Restaurants
Khao San Road
Khao San Road, Bangkok's infamous backpacker ghetto, isn't what I immediately think of when I'm jonesin' for an authentic taste of Thailand. The neighbourhood has long been a pit stop for shoestring travellers following the banana pancake trail through Asia-- a rabbit warren of hostels and expat bars full of farang looking for a cheap place to doss down, some cheap thrills and maybe a pizza slice or two to curb their hunger and homesickness. It never really endeared itself to me when I visited.
Set in the bustle (or not, should you appear at 6pm on a Thursday) of the Entertainment District I assumed Jeff and Nuit Regular, (Sukhothai's proprietors and the first-couple of textbook northern Thai cuisine) chose to name their new west end canteen after the touristiest icon of the smiling kingdom as an ironic comment. Turns out the joke was on me since their motivation was as sincere and genuine as their trademark hospitality:
"We chose Khao San Road for a couple reasons." Jeff tells me. "One being that it's simply the gateway to Thailand for travelers. There is more than just the traditional experience to Thailand. Most restaurants like to capture the traditional feel with the buddhas and silks, which is beautiful in every sense, but we wanted to give a different glimpse of a real part of Thailand which is a travelers / backpackers perspective. We want to have more of a "restaurant in Thailand" feel rather than a "Thai restaurant in Canada" feel.
True to Jeff's word, there's not a Buddha in the joint. Khao San Road skips Thai restaurant vernacular, speaking instead with a much more west-end accent in subdued earth tones and the occasional wooden inflection (dark for floors and distressed for tables), while a rotation of paintings from local artists adorns the far wall. It feels very urban loft and not out of place for the neighbourhood.
The flood of nightly patronage is a big part of the reason why the restaurant doesn't currently accept phone reservations (and you should show up in person to order take out for that matter). Even at 6:30 on a Thursday you'll be placing your Singha ($6) down on the bar between sips while you wait for your table. That's right, unlike Sukhothai, Khao San Road is licensed which is a nice touch since I rather enjoy a beer with my pad thai or curry.
Anyone familiar at all with the card at Sukhothai will immediately recognize the signature depth of flavour that accompanies the curries at KSR. Generally not a fan of green curry (I find most versions in town unrefined, overcompensating with heat to mask a lack of flavour), Nuit's is something special I'd gladly cross town for ($12 with a side of steamed rice). Generous chunks of chicken, crunchy green bell pepper and bamboo shoot ribbons are bathed in a creamy sauce rich with coconut notes giving way to a mix of kafir lime leaf smoky chili, galangal, and lemongrass. Each taste just different enough from the last to keep your palate thoroughly entertained.
The mellower, yellow Massaman curry ($13 with a side of steamed rice) is equally complex and adds potatoes and, in our case chicken, for a thai take on stew sure to warm the winteriest of hearts. A similar creamy curry backbones the addictive broth bathing the chewy egg noodles of our chicken khao soi.
The minced beef with basil and a fried egg (Pad Gra Prao, $13) would be a welcome addition to any brunch. And the only thing missing from the street style pad thai ($13) is the ketchup since Nuit's real-deal version is the identical to what you'd find at hawker stalls and night markets from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui. Our perfectly cooked rice noodles are stir-fried in the traditional tamarind, fish sauce, chilli and palm sugar dressing topped and with chicken, scrambled egg, sprouts and green onion. Sweet, sour, spicy, salty and definitely tastier than the sum of its parts.
Jeff informs me that Nuit likes including one or two things on the menu that are classic Thai but aren't readily available anywhere in the city. In KSR's case it's the insanely addictive Gra Bong squash fritters ($7). A cousin of the pakora that's sweet from the squash and spicy from a hit of red curry paste in the batter. It's crunchy deep-fried goodness and I can barely restrain the smile since eating these fritters is like discovering a new continent. Served with a sweet and sour tamarind sauce (made from scratch) a bucket of these would be the perfect accompaniment to beer and beach.
My belly full of some amazing, authentic thai cuisine, I still can't quite reconcile KSR's seemingly contradictory nature, so I'll leave Jeff to have the last word on the subject:
"[We] Also chose that name because I always thought that if I was walking down the street in Toronto and I (having travelled in Thailand) saw that name, regardless of if I loved the street or not, I would absolutely have to check it out! It would just bring back all my memories of Thailand and traveling there. Not just Khao San Road, but the whole experience. And more often than not, people have very fond memories. Its a place that kind of honors travellers with just the name alone."
