Food and drink are some of the strongest links to culture, and immigrant-owned restaurants in Boston show the city a world of flavors. The newest is Merai, opening Tuesday, June 25, in Brookline, from the team of Thai restaurant operators also behind nearby Mahaniyom. While the team’s first restaurant is traditional Thai cuisine—albeit like none Boston had ever tasted before Mahaniyom opened in 2019—matched with craft cocktails, Merai showcases a fusion of Thai flavors and global techniques, set in an unpretentious neighborhood cocktail bar.
“Led by the success of Mahaniyom,” the team said in a statement, “it is a testament to us of how much our guests love Thai food and their will to try something more adventurous than Pad Thai and curry.”
At Merai, a streamlined list of shareable, familiar dishes like chicken wings, a kale salad, dumplings, fettucini, mushroom risotto and flan carry vibrant Thai flavors. With only 14 dishes, seasonal ingredients will determine menu changes in the future, says co-owner Chompon “Boong” Boonnak. Everything is made in-house, including the early-favorite krapow “hot dog,” comprising a New England-style buttered bun with a pork sausage featuring the spicy-basil flavors of the Thai-style chicken stir-fry. Check out the opening menu below.
The cozy spot is the former Matt Murphy’s, a classic Irish pub that shuttered with the pandemic. The space at 14 Harvard St. shares a landlord with Mahaniyom, who approached the team about taking it over, Boonnak says. “I always want to have more restaurants if Mahaniyom was a success. Everyone on my team has so many ideas,” he says.
Along with Boonnak and his business partner at Mahaniyom, Smuch Saikamthorn, Merai owners also include chef Song, aka Thanaphon Authaiphan; chef Guide, aka Thanarat Kasikitthamrong; Panupong “Earth” Viriyapongsukij, the beverage director; and Chayada “Palm” Kornchuarat. It’s the same crew that opened Mahaniyom “and smashed right from the beginning,” Boonnak says.
Following a full renovation led by the team, the bar itself has been elongated and the room repainted black with gold accents. A mural by Ponnapa “Gift” Prakkamakul, who did the memorable bathroom art at Mahaniyom, represents the Merai team’s collective story. The phrase in the art translates “to cross waters, cross seas,” which is a Thai idiom about effort required to achieve your goals. “All of us come from Thailand and work hard, hustle and come together and renew the space,” Boonnak says. (Maybe it goes without saying that the new place has a restroom you’re going to want to check out, too.)
Merai won’t have live music or draft beer, but otherwise the vibes are not dissimilar from Matt Murphy’s. While 2000s alternative music is likely blasting on the speakers, you'll peruse a list of cocktails with descriptors like “smoky, light” ("Hojicha," a Topo Chico highball made with small-batch Teeling Irish Whiskey, hojicha tea and honey) and “floral, sweet” ("Sober Opera," served up with Citadelle Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, rose and lychee-honey foam). The approach to drinks is “whatever we feel like, with an Asian twist,” says Boonnak, who bartended at Golden Temple and Shojo while earning a masters degree in finance from Boston University. To start, the beverages skew light and summery with an emphasis on highballs. There’s also a small selection of wine, sake and packaged beers including Narragansett and Orion lagers.
“I couldn't do what Matt Murphy’s did, so I want to make it my own now,” Boonnak says. Thai cuisine “reminds us of who we are and where we are from. Using Thai flavors in other cuisines is our symbolic way to show you how we try to fit in different lands and cultures.”
Merai hosted a series of pop-ups at Boston cocktail bars Bar Pallino, Offsuit and Equal Measure in the spring, and friends-and-family services this past weekend. Beginning Tuesday, June 25, Merai is open Tuesday-Sunday from 5pm-1am and reservations are available. Last call for the food is at midnight.
