When Birdie Niyomkun moved from Dunwoody to Roswell five years ago, she struggled to find the Thai food she craved. She’ll remedy that next month with the opening of Tipsy Thaiger.
The Thai restaurant is coming to Roswell Town Square in late August with seasonal Thai dishes and an extensive cocktail menu.
The menu will feature “things we actually eat,” Niyomkun said. The only pad thai guests will find is on the drink menu.
It will be broken into two sections: Gab glaam, or small dishes often eaten while drinking, and gab khao, larger dishes that are meant to be enjoyed with rice.
Among beverages, Niyomkun is most excited about savory cocktails like the green curry sour with gin, green curry spice and lemon, and the pad thai high ball with tequila, mezcal, almond, clarified tamarind, lime, smoked chile and vegan fish sauce.
Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger
Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger
The beverage menu will also have a focus on natural wines since Niyomkun thinks the wines’ “funkiness” and minimal intervention fits best with Thai flavors. There will also be Vietnamese sake and several beers.
Niyomkun has worked as a manager at Tamarind Seed Thai Bistro and 26 Thai Kitchen & Bar, and she bartended at Biltong Bar. She left the restaurant world to work in real estate for several years until realizing how much she missed the hospitality industry.
Niyomkun and business partners Candi Lee and Phudith Pattharakositkul took over the historic building at 605 Atlanta St. a little over two years ago. While they waited for the building to be ready, Niyomkun and her team started running pop-ups at nearby businesses, allowing her to test her food recipes.
But her passion lies in mixology, so she sought a team of chefs who could fulfill her vision. Husband and wife Ao Ngammuang and Belle Predawan previously consulted for restaurants, but when Niyomkun shared her vision, the couple agreed to join permanently.
Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger
Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger
Predawan considered copy-and-paste Thai restaurants to be tired and dated. She and Ngammuang wanted to create a menu featuring “underrated” Thai dishes they actually crave.
Another important aspect for the chefs was incorporating local, seasonal ingredients into the traditional dishes.
For example, the Thaiger salad No. 1 uses seasonal Georgia fruit rather than only green papaya, and Niyomkun said they didn’t skimp on fish sauce. For the Crying Tiger dish, Predawan said they deconstructed nam tok beef varieties from northeast and central Thailand to combine it into something that incorporates ingredients from both regions: chile flakes from the northeast, and cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh herbs and chile jams from the central zone.
Another gab glaam Niyomkun is excited for is young green jackfruit dip that comes with roasted garlic, grape tomato, herbs, vegetables and tofu skin. There’s also Isaan pork jowl, a favored cut of meat served with beet-stained rice noodles and galangal jaew, a dipping sauce; and wok of greens that will feature a rotating selection of seasonal greens with whipped garlic confit and fermented soy bean.
Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger
Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger
“We tried to introduce another part of Thai food that (has) so much more to offer,” Predawan said.
When Tipsy Thaiger opens at the end of August (the exact date has not been announced), it will operate 5-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and Sundays, and 5-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays.
605 Atlanta St., Roswell. tipsythaiger.com
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
