Mai Bistro

Pondering on where to eat, we decided to come out to Mai Bistro an Asian Latin inspired restaurant whose dishes are definitely outside-of-the-box. Glad we chose this place as they've got a great selection of fusion dishes with infused Asian with Latin flavors. The chef (whose name I forgot) lived in South America for some time before coming to Toronto.
As for drinks we tried their house special drink, a mix between Mojito/ Saki, truly unique.
For foods we tried their spicy jerk fish served with fries, Korean fried chicken along with their grilled calamari.
Overall the food was great, again tapas, so the dishes are more for sharing.
Service was excellent as we also had the opportunity to chat with the chef about food and our travels.

This restaurant boasts excellent service, great food and a nice ambiance. We ordered the chicken pad Thai, the spring rolls, the ginger salad, the mango salad and edamame. Everything was delicious, and this is a solid bet in the West End! They also have a nice cocktail and wine list. We enjoyed our experience and will be back. PS: they are also kid-friendly; they have special kid-friendly dishes, and a nice, welcoming atmosphere.

This is our favorite restaurant in the area. We didn't make reservation but they found us a table. The flavour is devin in every dish we ordered. We could have gone another round. Compliment to the chef, everything was cooked to perfection. Our steak was juicy and tender. Grilled Lemongrass Pork with the Asian slaw had a nice balance which makes our mouth water. Highly recommend, must try.

3.5 stars

I saw a $10 deal with AsialiciousTO for 3 Vietnamese style pork tacos with asian slaw and salsa. Since we were kind of in the area we decided to eat here. There's paid street parking on both sides of the street. I did read a review that there's complimentary parking behind the restaurant though.

Mai Bistro has a small patio out front that's covered and indoor seating as well. We opted to sit on the patio. Since it was our first time at the restaurant the waitress explained the various menus to us. There was a written menu for Today's Specials and some of them were crossed out. I'm guessing that those items have already sold out. I saw a photo of the menu from a couple of years ago and in comparing with the menu from the other day I can see that prices have increased for some dishes. To me, prices veer on the higher side. The grilled lemongrass pork with rice and asian slaw was $22 and the shrimp ceviche with fresh salsa and avocado on a crispy tortilla was $11.

My Vietnamese style pork tacos were a good deal for $10. Even at the regular price of $14 the price isn't too different from tacos at other restaurants. The pork was flavourful and portions are like what I found from food trucks in LA (but leave you wanting more).

Amazing local spot in the area. Asian x Latin fusion. Super delicious shareable dishes. If the octopus is available, highly recommend it. As well as the lamb spring rolls. But everything was amazing!!

Amazing hidden gem in Etobicoke! Love the fusion dishes that are available! We had the shrimp ceviche, fries, fish tacos, lemongrass pork, and pad Thai. Each dish was so delicious and perfect size for sharing with a friend! My fave dish has to be the ceviche. I have never been a fan of any kind of ceviche, but this shrimp was was so delicious and perfectly plated with bite sized shrimp pieces, avocados, tomatoes, dressing, and crispy shell!

Amazing Asian-Latino fusion. The seafood is top notch, the owners (chef and hostess husband-wife team) are warm and engaging, and the ambience is relaxed.
Ask for whatever is on special and I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Some of the best food in the city at this price. Try the Paella

Small restaurant. Average price. Average quality food. May go with family but not friends

What's Asian-Latin fusion? This is apparently.

This place is great for groups. There's small and large tapas meant for sharing. It has a cozy, dim, quaint atmosphere. Not many other restaurants were open late on a weekday in the west end.

I tried the Shrimp and Crab ceviche with fresh salsa and avocado. This was probably my favourite dish. Crunchy, healthy and with a kick. I also had the Crispy Fried Calamari with chipotle aioli and Tres Leche Cake. Tapas usually isn't huge quantities and not cheap.

Everything had a great presentation. Friendly staff and it appears to be a family run restaurant? They explain all menu items to you.

Mai Bistro is located near the north east intersection of Burnhamthorpe and Dundas just west of Islington Ave.

My old stomping grounds. The village of Islington is my old stomping grounds in a sense that it's the area my high school used to be before they took those acres and acres of land and turned it into residential land where towers and town homes are now. The village of Islington has murals on the sides of buildings much like Philadelphia to remind you of how things used to be when things were a bit different.

I swear I had no idea this place existed. While I live in central Etobicoke there are just so many places to eat in this city that little places like Mai could fall between the cracks. Mai is a small, intimate place with nice lighting and serves small plates and "large" small plates as well.

Basically their menu consists of tapas but it's a mix of all sorts of things. Fish tacos, Argentinian steak with chimichurri? Yes we ordered those. If you want a nice variety of things to share why not? This place is a nice experience and they also have a nice variety of libations to compliment.

While I'm not really big on small plates (haha) the thing is we literally just ate before coming here. We had a large small plate for dessert. Sometimes small plates are just the way to go and if you're going to go that route this is probably the place to do it. Oh and it's also in central Etobicoke so they're probably the closest place to my home where I can get something that has legit chimichurri.

Looking back at this place, this is probably a good place to bring a date. Small eating and drinking, intimate...