I came here for DineOut 2017 and I absolutely love it! The menu was great for sharing and the portion was generous. I loved everything from the salad, to the curries and to the desserts. The food is not your regular comfort Thai food. I would say it's creative thai food with a twist. On top of everything, the service was great and the decor is classy. I will definitely come back in the future! read more

Maenam consistently delivers experience. The food is delicious... titillating sweet, sour, salty and spicy taste buds. The cocktail menu is one of the best in the city and the service is always attentive. We usually start with the spicy mushroom soup which is great to kick away the winter blues. The sweet and sour fish is always tasty and great when paired withe Thai eggplant. Their salads have an incredible fresh taste that really get the palate going. As someone who has traveled through Thailand and been to some of the best Thai restaurants around the world Maenam is at the top of the list. read more

I rarely give 5 stars, but this place deserves it. For so many reasons. The food is excellent, and the Chef's tasting menu is a must do. We got 7 courses of the the most exquisite and finely prepared flavourful food. It may seem a bit expensive, but it's worth it! The staff is very friendly and very responsive. I went with my spouse to celebrate her birthday, and had informed them beforehand. They took extra care that our experience was memorable. From the complimentary bubbly to the candles on the dessert. It's the little things that count, and the staff aced it. Would highly recommend Maenam! read more

Amazing food. We had the tasting menu and it was excellent as well as very filling. I will definitely recommend that tasting menu. It was one of the best I have had and the price was very reasonable. I will not hesitate to go back when I get a chance. read more

DINE OUT - What an unfortunate situation. All you get to choose is one starter, and one main dish between two people. Dine out is all about varierty, trying new things at a reasonable price. Very unfortunate situation. Its not about the portion sizes, its the principal of paying 60 bucks for one dish, one appy, and 2 deserts. After looking at the menu, my fiance and I let our host know that we were not interested. It did not come as a surprise to her. Its Dine Out, lets be generous. read more

We had panang chicken and stir-fried beef with holy basil for lunch. The panang was delicious with free range chicken, but the beef dish was the winner. It has a hint of spice and great flavor. read more

I can't speak for much here because I don't like Thai food (mostly the curries and coconut) but I had the pad thai here and it was AMAZING. I'm telling you, it was fantastic. read more

This is not my first time at Maenam, food was always tasty, so we thought we try it out again for dine out. We were 10-15 mins early, the hostess said our table wasn't ready yet and gestured that we might want to leave and come back. We asked if we could sit and have a drink at the bar (which was empty), she seemed hesitant, but finally said, 'I think so'. Another staff then gave us a table not more than a minute after we sat down. The dineout menu looked very appetizing, but was not very clear if we had to all choose the same starter and main to share, or if that was just the suggestion. We sat for 10 mins without anyone coming to our assistance, luckily the next table explained it. Our first waitress never bothered, though I saw another waiter do an excellent job of that, so it's just a bit inconsistent. Our tom yum koong came out with undercooked prawns (they were translucent) our server was quick to address that but said the chef says they were cooked, but they will make us a new one. The second bowl came out the same, prawns were translucent and texture did not feel cooked, we were going to just have it but skip the soup, but our server noticed and offered to bring us something else. We tried the tom kaa gai, it was tasty and the soup was considerably hotter in temp than the other one, perhaps that is why the prawns. The rest of the dishes were solid, the panaeng curry was a bit too sweet for my taste, the beef ribs were great, though the 'very spicy' special sauce the server warned about, was just very salty, not at all spicy, like it was just fish sauce with a hint of lime. Overall, the food was still very tasty, service was a bit inconsistent, with one really good server and others a bit off. The desserts were nothing to write home about either. Decent meal, our cocktails were refreshing, but I can get better thai for much less and it's not like the service merit the premium. Too bad. My impressions before tonight was much better. read more

I go to this restaurant once a month because it's awesome. I like their mushroom soup, fried oyster, fish. Remember to ask not too spicy.

