This cozy restaurant in Melrose is equally adept at Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. On the Thai side, look for the northern dishes, including outstanding renditions of khao soi and sai grog Isan (pork and rice sausage). For Vietnamese, don’t miss the canh chua, a tamarind-based soup packed with pineapple, tomato, and bean sprouts; it’s sweet, sour, and just a tiny bit spicy.

This busy Malden spot, open since late 2017, offers a pretty giant menu (including Thai beer and wine). It’s named for — albeit in punny form — the “crying tiger” dish originating in Thailand’s Isan region in the northeast, a spiced, grilled brisket. Crying Thaiger offers a handful of “crying” dishes — try the wings, among the best in the Boston area — as well as plenty more options, including khai krok (sunny side up quail eggs), a crab paste omelet, rice baked in a clay pot with sweet sausage, and more. Those dishes are among your best bets, but keep an eye out for seasonal specials, too. (If nam prik ong, a northern Thai chile dip, is available, get it.)

This Arlington newcomer is still running a limited “soft opening” menu as of early summer 2022, but don’t wait for a grander opening to swing by the small, plant-filled storefront, which offers a bit of dine-in seating, takeout, and retail Thai food specialties, from curry pastes to packaged snacks. The ua lao, a northern-style sausage, is an early highlight, as are the khao soi and the peanut-y spicy satay noodles.

This North Cambridge restaurant came under new ownership around late 2018, and since then, it has added quite a substantial selection of Isan (northeastern) dishes to the menu — those are the ones to focus on. Try one of the many som tum (papaya salad) options, such as the som tum korat (when available), a hallmark of Isan cuisine that gets some extra funk from fermented fish. The num tok kor moo yang, a grilled pork salad, is also a must. (You’ll want to look at the menu sections labeled “Som Tum” or “E-Sarn,” an alternate spelling of Isan, to find these dishes.)

Dakzen opened in mid-2018 in Davis Square and won the 2018 Eater Boston award for Fast-Casual Restaurant of the Year; it has come under new ownership since then but is still a must-try. While a lot of other Thai restaurants in town stuff their spiciest, funkiest dishes in a menu section labelled “authentic” or only offer them on a menu written in Thai, Dakzen doesn’t shy away from strong flavors throughout its entire menu, which focuses on street food-style noodle dishes. The fiery tom yum noodle soup is a highlight, and Dakzen also offers particularly good renditions of ba mee moo dang (an egg noodle dish for pork lovers) and northern Thailand’s classic khao soi. Don’t forget a side order of sai ua, northern Thai sausage. Watch Instagram for specials and new dishes.

Chalawan, a pleasantly decorated full-service restaurant, offers date-night vibes and a unique menu that highlights some Thai dishes from multiple regions as well as other Southeast Asian cuisines. Among the top Thai picks are the Burmese-inspired hang le curry with pork belly, popular in northern Thailand; the Isan spiced crispy chicken skins with eggplant relish; and the modern Thai seared scallop topped with caramelized crispy duck. Beyond the Thai dishes, you’ll want to try the steamed snapper dumplings and the Indonesian beef cheek rendang.

Hen Chicken Rice feels extremely Thai in its single-focus menu: It basically just serves variations on one thing, and it does that one thing very well. That one thing is khao man gai, the famous chicken and rice dish that you’ll find in various forms and with various names (such as Hainanese chicken rice) throughout Southeast Asia. Try the version dubbed “the Isan,” crispy boneless chicken thigh with sticky rice. The side of daikon soup is the perfect accompaniment.

A few years back, the owners of Pandan Leaf in East Cambridge revamped the spot into 9Zaab, focusing more on street food. (The restaurant also has connections to Somerville street food spot Kor Tor Mor — see above.) The northern sausage, sai ua, is quite good, as are dishes in the menu section labelled “9Zaab Corner,” such as yum nam tok, grilled beef or pork tossed with red onion, cilantro, toasted ground rice, and spicy lime dressing. Alongside plenty of curries and noodle-based dishes, 9Zaab offers a wide range of street food rice plates, including khao man gai, khao moo dang, and khao na ped.

Like Hen Chicken Rice (see above), What Da Chick, which opened in 2021, focuses almost exclusively on khao man gai, offering various combinations of poached, grilled, and fried chicken with ginger rice, sauces, and daikon soup. Round out the meal with fried gyoza and shaved ice.

