Restaurant in Montreal, Canada
No other Thai in Canada compares.
PICHAI is the only restaurant in Canada doing what it does: Jesse Grasso's Thai and Isaan cooking, built on hyper-local Quebec sourcing, paired with a producer-focused natural wine list. The specials are the real menu, the room runs loud and lively, and booking is easier than the quality suggests. Go.
If you're weighing PICHAI against any other Thai option in Montreal, stop: there is no other Thai option in Montreal doing what PICHAI does. This is Jesse Grasso's cooking — Thai and frequently Isaan in character, built around a street-food sensibility , paired with a producer-focused, low-intervention wine list that skews white, skin-contact, and rosé. That combination doesn't exist anywhere else in the city, and by one credible account, nowhere else in Canada. Book it before you talk yourself into a safer choice.
The sourcing is the story here. PICHAI's kitchen works with local Quebec producers in ways that go beyond the standard farm-mention on a menu. Thai eggplant and chili come from ingredients grown specifically by Sukonta Beaulieu on Montreal's South Shore. The whole fried fish , Arctic char, served in tamarind-chili sauce with crispy garlic , comes from a local, sustainable closed-containment farm. In summer, nam kang sai (a Thai shaved ice) gets its syrups and toppings made with local cherries, peaches, plums, and strawberries. This isn't Thai food that happens to be in Montreal; it's Thai cooking that has absorbed what Quebec's growing season actually produces.
The specials list is where the kitchen shows its range. Your server's guidance matters here , these dishes shift with what's available and what's seasonal, and the combinations aren't always self-explanatory. If you've been once before and defaulted to the main menu, the specials are your next move. The laab with grilled duck hearts, the pork neck on iced yu choy greens, and the fish balls on a stick are the kind of dishes that reward repeat visits rather than resolving into a single order.
Dining room is sleek and the mood runs loud. You'll be seated alongside Thai families who treat PICHAI as a taste of home and well-travelled locals cross-referencing their Bangkok memories. That mix , authentic enough for one crowd, considered enough for the other , tells you something about the kitchen's precision. Start with a makrut lime cocktail and fried soft-boiled eggs in sweet-and-sour sauce if you want a clear on-ramp into the menu's register.
Wine pairing logic here is worth noting for anyone who came for the food but stays for the list. Low-intervention whites and skin-contact wines cut through the fat and heat of Isaan-style dishes in ways that conventional restaurant pours don't. If you're a regular who has been ordering the same bottle, ask your server what's new on the natural side , the list evolves and the staff know it well.
For context on how this fits into Canada's wider dining picture: Kissa Tanto in Vancouver and Alo in Toronto are the kinds of restaurants people cite when discussing serious independents with a distinct point of view. PICHAI belongs in that conversation. Within Quebec specifically, Tanière³ in Quebec City is doing comparable work around local sourcing, but in a completely different register. See our full Montreal restaurants guide for broader context, or browse Montreal bars, hotels, and experiences if you're planning a longer trip.
Address: 5985 Rue St-Hubert, Montréal, QC H2S 2L8. Reservations: Booking is relatively easy compared to Montreal's most in-demand tables , but don't assume walk-in availability on weekends. Book a few days to a week ahead for midweek; aim for a week or more for Friday and Saturday. Dress: No formal code; the room is sleek but the vibe is relaxed. Group size: Works for two or four; the specials list is better explored with more dishes on the table, so a group of four gives you more range. Budget: Price range not confirmed in available data , treat this as a neighbourhood restaurant rather than a special-occasion splurge, and adjust expectations accordingly.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PICHAI | Pichai has a successful formula. Jesse Grasso’s Thai (and frequently, Isaan) dishes pack flavours with a strong street-food sensibility. And they pair perfectly with producer-focused low-intervention wines — predominantly white, skin-contact and rosé. The dining room is sleek and the mood boisterous. You’ll find Thai families here, enthralled with the uncompromising tastes of home, as well as well-travelled locals, equipped with their own memories of Bangkok sois. Kick things off with a makrut lime cocktail, followed by fish balls on a stick or fried soft-boiled eggs in a sweet-and-sour sauce, and then laab with grilled duck hearts or pork neck on iced yu choy greens. The heart of the menu is the specials list, showcasing local ingredients — and the kitchen’s chops. Rely on your server’s expertise here to help navigate such dishes as Thai eggplant and chili, the ingredients grown specially by Sukonta Beaulieu on Montreal’s South Shore. Whole fried fish — from a local, sustainable closed-containment fish farm — is Arctic char in tamarind-chili sauce with crispy garlic. In summer, cool the heat with nam kang sai, a take on Thai shaved ice with syrups and toppings made with local cherries, peaches, plums and strawberries. There is simply NOWHERE ELSE to eat like this in Canada. Ryan Gray | Easy | — | ||
| Schwartz’s | Delicatessen | $ | Unknown | — | |
| Toqué | French | $$$$ | Unknown | — | |
| L’Express | French Bistro | $$ | Unknown | — | |
| Jérôme Ferrer - Europea | Modern Cuisine | $$$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Mastard | Modern Cuisine | $$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how PICHAI measures up.
Book at least a week ahead for weeknights; two or more weeks out for weekends. PICHAI is not as punishing to book as Montreal's top tasting-menu spots, but the dining room is small and the word is out. Walk-in availability depends on timing — arriving early or late in a service window gives you the best shot.
The specials list is where the kitchen shows its range — lean on your server to steer you through it. The room is lively and the pace is energetic, not formal: this is a neighbourhood restaurant with serious cooking behind it, not a white-tablecloth experience. Expect bold, uncompromising flavours grounded in Isaan street-food sensibility, paired with a wine list that skews low-intervention and skin-contact.
Start with the fish balls on a stick or the fried soft-boiled eggs in sweet-and-sour sauce, then move to laab with grilled duck hearts or pork neck on iced yu choy greens. The whole fried Arctic char in tamarind-chili sauce with crispy garlic is the kitchen's sourcing philosophy on a plate — from a local closed-containment fish farm. In summer, finish with nam kang sai, a Thai shaved ice made with local Quebec fruit.
Yes, if your idea of a special occasion is food-first rather than ceremony-first. The room is sleek but the mood is boisterous, not hushed — there is no tableside performance or tasting-menu ritual here. For a milestone where atmosphere and pacing take priority over the food itself, Toqué or Europea would be a better fit. PICHAI is the right call when the meal itself is the event.
There is no direct alternative in Montreal for Isaan-focused Thai cooking at this level — that gap is well documented. For a different style of destination dining in the city, Toqué is the benchmark for Quebec fine dining, and Mastard is the go-to for serious natural wine in a more casual format. Neither replaces what PICHAI does; they serve different needs.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
