Saam is the first-ever U.S.-based restaurant from acclaimed chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn, known for his Michelin-starred Bangkok restaurants Le Du and Nusara. This is a much more casual endeavor than those two restaurants, offering a glimpse into Tassanakajohn’s style of food at an approachable price (and without the international flight). Saam means “three” in Thai; it refers to the restaurant partnership between Tassanakajohn, Tee Atthapon, and Ty Choosuwon, and the three elements of Thai cooking: spicy, sour, and salty. Check your expectations at the door: This isn’t the place for pad Thai or tom yum. Instead, open yourself to some new dishes and bites that pack a punch (in a good way).

The vibe

The Saam dining room is relaxing, pairing cream and terra cotta colors with warm woods. Terra cotta-colored fish scale tiles announce the curved bar area, with a selection of wine bottles and glasses taking up space on the lighted back bar area. Built-in shelves around the restaurant display examples of pottery and jarred produce, a fun place to rest your eyes during dinner. The tables were either made of wood or came topped with square tiles in various shades of terra cotta, with comfortable rounded chairs in patterned fabric or rattan.

What to order

• For starters, the tuna za jin ($35) stole the show with its dramatic green coriander sauce, thick wedges of tomato, and slices of leaner akami tuna on top. Fried shallots added extra texture to each bite. 
• We also ordered the shrimp tartare ($20), which comes with a three-dot indicator for spice levels. Indeed, it was very spicy — our server thankfully came over with extra napkins to wipe the sweat from our brows — but as it is served without any bread or chips (a vehicle, if I may, for the tartare), it felt less designed for sharing.
• From the curry section, the gaeng kua clams ($29) were the favorite at the table of all the main dishes we explored. Made with Manila clams, the dish arrived in a curry, with bits of the curry paste clinging to the shells and infusing it thoroughly. It was somewhat spicy, but nowhere near the sweat-inducing volume of the shrimp tartare; take this with a grain of salt, as my dinner traipsed through various heat levels and may not match your own personal tolerance. With the clams and curry spooned over jasmine rice, the dish really takes off. 
• The pad ped ped ($39) was another great dish, featuring pieces of duck with curls of young coconut meat, cooked in a shrimp paste. The server suggested eating bites of the duck with pieces of the young coconut meat, and I found that I really enjoyed the combination, which adds a nice bit of cooling sweetness to the duck flavors (and the two-dot spice level). This dish is cooked in shrimp paste and shares a similar-ish flavor profile to the clams, so my advice would be to pick this or the clams, depending on personal preference. Next time, I’m hoping to try out the restaurant’s gaeng khaaw, a vegan dish with cauliflower, mushrooms, and pearl onions, in a white curry.
• The ka lum pad nam pla ($19) is a cabbage side, cooked with fish sauce, and it was a lovely addition to the table that added a much-needed mellow note to the meal. The salty punch of fish sauce worked with the softened, sweet cabbage pieces.

The drinks

For now, the drinks menu is kept to just wine by the bottle and glass, plus a small selection of beers. The wines come from many corners of the globe, from the Sonoma Coast and Suisun Valley to France, Italy, and South Africa. There are just a handful of beers, with three hailing from Thailand — Singha, 7 Bangkok Craft Brewing Co., and Pheebok Beer — with additional options from Almanac Beer Co. and a nonalcoholic option from Hitachino. On that note, the beverage menu also offers three nonalcoholic wines, plus a pandan spritz, Thai iced tea, a lemongrass drink, and sodas. The plan is to roll out a true cocktail program eventually, but for now the menu includes three “cocktails” made with wines, such as the Saam Royale, made with raspberry wine, sparkling wine, and fresh herbs.

Insider tip

Saam offers sato, an ancient Thai sticky rice wine that can be tough to find at restaurants in the States. At the time of my visit, the server said they were waiting on their next shipment from Thailand, so it’s best to ask if it’s in stock if you’re looking to try some at your meal.

Sol Bakery is only three months into its life in a permanent space, but with two years of pop-ups — on top of chef Marisa Williams’s nearly two decades of movement through the bakery scene, including legendary programs at Tartine, Mr. Jiu’s, and Copenhagen’s Mirabelle — it’s no wonder Sol Bakery seems to have things down to a tee. Open just Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 9 a.m. until things trickle out of stock, Sol Bakery amasses the same lines as it did in its pop-up days. 

