A former resident of Kyiv, an American named Bruce, once told some Best Of team members that looking for Thai food in this city, though difficult at times, can even be rewarding. He mentioned in particular a certain local restaurant that, he said, served the best Tom Kha soup this side of Bangkok. Heady words, to be sure, but having lived there for some years over a decade ago, he became a discerning culinary expert on all things Thai.
With this and our own personal experience in mind, we went in search of – first and foremost – any restaurants in Kyiv that purport to serve Thai food. And while we love the spicy Thai coconut chicken soup and spring rolls served up at Limoncello Fusion restaurant, the place didn’t make our list as they are not more or less dedicated to Thai food. All things considered, the pickings were slim, but we resolved to do our best.
Crazy as it seems
The search began at Shalena (“Crazyâ€) Mama, the Thai fusion diner near Shevchenko Park that largely caters to students and which features dishes named for Rolling Stones songs. We found a number of Thai-inspired dishes, from spring rolls to variations on fried rice and even some sweet and sour pork and a coconut cream soup like Tom Kha that was decent, but little else resembling Thai fare. The food itself was cheap and tasty, but for a place with a Thai chef, this wasn’t up to snuff.
Thai cabaret?
It’s hard to know exactly what to say about the food at Taboo lounge bar. No Pad Thai or any reasonably recognizable dishes here, though the place bills itself as serving Thai food. Maybe they meant “Thai-inspired?â€
The thing is that Taboo is meant as a lounge bar and cabaret much more than a quick stop for Chicken Pa Nang or any other kinds of distinctly Thai food. They had some interesting looking soups and salads as well as one or two main dishes that looked good, but when Best Of team members thought back to the street food available in Bangkok, Phuket and elsewhere in beautiful, sunny Thailand, the food at Taboo couldn’t be more different. This place is sumptuously decorated – decadent even, with all the mirrors, dim lights and dancers swinging lithely in a loft area above the bar – but it’s clearly made to indulge its single, wealthy and largely male clientele, not necessarily us.
Next to the bread aisle
Furshet Gourmet supermarket, located in the basement of the Mandarin Plaza mall in central Kyiv, gave hope to the Best Of team on the hunt for Thai food. Among the several little bistros located within the store is a small Japanese and Thai restaurant that actually has some of the things we hoped to enjoy: Pad Thai, spring rolls, Tom Kha soup and a few other dishes.
In general, the food at the Furshet Thai bistro wasn’t bad, but we figured we could find better.
We still call on Bruce
And we did find better.
For many years now, San Tori in Podil has been the only place consistently serving Thai food in the Ukrainian capital. Though they do lots of Japanese food – everything from sushi and sashimi to that colorful and exciting cooking they do right before your eyes – San Tori does lots of Thai food, too.
From their red duck coconut curry to the delicious Tom Kha soup that our friend Bruce talked about, San Tori does many Thai dishes right and in a comforting (to the point of posh) environment. The food here is a lot pricier than the cheap and easy street food of Bangkok, but we’ll take it.
Best Thai food restaurant in Kyiv: San Tori.
San Tori
41 Sahaydachnoho, 462-4994.
Open daily from 11 a.m. till 1 a.m.
English menu: Yes.
English-speaking staff: Yes.
Average price of main dish (Thai): Hr 90.
By Kyivpost
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