. For a cheap meal, fine, but for the same price could do a lot better in town.

Relatively new place. Went there for lunch. It was quiet and clean and the staff were exceptionally friendly and attentive. Had the BBQ pork soup. Tasted excellent. Prices were very reasonable. Seems to be mostly a phở type Thai restaurant with some other miscellaneous Asian dishes available as well. The menu isn’t too extensive but I Will definitely go back and recommend to other people.

Passing through Bellingham we stopped in here for lunch, and were glad we did. I had possibly the best Tom kha I’ve ever had, very fresh and clean with loads of lemongrass. The soup was light, not at all heavy or overly sweet like some coconut milk dishes can get. It might have been a touch salty, but probably just right if I’d had it with rice.
They’re brand new and nobody else was there, but our server was very nice, so hopefully it catches on.
Last thing, don’t be put off by the taste of the water. It is infused with Thai herb. It tastes fine, but might catch off guard if you’re not expecting it.

I had the green papaya salad, and this was just as good as it get’s. Have not had it this good since Thailand! Thanks,