What to order

• There are a few items at Sol you could follow from winter through fall for a taste of the seasons. The polenta cake ($7.50), currently inlaid with plump mission figs, is one of them. In early May, the cake showcased late-season kumquats. It’s also the only gluten-free option currently on offer.
• The tomato danish ($7) is one to catch during summer. The tiny purple basil leaves, scattering of sesame seeds, and sprinkling of good olive oil lie over each yolk-orange slice of heirloom tomato, all singing together atop the expertly laminated pastry beneath.
• The guava tart ($11) is evidence of Williams’s artistry. A swipe of vanilla bean-flecked pastry cream rims each crisp pastry shell. On top, more figs and a few citrus curls. It’s tart, not too sweet, and has a myriad of textures to the last bite.

Insider tip

As far as what’s brewing, Mission stalwart Grand Coffee is behind Sol’s drip and cold brew offerings. On the shelf to the left of the pastry case, however, you’ll find Oakland’s Flower Child beans, purchasable to-go, along with Song Tea. These three producers represent some of the Bay’s most farmer-first operations, making the bakery’s values abundantly clear. Whether you’re a tea or coffee drinker, it’s worth grabbing a bag to take home.

Crispy eggplant at Fat Cat x the Mantis

I’ve been on a bit of an eggplant kick this month, and this dish started it. I tried the Mantis menu at Fat Cat at the start of August and was bowled over by this crispy eggplant, with its mix of flavors and textures that keep each bite immaculate. The base is a butterbean miso whipped tofu, adding an undercurrent of umami; the thickened sauce texture tempted me to swoop each bite around the plate (and I did). The fried crunch of the eggplant holds its own against the whipped tofu, and the tender herbs add a vegetal texture and flavor to it all, all further pulled together by a lemongrass chile jam. Umami, earthy, herb-y — it’s got it all. Add on a few Sungold tomatoes as a summery bonus, and I’m there. I’d go here sooner rather than later, in case this dish proves as fleeting as the 8 p.m. summer sunsets. Fat Cat x the Mantis, 3215 Mission Street, San Francisco

Melon ensalada at Maria Isabel

I couldn’t resist a return to Maria Isabel in August, nearly four months after my first visit. The melon ensalada kinda melted my brain in the best way — I’ve been melon deficient this summer, and this is my cure. Star Route melon slices get the maximalist treatment with curls of cucumber and purslane on top. The jicama encacahuatada sauce transforms the dish even further, along with the hit of the restaurant’s own salsa macha, which adds both a bit of heat and outsized crunch to each bite. If Maria Isabel ever decides to sell its salsa macha, I’d be one of the first people in line. Maria Isabel, 500 Presidio Avenue, San Francisco

Chanterelle mushroom toast at Bull Valley Roadhouse

I don’t know when I aged out of brunch, but it takes a lot to get me out on a weekend mid-morning. But give me a good reason, and I’ll come out — like a brunch boogeywoman? — and likely order my typical brunch holy trinity of water, coffee, and mimosa. On a recent Sunday morning, I was invited out to Bull Valley Roadhouse. I was on the lookout for a not-too-heavy dish, and this chanterelle mushroom toast did the trick. Each element of this toast hit, from the fried egg that retained its runny yolk, to the crisped mushrooms, to the hits of scallions, Parmesan, and chile flakes. I gobbled this up easily, and it made me wonder if I should reconsider my brunch stance, especially with this gorgeous morning light, the twisty drive toward the Carquinez Strait, and time warp-y feel of the Bull Valley Roadhouse interior (and the surrounding Port Costa). Add in some shared deviled eggs and Brussels sprouts, plus the Delta Sunrise — dry prosecco dosed with grapefruit and Gran Classico bitters — and alright, okay, twist my arm, I guess I’m back on my brunch bullshit. Bull Valley Roadhouse, 14 Canyon Lake Drive, Port Costa

Passion fruit tart at Sol Bakery

Have you ever heard the sickening thud of your pastry haul taking a tumble in your trunk? Well, I have, and it’s enough to make me affix future goods in my passenger seat, seatbelt on. But even my terrible photo wasn’t enough to keep me from shouting out the passion fruit tart from Sol Bakery. I know that the guava tart is the most popular item at Sol, but the tart-sweet flavor of the passion fruit won me over combined with the satisfying crunch of passion fruit seeds. Rather than a graham cracker-type crust, Sol’s tart shell leans more toward pâte sucrée, which gives the pastry a lovely bite to it (rather than a dry, crumb-y texture), making it the best vessel for this, imho. If you’re braving the line, please, please, please buy a tomato Danish while there’s still time. There’s something so luscious about the baked tomato slice nestled into the Danish that feels like a bite of summer magic. Savor it all while you can. Sol Bakery, 1696 Hayes Street, San Francisco

Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar are well known in the Bay Area for their elegant Indian restaurants, and their work at Copra, Ettan, Eylan, and Little Blue Door, earned the duo a finalists nomination in the Outstanding Restaurateur category at the 2026 James Beard Awards. 

