PAI
Thai restaurant · Waterfront Communities-The Island ·
Northern Thai spot serving salted crab & papaya salad
Northern Thai spot serving salted crab & papaya salad
"On December 8, the uptown location transforms into the annual Pai Holiday Market, styled after the night markets in Thailand where chef Nuit Regular grew up, with local artisans selling jewelry, vintage clothing, holiday ornaments, live portrait art and more. Chef Nuit and her culinary team serve special off-menu dishes including moo tawd or gai tawd (Thai-style deep-fried pork or chicken) and gaeng garee gai (yellow curry chicken). Admission is free, with a suggested $10 to $20 donation to pull a tag from the Lucky Tree Game for a guaranteed prize (Thai snacks, Chef Nuit’s cookbook, t-shirts and more), and all net proceeds support construction of an educational facility in Northern Thailand for underprivileged youth." - Julia Eskins
"When it comes to finding great Thai food in Toronto the real difference is in the details. Northern Thai Cuisine traditionalists Pai pay special attention to those finer points serving up tasty dishes like Gaeng Kiaw Wan (green curry served in a coconut!), Khao Soi and Tom Yum Kung Mor Fai in a cavernous, lower-level location combining an open-kitchen with mixed seating (chair or floor). Whether you like it Mai Phet (no spice) or Farang Spicy (Foreigner Hot), the warm, earthy atmosphere and unique take on Thai is sure to satisfy you as it has area residents since opening in the heart of the city’s Entertainment District in 2014." - Jacknife
"Pai is somewhere that’s always packed, and there are a lot of very good reasons for the constant lines: the chef is behind some of Toronto’s best Thai restaurants, this spot is located in the middle of the entertainment district, and all the dishes (especially the Northern Thai specialties) are consistently excellent. Sure, you’ll find the usual suspects like pad thai, papaya salad, and green curry, but the real highlights are the deep-fried Grabong squash fritters, which come with a tangy dipping sauce, and the tender moo ping barbecue pork skewers. The restaurant is super close to many of the city’s theaters, so it’s a great place to come with a group before going to see a show." - julia eskins
"Named for the Thai village where Nuit Regular and her husband opened their first restaurant, PAI is perpetually busy. A former nurse, Nuit now soothes by cooking her family recipes and street food favorites for hungry patrons. The mod bohemian look is appealing, but it's the extensive menu that you'll spend all of your time admiring. It's full of fresh, tasty dishes sized for sharing and with varying spice levels. While they traipse across Thailand for inspiration, zero in on the North Thai plates and chef favorites, including khao soi, a noodle and coconut milk dish, or kanom jin nham ngeaw, a pork rib and tomato soup with rice vermicelli. Kung tawt, a plate of fried shrimp sided by a piquant tamarind sauce, is delicious but gaeng panang, a sweet-and-sour red curry, hits all the right notes." - Michelin Inspector
"Pai is somewhere that’s always packed, and there are a lot of very good reasons for the constant lines: the chef is behind some of Toronto’s best Thai restaurants, this spot is located in the middle of the entertainment district, and all the dishes (especially the Northern Thai specialties) are consistently excellent. Sure, you’ll find the usual suspects like pad thai, papaya salad, and green curry, but the real highlights are the deep-fried Grabong squash fritters, which come with a tangy dipping sauce, and the tender moo ping barbecue pork skewers. The restaurant is super close to many of the city’s theaters, so it’s a great place to come with a group before going to see a show." - Julia Eskins