After a long, relaxing weekend, we’re back in Atlanta. Thanks to friends J&J, we were able to go directly from the airport to dinner in less than twenty minutes … and found ourselves tucking in for a Thai dinner at Mali Restaurant.
Mali Thai Restaurant is one of those places we always look at, point to, and say, “Gotta go there some time.”
It’s hard to find; if you’re not looking for it, you’ll very likely pass it by, despite the pink, green, and lavender neon sign on the side of the building. Frankly? When we arrived, I expected the restaurant would be deserted. Much to my surprise, the joint was jumpin’ — packed to the gills, in fact, with raw-throated, off-duty corporate types scarfing down cocktails, sushi, and Thai food.
The Zagat review boasts that the Thai food and sushi at Mali is “good and reasonably priced.” That’s a half-truth.
The food is good. And by that, I mean, quite literally, good — as in not bad, but not great, either. My bowl of tom yum gai — a spicy, tangy chicken soup with mushrooms and lemongrass — was competently prepared. My cashew chicken was tasty, despite being heavily doused in a rich, red sauce unlike anything I’ve ever eaten in a Thai restaurant before. Both Clyde and our friends polished off their broiled chicken and garlic chicken without complaint. (Significantly, they didn’t praise their dishes, either.)
In the end, not one of our dishes stood out or captured our hearts. You know how Simon tells American Idol contestants, “You’ve got a good voice, but there’s nothing memorable about that performance”? I wanted to make the same comment to Mali, rephrased with cuisine in mind: “That’s pretty good food, but there’s nothing memorable about your rendition of gai pad prik.”
Especially with that in mind, Mali’s food — which tends to run $3.00 to $5.00 higher than what you’ll pay at Sybadee, Jitlada, or The King and I for comparable (and more memorable) dishes — is not “reasonably priced” by any standard I’d employ.
If you’re part of a crew that can’t decide between Thai and sushi, or if trendy urban decor means more to you than flavor, Mali may be a destination to consider. Otherwise, you’ll get better food — and pay less — at virtually any Midtown Thai eatery.
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