Now, they’re ready for a new challenge. 

Gopinathan and Thapar have teamed up with the historic Hotel De Anza in downtown San Jose to open three new projects under their restaurant group, Cal-India Collective. The Hedley Club, a California bistro and lounge oozing Art Deco vibes and details, and Palm Court, a greenhouse-like space with trailing vines and plants with an outdoor feel, both open in September. Cal-Mexican restaurant Tejer, the third project, will follow in December, led by chef Enrique Gonzalez, with Gopinathan collaborating on the menu. 

The projects mark a return to hotels for Gopinathan, who led Campton Place to two Michelin stars during his tenure there. He left the hotel in 2022 to open Copra and focus on his other restaurants, Ettan and Little Blue Door. Eylan soon followed in January 2025, then Gopinathan and Thapar began exploring the idea of opening restaurants further into the South Bay. The opportunity to open restaurants in the Hotel De Anza came as managing member Dhaval Panchal and chief operating officer Sean Curtis of MHP Hospitality took ownership of the hotel in 2024 and looked to restore the historic building. Panchal and Curtis knew Gopinathan and Thapar’s collection of restaurants and approached them about the spaces.

The Hedley Club serves as the hotel’s cocktail lounge and comes with a food menu imagined by Gopinathan. Rather than fully leaning into his established Indian food repertoire, he’s taking the opportunity to embrace influences from his 20 years of living in California. Gopinathan describes it as “a good, California-style bistro menu,” with references that zigzag across the state and a lot of Bay Area nuance. Think roasted black cod with kimchi butter, creamed corn, and seasonal greens; za’atar flatbread served with a trio of cucumber-mint yogurt, smoked eggplant, and roasted chickpea dips; there’s even sourdough pizzas. 

The team is making pasta, including a raviolo al uovo — typically a larger-sized raviolo filled with ricotta and runny egg yolk — that at the Hedley Club is transformed by hot chile ghee, maitakes, stewed dino kale, and pecorino. The Pommes Hedley is a take on pommes pailles, a thinner-cut french fry, served with chile crisp aioli, which can be ordered solo or as a side with the club hamburger (loaded with pickles, little gem slaw, and more of that chile crisp aioli). Gopinathan even added a butter chicken hot dog with a housemade bun to the menu. Drinks come from Merrick Rodrigues, who dived into researching grand hotel bars and created a cocktail menu of classic drinks “made with California’s celebrated artisanal spirits” and regional botanicals, per a press release. 

The Hedley Club space received a refresh, with a bold green-and-white checkered marble floor, but a lot of the original Art Deco details remain, such as the ornate ceiling and chandelier that anchor the room. The space is decked out in a soft rose color with plentiful patterns on the couches and chairs that give the lounge an updated feel amongst the historical bones of the hotel. The adjacent Palm Court will serve food and drinks from the Hedley Club but in a space that brings the outdoors in, thanks to the impressive glass ceiling. “It has an almost conservatory feel to it because it’s got these beautiful vines and it’s sitting in this inside-outside space,” Thapar says. “It has this very interesting appeal that is very different from what the Hedley Club has, which is this feel of a historical classic bar-meets-lounge restaurant. So it’s two totally different worlds, and you may want to sit in one versus the other.” Palm Court is geared toward events, whether corporate meetings or weddings, with catering from Hedley, Tejer, or the Cal-India Collective, which can provide an Indian cuisine-focused menu on request.

With Tejer, chef Enrique Gonzalez also once-again finds himself in the restaurant space working with Gopinathan. The two first met at Campton Place when Gonzalez joined the team in 2012; back then, they say, they dreamt of opening a restaurant together, and nearly a decade later, they’re opening Tejer. The two traveled together to Mexico and spent time in Gonzalez’s hometown, cooking with Gonzalez’s mom, Margarita, and walking the farmers markets. Of the few details they could share of the upcoming Cal-Mexican restaurant, they’re planning for a barbacoa that they’ve named after Gonzalez’s father, Pablo; sauces, like a fermented chile sauce, and salsa macha; three varieties of moles; and Mexico City-style seafood platters. “It’s a challenge, because in San Jose, it’s a lot of Latin community and Mexicans,” Gonzalez acknowledges. “But we don’t [want to] try to compete. We’re just trying to create something unique with the sense from Mexico, but with the ingredients from California.”

