Review: Nana serves fiery Thai food stall dishes to Queen West heat-seekers

Nana ★★
785 Queen St. W., 647-352-5773

Of the many new wave Thai places to open in the last year, this diminutive spot, run by Khao San Road’s gregarious chef-owner Monte Wan, hits the most food stall-by-the-side-of-a-road notes, between the cobblestone floor, red plastic stools, and cases of Chang beer by the door. A line forms early, such is the appetite for Wan’s studiously authentic regional food, which ping-pongs between addictively greasy kitsch (thin noodles with tofu and hot dog chunks fried until they open like pink pork florets) and dizzyingly complex combinations of texture and taste (the khao soi, a rich coconut curry with egg noodles, bean sprouts and slices of chicken). Servers deliver a fulsome selection of fresh chili, chili flakes and hot sauce to your table, in case the already building heat isn’t adequate. To cool down, the bar makes trendily frothy cocktails, like a rum and coconut milk concoction perfumed with lemongrass.

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