Great food. Very nice atmosphere. Request to sit at the upper overlook booth. Nice dish presentation. The food was super tasty but not greasy or heavy. The chicken wings appetizer special was on point. Order the crab (appetizer), Brussels sprouts (appetizer), the lamb and the duck. Bar service Service was slow but kitchen service was good. Cocktails were original but you come for the food. Recommended for double dates. read more

Had the royal thai dinner course menu which consisted of 9 dishes from the normal menu Overall very impressed with all of the dishes except for one. I wouldn't say that their dishes are traditional thai food but they definitely have a thai influence to them coupled with a western twist. Started with three appie samplers Chicken satay, fried soft shell crab and fried oysters. Next came the hot and sour braised beef soup. Omg this was truly a unique dish, bit of spice kick and a hint of sourness all in a aromatic warm soup to flow into the next dish. Unfortunately the following was the thai sausage and crispy rice salad which was somewhat of the lowlight compared to the other flavours presented by the other dishes. The next one was steamed mussels with lemongrass and basil. Mussels were plentiful and juicy. The broth was flavourful too with a slight spice. Finally, they served another three dishes at once. Duck confit salad (it was mostly made of duck hahaha not sure why it was called salad), pork jowl black bean stir fry, and beef short rib in a red curry. And it came with a portion of rice for two. Duck confit was made very well, had lychee in there too which was odd but worked well in some ways imo. Pork jowl came in a generous portion. The best dish of the night goes to the short rib. I believe it must've been seared before placement in the sauce because there was a crispy side to the meat. Very well done and the sauce went excellently with the rice or roti. Had dessert there too. Not impressive as the 9 dishes. Service was attentive but not overwhelming. Highly recommend this place. read more

No possible improvements. Best coconut curry this side of the Pacific. Great for lunch too! Service, food, presentation, and atmosphere were all great! read more

Fantastic little Thai place on 4th. We ordered the vegetarian tasting menu - the flavours were amazing! The mushroom curry was hands down one of the best Thai curries I've ever tasted. Great ambiance and friendly staff - be sure to make a reservation, this place fills up fast. I'll be back for sure. read more

Bad food and awful migraine inducing acoustics. Everything tasted the same - lemongrass, hot peppers and lime leaves. And why when you order the $58.00 pp tasting menu do you get two dishes with mussels. read more

What a strange restaurant experience. By the standard measure of Thai cuisine--the delicate balancing of subtle yet contrasting flavours--this meal should have been a great success. The chef clearly understands Thai food, and most of the dishes were good to very good. When we walked out of the restaurant, however, the one thing we could all agree on was that the experience itself was thoroughly disappointing. How could a Thai restaurant balance flavours so superbly and still fail, we wondered. It turns out there is more to a great Thai meal than getting the flavours right. The service was... awkward. Frankly, our waitress was an unfriendly snob. One example, of many: when we first sat down I asked for a Singha beer, which I pronounced "Sing", she curled her nose and said "what? ... It's called SinghA! It wasn't so much that she was wrong, but that she was wrong AND rude. As the night continued, a progression of awkward servers with forced smiled visited our table. I missed the earnest, genuinely friendly service found at most family-run Thai restaurants. As I mentioned, the food itself was very good. We had the steamed mussels with lemongrass and thai basil. The broth was packed with flavour, although the mussels were a little small and a touch overcooked. We then had a decent line-up of curries: Jungle Curry of Sablefish, Burmese curry of sloping hills pork and Aromatic curry of chicken thighs. The curries were all very yummy. The flavouring of some, the aromatic curry in particular, was superb. The Phad Thai was not my favourite, although, to be fair, I think each person has a different idea of what the perfect Phad Thai should taste like. Our enjoyment of the otherwise delicious food was hampered, however, by the truly tiny servings. The aromatic curry had ONE thigh, and a small drumstick in it. How on earth do you share that? One of the most enjoyable aspects of Thai food, sharing dishes with friends, was simply impossible. It felt like sharing out the last rations on a life-raft. We finished the meal with Mango Sticky Rice and a Banana Chocolate Dish. Both were very good, although the sticky rice was a little undercooked. Ultimately, my verdict is that this place makes some damn fine Thai food, but seems to do so at the expense of all of the other intangibles that make a night out for Thai food so enjoyable. Gone is the family-run, friendly service. Gone is the endearing, if slightly tacky Thai decor. Gone are the large portions you can comfortably share at the table. In my estimation, it's a poor trade-off. Thai food shouldn't be pretentious. It should be delicious AND fun. read more

