Thai food isn't for everyone, to begin with, so when you're trying it out for the first time, you have to be sure that the place you're going to is more about the food than the goofy shit on the walls. This could be said of any restaurant for food-snobs, but even for them, a certain amount of woodcut paintings and beaded curtains is acceptable. However, as far as Thai restaurants in HRM go, Barrington's Talay Thai is a damned Planet Hollywood.
There are a few things to consider when you're visiting a new restaurant; the service, the decorum, and, of course, the food. Most restaurants and bars excel in at least one of these three areas, giving the patron a reason to return and the owners a modicum of success. I can only explain Talay Thai's continued existence through its prime location. Near Morris and Barrington, it's close enough to be considered in the heart of downtown, while far away enough that it offers adequate dinnertime parking. Easy to find and near several enormous hotels, it's as though the owners thought to themselves "Who cares what we do with the place, we'll make a fortune out of convenience, alone!"
The service is pleasant enough, but the language barrier provides a challenge that should be nonexistent with a perfect dining experience. The seating is excellent and can be rearranged to cater to wedding parties and Slayer Fan Club meetings, alike. There is even a bar in the back, though this should not allude to any actual bar-tending qualifications. I asked my server for a vodka martini, made dirty (an attempt to feed my inner classiness and impress my date), and was met with the friendliest, albeit most dumbfounded, expression. Our server's smile was overshadowed by the arched eyebrows of pained confusion, as though I had asked her to inspect some colonoscopy slides I brought with me. After explaining the recipe to her, she wandered off with the promise of finding someone who could forge me this apparently outrageous concoction. My girlfriend and I exchanged worried looks and sympathetically embarrassed laughter.
What I received was in a martini glass but that's as far as the similarities went. A mysterious bouquet of olive brine and pineapple danced on my palate and it was perhaps the most disgusting beverage I have ever imbibed. I drank it anyway out of some bizarre sense of politeness.
The decorator was almost certainly a 64-year-old Caucasian man who made the mistake that most of us slackers would have, by not actually knowing anything about the restaurant or the culture it boasts and simply glazing over the walls with some kind of loosely-labelled "World" theme. Put up some burgundy beads and unusual crown moulding and it could be any foreign interior design, provided you've never left North America. It tried too hard to be ethnic for the sake of us Canadians and ended up bombarding us with decor.
The food was acceptable but I would urge any first-time Thai-eaters to avoid it. What we ate was an unreasonable facsimile of the fantastic cuisine that is Thai, and should be limited to emergencies only. IE: all other Thai restaurants are closed due to the fact that Mothra is battling Megalon in the Halifax harbor. Our orders were brought out separately and with a gap of ten minutes (something I fault to the language barrier). The calamari, however, was cooked excellently and the jasmine rice was delicious. The portions were good and what we couldn't eat, I took home and ate at three in the morning, standing in front of the television in a Motley Crue t-shirt. I would not recommend the day-old jasmine rice unless you enjoy the texture of spruce needles on your gums.
The experience was a lesson I pass on to you. I suffer that you may dine well! So, if you're looking to expand your palate Eastward, like so many Canadians these days, steer clear of Talay Thai. Personally, I recommend Gingergrass. It's across the street. read more