Merai is Mahaniyom’s cocktail-throwing brother

One of the best things to happen to Brookline in recent years, at least in my opinion, is Mahaniyom Thai Restaurant. Created by Smuch Saikamthorn and Chompon Boonnak, childhood friends from Phetchabun province, it opened in February 2020. Almost every dish here is stunning, from rambutan salad to beef massaman to whole fish spicy and sprinkled with herbs. Also of note: the cocktail program, thanks in part to Boonnak’s experience as a bartender at Shojo in Chinatown.

Over the summer, the Mahaniyom team opened a second location in Brookline. Merai claims to reverse the equation. It’s a Thai-inspired dive bar that also has great food – or so we think.

The fact is that the food is so good that it outshines the other entrees during my visit. This is a feat, because the music at Merai is very, very loud. This is not a place to come for a sincere, intimate conversation, unless you are willing to shout your business. It’s a place to come when you’re hungry and need a vacation from serious stuff and you’re with people you don’t mind being a little loud and messy with.

The dining room is small and dimly lit, the walls are painted black and ornate. (Reservations are a good idea.) The bar takes up half the space, the tables the other. A friend and I slip into one, miming our hellos. It’s time for a drink. After all, Merai means “alcohol” in Thai.

There are a good handful of wine, sake and beer to enjoy. But it’s in the cocktail program where the invention lies, and that’s where we’re directing our attention. Panupong “Earth” Viriyapongsukij, one of Merai’s co-owners (along with Boonnak, Saikamthorn, Thanaphon “Song” Authaiphan, Thanarat “Guide” Kasikitthamrong and Chayada “Palm” Kornchuarat), also oversees the bar program.

Hojicha is made with the Japanese roasted green tea that gives it its name, small batch Irish whiskey, honey and Topo Chico sparkling water. It’s my ideal cocktail: smoky, suave, with a hint of rich sweetness, but also thirst-quenching. Melon contains Tequila, Honeydew, Galangal and Makrut Lime. It’s bubbly and fun and tastes like Japanese candy. The Kakagroni is here for fans of Negroni, a riff on shochu made with plum liqueur. And the Strawberry Cheesecake (vodka, gin, strawberry and more) is a vibrant purple covered in cheese foam, a nighttime potion for bubble tea fans. These drinks are easy to spot lined up on the bar, in front of many customers.

Where Mahaniyom highlights Thailand’s regional dishes, Merai considers the country’s cuisine as a starting point. The bar food it inspires is irresistible, compelling and sometimes sophisticated. (This makes sense: Chefs Authaiphan and Kasikitthamrong also cook at Mahaniyom.)

There are fries, of course, but made with taro rather than potato, and served with sweet chili and peanuts. Buffalo wings are just that, and a pretty good version. Then you dip one in ranch dressing and your taste buds explode: the flavor of ranch mimics that of tom kha soup. The mussels swim in a red curry flavored with Thai basil, accompanied by toasted baguette for dipping.

Feeling the need for vegetables, we order a kale salad, not expecting it to be the most exciting kale salad we’ve eaten in forever. It’s topped with roasted acorn squash, walnuts and a creamy, spicy dressing reminiscent of peanut sauce. Its flavors are Thai, but the dish is unmistakably New England.

Merai proves you can teach the old hot dog new tricks. It’s a bun with a sausage in it, okay. But the sausage tastes like pad kra pao, the Thai stir-fry made with pork and holy basil. It is drizzled with salted egg yolk mayonnaise. This is a dish not to be missed here.

Another one is chicken rice. We expect a rendition of the classic Hainanese dish popular throughout Southeast Asia, perfect in its simplicity: poached chicken, rice, a few sides. What we get looks like fried chicken wings. When you bite into it, you discover that they are stuffed with garlic rice, sweet, salty, crispy and tender at the same time. It’s a surprise and a delight. It’s ideal bar food.

For dessert, there is Thai tea flan. You should definitely get it.

14 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617-505-6851, Instagram @merai.bar. Open Tue-Sun. 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Cocktail $15. Plates $7-$22.

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Devra First can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her @devrafirst.