We went to this place late at night last weekend because it was the only restaurant still open on…read morethe street. I've tried another Mae Sri location before and it was decent, so I thought this downtown one would be similar. Unfortunately, this turned out to be the worst dining experiences we've ever had in Montreal. The restaurant looks nicely decorated, but it's nothing more than fake aesthetics covering terrible food and service.
There were only three tables occupied, yet we were placed at a table with no lamp, sitting in the dark for almost 20 minutes. No one offered water, no one told us to scan the QR code for the menu -- absolutely no service.
When someone finally came (in the end she claimed she is Claire and is the manager), her first words were: "Tap water or sparkling?" -- not even a basic hi. After we said "sparkling," she just stood there staring, clearly expecting us to order immediately, without even bringing the water first. We asked two simple questions about the menu, but every time I tried to speak she interrupted, rolled her eyes, and repeated:
"Didn't you just say you want pad see ew? What's your question? Do you need more time?"
What kind of manager speaks to customers like that?
After 30 minutes, the food arrived. Claire literally kicked away a chair from the empty table next to us and slammed the plates in front of us. Completely unacceptable.
The food itself was awful. The tom yum soup was white, lukewarm, and full of what tastes like Costco chili flakes -- nothing like any tom yum broth I've had in Thailand. the shrimps on the top were freezing cold. The pad see ew was also cold, extremely sweet, and the noodles on the edges were dried out, as if it had been sitting out for ages. Clearly not freshly cooked, yet somehow we waited 30 minutes for it. Maybe the kitchen was busy fixing the microwave.
The final insult came with the bill: $7 per bottle of sparkling water. We asked why the price wasn't disclosed verbally or written anywhere on the menu. Claire once again responded with attitude, questioning "don't you know it's common knowledge?" I've lived in Montreal for over a year -- please tell me which $20-main "cheap fake Thai street food" restaurant considers $7 sparkling water to be "common knowledge"? That logic is outrageous.
It got worse when she asked about desserts. (Yes she asked about desserts after we said we want the bill). Also we had already asked about the dessert when ordering, and after claire told us it wasn't available, we clearly said we didn't want any dessert. As there is no dessert menu, and she didn't tell us the prices, we thought she's finally be apologizing for her rudeness. However, she questioned us back: "Have you ever had dessert for free at a restaurant?" Like wtf?
Throughout the entire visit, this so-called manager was consistently rude, hostile, and unprofessional. I honestly don't understand how a restaurant with decent Google reviews ends up with someone like this in charge. At this rate, I doubt this place will stay open much longer.
By the way, in the middle of our meal, she suddenly asked if we needed chopsticks, apparently just because we looked East Asian. I'm not sure if we should consider this racist.
Also btw, we both got a mild diarrhea the next day
Absolutely not recommended.