The Hedley Club and Palm Court inside Hotel De Anza (233 West Santa Clara Street, San Jose) debuts in September 2026, with Tejer to open in December.

Chef Nattaporn Pinpech, known as chef Tobb, built a steady fanbase for their restaurant Secrets of Tiger, with its Thai street food menu bursting with memorable dishes such as Yum Dek Dormitory, made with Mama Thai Instant Noodles. But while Secrets of Tiger feels casual, Pinpech’s new restaurant Payakk is more considered, a spot that feels more date night-coded through moody lighting and gorgeously plated dishes. Pinpech translates her Thai dishes into a Bay Area context with seasonal ingredients, as most good restaurants here do. Dishes feel local in some senses, but with bold Thai flavors (see below: the fried eggplant).

The vibe

Payakk has a cozy, worn-in feel that permeates the two dining rooms, despite having opened relatively recently in September of 2025. Entering the first dining room, the wood-paneled walls and plentiful plants channel the 1970s, complete with knick-knacks piled into every nook and cranny, from antlers and mismatched older artworks to Thai prayer flags and records behind the bar. 

The other dining room is sleeker: painted in a dark green with gold accents, a mural of a tiger watches over the room, roaring, a nod to the restaurant’s name (which means “tiger” in Thai) and the restaurant’s tagline that accompanies its Instagram page: “The roaring of Thai supper club.” More plants spill into this side of the restaurant in a cozy vignette filled with additional tchotchkes, a pleasant area to rest your eyes and look over the fun items scattered throughout the greenery — a spotted leopard statue here, a vintage paint there, and lights everywhere, including fairy lights, blue grow lights, and even a tableside lamp. The tables are all made of wood and adorned with tabletop lamps, making menu-reading (and, okay, picture-taking) even easier. But the lamps also add an attractive glow to the room that proves irresistible as a nighttime dining space.

What to order

• The fried Hodo tofu custard ($16) and crispy prawn toast ($18) are excellent bites from the small plate section. Honestly, it was hard to choose just two as everything looked good. The tofu itself is made by the Payakk team with organic soy milk; when flash-fried, the exterior turns into this airy, crisp texture that our table couldn’t get enough of. We dipped those bites into the sauce, which resembles a sweet Thai chile sauce. The crispy prawn toast was another study in flavors and texture. The prawn mousse held its own against the milk bread, which stayed soft on the inside while getting a lovely fried texture on the outside. Each slice gets a dollop of sriracha mayo and salmon roe, which adds creaminess and salt. It’d be difficult not to order these again on my next visit, but if I am with a larger group, the fried tofu custard is a nice snackable bite for everyone. 
• The fried eggplant and tomyam soymilk cream ($22) really wows. The dish arrived as a huge, fried eggplant half, closer to the bulbous shape of a globe eggplant. Plated on top of the tomyam soymilk cream, the top of the fried eggplant gets another dose of that cream and comes studded with halved cherry tomatoes and sliced figs, with herbs delicately placed in between to give this dish a seasonal feel. The interior of the eggplant was perfectly cooked, soft on the inside, with an expert fry (a trend, it seems) creating texture and nooks and crannies for that spicy-sour soymilk cream to seep in.
• For the pad Thai stans out there, Payakk serves a great version. The Pad Thai Chaiya ($39) is a rendition from southern Thailand, made with rendered coconut milk, red curry paste, and shrimp fat. The dish comes loaded with shrimp and crab meat, with two grilled tiger prawns on top, plus bean sprouts, scallions, and lime on the side. It hits those savory-sweet-citrus notes that are a hallmark of the dish, but it’s a much richer version than you might expect from your local Thai takeout.
• The fried pork jowl fried rice ($29) is the one dish everyone seems to be talking about, and I’m joining the chorus: the siren call of a crispy, breaded, fried pork jowl over fried rice is irresistible. 
• Our table was really impressed with the tender Chilean sea bass with turmeric curry ($39). I found myself spooning that mild curry over my rice, trying not to hoard all of the fish at the table. It has me excited to try Payakk’s other fish curry dish, the Keang-som fried white seabass ($39) in a “tamarind-forward and chili-hot” sour curry on my next visit.

