How Tipsy Thaiger Became a Thai-Atlantan Tribute to Two Identities

Kinship and connection was the spark.

The spark that led to the creation of Tipsy Thaiger came from a shared realization that there wasn’t a Thai restaurant that fully captured the kind of experience and flavors that the co-founders craved.

“Candi and Phudith were friends in college, and I met Phudith eight years when I was working with his sister at 26 Thai,” Niyomkun says of her now-fiancé. “We’ve all had experience in the restaurant industry at Thai restaurants, but what’s connected us is a shared love for food, which has ultimately brought us back together to create this venture.”

Essentially, while there are plenty of great formal dinner dishes on Thai restaurant menus, they realized there weren’t a lot of the dishes they cook and eat at home. Even with the rise of small plates, traditional family-style shared plate dining is a less common way to eat than the western single-entrée model.

Then there’s the element of “drinking food” – the type of things they’d want to eat on a night out. With that, “We’re more casual … we go to papaya salad stalls, we get salad with grilled meats; when on vacation with family, it’s more fried fish and coastal dishes you don’t see a lot of in Thai restaurants right now,” she explains. These are the missing elements Tipsy Thaiger is set to offer Roswell Square.

The owners are bound by their Thai roots and love of Atlanta.

“I was born in Phuket, which is in the south, but grew up in the north near Chiang Mai,” Niyomkun shares. Pattharakositkul hails from the capital and has been based in Atlanta since high school, while Lee was born in Atlanta. The fact that the city is the only city in the States they’ve all ever lived in has influenced their partnership as much as their shared heritage. So even as Tipsy Thaiger was conceived as a recreation of a certain Thai experience, the space is also an ode to Atlanta.

“When we came across this beautiful space in Roswell Square and saw the historic brick wall inside, we instantly felt ‘it.’ We knew this was the perfect place to bring our vision to life,” she recalls. Even as they worked with local artist Yokiz on a contemporary mural inspired by traditional Thai temple paintings, they labored to protect the significance of the building that dates back to 1854.

Niyomkun and her co-founders are proud to have maintained many original features, noting that the exposed brick wall in the main dining room and wooden ceiling beams add character and warmth to the space. Meanwhile, the building’s historic façade has been thoughtfully preserved with support from the Roswell Historical Society and the City of Roswell, helping the restaurant to honor the legacy of the neighborhood they’ve settled in.

Lee, whose secondary title at Tipsy Thaiger is People Director, also mentions the restaurant’s spacious patio, where 12-15 tables are located. “It’s an ideal place for guests to relax and enjoy the outdoors,” she says. “We can already picture the community stopping by with family and even their four-legged friends to unwind over great food and drinks.” Plus, with ample free self-parking, they’ll be more than welcome to linger.

Expect culture-blending cocktails.

As beloved as menu staples like pad thai are, you won’t find that on the food menu here (“We want them to try other dishes,” Niyomkun offers). But you will find it as a highball at this cocktail-forward (hence the “tipsy”) newcomer that will feature plenty of savory and Thai-accented takes on classic drinks. For example, their version of an Old Fashioned highlights an important ingredient used in the cuisine of Thailand’s northeast: roasted rice flour, incorporated to imbue the cocktail with a distinct aroma.

Espresso martini enthusiasts should look for the spiked Thai coffee, Kafe Yen, styled after the kind served in southern Thailand and made with aged rum and finished with an evaporated milk float. A pandan gin and tonic is also on the menu, along with a green curry sour and what Niyomkun calls “interesting wines – organic and low-intervention wines from smaller producers.”

The menu is their own take on Thai-Atlantan cooking.

Authenticity means something different to everyone, and what the trio is seeking to share here is the feeling of entertaining friends and family in Thailand while being rooted in Roswell. For that reason, the menu mostly focuses on gab-glaam (drinking food: bold flavors that pair well with alcohol; dishes that are salty, spicy, tangy, often fried or grilled) and gab-kao (supper food: heartier, communal dining dishes served with rice).

Because of that, there’s very little on the menu that isn’t personal. Many of the recipes are family home recipes, tweaked until all three agree that the dish channels the right feeling. Niyomkum laughs, “I would call my [parents] and ask, what do you put in this or that? And get no measurements,” despite the fact that her father once ran a noodle shop in Phuket.

Bringing rigor and finesse to these family recipes are chefs Ao Ngammuang (who has a wealth of experience in Chiang Mai restaurants) and Belle Preedawan, whose experience cooking Thai cuisine in the U.S. keeps the menu approachable. “Their creativity and deep knowledge of Thai cuisine has helped us bridge tradition with a fresh perspective,” Niyomkun enthuses. So while they’re proud to showcase regional Thai dishes like catfish pad ped and Northern laab tartare, we can expect access to seasonal, locally grown greens and multi-cultural — which includes American — perspectives.

This will include a dish of crab fried rice served in the Thai style, topped with a crispy fried egg and a side of prik nam pla (Thai chile fish sauce) enhanced with Old Bay seasoning. The chile jam clams — a Thai-Chinese dish from Pattharakositkul’s family — will be served with grilled local sourdough sourced from the Roswell farmers market, where they also found their Asian produce supplier, Chang Family Farms. Niyomkum’s favorite dish features Gulf shrimp grilled with turmeric, a dish that reminders her of family beach vacations. And Lee’s favors the Crying Tiger steak (sua rong hai/เสือร้องไห้), served with Isaan-style condiments, which are a callback to her grandmother’s Thai-Laotian heritage.

But ultimately, she promises, “the dishes are rooted in real Thai cooking — bold, vibrant, and full of character and flavors — just like you’d find in Thailand.”