Mai Bistro

As we on our way to the Toronto, Ontario airport, hubby found this place on Unilocal.After a lot of time searching for a good Asian dinner, hubby found this little charming neighborhood restaurant nearby and based on the chef’s culinary background, we knew this would be a solid restaurant.
Since this is an Asian fusion tapas place, we ordered a few.
— Grilled tiger shrimp mango salad with Thai basil, chopped fresh tomato, thinly sliced lettuce with chili dressing (very good and light, sweet, salty and tangy at each bite)
— Grilled Argentina style steak (was my least favorite, nothing to wow and was the most expensive dish, but hubby liked it). It’s served with chimichurri butter and hand cut fries.
— Grilled spicy jerk seasoning with grilled tilapia fish with mango salsa (another light dish and substituted the fries for rice, (really like this dish, light)
— Grilled steak tacos with salsa, fresh cheese and avocado for my little guy (but there was no avocado). The lemongrass pork with rice and Asian slaw (tastier than the steak).
— Tres leeches cake (I wanted to see how this compares between their version vs. the Mexican Tres Leche which I am familiar with) was a very wet and sweet cake. The winner is the chef. The chef was classically trained by a Japanese chef so I think this is why his desserts aren’t as sweet (which I prefer). It’s more like a light sponge cake topped with whipped cream and fresh sliced strawberries and filled with light condensed milk at the bottom of the cake. The chef’s wife saw me took a picture and she told me if she knew ahead of time, she would garnished with flower to make it prettier, very cute of her.
Prices range from $ 8 – 10 for small tapas. The large tapas range between $ 12-​$ 21. We picked the most two expensive dishes on the menu. Highly recommended this place to anyone. Sort of on the way to the Toronto airport, they have parking lot in the back. I would recommend reservations, since this is a small neighborhood restaurant and does get crowded mostly from their regulars.
I wish I could live close by this restaurant so I can be one of their regulars too.

Great place for when your craving Japanese/​Mexican food — a unique food offering! The food is very flavourful and enough to fill you up if you came in starving like I was.
Don’t forget to get the Japanese cheese cake which is delicious.

Wow. This place exceeded all expectations. The food was fantastic. The atmosphere is great, too. The blackened fish and calamari were both outstanding, the pad Thai was the opposite of the typical sloppy, sugary affair — Mai’s was complex and flavourful. Everything else we had was great, too.
If you haven’t been, go already! We’ll be back again and again.

We came on a Monday, Awesome awesome food! We had grill calamari, mango salad, fish taco, Argentinean steak and Japanese cheese cake. Everything was well cooked. The waiter was very friendly and kind. Our orders came out relatively quick. The place is fancy and could definitely be a good place for a date
The owner, also the chef, came out to greet us and served our large tapas.
Would definitely come back again!

Incredible food. The chef came out and was a gracious host. We had a party of 6 and everything we had was fantastic including the grilled pork, Thai beef salad, lamb curry spring roll, shrimp and crab filled spring roll.

Great food and great service! We were a party of 6 and we all ordered different items on the menu including fish, pork and steak tacos, curried chicken, Thai beef salad, oysters, crab and shrimp spring rolls and lamb spring rolls– all amazing! I especially recommend the Thai beef salad. The chef came out and chatted to the tables, and spent a lot of time with us telling us about his story and his inspiration. Highly recommend!

Awesome food!
Amazing ambiance!
Absolutely a must!
Our new favourite restaurant in Toronto.

Really good food. We ordered the japanese fried chicken. It was delicious. Then we had the grilled calamari, I fought with my wife over it, simply awsome.
Then we had the grilled beef taco. Best taco ever.
Finally we ordered the salad roll with shrimp and mango. Again exquisite. The service was good, even with the small kitchen and fairly buzy place, the food came fast. I would recomend the place to friends and enemies. Food was fresh and healthy.

I’ve been here a few times, for lunch and large functions, and every time the food is really good and the staff are super friendly! Their pad thai is really unique and has a nice flavour that sets it apart.
Also, if you are a fan of sweets, try the homemade cake!

Full disclosure: I worked at Supermarket when Manh was the head chef there.
Having eaten more of Manh’s cooking than I can count, I was sad to see him leave the market, but happy to know he was opening his own restaurant at Islington and Dundas West. Manh’s approach has always combined his years of travelling and work, blending South American and East Asian cuisines into something completely familiar, but still incredibly noteworthy.
Manh’s genius isn’t simply that he works a particular formula. He shines when he’s tested. I have had some of the most memorable vegan meals from him. His thing is that he is always thinking about what can really accent a meal. A hit of spice, some sweet mango, or just a touch of soy sauce and saké come to mind when I think of his creations.
As far as Mai’s décor, it’s welcoming and charming. It doesn’t leap on bandwagons full of barnboard and design teams. He pours his love into the bistro. After all, it was named after his daughter.
The best thing is coming into a restaurant and seeing the chef smile while they work. It’s a nice change from the screaming control-​freak you often hear about in kitchens.
So whether you believe me or not, read the other reviews Mai Bistro has, and check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

Wow. I had stomach problems and this people made me a custom dish which was absolutely fabulous! I wish you guys all the best. See you tomorrow

I liked the food here but service is very slow. Not a good place foe lunch I’d u are working

This restaurant is like that wine study that people will say cheap wine taste great if served in a way that plays to their ego. Good décor decent drink list averge food bad service.

