Mahaniyom

"A rollicking little bar and restaurant, Mahaniyom is home to some of the best Thai food in the Boston area. Don’t miss the kang puu, a subtle crab curry, and the spicy salted pepper pork cheek served with sticky rice. Mahaniyom has racked up many accolades in the two years that it has been open: Eater Boston named it the best new restaurant of 2021, and the restaurant was awarded a five-star review in the Boston Globe in 2022. If you want to extend the evening, the team followed up this act with Merai, located just down the street. It’s a dive bar of sorts that has plenty of Thai drinking foods on the menu (don’t skip the hot dog made with kra pao sausage and salted egg yolk mayo)." - Erika Adams, C. Shardae Jobson

"To celebrate the Lunar New Year, this award-winning Thai tapas bar will be running a special item called pla tom haeo, a fragrant fish soup with taro and water chestnuts. “It is inspired by a Chinese dish we have in Thailand which we usually enjoy during the Chinese new year there — hua pla tom puek (fish head soup with taro root),” says co-owner Chompon Boong Boonnak. Mahaniyom’s sibling bar, Merai (Eater’s Best New Bar of 2024), is also doing a Chinese New Year bar pop-up with guest bartenders creating themed cocktails for the holiday. Keep an eye on Instagram for more details on that event." - Erika Adams, Valerie Li Stack

"The concise menu at quirky, boozy Thai restaurant Mahaniyom features dishes you won’t readily find elsewhere in the Boston-area Thai scene — many of them small plates that pair particularly well with one of the restaurant’s tasty cocktails or a mild Thai lager. Fill up on crispy chicken skins; seasonal fruit salads like rambutan with fried shrimp and toasted coconut; salt-and-pepper pork cheek; and green papaya pad thai." - Eater Staff

"Everybody always says Mahaniyom. I’m sure someone’s already told you that one! Mahaniyom is nice, cozy and delicious. Really delicious. — Rachel Miller" - Tanya Edwards

"Mahaniyom is one of the best Thai restaurants in the city, full stop. There’s also graffiti in the restroom that we’re kind of obsessed with, tremendous cocktails, and an energy that always puts us in a good mood, even if our roommate half-assed cleaned the kitchen again. In terms of food, you can’t go wrong with any of the small dishes on the menu, so bring a small group, start with the kang puu and chicken ka praw, and go from there. Pair it all with the Kin Na Ree cocktail, which uses both Thai and Jamaican rums. " - tanya edwards