Good food below average service. Very busy room with some good tasting dishes. Great drink menu and a good wine list. Unfortunately the service is typical Kitsilano. Our server was cut as we got dessert and spent the rest of her time camped at the busy bar playing on her phone. It is things like this that keep restaurants in the area from maintaining 4 or 5 stars. read more

I have eaten at Maenam many times. I have also eaten at a number of other Vancouver Thai restaurants a number of times, the best of which were very good by any standard. That said, and despite or because, of the use of local ingredients that cause some to criticize it as "fusion", I think, on reflection that it does live up to its billing as the best Thai restaurant in Vancouver. This review is long-delayed because I rarely use the superlative. Want to know why I did use the superlative? Try the hot and sour soup or the green curry: both unlike anything else in Vancouver. Only criticisms: why no Pork Laab Moo or no Khao soi? But then you cannot have everything. If you want those dishes there are other restaurants in Greater Vancouver that serve them (one or two). Go to Maenam: you will not regret it unless you want Thai food for Canadians or Pork Laab Moo or Khao soi. read more

We stopped in the city for one night at the end of our ski trip and had dinner here. We were so glad we came! We eat Thai food fairly regularly in New York and this was much better. Will definitely come back. Recommend the tasting menu and ginger cocktails. read more

Good are pretty good. Not so much about the papaya salad. And DO NOT order glass wine here! They don't do 5oz wine pour and it's $11 per glass of 3.5oz... Very not impressive.... read more

Overpriced. I went there for lunch, everything is above $14. Ordered Pad Thai $15, and the portion was enough, but the taste was a bit too sour, and the noodle is too dry. Nothing impressive at all. My friend ordered Stir-fried Beef with Holy Basil. It had some unpleasant weird cheesy taste. The other thai restaurant right by my office offers way cheaper lunch with same portion and muh better taste. I would totally go there instead of this Maenam read more

I came here with my family because of the great reviews but we were sorely disappointed with the food. We had the coconut mushroom soup, grilled shrimp, roti with peanut sauce and papaya salad as starters then the fried chicken, lingcod, pad thai, banana blossom salad and pork belly curry as mains. The papaya salad was overwhelmingly spicy, something our server said could not be changed because the spice is in the dressing. My family normally likes a tasteful amount of heat and we all love papaya salad but we did not enjoy the papaya salad at Maenam. All the dishes are very artfully described on the menu but are generally too salty and greasy when they actually arrive on the table. In particular, the coconut soup was a disappointment. Though this restaurant claims to be fusion, there was nothing particularly creative on the menu other than the banana blossom salad, which even then wasn't a favourite with my family. Though the service was good, I found Maenam to be very pretentious in how they describe the dishes then how the server rhymes off the ingredients of each dish as they are brought to the table. I would have preferred quality food over all the puffery. The only two dishes that we actually enjoyed rather than endured were the pad thai and the lingcod. The lingcod was crispy and sweet and the pad thai had some interesting flavours, however, with each main costing at least $17 for often banal dishes such as fried chicken and pad thai, we would have hoped our dining experience would have been more enjoyment than gritted teeth and perseverance. read more