A new favorite! Tried this new local place. Great ambience and great food. Chef came out a few time to talk and recommend what to order!
Wanted to order crisp spring rolls but was recommended not to as the spring roll makers did not do a good job of rolling them that day. Come back another day he said.
Started with edemama and the recommended lemongrass pork and Asian slaw. Great. What an Asian slaw! Best I ever had — even better than my wife’s which is great already! Had grilled calamari (vs crispy ones for health reasons) Two large pieces that was very tasty!
Chef came out again and was complemented on the slaw and promptly returned with another small serving for us to sample. Great touch!
Had the Argentinian steak and fries for anyone who does not like Asian foods. Enough meat and potatoes to suit any taste. Good variety!
Finished off with fresh Ontario peaches that the chef will only serve in season! Glazed peaches with some syrup and ice cream. Delicious!
Will return to try some of the other things on the menu!

Asian — Latin tapas, what a great fuse. This little restaurant really did surprise me, and this area needs more of this. Every dish that we tried was original and very tasty with great flavours and textures. We ordered:
Shrimp and Crab Ceviche $ 9.50 — great flavours and texture, but can use more chips.
Green Mango Salad with grilled tiger shrimp, Thai basil, and chili dressing $ 9.50 — our favourite.
Grilled Spicy Jerk Fish, mango salsa with crispy fried potato $ 17.00 — least favourite, but was still very good. Fish was a tad overcooked.
Grilled Chipotle Tiger Shrimp Tacos $ 16.00 — very authentic with the flour tortilla. Looking forward to the fish tacos next time. An order has 3 tacos.
For dessert, we were told all the cakes were made in-​house. We ordered the Japanese cheesecake, and boy was I glad I did. I have yet to try Uncle Tetsu for the sole reason the wait is insane, but I must say, this is by far one of my favourite cheesecakes. It was both fluffy, like a sponge cake, and creamy and cheesy, like a western cheesecake, all at the same time. I’m salivating just thinking about it, and I can’t help but wonder if I can order a whole cake! That would be amazing.
Service was friendly, polite, and attentive. The chef was indeed a character. He was passionate and very personable. He came out a few times to deliver the dishes and we had great conversations with him throughout our meal. Great guy, Manh is his name!
Will be back.
Parking: There is parking at the back, or there is street parking.

This restaurant was pleasantly surprising. We went in with an open mind and we were blown away with the service and the menu. Wonderfully prepared food, great combinations of flavours and textures. We’ll be back for sure!

Highly recommend this place for food, my studio is in the area and I saw the restaurant daily, for whatever reason i hesitated going at first but when I finally did, I was in for a treaat!
Great friendly staffs and delicious fusion food. I’m often there for lunch as the prices are better for my budget. My go to dish is the vegetable pad Thai, I’ve had the chicken pad Thai and am normally a meat eater. But there is something special about they vegetable dish, I really like the multiple textures of the dish, it makes my taste buds happy. Generous portions
Another dish I also get sometimes is their beef phở soup lunch special. I need to go back and try their dinner dishes so I will leave that for the next review!

The mango salad is fantastic. We stopped in for dinner on Monday. We ordered off the short tapas menu and enjoyed everything. The service was friendly and quick. But never pushing.
I recommend checking this place out.

An interesting little place — chosen by my Event Planner girlfriend who always seems to take us to spots that she hears lots of buzz about.
It’s a small-​ish space that’s not sure if it’s a Mexican, Asian, Argentinian or Caribbean… but that seems to be part of its charm. The Chef himself came out to explain our dishes and he made our Mango margaritas, which were yummy!
We went on a Thursday evening and we were the only people in the place by the time we finished — it felt like a private party.
We ordered edamame and fried calamari appetizers to share and between the 7 of us ladies, we ordered fish tacos (one fried and one grilled), jerk fish (gorgeous and so tasty!) and an Asian noodle dish.
All of our food was really very tasty. Service was friendly and we spent about $ 40 each, (which covered drinks, apps, main, tip and tax). Pretty affordable. There is free parking in the back and street parking on Dundas is free after 4pm.
I recommend you make a reservation to let them know you are coming and that they are prepared for your arrival! We received good service because we were the only table there — but I hate to think what would have happened if more folks came in.
All in all — a delicious, fresh and pleasant experience!

So many great things to say about this lovely little place in Etobicoke!
— The food is original and very tasty. We had the Argentinian steak with fries, fried calamari and shrimp tacos. Ended with their tres leches cake. Yummmmm.
— The ambience is… unexpected. Definitely date night, quiet, relaxed and comfortable.
— Service is top notch. It’s run by just a two-​person team but you’re never in want of water or waiting too long for your food. We even met the chef/​owner! Outstanding.
It’s great to have genuine places like this in the neighbourhood. We will definitely be back!