Saam San Francisco: Should You Book Chef Ton's First U.S. Restaurant?
Chef Thitid 'Ton' Tassanakajohn opens Saam in San Francisco's SoMa district on Friday, July 24, his first U.S. restaurant after 18 years cooking in Thailand. Book it if you want century-old Thai recipes rarely served even in Bangkok. Skip it if you want familiar Thai-American comfort food. Tassanakajohn's Bangkok restaurants Le Du (No. 1 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2023, currently No. 35 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants) and Nusara (Michelin star, No. 5 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026) set the expectation: this is the San Francisco Thai opening to track if you care more about regional cooking than pad Thai.
Saam focuses on 'lost recipes,' traditional dishes some dating back a hundred years, translated with modern technique and California ingredients. Reservations open via Resy at 415 Brannan Street.
Why Book Saam San Francisco Now
Saam is a deliberate break from the Thai-American canon. Where most Thai restaurants in the U.S. lean on pad Thai, green curry, and tom yum soup, Tassanakajohn and his partners are working from older, regional recipes that rarely appear even in Thailand. If that sounds like the meal you want, book early rather than waiting for familiar dishes to appear on the menu. According to the team, they're using traditional preparations, some dating back a century, and adapting them for modern diners with scratch-made components and local Bay Area ingredients. No canned curry paste. Seafood drives the menu, sourced from California waters and prepared using older Thai techniques.
San Francisco has Thai restaurants, but none with Tassanakajohn's World's 50 Best record. Le Du held the No. 1 slot on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2023 and ranked No. 15 globally that same year. Le Du is currently ranked No. 35 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants as of 2026. Nusara has a Michelin star, ranked No. 35 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2025, and sits at No. 5 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2026. Tassanakajohn has 13 restaurants under his belt and judges Top Chef: Thailand.
The practical takeaway: Saam is not just another neighborhood Thai opening. It is a first U.S. restaurant from a chef with a Bangkok track record, so the opening rush will be real and the best move is to reserve as soon as Resy availability appears.
Saam translates to 'three,' a reference to the three partners (Tassanakajohn as executive chef, Tee Atthapon as general manager, Ty Choosuwan as chef de cuisine) and to the three foundational Thai flavors: spicy, sour, salty.
Chef Thitid 'Ton' Tassanakajohn's Track Record
Tassanakajohn came to cooking as a second career. He earned an economics degree from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, then pivoted to culinary school at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. He followed that with an MBA in hospitality from Johnson & Wales University. While in New York, he worked at Eleven Madison Park, the Modern, and Jean-Georges. He earned his Certified Sommelier certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2013.
Le Du, his Bangkok flagship, opened with a contemporary tasting menu format that highlighted Thai ingredients and techniques. The format worked. Le Du earned a Michelin star, climbed to No. 1 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2023, landed at No. 15 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants that same year, and is currently No. 35 globally as of 2026. Nusara earned a Michelin star, ranked No. 35 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2025, and ranked No. 5 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2026.
Tassanakajohn has been planning a U.S. expansion for at least three years, according to Atthapon. He chose San Francisco for its ingredient quality and cultural diversity. Atthapon, who owns Song Wat in San Francisco and Kan Kiin in Daly City, provided the local infrastructure. Choosuwan previously worked at Prospect and Boulevard. For diners, the team points to a restaurant with Bangkok technique, Bay Area sourcing, and local operating experience rather than a chef simply lending his name from abroad.
What to Order at Saam San Francisco
Order Saam for dishes that rarely appear outside Thailand. The team describes its focus as 'the lost recipes of Thai food,' traditional preparations that have fallen out of rotation even in Bangkok. They're adapting these recipes using modern techniques and California ingredients. Seafood plays a major role, reflecting both California's coastal access and Thailand's seafood-heavy culinary history.
Large-format dishes include tiger prawn cooked with shrimp paste and fava beans, per the opening menu, a preparation built around fermented shrimp paste, one of Thai cuisine's foundational ingredients. Khao mun gaeng pla yang pairs sea bass with Southern-style turmeric rice, a dish that references Thailand's southern provinces, where turmeric, coconut, and seafood dominate. Pla phao, a salt-crusted branzino, arrives with pla ra sauce (fermented fish sauce) and a peanut seafood sauce.
Three curries anchor the menu. Pad ped ped is a duck-based curry. Gaeng kua clams uses Manila clams. Gaeng kaaw is a vegetarian white curry with cauliflower and mushrooms. White curry is less common than red or green curry in Thai-American restaurants. Lighter dishes include som tum peaches, a riff on som tum (green papaya salad) that swaps peaches for papaya and adds marinated shrimp, cherry tomato, and fermented fish sauce.
The beverage program includes wine, Thai beers, and sato, an ancient Thai sticky rice wine with Lao roots that Saam will import from Thailand. Village Ghost is the first U.S.-based sato brewery, and restaurants like Sappe in New York have started incorporating sato into cocktails. At Saam, sato will be available on its own, with plans to eventually fold it into a cocktail program.
The format is more casual than Le Du's tasting menu structure. Saam opens with dinner service, with plans to add lunch in the following weeks and potentially a tasting menu down the line. If you want the easiest first read on the kitchen, start with som tum peaches, choose one curry, and add a shared seafood dish such as the salt-crusted branzino or tiger prawn.
Location, Pricing, and Reservations
Saam opens Friday, July 24 at 415 Brannan Street in San Francisco's SoMa district. Reservations are available via Resy. The restaurant has been in development since January 2026, which means the team has had six months to refine the menu, train staff, and build out the space.
SoMa is not a traditional restaurant neighborhood, but that may work in Saam's favor. The area lacks the density of competition you'd find in the Mission or Hayes Valley. The address is walkable from the Moscone Center and the Financial District, which makes it useful for both local diners and business travelers.
Saam arrives with Tassanakajohn's acclaimed Thai restaurant background and a menu where seafood plays a major role, including several large-format dishes. The tiger prawn with shrimp paste, the salt-crusted branzino, and the sea bass with turmeric rice are all dishes that require significant prep and premium ingredients.
Booking strategy: Resy reservations for high-profile openings in San Francisco typically fill within hours of release, especially when the chef carries Michelin credentials. If you want a table in the first few weeks, book as soon as reservations open. If you're flexible on timing, wait a month. The initial rush will subside, and the kitchen will have worked through any opening-week issues. Lunch service, once it launches, will likely be easier to book.
Group size matters. Large-format dishes like the salt-crusted branzino and the tiger prawn are designed for sharing, which means Saam works best for parties of two to four. Solo diners can order smaller plates like the som tum peaches or one of the curries.
What to order: Start with the som tum peaches to gauge the kitchen's approach to balancing California produce with Thai technique. Follow with one of the curries: the gaeng kua clams if you want seafood, the pad ped ped if you want duck, the gaeng kaaw if you're vegetarian. For the table, order the salt-crusted branzino or the tiger prawn with shrimp paste. Pair with sato if you want to try the Thai rice wine, or stick with Thai beer if you prefer something lighter.
Saam debuts Friday, July 24. Reservations are live on Resy. Book early if you want a table in the opening weeks, wait a month if you prefer a calmer kitchen, and prioritize a party of two to four if you want the large-format seafood dishes.