The drinks

For cocktails, Payakk offers a mix of signature and classic cocktails, and our group enjoyed the tequila-based Love is the Drug ($18), made with tequila blanco, Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro, agave, yuzu, and rosemary, plus the Blush, a take on the white Negroni. The wine list offers red and white options hailing from California brands, with most glasses hovering around the $13 mark (though some go as high as $21). Bottled and canned beer options are limited mostly to Singha, Leo, and Chang beers, but they do have Singha and a Fieldwork IPA on tap. Lastly, the restaurant does have four nonalcoholic options that feel considered, such as Bagheera ($13), which combines green grapes with lime, along with makrut lime leaves.

Insider tip

If you’re wondering whether the records behind the bar are purely for decor, they’re not — the restaurant hosts vinyl listening nights. Our server told us the restaurant recently secured a DJ to spin every other Friday, so check out the restaurant’s Instagram page, @payakkstory, for the latest event info.

Best for

I called Secrets of Tiger a “hidden gem” when I wrote about it back in April, but I can’t help but feel like that’s an apt descriptor of Payakk as well. The Montclair neighborhood is an area I rarely visit, and in that context, stumbling upon Payakk feels like a true discovery. I feel that way about Pinpech’s restaurants because there’s so much to really enjoy and discover in those two spots that I wasn’t expecting. And it’s that surprise element that I find so alluring that I’d be willing to seek it out again and again.

What makes a “best” restaurant in Sonoma County, where the produce is always impeccable, the wine is award-winning, and the offerings dazzle to the point of choice paralysis? When surveying one of California’s most abundant regions, we focused on the following — an elusive combination of intentional vibes, high-quality food worth driving for, location and variety, combined with a mix of price points. Are the restaurants on the list the absolute “best” in Sonoma? In many ways, yes. Is the list below comprehensive beyond scrutiny? Not at all. And yet, these are our favorites.

When chef Anthony Strong wanted to open a third location of his popular restaurant and market, Pasta Supply Co., he decided to do things differently. First, there’s the space he picked: a former Peet’s Coffee location in his neighborhood of Cole Valley. It’s not your typical restaurant, but it was suitable enough for cooking and selling pasta at the scale Pasta Supply Co. executes at its other locations — pasta dishes cooked to order for in-house diners, or fresh pasta and sauces to cook at home. 

He also decided to go a different route with getting money for the buildout. Rather than bank loans, private equity, or traditional crowdfunding sites, which he’s used in the past (“where for $50 you might get a t-shirt in a year if we get open,” he says), he knew he wanted to get the neighborhood involved. To raise $400,000 for the buildout, on Wednesday, August 12, Strong and his team set up a way for people to back them via the restaurant’s website, where they get something out of the deal, too: Purchase take-home pasta for a year for $550, or buy pasta for life for $4,000. “Why wouldn’t we go straight to the people who are already buying our pasta?” Strong says. “The people that we see at the farmers market every Sunday, the dude who stops for sandwiches and lunch three times a week in the Mission — let’s go straight to our community that we serve, [people] that trust us, that rely on us, that we already rely on, and just pay them back in pasta with our product. It was kind of ‘duh’ for me.”

Now a week into the sales, Pasta Supply Co. is “well past halfway to our target,” he says. The fine details for the pasta-for-a-year (or life) offering work out to customers being allowed to pick up a box of pasta weekly for their purchased time period, including fresh and filled pasta (just not the ready-to-bake lasagnas). Customers can start their purchases immediately and pick up their pasta at the Mission or Richmond location, or wait for the Cole Valley shop to open up, their choice. And companies can also get in on pasta purchases for employees: For every 10 subscriptions they buy, Pasta Supply Co. will donate one to a San Francisco school, which they can in turn use for fundraising or however they want. And because the purchases are made through the store’s own platform, they don’t have to pay a cut to a crowdfunding site. “For us, it just means we get to pay people back in pasta,” Strong says, “and we get to start off in a much better position as a business, with less risk, in a way that we can keep taking really good care of our team and in a way that we can grow organically.”

In setting up the crowdfunding options, Strong used tools to forecast the numbers and put that up against his costs to balance price and value, while still earning enough to reach the goal. While he doesn’t believe their brand of crowdfunding will work for all restaurants, he does think it could be a potential model for a place like, say, a bakery. “I really think it’s worth figuring out what value you can provide,” Strong says. “Ours just happens to be really easy: It’s pasta.”

