Thai Memory

25 King William St.
Hamilton, Ontario
(905) 296-1077

Type of cuisine: Thai
Date of Review: November, 2009

Overall Quality Ranking: Good
Cost: Inexpensive
Gluten-Free Menu Options: Good
Gluten Free Diner Comfort ranking:  Cautiously Comfortable

Description:   Thai Memory is the kind of place you want to like.  It's local, its a bit quirky, and in the heart of downtown Hamilton, it has its work cut out for it.  Ultimately, you will like it, if you summon a little patience.

The menu has an abundance of Thai dishes, many looking very attractive on paper but verboten for the gluten-free eater.  Most of the house specialty dishes unfortunately fall into this category.  Still, there is enough to eat and enough to keep your interest.  The spiciness (heat) of each item is selected by the patron.

Dinner began with fresh vegetarian spring rolls, which were tasty enough.  The accompanying peanut sauce was avoided because of uncertainty over the soy sauce (and thus wheat) content, and the fish sauce substitute took care of my 2009 salt needs.  We also shared the Laab Gai, a spicey ground chicken that was moist and tasty (although places second to a distant competitor, Rod Dee's of Boston).  One of our diners enjoyed the Tom Kha soup with chicken and galangal, which appeared to be full of fresh ingredients.

For the main course, we shared the Pad Thai, a pineapple curry shrimp, and a red chicken curry.  The Pad Thai was tasty without being syrupy.  It was a fair size for one person, but really only a sampler amongst three.  The chicken red curry was tasty and generous, as was the pineapple curry shrimp.   Both used a coconut broth. 

Service was pleasant enough, but decidedly slow.  One couple that came after us sat, waited for their order to be taken, waited some more, then left.  We were pleased that all the tables were full on this Saturday night, but the service could not keep up.  On a previous week-night visit, only three tables were occupied, and service was smooth.  Our overall visit was about two hours in length, which is fine for a relaxed visit but hazardous if you want to catch the 15 advertisements preceeding your evening movie.  The knowledge of the staff regarding ingredients and gluten-free dining was unclear due to time constraints, so we stuck with safer fare.

Quirky is where the decor comes in.  The restuarant is chock-a-block with Thai periphernalia, some of it great for provoking conversation.  Several of the tables and chairs are also eye-catching, seemingly being made of large pieces of driftwood.

In short, Thai Memory left a positive impression, but won us by virtue of being a tasty local restaurant, not by virtue of service.