From the owner of Chamblee’s Tum Pok Pok comes Yao, a swanky Thai, Chinese, and Japanese fusion restaurant in Dunwoody near Perimeter Mall (237 Perimeter Center Parkway Northeast). As opposed to Tum Pok Pok, which focuses on Isan Thai fare, Yao will serve Asian fusion small plates designed for sharing.
Items range from the familiar (chicken satay and crab fried rice) to more unique (taro rolls and spaghetti with Northern Thai sausage). Highlights include Wagyu beef cooked tableside on a hot stone with Thai chimichurri, and egg noodles with roasted duck and quail eggs.
Courtesy of Yao
“No one is really doing this in Atlanta. You’ll feel like you’re overseas,” says owner Jak Tuanphakdee.
The name Yao is short for Yaowayrat, a main road in Bangkok’s Chinatown—a nod to the restaurant’s merging of Thai and Chinese flavors. The bar, too, is a place for fusion—the wines, beers, and sakes have origins all over the world.
Courtesy of Yao
Courtesy of Yao
Opening August 26, the 4,000-square-foot restaurant can seat 100 people inside and 40 on the partially covered patio. Dinner will be served Tuesday through Sunday, and lunch plans are on the horizon.
“We’re right by the State Farm headquarters, which will allow us to focus on corporate meetings as well,” Tuanphakdee says.
