Tucked into the corner of a strip mall in O’Fallon, Mo., Thai D’Lish has a strangeness I found immediately endearing. Unlike the bare surroundings of some other Thai restaurants, the napkins are linen and the bar is stocked surprisingly well – right down to a dessert wine.

And the oddities continue on the menu, with a strip steak and rack of lamb included among the chef’s specialties – not exactly traditional Thai dishes. And with higher price tags, you notice quickly that things are a little different here.

Tom yum koong soup, for instance, was unlike any I’ve had elsewhere. Typically the “hot” in this hot and sour soup with shrimp is played down by the lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime. At Thai D’Lish, however, a fiery Thai chile paste gives the soup a red hue and an astonishing kick that left me sopping sweat from my brow. The shrimp were perfectly cooked rather than the rubbery specimens you usually find.

Then there were dishes I’d simply not seen before. Siam toasts were a mixture of ground chicken, shrimp, sesame seeds and nam pla (Thai fish sauce) spread onto slices of French baguette and then deep-fried. The resulting beige concoction wasn’t the most appetizing of colors, but the combination of soft chicken and shrimp and toasty bread gave the dish an interesting flavor that was complemented perfectly by a relish of cucumber, onion, bell pepper and a spicy-sweet sauce. A second unfamiliar appetizer was Thai coriander beef. Cut into strips and rubbed with a salt and spice mixture, the beef is fried, sprinkled with toasted coriander seeds and served with a side of sweet chile sauce. The meat had a jerky-like appearance and chew, and the crisp exterior added a contrasting texture to the salty beef.

Another surprise on the menu was a low-carb section. From it, we sampled a beef salad. Rather than the chewy thin pieces you would expect, the beef was perfectly medium-rare and extremely tender; it tasted faintly of lime and nam pla. The remainder of the salad was a refreshing but incredibly fiery mixture of cabbage, onions, tomatoes and cucumber tossed with chile paste. Also from the low-carb section, larb, a mixture of ground meat (in this case chicken), was bland and mushy despite being mixed with cilantro, onions, lime juice, green onions, nam pla, chiles and a little toasted rice powder.

Of the entrées we tried, both were misses. Pad Thai was overly greasy, and although it’s always a horrible-looking shade of brown, here it was almost as if noodles had simply been tossed with crunchy peanut butter. It even had the same mouth-smacking effect you get when eating a spoonful. A massaman beef curry was simply passable. Massaman curries contain an astonishing number of ingredients, and, at their best, no one flavor really stands out; they all serve to support each other and offer a harmonious balance of flavor. Thai D’Lish’s had several problems, from the brownish rather than golden color to the soupier than normal texture to the coconut milk and small amount of sugar that added a sweetness that overwhelmed the complex curry. It, too, tasted like peanut butter, and the potatoes were deep-fried rather than stewed in the broth until tender, giving them an unpleasant mealiness.

Still, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to Thai D’Lish. I’ve found myself craving the Siam toasts and tom yum koong on more than one occasion, and after a server mentioned the red curry was best, I’ve got at least one more thing to try.

The 411

Dine-in-ability: A very nice interior will make you want to dine in.
Try it, you'll like it: The fiery tom yum koong will practically knock your socks off if you ask for it “Thai hot.”
Feast or famine: With fusion, low-carb and traditional dishes, everyone should find something they like.
Where: Thai D’Lish, 2447 Highway K, O’Fallon, Mo., 636.692.4747
When: Lunch: Mon. to Fri. – 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner: Mon. to Thu. – 5 to 9 p.m., Fri. – 5 to 10 p.m.; Sat. (lunch and dinner) – 1 to 10 p.m.