Know which dishes carry the heat
The menu marks heat clearly, and the fastest way to order spicy is to start from those marks. Three dishes are the heart of a spicy order at Evergreen Thai: Spicy Fish, Red Curry and Green Curry. Spicy Fish is the only dish marked Very Spicy, with three chili symbols, and it pairs fried fish fillet with basil, onion, pepper, carrot, lime leaf and a spicy sauce.
Here is how the marked dishes line up:
- Spicy Fish (Very Spicy): the hottest dish on the menu and a good pick for guests who say they want it properly spicy.
- Red Curry (Spicy): bamboo shoot, basil, carrot, pepper and broccoli in a red curry base, the familiar spicy Thai curry.
- Green Curry (Spicy): eggplant, onion, pepper, broccoli and basil in coconut milk, brighter and more herbal than red.
- Panang Curry (Spicy): a creamier, peanut-forward curry with green beans, pepper and lime leaf.
- Papaya Salad (Spicy): shredded papaya, tomato and carrot in a lime dressing, hot and sharp rather than rich.
- Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup (Spicy): the tom yum, built on lemongrass and lime.
A useful rule is to match the dish to the kind of heat you enjoy. Sour heat suits the soup and the papaya salad, creamy heat suits Panang, and herbal heat suits green curry. If you want one dish that stands out, order Spicy Fish and share it.
Choose your heat level instead of accepting the default
A kitchen cooks to an average guest unless it is told otherwise, so say your level when you order. The practical options at Evergreen Thai are simple: mild, medium, spicy, or mixed for a table with different tolerances. Golden curry, with potato, carrot, onion and pineapple, is the mild curry and a safe anchor for anyone who wants flavour without chili.
For anyone cautious about heat, there is a better option than asking for “not too spicy”: ask for the dish mild with spice on the side. The kitchen cooks the dish without the full heat and sends chili or spice separately, so each person adds what they want. This works because heat is easy to add and impossible to remove.
If you are ordering for a group, the same approach scales. Our planning guide for a group dinner in downtown Toronto covers how to mix heat levels across a table, and the Thai curry catering guide explains how the curries differ so you can pick the right one for the room.
Balance the heat with the rest of the table
Heat reads hotter on its own than next to the right dishes. Rice, a mild curry or a sweet dish such as mango sticky rice takes the edge off, so build the table in layers.
A simple spicy group order looks like this:
- One headline spicy dish. Spicy Fish or red curry, for the guests who came for heat.
- One mild curry. Golden curry, so cautious guests have a full dish they enjoy.
- Noodles or rice for the base. Pad Thai and fried rice carry the flavours without adding chili.
- Something cool. Mango salad or a drink from the fridge cuts the burn.
Our sauces and spice levels are separate from dietary needs, but they interact. Curries are made with fish sauce, which we replace with another seasoning if someone has a fish or seafood allergy, and peanuts and nuts can be packed on the side. For severe allergies, call us, because the kitchen is shared and we confirm each dish.
Order spicy food for a group or a catering event
Spicy dishes travel well, which is why they work for catering as much as dine-in. Curries hold their heat and flavour in a tray, and our catering sizes are simple: a small tray serves 5 to 6 people and a large tray serves 10 to 12. A red or green curry tray is a dependable way to bring heat to an office lunch, and our Thai buffet catering and party tray pages show the tray sizes and prices.
If you are the person ordering, the most useful sentence you can give us is the heat range of the room. “Most people want mild, three want spicy” is enough: we can send the headline spicy tray alongside milder ones, and spice on the side for everyone else. Our online catering planner has a spice level field, and when you choose a spicy level it adds our most requested spicy dishes to the menu it builds.
For teams that want to go further than Thai, our sister restaurant next door serves a fully vegetarian Sichuan-style menu, covered in our guide to spicy Sichuan vegetarian dishes in Toronto.
Eat spicy food in downtown Toronto, near the core
We are at 175 Dundas St W, a short walk from St Patrick station, Dundas Square and the hospital row, which makes the restaurant an easy stop for a spicy lunch between meetings or a group dinner after an event. Our downtown Toronto Thai restaurant page has the address and hours. If you are close to Dundas Square, the Dundas Square Thai food page shows the quickest route.
A few habits make a spicy visit go better:
- Tell the server your level at the start. It saves a second round.
- Order one dish more spicy than you think you need. You can balance it with rice, but not add heat later.
- Ask for the chili on the side for shared plates. It keeps a mixed table happy.
- Mention allergies when you sit down. Peanuts, nuts, egg and seafood can be handled, and severe allergies are confirmed by phone.
Cool the heat with the right drinks and desserts
What you drink and eat alongside spicy food changes how hot it feels. Chili heat comes from capsaicin, which dissolves in fat and sugar far better than in water, so a sweet or creamy side calms the burn faster than a glass of ice water. That is why Thai meals so often end with coconut and fruit.
On our menu, the best partners for a spicy order are:
- Coconut-based dishes. The chicken coconut milk soup, our tom kha, is creamy and gentle, and it sits well next to red curry or Spicy Fish.
- Mango sticky rice. Sweet sticky rice with ripe mango and coconut sauce is the classic finish after a hot meal.
- Fried banana with ice cream. Cold and sweet, it resets the palate quickly.
- Plain jasmine rice. It spreads the heat out, so order more of it than you think you need.
For drinks, sweet and creamy beats sparkling. In catering orders, coconut water, Fuze iced tea and green tea with ginseng and honey are $2 each, and the apple and mango juices are $4. Mango juice in particular pairs well with chili. Fizzy drinks such as cola can make the burn feel sharper for some people, so keep a still option on the table too.
If you are ordering for a group, add one drink per guest and a dessert tray. Our catering planner can add drinks per guest in one click, and the Tofu Dark Chocolate Mousse from VegeDelight is a vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free dessert that serves 25 or 50 from one tray.
Ready to order spicy?
Tell us your heat level and headcount, and we will build the menu. Get a catering quote online, or call +1 416-581-8668 for a group order or a dine-in table.