Wine and Thai Tapas Anyone?

The Pitch

After ten years as a blogger/instagrammer/influencer or insert-your-least-annoying-term-here, I have certainly attended my fair share of restaurant openings.  Over time, you start forgetting where you've been and when, especially in the face of high restaurant turnover.  This fall, however, I have detected a pattern at a handful of events which give me faith in my memory.

For the third time in two months, I would be summoned to a locale I've already been invited at, only under a different restaurant which has since closed.  These thoughts would race through my mind as I stepped into Pamika Wine Room on this Thursday night, when I immediately recalled the launch event of a M.Mme at the same Laurier Avenue address back in 2015.

The soon-to-open project is the second location of Pamika, the renowned upscale Thai eatery.  This iteration is a drastic departure in concept, as I would find out during the happy hour-plus-dinner shindig which gave us a sneak peak of the main dining floor but also the wine tasting room downstairs.

tagged:  5 À 7 MEDIA EVENT PRIVATE ROOM

The Mood

If anything stood out from my visit of M.Mme, it would be the interior design.  The dining room is beautifully decked out in wooden floors, wood-paneled ceilings and brick walls running vertically between the two.  A long bar to your left – where a DJ was spinning for the night – and an open kitchen at the far end are topped with a striking veiny black stone.  Completing the wow factor is a long wine cellar lit in pink occupying most of the right wall.

Needless to say: the new owners kept everything almost intact, save for a couple of Thai touches here and there.  They also retained the private wine room – hence the name – in the basement.  After a glass of bubbly upstairs, we headed down for a vino masterclass/tasting session conducted by the staff sommelier.  This was an intimate and informative affair, but the dude was racing and spoke way too fast for me to retain anything.

tagged:  BAR SCENE EYE FOR DESIGN

The Food

To further hammer down the wine bar concept, this version of Pamika took its refined Thai food and repurposed it into tapas-style servings.  The same savoir-faire from the flagship location has been transposed into the small-plate format, complete with Thailand's signature fragrance, aroma and flavour profile.

The heat level was also turned up in a mouth-watering tom yum soup and an Isan – the chef's home region – BBQ beef salad thanks to fiery whole charred chili peppers.  The dish of the night consisted of succulent shrimps and chopped cabbage brushed with a rich choo chee – red curry/coconut milk – sauce.  Less stellar but still satisfactory were seafood siu mai – open-faced – dumplings, chicken pad thai and pineapple fried rice.

Wine and cocktails were plenty and abundant throughout the night, although the latter were on the weak side.  The ending, however, was a sight to behold and a taste not to be missed.  A giant chocolate macaron sandwiched mango sticky rice and was meticulously painted with the restaurant's name and imagery; a delicious east-meets-west hybrid.

$13

$13

Shrimp Tom Yum

$16

$16

Isan BBQ Beef Salad

Steamed Dumplings

$14

$14

Chicken Pad Thai

$12

$12

Pineapple Fried Rice

$16

$16

Shrimp Choo Chee

Mango Sticky Rice Macaroon

tagged:  GOOD FOR SHARING MOUTH ON FIRE!

The Verdict

Over the last couple of years, the Pamika brand has spread its tentacles into new ventures.  In addition to opening two casual Thai locations of Mae Sri (one of which is temporarily closed due to fire or flooding damage), the original Pamika on Sherbrooke Street moved to larger digs on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.  They have also launched a line of jarred sauces and curries under the moniker Pamika Kitchen.

Their latest Wine Room adds a push to tap into the private/corporate event sector.  This stylish and delicious baby is breaking new ground in Montreal with its Thai wine bar concept, but it does come with some risk given it is literally three blocks away from la maison mère.  Be sure to look for it once it opens in the new year.  Until then, cheers and happy holidays!

Price per person:  $39