Photos courtesy Aislinn Smith
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...Adelaide. I hope Adam Vaughan is able to make it a 2-way street again.
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that is not a good idea
Must. Go. Immediately.
Everybody knew about this place already. It is always hard to get a table.
While I would rate the food at sukhothai 5/5, the service is very bad and I have had numerous bad experiences.... (waiting 40 minutes when told 5, waiting 2.5 hours on delivery!!! 2.5!!!!) and just overall slowness but their food is good. service 1/5...
will still go because the food is so good
Our party of four arrived together at 6 pm (on a Friday evening) and we were asked if we had made a reservation. Apparently they do take reservations now and unfortunately we had not. We were told it could be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour for a table - quite the estimate! Fortunately a reserved party did not show up, so with the help of the host, we snagged their table within 20 minutes of our arrival.
As a huge fan of Sukhothai I could not wait to try out Khao San Road's menu. We started with the Gra Bong which was definitely the highlight of the meal - I highly recommend the fluffy squash fritters. Unfortunately the rest of our meal and experience quickly went sour. After ordering our main, our table waited for at least 45 minutes before our waitress informed us that they "ran out" of rice noodles for the two pad thai dishes that we ordered. We were given two options - wait another 20 minutes for rice noodles or we could have vermicelli right away. Despite really wanting rice noodles, we settled for the vermicelli so the rest of our party could satisfy their grumbling stomachs. After another 20 minutes, the meals arrived including a chicken vermicelli pad thai (Sam Roas style) and sans a vegan vermicelli pad thai. I gave the go-ahead to my friends to eat despite not having a dish in front of me. I wondered how a chicken pad thai could be made faster than a tofu pad thai? After another 20 minutes, I still did not have my meal so I flagged my waitress down. She apologized and looked as though she had unapologetically forgot about the dish all together.
My much anticipated vegan pad thai had finally arrived with vermicelli noodles after an additional 15 minutes. By this time I was so pissed about the horrible service that my appetite had quickly diminished. The flavors were nice (but definitely not as spicy as ordered), the tofu was cooked well, but glass noodles in pad thai? Well, it just didn't pan out. Luckily I am not actually a vegetarian, as there were remnants of chicken throughout the dish. The consistency was so wrong that after a few bites, I gave up on both my dish and Khao San Road.
Between the time we had all finished our meals and the point in which our waitress delivered the bill, it took about 45 minutes. The ever-growing mass of people at the door hovered over our table like hungry hyenas while we desperately tried to square up our bill and get out. Something tells me that despite their Sukhothai grass roots, Khao San Road should seriously invest in a team of professional management. The food was a disappointment, the service was horrible, and the turn-over rate was painfully slow.
I am not one to write restaurant reviews - good or bad, but my disheartening dining experience last night left me no choice. Hopefully Khao San Road can fix their wrongs before this newbie joint goes under.
I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience but as someone who is a long time patron of SukoThai and Khao San Road (albeit it's only been open for a month) I have to say that as someone who frequents restaurants a lot, you can't let one bad experience jade your view of a restaurant forever. Sure, there are bound to be bad experiences at every restaurant every once in a while and its unfortunate it happened to you but every time I have been to KSR I have been treated graciously and given the exact dishes I have ordered. The food is without a doubt the best thai food in Toronto (bar none) and that alone is worth having to wait all that time. I think that after their success at SukoThai, Jeff didn't really know how big KSR would be. Had he known of their immediate success, I'm sure they would have bought/rented/leased a much bigger place because god knows they turn down a lot of business from people who don't want to wait that long. I think the only thing we can hope for is that Jeff opens up several more restaurants around Toronto, which would help with the significant customer base they are quickly attaining.
I think it's too busy for it's own good. Picture Burrito Boyz amount of patronage in a sit-down non-fastfood establishment. Bound to experience problems.
If you're going to eat the delicious food here, go during their down hours between the lunch and dinner rush (so go between 1pm & 5:30pm).
An automated voice that says to stay on the line as they connect you - a wait of 5 seconds and another automated voice to say they couldn't connect me? I've just called 7 times in a row.
Love this place's food and understand their whole reservation policy, but this is totally ridiculous. Pick up your phone Khao San Road, you're losing business!
So, adding up the time of your meal, it took you 3 and a half hours to eat? I know that's bullshit, so everyone may as well ignore this review. Who would wait nearly 4 hours? hahah
You just need to be prepared to wait a few hours. I know it's ridiculous, but that has to be your mentality when going to this resto.