Few restaurants in Toronto are as synonymous with celebrity spottings as Entertainment District stalwart Pai, which begs the question (and not only because it rhymes): why?
There’s no two ways around it: celebrities love Pai. From Maple Leafs and Raptors to Academy Award winners, one quick swipe through the restaurant’s social media feed reveals a seemingly never ending revolving door of stars stopping by for their fill of Thai.
Even less of a secret is the fact that the food at Pai is good. Really good.
Founded in 2014 by Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular, who at the time also operated the now-closed Sabai Sabai and Sukhothai, and who currently also run Kiin and Chaiyo as well as Pai’s Yonge and Eglinton sister location, the restaurant specializes in serving northern Thai cuisine among a cozy, casual atmosphere.
In the years that followed, Chef Regular earned accolades (beyond the permanent word-of-mouth buzz that surrounds the restaurant), when Pai received a recommendation on Toronto’s Michelin guide.
Perhaps, then, it should come as no surprise that the who’s-who tend to flock to the restaurant, but at the same time, Toronto is full of great restaurants, with few seeing anywhere near the same concentration of star power on a regular basis.
So what makes Pai so special?
Standing as such an unassuming star magnet in the city, it’s easy to begin to delve into conspiracy territory when it comes to understanding how, exactly, it’s earned that reputation.
Are they inviting and paying stars to visit? Do the Regulars have some sort of deep Hollywood insider ties? Do they play a frequency over the speakers that involuntarily draws celebrities in?
According to Bonita Mok, Pai’s manager of Marketing and Communications, it’s actually a whole lot more simple than that.
“No, we don’t invite celebrities,” she tells blogTO.
“They come on their own, either through word-of-mouth or because they read about us somewhere and are keen to try our food.”
The word-of-mouth web connecting Pai’s celebrity fans can, in fact, be somewhat traced through the restaurant’s social media presence, which dutifully documents every celebrity to swing by.
Take Toronto-resident (and, quite possibly, the city’s biggest fan,) Guillermo del Toro, who, for as long as Pai has been open, has been a regular face in the crowd at Pai, later going on to bring the casts of his various Toronto-based films by for a meal.
Celebrities who are known Toronto residents, like Simu Liu and Shawn Mendes, have also been known to visit the restaurant, seemingly spreading the word about the restaurant’s refreshingly unstuffy atmosphere, charming service and droolworthy dishes to their contemporaries whenever they come to town.
According to Bonita, some of Jeff, Nuit and the Pai team’s favourite visitors to the restaurant include the cast of Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming Frankenstein adaptation, which included stars like Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Oscar Isaac and Christoph Waltz, as well as national treasure Simu Liu and Los Angeles Clippers point guard, James Harden.
“We also always love seeing the players and coaching staff from our hometown teams Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs come by,” she adds.
While Bonita chose not to discuss whether the restaurant comps the celebs’ bills when they visit, she does add that the team behind Pai doesn’t only get excited when famous people walk through the doors.
“Whoever comes through our door,” she tells blogTO, “we’re always delighted that they’ve decided to come for a meal at Pai while in town!”