There are also questions about the limitations of the pasta for the year, or for life, of course. Customers can skip a week, or get “skipsies,” as Strong calls it. No, you can’t collect a month’s worth of pasta in one visit. (Someone has already asked.) And if you’re industrious enough and deep-pocketed enough, you could follow in the footsteps of one parent who purchased a pasta-for-life option and put it in their kid’s name; Strong won’t stop you just because he didn’t put in an age restriction. (“We didn’t spell it out,” he says of the situation, laughing. “Yeah, girl, set them up. I respect that. It’s his money, right?”)

There have been some good surprises for the team in the ensuing week since customers activated their purchases. The program they vibe coded to keep track of pasta pickups includes a photo of the customer who’ll be dropping by for pasta, and Strong says it’s been “so sweet” looking at all of his smiling customers holding a box of pasta for their first pickup. “Seeing it pop as hard as it did, immediately, was pretty cool,” Strong says. “It kind of reinvigorated my faith that people are into doing cool shit for the businesses that they love and the businesses that are literally here to just make them good stuff.”

Having customers support the shop and come in weekly for their box of pasta creates the kind of community and neighborhood feel that Strong wants with his shops. The byproduct being that these customers in turn become regulars, and the team gets a fun, weekly interaction with their supporters. It’s this earnestness and straightforwardness with which Strong is hoping his shops become neighborhood staples. When he opened his first shop in the pandemic, Strong remembers moments where he wished there was some sort of neighborhood activation with the stores to get people outdoors again. He loves that a couple who lives three blocks away from his store gets to walk over once a week for pasta. He wants “any opportunity that a small independent business can take to reinforce the value of a neighborhood community,” Strong says. “We can’t exactly give DoorDash and Uber Eats a run for their money, right? But damn it, little shops like ours that are doing things like this are what create neighborhood energy.”

Pasta Supply Co. (919 Cole Street, San Francisco) debuts its Cole Valley Shop in Fall 2026.

Just in the past year, I’ve been to Bangkok twice and eaten my way through the Thai capital’s astounding dining scene. These visits and previous ones have convinced me that Bangkok is one of the world’s most compelling destinations for high-end dining, and it seems I’m not alone: The city has six spots on the World’s 50 Best restaurants list and nine on the Asia 50 Best. 

Which is why I haven’t been this excited about a new restaurant opening in the U.S. in a long time — maybe ever. On July 24, Bangkok-based chef Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn opened Saam, his first-ever U.S. restaurant, in San Francisco. If you haven’t heard of Tassanakajohn, you might’ve heard of his two Bangkok establishments, Le Du and Nusara, both of which hold one Michelin star and occupy rankings (No. 30 and No. 35, respectively) on the 2026 World’s 50 Best list. As soon as I could, I jumped into my car and drove six and a half hours to visit Saam in its second week of operation. I managed to get four friends to help me dine through nearly the entire menu, and I came away quietly astonished by what Tassanakajohn and his team are cooking. 

I’m a bit surprised this opening isn’t getting more coverage in national media. (I guess the European chefs earning Michelin stars with pricey Bangkok restaurants — Alain Ducasse, Anne-Sophie Pic, Mauro Colagreco — have more name recognition stateside among fine dining aficionados.) At Saam, Tassanakajohn echoes other ambitious Thai restaurants in the U.S., like Anajak in LA, Kalaya in Philadelphia, and Bangkok Supper Club in New York, by serving an approachable menu at an attainable, but certainly higher-than-average, price point.

Saam means three in Thai, referring to the trio of partners involved — in addition to Tassanakajohn, Tee Atthapon and Ty Choosuwan — as well as the three essential elements of Thai cooking, spicy, sour, and sweet. While many restaurants in Bangkok lean sleek and chic, Saam’s room has a lived-in, analog feel that greatly improves the former Sun and Moon space. Warm wood details boost the homey charm; one wall even features faux clay stoves. Walking up to the second-floor space right around golden hour, I found it bathed in soft, misty light. Aim to dine here right as the sun’s setting, if possible. 

