Pamika — Restaurant in Montreal

We came for a birthday dinner and left extremely disappointed at the quality of the service. Being only a party of 4, myself and my sister arrived earlier to store a birthday cake that we brought, thinking we’ll just have a drink at the bar and wait for the other two, knowing that our table probably would not be ready. Upon telling the server that at the front door, as if she did not hear us say, we are early for our reservation, she berated us for being 30 minutes early. That was strike one but we did not let it dampened our good mood. They were busy so there is a level of understanding. Moving forward, our party of 4 complete, we sat down at our table, decided what we wanted to eat and were waiting for service. One of the other server saw us ready, walked by us saying “I’ll be with you guys in a few minutes,” and then walked to the table next to us, who sat down AFTER us, and proceed to take their order first. Strike two. So, the server that berated us earlier came to take our order. The service itself was below-average at best, the food warm—not hot. Already we were questioning why we came here to begin with. Nearing the end, having had too much food, there was 2 plates half eaten and one that was barely touched. We asked the server for it to be packed up to go. She cleared our table, did the cake service in a laughable manner (she put this huge serving tray with the knives and the cake directly on top of the table, never have we seen this before) and upon paying our bill we asked for our takeout. She seemed so confused at first, but then she remembered where she put it. It was so sketchy that we decided to check the bag to make sure everything was there and amazing, a strike three! The plate that was barely touched was missing, so we asked her where it was. She stated, “sorry I misunderstood and threw it away.” Wow. How does it make sense to pack the other two half plates and throw a full plate away? She did not even make any efforts in trying to fix the issue, just shrugged her shoulders and wished us a good evening. We were too shocked at this horrible level of competency and vowed never...

Overall super happy with our experience at Pamika. The staff were fantastic and definitely added to the experience.

They were booked until 9pm online so we called and the gentlemen (manager?) said they could fit us at 7:30 on their heated patio. When we got there the patio wasn’t as “heated” as I thought it would be, it was a bit too cold for my mom so we asked if there was any way we could move inside if something opened up or even later in the meal. The manager (forgot his name unfortunately) was very nice about it and came back to tell us he could move us in about 10 mins. As someone who works in the restaurant industry I know it would have been easy for them to be annoyed/irritated or say we booked the patio and keep us outside. But he was very patient with us, which was much appreciated.

The food was wonderful as well. The curries were very vibrantly flavourful. The only thing we felt could have been improved was the size of the scallops in the curry, they were quite small and I just feel like the dish would be even better if they used the larger sized scallops. Still delicious though, along with all the other items we ordered. The sticky rice dessert was so good that we ordered a second one haha. I love that their menu very obviously stated which items were gluten free, which was helpful for our celiac guest.

The server we had inside was lovely. She was knowledgeable on food & cocktails, and super attentive even when they were busy. Once the restaurant died down, we were able to have conversations with her and she was just super friendly! At one point we asked what playlist they had because we were enjoying the music, and she went to ask the manager. At the end, the manager came over to introduce himself which I thought was a very thoughtful thing to do. I wish we could remember both their names!

Overall such a great experience! We were in Montreal for the week visiting, went to a ton of restaurants, and Pamika was definitely one of the highlights...

I’ve been ordering from them throughout the pandemic. They are literally the best Thai restaurant outside of Thailand and yes- I’ve eaten my share of Thai. The food is cooked with love- something you find in a mother’s home kitchen yet delivered with absolute panache and flair which speaks of its name as an established fine dining in the city. I’ve tried every item on the menu- from the juicy and zesty chicken and beef salads to the velvety Panang and Thai curries- crunchy gyoza and imperial rolls- succulent pad kra paa moo (on the greasier side but on the right note to hit the spot) to the absolutely delicious tapioca they once so graciously sent me due to my patronage and compliments. They always have words of kindness for their customers. This is the kind of business I support!

Imagine my shock and disdain when I decide to revisit my Thai favourite in Montreal and decide to sample their newer menu addition-

The duck salad.

Presentation was a mess to begin with. It was delivered in the form of lettuce wraps- perhaps that’s the style it was intended to be consumed per a takeaway standpoint? A description would have been nice. Speaking of- it’s not spicy- it’s flammable. Literally. If I didn’t like spicy food I wouldn’t be eating here but the level of spice in this concoction landed me with inflamed lips and a heart burn. I’ve been throwing up since the past hour. Add to that the miserable portion of duck meat in the duck salad- for $25 with delivery I expected a more generous portion. I’ve had premium salads (Mandys Asian Duck salad) Portion size of the protein in both these gourmet salads when compared makes me sad-

I’m adding some pictures of my misery including a comparison of advertisement vs reality. Reason for my one star rating is to draw MUCH NEEDED attention from the owner. I’d like to post five stars again some day- for now I’d like to stay...