On weekend nights, a steady stream of delivery cars with their hazards blinking lines Fleet Street in front of Mayuree Thai Tavern, waiting to whisk containers of pad see yew and braised beef noodle soup to their couch-bound customers.

While those homebodies are in for delicious deliveries—the food at Mayuree is generally terrific—they’re missing out on one of the best aspects of this Canton staple: its cocktail program. Created by Andy Thammasathiti, whose mother, Penny, owns the place and oversees the kitchen, Mayuree’s drinks are tropical twists on classic recipes.

One of the best is a Mai Tai that Thammasathiti makes using three kinds of rum. Amaretto provides an almond flavor, and lime and Angostura bitters round out the ingredients. Thammasathiti uses a mallet to crush the ice, then garnishes the drink with a dehydrated lime and fresh mint. The result is a concoction with a rainbow of colors and a smooth, not-too-sweet taste.

“It’s a little lighter than the traditional Mai Tai, but you still get the same flavor, and it has a nice body,” he says.

Mayuree’s drinks tend to achieve a copacetic balance. Thammasathiti uses 100-proof Old Forester bourbon in his Old-Fashioneds, and the Lychee Collins is made with a pleasing combination of Blue Coat gin, Giffard Lichi, elderflower, citrus, and Singha soda. It’s the most popular cocktail on the menu.

That’s not to say that Thammasathiti’s creativity is restricted by what’s on the menu. When we stopped in earlier this year and asked for something “refreshing,” he whipped up an off-the-menu libation he calls a Sex Machine (the name was a nod to James Brown). Its base was bourbon and Jamaican rum, and combined with peach li- queur, Angostura bitters, and some orange and lemon, it hit the mark.

In February, Thammasathiti won the people’s choice award at a cocktail-making contest held at fellow Canton restaurant NiHao. His creation was his take on a mule, only using baijiu, mezcal, ginger syrup, and lime. He’s clearly a student of cocktails, and his passion for them is apparent when you’re chatting with him at Mayuree’s long wooden bar. (He is there less often now that the family has opened another Thai restaurant in D.C.) But fear not, if Thammasathiti isn’t behind the bar, a well-trained member of the staff will expertly fill in.

Happy hour is a good time to stop by: There are selected $5 appetizers, $5 draft beers, and $4 beer bottles. On Tuesdays, mules are $8 and rums and tequilas are 20-percent off. On Wednesdays, Old-Fashioneds and whiskeys get the discount treatment.

Along with staples like pad Thai and drunken noodles, Mayuree serves sophisticated dishes, including the excellent catfish pad cha. The curry sauce that accompanies it is seriously spicy and will make you yearn for something thirst-quenching to drink.

If you’re sitting at Mayuree Thai Tavern—and not at home—a bartender will whip up just the right cocktail for you.

Mayuree means peacock in hindi. It’s also the name of restaurant-owner Pensiri Rungrujiphaisal’s mother. Despite the colorful name, Mayuree Thai Tavern hardly stands out from the surrounding row houses on this residential block of Fleet Street in Canton. In fact, if you stumbled in off the street, you might mistake the place for a laid-back neighborhood watering hole—until, that is, you perused the menu, which is loaded with Thai standards, as well as some true originals.

The “Bites” section of the menu tempts with the usual suspects—chicken satay, papaya salad, and wings—but we decided to go for the more inventive larb gai ($6), a starter, which pops with taste and texture highlighting minced chicken with mint and a spicy lime dressing over mesclun greens. The fried calamari ($6), which features large rings of squid, delicately deep-fried in a light tempura coating with a sweet-sour dipping sauce on the side, was also a great way to whet our appetites.

Entrees are classified under “Curry Bowls,” “Wok Noodle Bowls,” “Wok Rice Bowls,” or “M.Y.A.T. Originals” and many offer your choice of protein—chicken, beef, or shrimp, as well as tofu. We ordered the “Drunken Noodle” with chicken ($10), which comes with crunchy green beans, onions, red peppers, and tomatoes. The wide, chewy rice noodles nicely absorb the umami flavor of the sauce, with hints of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and chili garlic.

We also recommend trying the fried squid with chili paste ($13), which is augmented by sliced red and green peppers, carrots, and peppercorns that add a subtle accent while the flavors of kaffir lime leaf are pronounced and the Thai chili paste provides a noticeable kick. The mound of Thai red rice that accompanies the dish is a welcome change from the usual Jasmine rice.

For dessert, we had to taste a Thai classic: sticky rice with mango ($6). Flavored with pandan leaf, which imparts a savory flavor, the rice is slightly salty, and has a good chew to it. It provides a great counterpoint to the sweet slices of mango and the rich coconut cream. The taro custard pudding ($4) also includes a savory element—taro root—that gives it added body as well as a nice contrast to the sweetness of the custard.

A friendly, family-run joint, Mayuree Thai Tavern is a welcome addition to the culinary landscape, which, until now, has had a shortage of Thai standouts.

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›› Mayuree Thai Tavern: 2318 Fleet St., 667-212-5509. Hours: Tues.-Fri. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 12-10 p.m. Prices: appetizers: $5-7; bowls: $10-15; desserts: $4-6.