Crispy Gai
Asian restaurant · Portland ·
Southeast Asian street food & inventive tiki cocktails
Southeast Asian street food & inventive tiki cocktails
"A compact, high-energy spot celebrated for an inventive tiki-forward bar program and intensely crave-worthy wings dusted with memorable spices; its popularity often has diners scanning for parking just to squeeze in a visit for cocktails and small plates." - Jacqueline Dole Jacqueline Dole Jacqueline Dole is a food and travel journalist based in Maine. A lifelong New Englander, her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, TimeOut, Insider, Thrillist, Eater, and more. With a background as a pastry chef, she’s always on the lookout for the next best snack. She is a theme park enthusiast and expert, and embroidered hotel robes, amazing pools, and hot dogs are some of her favorite things. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"Walking around downtown Portland, you’ll likely experience two things: lots of lobster paraphernalia and the incredible smell of fried chicken coming from Crispy Gai. Step inside the rosy-lit dining room or park yourself at their outdoor counter and enjoy a spread of punchy Thai plates like papaya salad, noodle dishes, and fried chicken in many forms. They’ve got wings with lots of choices of seasoning, extra crispy thighs and drums, and a crispy waterfall chicken that’s served tossed in mint and toasted rice powder. The shareable plates and laid-back service make this a great place for a fun dinner with friends or a late-evening snack to wrap up the night. They also do a ridiculously good breakfast sandwich with Thai sausage, eggs, and hashbrowns." - alana dao 2
"Walking around downtown Portland, you’ll likely notice two things: lots of lobster paraphernalia and the incredible smell of fried chicken coming from Crispy Gai. They have lots of options: a mouth-numbing sichuan variety, a red curry version that feels like a riff on the classic buffalo sauce, and our favorite, the Hat Yai topped with a mountain of fried shallots on top. There are also five different sauces for dipping, and it’s worth getting the whole flight to try them all, from sweet and tart offerings to hot and funky fish sauce flavors." - carlo mantuano, david neimanis, team infatuation
"Walking around downtown Portland, you’ll likely experience two things: lots of lobster paraphernalia and the incredible smell of fried chicken coming from Crispy Gai. Step inside the rosy-lit dining room or park yourself at their outdoor counter and enjoy a spread of punchy Thai plates like papaya salad, noodle dishes, and fried chicken in many forms. They’ve got wings with lots of choices of seasoning, extra crispy thighs and drums, and a crispy waterfall chicken that’s served tossed in mint and toasted rice powder. The shareable plates and laid-back service make this a great place for a fun dinner with friends or a late-evening snack to wrap up the night." - Alana Dao
"I learned that Crispy Gai, from Portland, Maine, will team up with Portland's Eem for a collaborative dinner on January 24; chef Cyle Reynolds (Crispy Gai) and chef Colin Yoshimoto (Eem) are devising an a la carte menu of about seven dishes that teases oysters with nahm jim seafood, smoked brisket with khao soi, barbecue pork steak nam tok (waterfall salad), and Crispy Gai chicken wings. The dinner runs from 5 p.m. until sold out." - Janey Wong