I have heard about Maenam time and time again, it seems to be quite the Vancouver institution, sadly I didn't have the same positive experience. We had a booking and were sat promptly, it was moderately busy but not packed out. The restaurant is really pretty. Good music and ambience, they have that down perfectly. It's really well designed and in a nice area. Our waitress was really nice and friendly. After chatting with her about the menu she suggested the pad thai modified, which I got, and my friend got the cashew chicken. Our orders took the perfect amount of time to arrive, about 10/15 minutes. The presentation is lovely. Sadly, for me, the food was only okay. My pad thai was quite lacking in flavour, the noodles were rather gluey and the vegetables were minimal, a bit more vege-wise would have gone a long way to make this taste better. I know I got it modified (and that it can affect the taste) but there was nothing to make up for the prawns that had been taken out. It was sweet and sour but also bland and the tofu was really minimal. Filling up on rice noodles isn't ideal and for the price I expected more. My friend did not like her dish either, and I don't think it was what she was expecting. It has a lot of chilli in it and for a stirfry I think she expected more sauce. It was covered with chilli, and was so spicy still that she had trouble eating it. She ended up not being able to eat most of the dish, and I wasn't able to find it on the online menu to check but I didn't recall it stating that it has chilli. All this said, our waitress was great and the service was flawless. She noted my friend picking out parts off her plate and offered to get her another dish (she declined this kind offer). The waitress followed up later and asked how she was doing, and made sure my friend was doing okay. Then she gave us this nice complimentary dessert, which we both enjoyed, and it took some of the spice out of my friend's mouth. The bill was prompt and she came back quickly and she definitely made the experience far more pleasant for us. To be honest, I am quite sure how to rate my experience, 3 seems too low considering the service and the space, but 4 seems too high to rate a place that I probably wouldn't pick to go to again. If I ever do go back I would make sure I ordered something completely different. But it's nice to see this place has lots of good reviews as they clearly put a lot of thought and effort into their business and it must have the good reputation for a reason. Maybe it's just not for me. read more

Maenum aspires to be Asian inspired. It is different from the standard 'sweet and sour" or "butter chicken". However, not every dish will be to your liking. I ordered the papaya salad, expecting a fresh fruit salad. The kitchen delivered a crunchy vegan-style dish. Where's the papaya? Turns out that the few strands of 'carrot' was unripen papaya. Tasty but not particularly Asian. The green halibut curry was nice. But, the curry was thick like north Indian curry. The chili was overpowering. I ate it by adding one spoonful of curry at a time as I ate the rice. The portions were adequate and the food was value for money. read more

Im giving 2 stars as the food for this restaurant was decent. Apart from that I can't say many good things. The service we got was unfortunately bad, we were one of the first to be seated after they opened. We ordered food relatively quickly, the unfortunate part was that there were 8 tables that ordered after us and got food before us. Yes we counted. After the first 3 tables (25mins after ordering) we followed up. Cause if the waiters knew about the delay they didn't inform us that they were checking and following up. 45 mins after ordering we followed up again, with a different waiter. It was as if that waiter had just realized that we were there the whole time. Saying "really your food isn't ready, let me go check sorry for the wait". We ended up getting our food 10 mins later, so 55mins after ordering. The couple who we walked in with had already paid and left, and here we were getting our first dish. My girlfriend was upset, you could definitely see it on her face. I told her, foods here let it go, maybe the service will pick up now that we are on their radars. They should be treating us as VIP's now, check up on us, fill our waters, ask if we would like another beverage; or so i would think. But no, we did not get this luxury. We were the unlucky table that they didn't care about. For all those wanting to try this place, i suggest ordering it to go. Otherwise i hope you get better service than we did, i really do. read more

Place looked amazing, servers were friendly, but the food was lacking for my friends and I. My dish was way too salty and apparently did not come with any rice, while my friend ordered a dish that was not worth the money he paid. He ordered the fish after the servers recommendations on how it is a "large plate" that could be shared with other people, but when it arrived it was the smallest dish out of everyone's. The drinks we ordered didn't taste very good though and was way overpriced. Not going back anytime soon. read more

Came here for for the first time for dineout Vancouver and was quite impressed. Personable, attentive, honest service. Flavor complexity in their dishes that stand out from the run of the mill cheaper Thai restaurants around Vancouver. Standout dishes - beautifully crispy black cod, braised duck leg curry, and the desserts (rice doughnuts with pandan custard especially!) were all delicious. read more

We recently had dinner there and the food was really good, the atmosphere was noisy but not dissimilar to other small restaurants. The only 'negative' thing we all had to say is that we felt like we were being rushed. It was a Sunday night and they were not full so really there was no reason to rush us. In fact our server seemed to hover around us which is not providing good service even though they may think so. read more

Wonderful dinner here. We had the cauliflower curry, crispy cod, and salmon salad. All excellent. The wait staff was attentive and the restaurant has a really nice interior--very relaxing. read more

It was fine food, just nothing spectacular. Found it a lot more expensive than it probably should have been. Would have probably enjoyed my experience more otherwise. read more

If you have allergy to peanuts stay away!!! Limited curry selection, not very authentic Thai for what they charge.

