Description: The ambience is just as important as the cuisine at Empire Thai, quite possibly the swankiest—and spiciest—Thai restaurant in Buenos Aires. Located in sleepy Retiro down a quiet street lined with elegant colonial mansions, Empire stands out with its sleek, big city-inspired décor clashing with more traditional Argentinean restos in the area. Still, after getting buzzed in through the locked front door and sat at a small, black two-top, the friendly
porteno hospitality was as evident here as anywhere else in the city.
Shards of colored glass are meticulously worked into large mosaics on the wall, including a towering mural of elephants adorned with decorative headdresses. Illuminated, teardrop-shaped paper balls drop from the high ceiling, casting a dim light on the indigo-blue walls that surround the main dining room and small upstairs seating area.
Leather placemats emblazoned with the Empire Thai logo, as well as a sewn-in holder for chopsticks, give a new meaning to the phrase “wow, what a fancy placemat!” A soothing mix of downtempo world beats pleasantly seeps through the airy room at just the right level. If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were at a late-night New York City hotspot.
We snacked on complimentary Thai crackers served with sweet sauce as we surveyed the menu and inhaled pleasant aromas wafting up from the downstairs kitchen. After some deliberation, we ordered crispy vegetables with a smoky, soy-based sauce for our appetizer to compliment a bottle of moderately priced Malbec. I was pleased that though it was not listed on the menu, the kitchen did indeed stock a fresh supply of tofu, which I ordered with the red curry and vegetables.
Our appetizer was nearly the size of an entrée, with a mound of carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms all covered in a crispy batter. Soon after our red curries arrived with small bowls of white rice, I nearly began sweating like Billy Blanks halfway through an advanced Taebo workout. Don’t get me wrong, I like my Thai food spicy, but this ambitious mix of herbs and spices would be the odds-on favorite in the “World’s Hottest Curry” competition. Seriously, our tongues were on fire, but we both pressed on and finished off the curry. Spicy, yes, but damn tasty too.
Hallelujah! Modest, good-natured Empire Thai proves it really
is possible to have a hip, upscale attitude without a trace of pretense.
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