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Montri's Changes Hands

eatrustic

By eatrustic
in Western Canada: Dining

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eatrustic

eatrustic

Posted
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What is arguably the best Thai restaurant in Vancouver has been sold to two partners who are formerly from Salai Thai.

This is definitely the end of an era as Montri (the man) has been the heart and soul of his restaurant on W. Broadway for many years now (and other locations before that).

Theoretically the plan is to keep things as they are but the odds of a successful transition (without evolution) are pretty dicey. Especially when the original owner has been such a visible presence in his business.

Those who want to bid him farewell can do so until the end of December after which he is on permanent vacation.

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fud

fud

Posted
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What is arguably the best Thai restaurant in Vancouver has been sold to two partners who are formerly from Salai Thai.

This is definitely the end of an era as Montri (the man) has been the heart and soul of his restaurant on W. Broadway for many years now (and other locations before that).

Theoretically the plan is to keep things as they are but the odds of a successful transition  (without evolution) are pretty dicey. Especially when the original owner has been such a visible presence in his business.

Those who want to bid him farewell can do so until the end of December after which he is on permanent vacation.

That's a shame that Montri's has changed hands. I agree eatrustic, defnately one of the best thai restaurants in the city and I'm sad to see it go. But maybe we're being too fatalistic here. I'd like to wish the best of luck to the new proprieters. May they pour as much heart and soul that Montri has in the past many years into the operation.

My bigger question is, why would he want to sell? Was the offer really good? Or was that location not good enough for business?

"There are two things every chef needs in the kitchen: fish sauce and duck fat" - Tony Minichiello

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eatrustic

eatrustic

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Business has been excellent for him in that location and I'm sure he got a great offer from the new partners. I think he just wants a change and some time off. This will be about the third time he has sold his restaurant. (The last was on 4th where Mark Potofsky(spelling?) had Angelique many years ago.)

And of course I sincerely hope the new owners continue to thrive in that location as it's well located for my dining outings. (After having a really mediocre meal at a certain new Thai restaurant farther up Broadway I really appreciate well executed Thai food - at least by Vancouver standards.)

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LordBalthazar

LordBalthazar

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Hmmm. I'm going to reserve judgement as well. That said, Montri's is my wife's favorite restaurant (we just ate there last night and had a wonderful meal) and she'll be quick to critique any changes to either the menu or the quality of the dishes.

www.josephmallozzi.wordpress.com

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eatrustic

eatrustic

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Do you mean O Thai?  I went this Friday - kinda underwhelmed also.

Yes! Despite the attempt at putting a few modern touches in the menu the fundamentals were poorly executed. It felt as if the kitchen staff had no real background in Thai cooking other than trying to emulate recipes from books.

I think there would be a great opportunity for a Vij's style Thai restaurant that would kick butt - well made food with stylish presentations and an interesting selection of beer and wines to accompany.

Montri had the wine selection and well executed dishes but it would be nice to have a more contemporary spin as Vikram has so succesfully pulled off. Not for everyone perhaps but a great addition to the Vancouver dining scene.

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fud

fud

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^ Have you tried Chada Thai in Coquitlam? His presentation is definately European but the flavours are downright Thai.

I'm going again tonight :biggrin:

"There are two things every chef needs in the kitchen: fish sauce and duck fat" - Tony Minichiello

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eatrustic

eatrustic

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^ Have you tried Chada Thai in Coquitlam?  His presentation is definately European but the flavours are downright Thai.

I'm going again tonight  :biggrin:

No, I haven't tried it. I'll keep it in mind, thanks, but it's a wee bit farther out than I would normally go for dinner.

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Irishgirl

Irishgirl

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Do you mean O Thai?  I went this Friday - kinda underwhelmed also.

Yes! Despite the attempt at putting a few modern touches in the menu the fundamentals were poorly executed. It felt as if the kitchen staff had no real background in Thai cooking other than trying to emulate recipes from books.

I think there would be a great opportunity for a Vij's style Thai restaurant that would kick butt - well made food with stylish presentations and an interesting selection of beer and wines to accompany.

Montri had the wine selection and well executed dishes but it would be nice to have a more contemporary spin as Vikram has so succesfully pulled off. Not for everyone perhaps but a great addition to the Vancouver dining scene.

I am not sure, but am under the impression that they (O-Thai) have lost their famous Thai chef already, which would explain their poor execution. I saw an ad for Chef and Sous Chef there.

I agree that Montri's will be a great loss. It is very hard to find good Thai in this town. Although, the last time I went to Montri's, I kept thinking that I had just paid 7 times as much as I would have in Thailand for that food. I started making it at home more often.

Good idea re Vij's style Thai.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Irishgirl

Irishgirl

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They have a lovely grilled beef salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, can't remember what it is called. Larb Gai, (cold chicken salad, very spicy)

Their red curry with duck is quite good.

I can't remember if they have Som Tam, it is a green papaya salad that can be mixed with a number of things....

It's a start. It's better to order a lot of items with a group of four or more.

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eatrustic

eatrustic

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They have a lovely grilled beef salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, can't remember what it is called. 

I second the beef salad, it's the perfect setup for the richer things to follow. The house special "Montri" curry is super tasty and served on a bed of barely wilted spinach. (I request mine with chicken instead of prawns.)

Any curry made with green beans and squash as part of the mix is great and the whole fried fish is always very good and great presentation.

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  • 10 months later...
eatrustic

eatrustic

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Thought I would give an update on Montri's as I did express skepticism that the change in ownership would spell a drop in quality.

It's been almost a year since my last visit but I've now been twice in the last two weeks and have to say that the food is easily as good as when the maestro was at the podium.

The menu appears to not have changed at all, with the same Montri specials dishes still there. I ordered my usuals and they were as good as ever.

A neighbouring table had the whole fried fish and it looked awesome.

Nice to see that there are exceptions to the rule when it comes to new ownership of classics like Montris.

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grayelf

grayelf

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Thought I would give an update on Montri's as I did express skepticism that the change in ownership would spell a drop in quality.

It's been almost a year since my last visit but I've now been twice in the last two weeks and have to say that the food is easily as good as when the maestro was at the podium.

The menu appears to not have changed at all, with the same Montri specials dishes still there. I ordered my usuals and they were as good as ever.

A neighbouring table had the whole fried fish and it looked awesome.

Nice to see that there are exceptions to the rule when it comes to new ownership of classics like Montris.

Thanks for the update, and so glad it's positive. It's been a while since we hit Montri's (resos were always an issue so we tend to keep it for specialish occasions) but it's nice to know it's still good.

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  • 5 weeks later...
Jcolvin

Jcolvin

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okay Chinese girl here who hasn't really have had much experience with Thai food except for some pad thai..

what do you guys recommend at Montri's?

Tom Yum Goong to start of course, I ask for 4 pepper spicy but that's too hot for many.

Squid or prawn salad is a great appi, lovely sweet/spicy/sour sauce with loads of mint. My fave main is the special prawns on the back page, comes on wilted spinach, or the red curry. I cook my own tom yum and it's pretty good, but I've never been able to get it as good as Montri's. By far the best Tom Yum I've had outside of Thailand.

Jonathan Colvin

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