Went to Maenam based on a locals recommendation. Everything we ate was very delicious. Started off the meal with the green papaya salad and the grilled thai sausage with crispy rice. The papaya salad was fresh and spicy! The thai sausage salad was great and I couldn't get enough of that crispy rice. Shared the grilled hangar steak and pad thai for the main course along with a side of hand made roti. Left feeling extremely full and satisfied. Would definitely go back on my next trip to Vancouver. read more

Came here for Dine Out and it was amazing! By far the best Thai food in the city and worth venturing out of downtown for. The pork belly salad was so good, I probably could have had 3 servings of it. The Pad Thai was also awesome and didn't have that overly ketchupy flavour a lot of Thai restaurants here have. The only thing I didn't like was the beef chuck curry, but I probably shouldn't have ordered that as my issues were primarily due to the toughness of the chuck which should have been expected. The service was also great, and they get bonus points for having a great craft beer list too. read more

I'm slow on posting this review, since it's already 2 months since we first tried dinner at Maenam, but I'm happy to report we enjoyed a delicious meal and great service. The place was crazy-busy but the staff was still quick and attentive. We shared the tasting menu which, at $30 each, was a very good deal - the food was fresh and so tantalizingly tasty that you didn't need much to really fill up on flavour. We started with the deliciously plump and plentiful mussels with lemon grass and thai basil, followed by the delectable 8-spice lingcod which revealed a new burst of flavour with each bite. It warranted eating slowly to savour every bite. It's not so much that we had room for dessert afterwards but we were so enamoured with everything by this point that we just had to find room for a little extra decadence and, at just $3 for the addition of dessert, we were more than happy with what we ordered. Overall we had a wonderful experience and would happily do it all over again.....soon! read more

Tasting menu. Wine pairings. We came because Maenam was voted the best Thai restaurant in Vancouver. It is. The Best. Really nice waitress, hostess and owner as well (this is important coming from Los Angeles where every hostess is a moody rude "actress"). Maenam is amazing! Carefully thought out menu. World class flavors. Go! read more

oh my god! This place blows my mind every time we come there! The food is delicious! Every single thing I've tried there is yummy! Makes you love thai food even more. Last time we were there with a large group of friends and the kitchen cooked for us, so we didn't know what dishes to expect. Mmmm, it was amazing! We had the sable fish soup, seared tuna salad, halibut dish. And many others. Strongly recommend this place! Plus, the waiters are all really approachable and nice. read more

The food is great but a bit pricy. However, you do get what you paid for. The mussels are fresh, salads are great, and drinks are yummy.

Definitely the best Thai food in Vancouver. Refined, sophisticated and very original, I love Maenam, have the tasting menu. For 30 or $45 you will be blown away with the variety of flavors and amazing meals. Great staff and service, love going there! read more

Incredible, incredibly fresh food. WOW. The chicken with cashews was divine. Pad Thai some of the best I've ever had. Will come again and again. read more

Maenam is the best thai in Vancouver and we love the food and service. I come here regularly to have their chef's menu. The mussles and 8 spices cod is my favorite dishes which I have to order each time I come. Also, they have very good chicken wings but it's not a regular menu item. read more

An absolute must! I have been multiple times and have tried many of the different dishes and it is fantastic! The coconut mushroom soup, and sweet potato desert is a must. You definitely can't go wrong with anything you choose on the menu. Our server, Oracle was lovely and made our evening wonderful. Don't be taken aback by the prices, it is not one of those places where you will feel like you didn't get your moneys worth. Beautiful and warm atmosphere. Great for a date night or special occasion! read more