Thai restaurants are popular in Toronto for their mouth-watering cuisine and for good reason. From Thai soups, appetizers, main course meals, and sweet desserts, you can’t go wrong with visiting at least one of Toronto’s top Thai restaurants.
Today, we decided to try Lanna’s Thai Cuisine in Markham because we were told by one of my dad’s friends that the experience is different compared to other Thai restaurants in Toronto.
Since it was my birthday, my father wanted to take the family out for a mini celebration, so we booked a reservation a week in advance to try this place.
I’m generally a big fan of Thai food, especially the ones in Downtown Toronto like Pai and Khao San Road (SO delicious and GOOD), but I was super excited to give Lanna’s a try on my birthday.
So, we arrived at 6:10 pm for our 6:00 pm reservation – a bit late because we drove to the wrong plaza, and then we had to drive around to look for parking.
Parking was a little confusing, but you can park across the street where there’s a merry-go-round. At first, we thought this area was private parking, but the server confirmed that you were allowed to park there when we entered the restaurant.
We eventually resolved our parking problems and I hope our mistake helps you figure out where to park when you do decide to go to Lanna’s LOL.
Anyways, here’s my review of Lanna Thai Cuisine after coming here for the first time.
Lanna Thai Cuisine Review
When we entered Lanna Cuisine, we immediately thought the place was beautiful. The décor was not only modern and clean, but it was upscale, bright, and fancy.
The wall was dark teal with a beautiful royal blue accent wall that pops.
The lights in this restaurant were beautiful and the dimming environment wasn’t too dark nor too bright – it was just right for a family, group gathering, or date.
The tables were nicely set up, and they weren’t cramped up together. We thought this place was spacious and there was more than enough space. This was especially important for us during Covid times.
The music was great! We loved how they were playing a mix of catchy throwbacks and some calming music in the background. It wasn’t loud at all, so you won’t need to yell for the person across from you to hear what you’re saying.
Whether you’re on a date or celebrating an occasion with a group of friends, it was the perfect playlist to lighten up your mood and spirits!
Aside from the décor and music, here’s what my family thought about the food. We ordered:
- Chicken Satay Skewers
- Pineapple Fried Rice
- Chicken Pad Thai
- Lanna’s Signature Curry Crab
- Mango Sticky Rice
Food: 3.8/5
Chicken Satay Skewers
There were 6 skewers, so this made the perfect family appetizer. The chicken itself was a little dry, but the juicy and sweet sauce on the skewer made it taste good. You could also taste the lemongrass mixed with the sweet and savoury sauce.
We’ve had better chicken skewers from other Toronto’s top Thai restaurants like Pai, but Lanna’s one was not bad at all. It was pretty good minus the dry chicken. Perhaps it was just our batch that was dried.
Pineapple Fried Rice
The pineapple fried rice was one of our favorite dishes from Lanna Thai Cuisine.
It smelled really, and we mean REALLY, good as soon as it arrived at our table. Not just that, but it tasted SO good and it’s not a surprise why many people order this dish! When we were there, almost every table ordered one.
The fried rice is served in a pineapple shell, which makes the presentation of the dish picture-worthy for your Facebook or Instagram account.
The pineapple and chicken in the rice were sweet and the texture of the soft cashews made it even better. It was the perfect combination of rice, chicken, and cashews.
As you can see, the overall dish is yellow, so yes, there was some curry inside.
It was very unique in that it wasn’t overwhelming with too much curry flavor. In other words, you could say it was subtle but it’s obvious that there is curry in this dish. This is perfect for the non-spicy eater who doesn’t like the strong smell or taste of curry!
But even if you’re a big fan of curry, you’ll still love and enjoy this dish because it has a bit of satay flavour blended with curry.
That’s what made this special dish so unique and worthy to try!
Chicken Pad Thai
We have a feeling that this dish was just a miss for us tonight.
It’s actually a really good dish, but we believe the chef may have accidentally put too much salt or seasoning on our plate.
Even my dad, who can handle the saltiest food (he loves everything loaded with salt and flavour), said it was too salty.