Sometimes it’s a red flag when a restaurant tries to cook too many different cuisines — it’s hard enough covering all of Thailand well, so why even attempt to cover Thailand and Vietnam and China? Cambridge’s Mâe Asian Eatery is accomplishing it, though: A diner can happily enjoy dishes from all three countries as interpreted by chef Yuri Asawasittikit, who is drawing upon her mother’s recipes. (Mâe is Thai for mother.) On the Thai side, try the original street noodles (reminiscent of ba mee moo dang, an egg noodle dish with barbecue pork) or short rib khao soi.

Kala Thai Cookery is the younger sibling to Cha Yen (see above), located right in the heart of Boston and looking out on the bustling Haymarket (which operates on Fridays and Saturdays). The two restaurants’ menus overlap quite a bit — again, go for the corn fritters and ice creams — but one must-try at Kala that’s not also available at Cha Yen is char kway teow, a stir-fried rice noodle dish with sausage, egg, and shrimp.

Melt-your-face-off spiciness isn’t the main goal of most Thai cuisine — heat is just one part of a balanced combination of flavors that most dishes strive to achieve. That said, if you do want to melt your face off on Thai food, the five-star items on S & I’s “authentic specialties” section of the menu won’t disappoint, such as the kua kling or pad prik khing moo krob. Cool off with an order of the mild and pleasing kai look kaey, pictured here — boiled and fried eggs with fried shallots, cilantro, and sweet tamarind sauce. (As the name suggests, this tiny Allston staple is mostly a takeout spot, but there are a few tables available if you do want to sit and eat.)

Around for over 20 years, Brown Sugar Cafe is well-known by nearby BU students. Nice enough for a date or birthday, casual enough for a low-key night out, Brown Sugar features a huge menu that intentionally touches on multiple regions of Thailand. (There are also noisy birthday celebrations, so don’t be frightened if the lights suddenly turn out and the music gets loud.)

The “Thai style dishes” section of the menu is where you’ll find some of the best options, such as the goong chae nam pla (raw shrimp with garlic and chile in a spicy lime dressing), yum poonim tod (fried soft shell crab salad with shredded mango and, again, a spicy lime dressing), and khao ka moo (a popular Thai street food rice plate with braised pork, mustard greens, and egg).

Brown Sugar’s East Cambridge sibling, the Similans, is also worth a visit.

Pad Thai Cafe, which moved around the corner from Boylston Street to Hemenway Street in recent years, is a Berklee-area essential when it comes to Thai. The key is to order from the “authentic Thai” section of the menu, labeled “not for beginners” on the website. One dish you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere in the Boston area is pad sator goong, a spicy, meaty rice plate with shrimp and stink beans — flavorful beans with an unappetizing name and after-effects similar to asparagus. Try the yum pla duk fu, too — a cloud of crispy catfish topped with apple salad.

The longtime Rod Dee chain disintegrated in recent years, with two locations (Cambridge’s Porter Square and Brookline’s Washington Square) reportedly closing for good and the other two locations slightly rebranding. The Fenway location is now Rod Thai Family Taste, and it’s focusing on street foods — a mix of classic dishes and “surprising” family recipes. Go with whatever specials are on offer for the day. Take a similar approach at the other rebranded Rod Dee, Rod D By Sitti in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner.

Mahaniyom, a Thai restaurant and cocktail bar in Brookline Village, debuted in late February 2020, just weeks before the Massachusetts restaurant industry had to essentially shut down. If the unlucky timing has caused this restaurant to fly under your radar, make haste to try it out ASAP, because it’s one of the most exciting new restaurants of the last couple of years. (In 2021, it won Eater Boston’s Best New Restaurant award.) Like a few other spots on this map, Mahaniyom avoids the giant menu of customizable curries and zeroes in on a small list of really good dishes, some of which perhaps you haven’t seen around here before. The green papaya pad thai is a must, as is the current salad featuring a seasonal fruit — pomelo and rambutan have made appearances, for example. The cocktails are fun, too: Co-owner Chompon (Boong) Boonnak is an alum of Shōjō, the funky modern Asian cocktail bar in Chinatown. Watch Instagram for updates on Mahaniyom’s Monday late-night events for fun food and drink specials.