Toronto's king of Thai food just opened two new restaurants in the city
Toronto's Thai food scene is heating up this fall, as one of the city's leading Thai restaurateurs opens two new restaurants to add to your list.
Normal people may not use their brainpower and free time to mentally crown restaurateurs as the unofficial monarchs of given cuisines in Toronto, but I'm not afraid to bear that burden.
And when it comes to Thai food, picking out the local leaders is easy. The queen, inarguably, is Chef Nuit Regular of Pai fame. The king, I'd argue, is Patrick Suksaen.
The restaurateur and entrepreneur behind a swath of Thai restaurants in the city, including Le Lert, Eat BKK, Koh Lipe, Khem Thai Tea and the recently opened Lhao Thai-Chinese (to name only a few), Suksaen has long been on a mission to make Thai, in all its shapes, sizes and spice levels, one of the most sought-after cuisines in the city.
He's not content to rest on his laurels, either, as he recently opened the doors to an additional two restaurants in the city.
The first isn't exactly new, but rather the new-and-improved location of an old (or, older) favourite. After initially opening on Baldwin, where Suksaen's businesses rule with an iron fist, in early 2025, the restaurant has moved on to "bigger, cozier and happier" digs on Dundas West.
With a kitchen helmed by the well-respected Chef Porpy, Larb Muang is all about Northern Thai dishes that just as quickly warm the heart as they do the stomach: rustic, hardy and downright tasty.
That's not the only major move that's happened in the Suksaen-iverse lately, though. Savor Thai, which formerly occupied a space on St. Clair West, also recently closed its doors in favour of a larger, yet-to-open location at Shops at Don Mills.
In the space it leaves behind, a new concept called Ari Thai and Sushi has moved in. In a first for Suksaen's properties (at least I think, it's hard to keep up at this point), the restaurant serves — get this! — both Thai cuisine and sushi — the ultimate resolution to the age-old "what do you feel like eating?" debate.
It's a veritable game of musical chairs for Suksaen's restaurants these days, to say the least, but in this game, everyone's a winner.
You can find Larb Muang at 791 Dundas St. W. and Ari Thai at 1226 St. Clair Ave. W. Savor Thai is expected to open at Shops at Don Mills in the new year.
Fareen Karim at Larb Muang
