When Nan Thai opens on Oct. 18, it will replace chef and owner DeeDee Niyomkul’s Chai Yo Modern Thai at Two Buckhead Plaza with a restaurant paying tribute to her late father, Charlie, and honoring her mother, veteran chef Nan Niyomkul.
Nan and Charlie Niyomkul opened the original location of Nan Thai 21 years ago at the corner of Spring and 17th in Midtown. Buckhead becomes the second location of the popular fine dining Thai restaurant.
While Midtown imbues the spirit of her parents, Buckhead leans into DeeDee’s sensibilities.
“This is my updated version of Nan with some of my mom’s signature dishes, without the white tablecloths,” DeeDee said, who plans to honor her father’s memory through a more casual and familial hospitality experience, something he was known for at Nan Thai in Midtown.
The menu is a collaborative effort between mother and daughter. Expect some of Nan’s most popular dishes like the crispy red snapper, crispy calamari, and lamb hung lay (braised lamb shank in Northern Thai red curry) in Buckhead. New dishes from DeeDee include her tom kha soup with chunks of lobster tail and scallop linguine tossed in a Thai basil cream sauce with Thai chilis and garlic.
Look for cocktails using Thai ingredients, too, such as the Siam Sour made with gin, basil, lemongrass, and egg white, or the Forbidden Fruit mixing mezcal with tamarind, cardamom syrup, and chili-lime bitters.
The former Chai Yo space was given a refresh. It now features Thai art and a private dining room with a chefs table. Here, DeeDee plans to offer new dishes not on the menu at either Nan Thai in Buckhead or Midtown. The chefs table allows her to create a more intimate dining experience for people and another way to honor her father, who loved explaining Thai dishes to guests in Midtown.
Having grown up working in her parents’ restaurants in New York and Atlanta, DeeDee struck out on her own in 2009, opening Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft on Peachtree in southern Buckhead. In 2018, she opened Chai Yo at Two Buckhead Plaza offering contemporary takes on classic Thai dishes.
Nan Thai first opened in 2003 at the corner of Spring and 17th and includes a conspicuous golden tamarind pod statue just outside the front door. The Niyomkul’s also owned Tamarind Seed Bistro at Colony Square, which closed at the Midtown complex in 2017.
3050 Peachtree Road, Buckhead. Open for lunch Monday – Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Open for dinner, Monday – Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.
