Chiang Mai Danforth — Restaurant in Toronto

My favorite food is Thai food, and I usually only go to one trusted restaurant that always remains consistent whether I dine in or order home. It was my Birthday and I decided to try something new... if only they knew it was my birthday, maybe the service would've been better sigh

So me and my partner had a reservation for 7pm, and I called ahead around 6pm to ask if we can get in 15 mins earlier (which we did)

When we arrived it wasn't too busy apart from a huge party that looked like they had gone for afterwork food and drinks which is nice to see considering the 2 years we've had isolated etc.

We were able to choose our seat as again it wasn't very busy apart from the party of people.

Whilst we wait a long time for our order to be taken, a couple now enters and is seated behind us, and another couple further ahead. BOTH their orders were taken before ours, mind you we were hungry hence the earlier arrival than the reserved time.

We order a starter each and I order a drink and wait for that to finally arrive... when it did the Calamari I ordered was cold, I'm talking it was clearer sitting waiting for the server to bring it to us. I had to send it back which we all know is never a good idea! I was brought out either the same, or fresh Calamari with less then what I was given before, at this point I was over it and was waiting for my main.

I specifically ordered Thai spice shrimp pad thai.... when that came out, the presentation looked beautiful, I took one bite and it was piping hot, I take another bite and realize it had zero spice, once again sigh.... 1 of the 3 servers offered me chili oil 😕 and then our main server did eventually offer to take it back, but at this point I was over it. I explain to the server that the service hadn't been very great and it was friendly constructive more than anything, she did offer us a free NY cheesecake which I kindly accepted, but honestly, that was probably the best tasting thing that I'd eaten there that night, even my cocktail didn't taste like it had 2oz of liquor in it.

I don't like leaving reviews like this, but this is honest, I won't speak too much for my partner as this is my platform, but needless to say he wasn't very impressed with his Pineapple fried rice either.

Honestly any other day I probably would've let this slide and tried again, but it was...

Chiang Mai Thai – Danforth (Toronto)

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Ambience & Service

At the Danforth location of Chiang Mai, the atmosphere strikes a cozy yet vibrant balance and ideal for casual lunches or dinners. The service was consistently attentive and smooth, matching the expectations set by their elevated Thai dining reputation.

Starters

Thai Shrimp Rolls: Crisp and flavorful, these rolls featured plump black tiger shrimp wrapped in a delicate pastry. The tangy tamarind dipping sauce was a delightful contrast and set a great tone for the meal.

Thai Fresh Rolls: Bright, fresh, and packed with tofu, avocado, carrots, cucumber, and green mango. The sweet chilli sauce complemented the lightness beautifully. Great balance and texture.

Soups & Salads

Tom Kha (Coconut Soup): Smooth, fragrant, and comforting with layers of lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaf which was set off nicely with mushrooms and cilantro.

Thai Green Mango Salad: Crisp mango slices tossed with red onion, coriander, and spicy-sweet house dressing. The peanuts and cashews added a satisfying crunch. Well executed and refreshing.

The CM Calamari features tender squid tendrils coated in a Thai‑spiced batter and fried to a crispy golden finish. Served with both sweet chilli sauce and spicy mayo, it's a flavorful and addictive opening to the meal—with just the right balance of crunch and spice. A solid 4‑star starter in both taste and presentation.

Main Courses

Khao Soi: Silky egg noodles in a rich, golden curry broth sprinkled with pickles, fried onions, and topped with crispy noodles—visually vibrant and very satisfying.

Pad Ki Maw (Drunken Noodles): Wide, stir‑fried noodles bolstered with fresh chili, peppercorns, basil, long beans, mushrooms, and carrots—aromatic and hearty.

Both dishes demonstrated bold flavours and generous portions, nicely matching the expectation built by their presentation.

Highlights & Overall Impressions

The consistency in presentation and flavours across dishes stood out and each dish reflected reflected the appealing plating style that Chiang Mai is known for.

The menu champions classic Thai flavors with polished execution; the starters set the stage, the mains delivered rich textures and heat, and everything stayed on point for a...

For our lunch I would give it a 3.5 rounded up to 4, because of very quick and friendly service, and great presentation. If you are looking for pure authentic, it is somewhat close, but much more sweet, made for western americans more than the core thai flavors of strong fish sauce, spicy, salty, and sourness. It's much more bland thai food, but still tasty.

Crispy basa fish was best appetizer, though the 3 sauces were very weak, and extremely sweet, lacking flavor in some cases. Think mcdonalds sweet & sour sauce, Chinese plum sauce. Please try to keep corn syrup out of it. Spicy beef salad was ok, great presentation to show it was mixed by hand in mortar & pestle, traditional thai tools, but flavor was still weak. At least I could taste the fish sauce here on the beef, that was good. And the pad see ew was again very sweet, but noodles were burned in a very hot wok, I liked that, cooked in a strong fire. Gives it that smokey taste. I'm curious about the curries.

Service was good and food arrived very quick, but I was put off by the forced "you pay me 18% tip or more now". You can choose the custom tip with your server hovering next to you, but if they only bring you lunch dishes once and maybe fill one water, you decide their effort tip. The forced higher tip usually leaves a sour note at the end of the meal. Unless the service was exceptional on a big group, then please tip your waitress what he/she deserves. But let us choose that. Over 5-6 guests I believe they auto charge an 18+ tip.

Hard to find parking due to dumb toronto city and bike lanes in a city with 6 months of winter, ice, snow. Ugh, stupid city planning. If you don't take transit, duh, keep circling around for side street parking and walking back.

Good for romantic dates, it's a bit dark inside with the thai theme.

A very busy street with lots of stores side-by-side, I suggest a nice walk east or west after your meal for some excercise after the heavy food, and to check out the pretty...