Minus the “too salty” part, the Chicken Pad Thai dish at Lanna’s had a kick of sweetness. It was definitely not your typical pad thai dish that you would have at other Thai restaurants. It was just different and didn’t really taste exactly like pad thai. The sauce in this dish was quite sweet, but again, the saltiness overpowered it.
The noodles were nice and soft though it was a bit sticky in some parts. The tofu was silky and was a great addition to this plate.
We would order this dish again just to see what it would be like the second time. We just weren’t sure whether or not the chef overpowered it with salt by mistake.
So, our conclusion is their Chicken Pad Thai is a good dish minus the extreme saltiness.
Lanna Thai Signature Curry Crab
You can’t come to this restaurant and leave without ordering their Signature Curry Crab dish!
This dish is on the expensive end, but it’s worth trying for the experience.
They also give you gloves to eat the crab – think about Captain’s Boil restaurant.
The crab here was well marinated, and it was fresh and juicy. We wouldn’t say you get a lot of crab meat, but you still get a good amount. It’s enough to share with 5-6 people.
The best part was the sauce. It was PACKED with loads of flavour and you may find it addicting! It’s almost like crack.
If you’re a lover of coconut, milk, butter, and curry, then you’re going to fall in love with the rich and creamy sauce.
We recommend you order a bowl or two of white rice, or even nan bread, for your table so you can eat it with this sauce. It would be such a waste of mouth-watering sauce if you didn’t order a bowl or plate of carbs to dip in the sauce. Mind you, you are paying for the sauce too!
One thing I must say is if you’re someone who isn’t fond of heavy sauce that’s creamy and buttery, then you’ll think this is too much for you to handle.
Otherwise, this curry crab dish may just be one of your favorite picks from the menu.
Mango Sticky Rice
We were really full from the food, so we decided to order one dessert dish so we could all have a bite of the Mango Sticky Rice.
This dessert dish comes in a plate of heart-shaped sticky rice, and it smelled really good – it smelled like sweet coconut. The sticky rice was warm and the texture was soft and chewy. It tasted even better because it was warm.
The coconut milk sauce was creamy and it paired nicely with the sticky rice and crunchy pieces of tiny green beans. The green beans were actually crispy and resembled the crunchiness of crushed peanuts. At first, you would probably think they’re peanuts but in fact, they’re tiny crispy green beans sprinkled throughout the dessert.
If you’ve ever had Vietnamese sticky rice, this was pretty much the same thing!
The difference is you’re paying a premium at this restaurant for the dine-in experience, so you may think their desserts are a little pricey.
But if it’s on the way, and you’re feeling for some sweet desserts, then Lanna’s Mango Sticky Rice is worth trying.
Service: 4/5
The service is very friendly and attentive. They checked our vaccination status and brought us to our seats. Once we sat down, they asked what we wanted to drink and even made some recommendations.
They came to change our plates to new ones when it was filled with crab shells. They also refilled our glasses with water without having us to request it.
Ambiance: 4.5/5
Again, the restaurant décor is modern, stylish, and beautiful. The place is spacious, and the tables are big enough for you to enjoy your meal. You will be very satisfied with your dining experience at Lanna’s!
Price: $$$
The price of the dishes at Lanna’s is higher than the average Thai restaurant, but the classy environment, service, and experience make it worthwhile.
It’s perfect for a gathering of people or a date.
The food here is really good and you’ll have a different experience here compared to other Thai restaurants.
It’s worth visiting even just once if you haven’t tried this restaurant yet!
Lanna Thai Cuisine Rating
We rate Lanna Thai Cuisine 3.8/5. Honestly, the food is really good here, but we understand that the high price tag may not justify it for most people. This is especially true when you see a lot of the comments on Yelp reviews. But the fancy decor, service, and environment make up for it and we recommend going at least once for the experience if you’re not sensitive to the price.
We admit that we’ve had some really good Thai dishes at our other top favourite Thai restaurants – and better for the value – but Lanna Thai Cuisine gives you a modern classy, calm, and clean dining experience when you’re looking for a place that isn’t loud, urban-like, and fast-paced.
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