Pichai has a successful formula. Jesse Grasso’s Thai (and frequently, Isaan) dishes pack flavours with a strong street-food sensibility. And they pair perfectly with producer-focused low-intervention wines — predominantly white, skin-contact and rosé. The dining room is sleek and the mood boisterous. You’ll find Thai families here, enthralled with the uncompromising tastes of home, as well as well-travelled locals, equipped with their own memories of Bangkok sois. Kick things off with a makrut lime cocktail, followed by fish balls on a stick or fried soft-boiled eggs in a sweet-and-sour sauce, and then laab with grilled duck hearts or pork neck on iced yu choy greens. The heart of the menu is the specials list, showcasing local ingredients — and the kitchen’s chops. Rely on your server’s expertise here to help navigate such dishes as Thai eggplant and chili, the ingredients grown specially by Sukonta Beaulieu on Montreal’s South Shore. Whole fried fish — from a local, sustainable closed-containment fish farm — is Arctic char in tamarind-chili sauce with crispy garlic. In summer, cool the heat with nam kang sai, a take on Thai shaved ice with syrups and toppings made with local cherries, peaches, plums and strawberries.

There is simply NOWHERE ELSE to eat like this in Canada. Ryan Gray