Yes, yes 1000 times yes, you need to come to this restaurant! In the heart of Brookline village lies a new Thai fusion restaurant that's been here for a couple of months now. To my friends who are in their 20s, this has been all the rage for me on social media. this place has so many great selections but let me show you the ones that need to be ordered your first time coming. Hot dog - this was a hit. The portion was massive, and I split it with my friend. The onions were super flavorful, and the sauce was powerful. My only negative take was that it was extremely salty, followed after the tamer kale salad. Pot Pie - the incorporation with curry and roti was a pleasant surprise. It took me back to the many times I ate at Penang at Chinatown when I was a kid. The taro fries, kale salad, and onigiri were great but the two up top were the real showstoppers.

Merai, a cozy small space is instantly welcoming. The vibes are just right for a small intimate gathering of 2-4 people. All the drinks were amazing but my favorite was the silky way. It has such a complex flavor that I can't really pinpoint and it's refreshing to taste at the end. The sober opera was also very unique especially the lychee honey foam which pops in your mouth. The food complimented the drinks super well but unfortunately by the time we arrived they sold out/didn't have a lot of items we wanted to try. The hotdog was unlike anything i've ever tried and the salted egg mayo was soooo good. The curry in the pot pie was so creamy and delicious and you can ask for more bread since the roti is pretty thin. Such a cool fusion restaurant with blends of flavors. Definitely have to try the rest of the things on the menu next time!

Food, drink, service, and vibes were all top notch during our recent Saturday night visit! We came as a group of 3 with an 8pm reservation and were seated immediately. Definitely would recommend making a reservation especially on the weekend because it's a small space. If no reservations are available, try setting an alert on OpenTable because I noticed more reservations opened up the day before. For drinks we ordered the Strawberry Cheesecake, Wonka's Ticket, Silky Way, and Plum. Strawberry Cheesecake was sweet, tart, and delicious. Wonka's Ticket had a lot going on and we were all not fans of the Plum because of a particular sweet flavor and texture it had. For food, we ordered the Kale Salad, Buffalo Wings, Onigiri, Hot Dog, Chicken Rice, and Fettuccini. Hot dog was by far our favorite dish but everything else was very delicious as well. The chicken rice were stuffed chicken wings and super unique. We finished off with the Thai Tea Flan, which was served with coconut milk ice cream and the combination was perfect. Everything came out quickly and fresh and service was great. Highly recommend for a date or with friends!

A solid 4.5 Came here recently with my wife and tried a few plates and a few cocktails. The taro fries were nice and crispy, well-seasoned, and the sauce added some good sweetness/mild spice. Cold noodles were great and not like anything we've had before. The flavor is like tom yum you'd find elsewhere but having it cold was interesting and worked much better than expected. The fact they use Tom yum broth to make the shaved ice that keeps the dish cold is an awesome touch. I do wish it came with four full shrimp instead of two shrimp cut in half, which makes you think it's four at first. Pork dumplings were also good but probably the one dish of the three we wouldn't necessarily order again. Can't exactly say why though - they definitely weren't bad and they come in an oil with spices and yuzu but for some reason felt like they were missing something for me. For drinks, we got the Hojicha, Silky Way, and Wongka's Ticket. Hojicha is basically a highball and mine wasn't mixed well so it started off kinda bland and then got better. A straw or better mixing would have made it a better cocktail from start to finish. The other two were excellent and we would easily order them again. FYI the Silky Way is more citrusy than expected based on ingredients (feels like it has lemon), but is really really good. Wongka's is isn't too heavy coconut in case that's a concern (I don't love a lot of coconut, so this was perfect) Wait staff were very attentive and nice. Ambience is cool with a modern darkly lit with candles vibe.

Knowing Merai is a sibling restaurant of a nearby awesome Thai restaurant, I had to try this place out!! My impression of the dishes was that there was a wide variety of tapas to try out and they were all different in their own ways. UNIQUE DISHES: * Yukhoe - memorable dish, meat is well-seasoned! * Risotto - quirky in a good way w/ coconut taste * Taro Fries - good layer of crunchiness with a softer texture of the taro inside. The thai dipping sauce was a perfect addition to the taste GOOD: * Fettucine - I like the khao soi and fettuccine fusion here. * Mussels - can't go wrong with the mussels with a strong basil taste * Tom Yum cold noodle soup - you know this is good when the ice is flavored so it won't dilute the soup! OKAY (good, and could also get in other places): * Buffalo Wings - good amount of sauce and dip * Shrimp Tempura - the shrimps were pretty large! The service was great. Even though they gave us a bottle of water at the table to pour ourselves, the waiters still came by to check in and made sure our cups were filled! The bathroom has its own character too! Very catchy Thai music with a nice mural all around the room. It's very colorful in there - worth checking out Make sure to make reservation as the room gets full fast. We booked for 5:45 and the room was full by 6!

I finally made my way to Merai after months of having my eye on them! Mirai comes from the team behind Mahaniyom which is also one of my favorite restaurants! The ambiance is super elegant with mood lighting, sleek interior, and a stacked bar. The service was honestly a little too attentive though - we got asked way too often how we were doing. But better too much than too little! We got 3 drinks: Sober Opera, Bori Bori, and Plum. Sober Opera was my favorite because it had all the elements of a cocktail I love: gin, citrus, slightly sweet, and foam! I would 100% get it again. The Bori Bori was so cool because it came in a tea kettle. It is inspired from Korean barley tea and is infused with vodka and yuzu. This is a more acquired taste but I liked it. The plum was okay, I think the spirit kind of made it taste like a swimming pool but that's just me! For food, we only got the cold noodles- their take on a cold tom yum noodle soup. The tom yum flavors were definitely there. I loved how refreshing it was while also being a bit sour and tart. It felt like a fusion of tom yum and Korean cold noodle naengmyun. I definitely need to go back and try more of the food. I don't think I got a good grasp on the food yet so.. guess I'll have to come back!

We've heard lots of great things about this place, so our expectations were high and it did not disappoint! The food was delicious and flavorful, and the portions were surprisingly large. It is a bit loud inside, making it hard to carry a conversation with someone sitting directly across from you. What we ordered: Cold noodles ($17) - refreshing take on classic tom yum flavors Mussels ($18) - savory but not the most memorable Hot dog ($18) - the sausage was so juicy and a unique flavor that we haven't had in hot dog form before Fettuccini ($22) - one of our favorites. The noodles were cooked well and paired so well with the khao soi sauce

Merai really blew my mind. Creative cocktails, delicious food, and a great small bar vibe. What we ate: - Kale Salad: Must get - Cold Noodles: really good - Hot Dog: Must get - Taro Fries: Must get - Shrimp Tempura: ok - Fettuccine w/ Lobster: Must get if you like Lobster. Pretty much everything start to finish was amazing. We started with the Melon and Lucky Sunny cocktails. Melon was fruity and refreshing, while Lucky Sunny was a sweet slow sipper. Highly recommend both. The only dish we wouldn't get again was the Shrimp Tempura. It was good but nothing special. The Kale Salad and Taro Fries were surprisingly two of our favorite items.

We love Merai's sister restaurant so we definitely had to come try this place out. The space is trendy but still comfortable and intimate. The music never got too loud either. The two of us split the Taro Fries, Cold Noodles, Bao Bun, and the Hot Dog. Standouts were definitely the fries and hot dog. I loved the crispy textures of the fries and hot dog bun. Service was friendly and the food came out relatively quickly. I would definitely come back! Probably best for parties of two since the portions are meant to be shared.