Just eight days after opening, the kitchen was in excellent stride. Unlike Le Du and Nusara, Saam serves an a la carte menu, with dishes that would surprise even avid Thai food fans in the States. In lieu of the usual pad Thai, for instance, there’s a shareable plate of khao soi, its thick wheat noodles topped with shrimp, squid, mussels, and a gentle curry sauce. The sweet, familiar flavors of som tum (papaya salad) come through here in a minuscule mound of diced local peaches hiding chunks of marinated raw shrimp. 

Spice-averse diners will have to endure some intermittent moments of intense chile heat, as everything comes preset by Tassanakajohn. Thin-sliced duck breast from Root Down Farm gets coated in a curry of shrimp, ginger-like fingerroot, makrut lime, and young coconut. Tassanakajohn’s secret weapon is his attention to the curries and pastes made every day from scratch with local ingredients. 

For mains, you can get a salt-crusted baked fish (in our case, a good-sized branzino that might be enough for two to share) with spicy salsa-like pla ra and milder peanut sauce, plus lettuce and mint leaves we used to wrap individual bites, ssam-style. The grilled pork chop from Snake River Farms came with a dark au poivre-esque Northern Thai om sauce. Our table fought over the gaeng kua Manila clams with a red curry sauce that was marvelous simply spooned over jasmine rice. Desserts played on beloved Thai flavors: a bruleed meringue over ripened mango and sticky rice, a soft Thai iced tea cheesecake. A German riesling’s soft, round sweetness and tartness paired wonderfully with everything.

After dinner I sat down with the chef for a few minutes, and he told me that many visits to San Francisco with his wife over the years had given him an appreciation for the local produce and especially the breezy, cool weather. “I worked in New York, but it would be very difficult to do this there. You cannot easily buy [fresh] lemongrass or coriander root like in California,” he said. And LA’s hot weather is “too much like Bangkok,” he added with a laugh. 

He’s hopeful for the success of Saam in San Francisco, given his long relationship with the partners. “It’s [challenging] because you have to train the team, and have the staff understand how I cook Thai food,” he said. Managing places on both sides of the Pacific won’t be easy, but you can tell Tassanakajohn cares about representing the best of his brand at Saam.

“I want to give San Francisco something different,” Tassanakajohn said. “I want people to feel that there’s so much more flavor to Thai food.” While San Francisco already has two Michelin-starred Thai restaurants — Kin Khao and Nari, both from chef Pim Techamuanvivit — Saam brings a welcome infusion of top-tier cooking from one of Thailand’s most renowned chefs. In Los Angeles, even with its sizable Thai population and diverse Thai restaurant scene, there’s really nothing approaching the sensibility, execution, and creativity of Saam. 

This is a curated list of the Bay Area’s most notable and permanent restaurant and bar closures, with new updates published once a week. See a closing we missed? Then drop us a line. For more news, check out our list of restaurants that closed earlier in May.

August 18

MISSION — The Valencia Street location of homestyle Korean restaurant Matko is set to close as of Thursday, August 20, the business shared via Instagram. Due to a change in ownership of the location, owner Ina Jungin Lee shares that they had “no option to stay any longer.” The location first opened as the Korner Store in 2021 (later relocating to the Excelsior), then pivoted to casual boba and Korean snack store Bobop and, eventually, Matko in 2024. Still, Lee shares that the closing is “the beginning of a next chapter,” stating that Matko products will soon be available in more grocery stores, and that the SoMa location at 1355 Market Street remains open. 736 Valencia Street

OAKLAND — After 23 years in Oakland, Home of Chicken & Waffles is closing as of Monday, August 31, SFGATE reports. Founder Derreck Johnson tells the news outlet that he’s “very happy and excited” about the closure, stating that after over two decades, “I want out of the restaurant business — I’m just ready to move on.” The restaurant began in 2004 as a franchise of Los Angeles restaurant Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, before it became a family-owned operation, the Mercury News reports. 247 4th #111 Street, Oakland

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — Long-running Filipino restaurant Ongpin has closed as of Sunday, August 16, after 32 years in business, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The restaurant, known for its weekend brunch buffet, closed due to the expansion of a fire station onto the lot where Ongpin is located. Co-owner Ludy Noguera told the Chronicle that they were aware the city was considering the expansion for the last two to three years; now, construction on the fire station is scheduled for early December, a city spokesperson confirmed to the paper. Sister restaurant Karilagan remains open. 73 Camaritas Avenue, South San Francisco

