Located at 326 Adelaide St W in Toronto
Picture taken the first time I passed by and wanted to go in, but there was a wait time of 1 hour!

Khao San Road!  Not only is it a famed street in Thailand, but when you say these three words to foodies in Toronto, they will immediately know that it is a very popular Thai restaurant in downtown Toronto!

The very first time I wanted to try this restaurant, I was with Holly and Joyce after we had finished one sweaty workout session at Flirty Girl Fitness.  We arrived just after 8 or so and tried to line up.  The hostess informed us that there would be an hour’s wait!  We were too hungry to wait that long, so we headed to Forget About It instead.

This time, finally, I got to try this restaurant out.  Yay!!!  I arrived early at 5 p.m. just as they were opening and lo and behold, there was a line-up already too!  On a Wednesday!  It’s so crazy how Khao San Road is so popular.  The hostess also wouldn’t give us a table until all six members of our party were there — we already had five out of six at that point.  You can really tell how serious they are about seating completed parties!

The space is lively and there are beautiful colourful paintings on the walls.  Service was efficient and fast — the server came around to see how we were doing and filled up our water glasses frequently.

SQUASH FRITTERS. $11
-kabocha squash, wild ginger, lemongrass, shallot, fresh kaffir lime leaf, red curry, egg

I admit that I looked up some reviews online before deciding what to order.  The squash fritters were a hugely popular appetizer item, so I ordered this to share with my friends.

It looked like a spider when it arrived!  The squash was fried nicely and the dipping sauce was amazing!  I definitely understand why this appetizer is so popular. 🙂

For myself, I ordered one of the signature dishes — the Khao Soi which is a bowl of egg noodles submerged in the creamiest coconut milk curry with tons of crispy egg noodles covering the whole bowl.  You could choose between chicken, beef, or tofu; I picked beef.  I really enjoyed how creamy the coconut milk curry base was.  I don’t think I’ve had such creamy and great-tasting curry coconut milk base before!  It was an impressive feat.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the beef.  Although there were plenty of them in the bowl, I found that the meat was very rough and not tender.  I picked a spice level of 1 (mild).  It was exactly what I wanted since I didn’t want to get something too spicy on this day.

KHAO SOI. $14
-egg noodles, golden curry, coconut milk, crispy noodles, scallions, coriander, lime (optional pickled veg).  Choice of chicken, beef, tofu. Shrimp +$2

Overall, I truly understand the appeal of this restaurant and why so many Torontonians flock here for some great-tasting Thai food.  You really have to make sure that you get here early to nab a seat since they don’t take reservations.  Otherwise, you might have to wait up to an hour to get a seat during their busy dining hours.  I think it’s worth it though!  In the future I’d love to come again to try more of their other dishes! 🙂

Oh, they also have a gluten-free and vegan menu.  It’s very thoughtful of them!  One of the friends I dined with chose a dish from the gluten-free menu; perfect for anyone!