The 2026 Michelin Guide selection for Thailand included 468 venues, two three-star restaurants (one of which was promoted from one star), eight appointed two stars (two of which were promoted from one star), and a whopping 33 one-star restaurants, including three new restaurants and four promoted from general selection.
But what about its presence in the state? Is this country’s cuisine, with its regional diversity, immigrant influences, and overlap from neighboring Laos and Cambodia, about to have its moment in America?
Bangkok native Asawin “AJ” Jokeo, chef-owner of Men’s Kitchen inside IFresh Supermarket in Milk District, believes that is imminent.
“There used to be a lot of Chinese takeout places in Orlando,” he says. He’s lived here for decades, working at various eateries (not to mention his band, and when he’s not making the city’s popular Hainanese chicken, he regularly performs live as a multi-instrumentalist).
“Recently, it seems like the number of Thai people has decreased and there are more Thai people.”
He would know. And in fact, so do many of Orlando’s other Thai chefs and restaurateurs, who seem to visit each other’s establishments regularly.
“Hey!” Jock Kaew half-yelled as we headed to Lat Thai Street Food, a new spot near UCF. He waved to the three people in the booth behind him. “They are my friends. We hung out together last night.”
They’re not restaurant people, but they very well could be. He and his good friend Jack Joan run the exemplary Si Thai and its even more wonderful weekend pop-up, Toon, and visit other Thai restaurants with surprising frequency. Lato’s owner Timmy Pengoen says this is the way things are done.
“On my days off, I try to go to all the Thai restaurants,” he says (his wife, Anna Nilkubethe head chef at Lato). “To make new friends, to get connections and cooperation. It makes starting a new business easier because everyone is so nice. Everyone supports each other. And when they visit us, I feel good too, because we are like a canteen for them too.”
Orlando’s restaurant scene, like many other cities, is a bit incestuous, with staff hopping from ship to ship as they advance their careers and sometimes open their own establishments. As I gather more information about this story, it seems to be becoming more prominent.
Newcomers featured here: Laat, a brand new spot in MetroWest that focuses on Thai noodle dishes, especially boat noodles, and SoDo’s Sabai Thai Street Food, all with ties to Michelin Guide-recommended Isan Zaap (with ties to both Lotte Market’s Thai Super Bowl, Windermere’s Charm Thai & Sushi, and the luxurious, resort-like Talay in downtown Orlando’s North Quarter).
Both of Lato’s owners worked for Isan Zab at one time. The same is true for Alex Pisarra, who co-cooks with his mother, Vilade Pisarra, as chef at Sabai Thai Street Food in Orlando’s Sodor neighborhood. Both are from the Isan region in northeastern Thailand.
Sabai opened on March 19th.
Small but bright and welcoming, co-owner Billy Spradlin (Villadae’s husband, Alex’s father) says he was happy to bring to the table what the neighborhood was looking for.
“Some people come twice a day, which is great,” he told me. Meanwhile, I stuffed myself with the Pisala family’s incredibly homemade Isan sausages. Stuffed with pork and vermicelli, it’s crunchy with a beautiful hint of lime in the garlic and coriander.
“The food here is as authentic as we make it in America, with some influence from Isan cuisine,” he says, referring to the sausage, “but we try to recognize that we’re not region-specific. We plan to introduce some other specialty dishes in the future.”
His wife’s career has taken her from her hometown to the southern resort of Phuket to Los Angeles, giving her a wide range of flexibility.
“In addition to the food, we want everyone who comes here to feel like part of the family.”
Newcomer, server and supervisor in another area of Budsaba Thai Bistro Pat OlalikdesiOh, their concept is cozy and easy.
“Our passion is to convey the true taste of Thailand through authentic recipes, fresh ingredients and warm Thai hospitality.”
The concept combines traditional Thai home cooking with the energy of Thai street food culture.
“We didn’t just want to create a restaurant, we wanted to create a welcoming place for friends and family to gather.”
When partners are Far Pongprapa and Thani Pat have joined forces to open another new spot (a MetroWest spot): Noods. This happened by chance.
Pongprapa, a real estate agent, also has connections with Isaan Zaap, and had wanted to open a Thai noodle concept restaurant for several years. She even thought of the menu. When Pat showed up and asked for help finding a place to express his ideas, the two began an impromptu discussion.
“I was looking for a partner,” Pongprapa told the Orlando Sentinel. “And when she told me she wanted to do the Boat Noodle concept, and it was just a coincidence, I said, ‘Would you like to work with me?'”
She smiles over a beautiful bowl of boat noodles filled with braised beef, sliced beef, tendon, and meatballs. The soup is thick with blood.
“That would be fun,” she says. “I like her energy.”
The specialty here is boat noodles, which takes its name from the small boats on Bangkok’s canals where the food stalls originally peddled this dish. Later, this dish made with beef or pork spread to the city’s alleys, where it multiplied before spreading to other areas.
“It has a lot of herbs in it,” she says. “It smells really nice when it’s cooking.”
Nudos includes other comforting carbohydrate-centric dishes, from khao soi to beautifully charred qua gai to a chicken and rice noodle dish reminiscent of chow fun.
These are dishes that Pongprapa says are relatively unique in Orlando, but yes, we also have pad thai here.
It’s a beautiful space, she says, and tourists can come every day, have a quick lunch, just like they would at a Thai food stall, and come back when the pendant lamps are dark and sexy for a date night dinner.
Orlando is also full of Thai food. A case in point is Chada Thai, from Chef Sirinapa Sittissomsbu, a food truck serving everything from tom yum goong to pad siew to roti canai along Winter Park’s Lee Road. And in the Altamonte Springs area, Green Papaya’s newest locations include multiple locations in Jacksonville and one in St. Augustine, where it’s been selling its branded blend of Thai food and sushi since late last year.
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram @amydroo or the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, and for more foodie fun, join our Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
Everyone is Thai
Budsaba Thai Bistro: 222 Neighborhood Market Road, Orlando, 407-273-2808; budsabathai.com
Chada Thai: 2626 Lee Road in Winter Park; Chada ThaiOrlando.com
Green Papaya Thai & Sushi: 2480 FL-434 in Altamonte Springs, 407-853-8888; greenpayas.com
Lert Thai Street Food: 12084 Collegiate Way in Orlando, 407-340-7102; instagram.com/lertthai.2026
Nuods: 6433 Raleigh St. in Orlando, 407-522-9896; facebook.com/noodsorl
Sabai Thai Street Food: 3333 South Orange Ave. in Orlando, 689-336-3384; sabaithaistreetfood.com