August 11

SOMA — Chef Marc Zimmerman’s SoMa restaurant, Superprime Steakhouse, has closed as of Friday, July 31, the San Francisco Standard reports. Before it was Superprime, Zimmerman opened the 545 Mission Street space as listening bar Yokai in 2023; the location later shifted to a steakhouse focus, reopening as Superprime Steakhouse in July 2025. Zimmerman told the Standard he decided to close Superprime after the landlord doubled the rent, with another increase set for January 2027. Zimmerman went on to say that he’ll continue running his business, A-Five Meat Company, and look at potentially relocating Superprime outside San Francisco. 545 Mission Street, San Francisco

OAKLAND — The last bastion of the Horn Barbecue empire has closed. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that owner Matt Horn decided not to renew the lease for the Old Oakland location of Horn Barbecue, per a released statement. “Without the ability to smoke meats on-site, the location could no longer deliver the experience that defined Horn Barbecue,” Horn said in a statement to the Chronicle. The closure of the Old Oakland location joins other Horn ventures that closed over the last seven months, the newspaper states; outlets in Lafayette and Elk Grove both appear to have shut down in January 2026, and a Fresno location closed in June 2026 after six months. Horn’s other venture, Kowbird, shut down its Las Vegas and Oakland locations in 2024 and 2025, respectively, while Matty’s Old Fashioned shut down in April 2024 to allow for Horn Barbecue to open in that space after a fire forced the shutdown of the original West Oakland location in November 2023. In 2024, Horn became the subject of a Chronicle investigation into the company’s financial standings, in light of wage theft claims. The Chronicle reports that, currently, Horn has 20 open wage theft claims in Fresno, Oakland, and Sacramento, with five claims either dismissed or settled. Horn went on to state that he will continue with catering, private events, pop-ups, and “live-fire experiences.” 464 Eighth Street, Oakland

OAKLAND — Perle Bar in the Montclair Village neighborhood of Oakland has closed, East Bay Nosh reports. The restaurant first opened nine years ago as Perle, a California-French restaurant, before it shut down briefly in March 2025. The restaurant then reopened as Perle Bar, with chef and owner Rob Lam shifting the menu to “Vietnamese comfort dishes and cocktails” in August 2025, the San Francisco Chronicle reported at its opening. It’s unclear when, exactly, the restaurant closed. 2058 Mountain Boulevard, Oakland

August 4

FIDI — ICYMI: Leo’s Oyster Bar has closed after 10 years in business, Tablehopper reports. The business’s lease was up in July, and owner Anna Weinberg told Tablehopper that she is focusing on her other business, Tosca, and its “next chapter.” As Tablehopper reminds us, the business opened with a splash back in 2016, earning a “Best Designed Restaurant of the Year” nod in Bon Appetit, thanks to designers Ken Fulk and Jon de la Cruz. 568 Sacramento Street, San Francisco

CASTRO — Church Street Cafe closed on Tuesday, July 28, after 20 years in business, Hoodline reports. In a note posted inside the store, owner Hank Lim thanked his customers. “Like many small businesses, we had to work hard to survive and keep going,” the note reads in part. “Through it all, so many of you stayed loyal to us, continued to support us, and reminded us why this place was so special.” Hoodline went on to share that Lim is set to open a bagel shop in Oakland this fall. 260 Church Street, San Francisco

OAKLAND — Peruvian restaurant Pucquio has shuttered as of Friday, July 31, East Bay Nosh reports. The restaurant was known for its “modern, seasonal dishes,” the publication writes. In a message on Instagram posted the day of the closure, the owners wrote in part, “Thank you for every visit, every celebration, and every moment you shared with us.” No reason was given for the sudden closure. 5337 College Avenue, Oakland

OAKLAND — Wood Tavern, in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood, has set a closing date for the end of 2026 when its lease expires, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Owner Rich Wood tells the Chronicle that it was a difficult decision to close, but that he wants to focus on the family’s other projects, namely expanding their sandwich shop, Southie, into a third location. Their other business, the Wolf, remains open. Burdell chef Geoff Davis is set to take over the space in 2027 with his next restaurant project, Uncle’s. 6317 College Avenue, Oakland

ALBANY — East Bay Nosh also caught the news that Match Point Brewing in Albany closed as of Sunday, July 26. Owner Simon Chen told the publication that the business couldn’t reach a new agreement on the sublease. The company’s beers, however, will continue to be sold at Berkeley Bowl and El Cerrito Natural Grocery, along with various restaurants in the Bay Area. Moving into the space next is Lao restaurant Souk Savanh, KQED reports. 745 San Pablo Avenue, Albany