North Coast Highway 101 is getting a serious flavor boost. Coast Thai-Way, a new Lao-Thai restaurant from Stella Bayphouthongkham, is slated to land in Leucadia by early summer 2026. The cozy spot will lean into a seaside take on Southeast Asian cooking, spotlighting seafood and Lao family recipes reworked for the coast. It will be Bayphouthongkham's second restaurant after Mekong on Convoy Street.
What’s On the Menu
Coast Thai-Way is planning a lineup that balances comfort-food classics with deeper cuts from the Lao playbook. Diners can expect familiar favorites like pad thai and a range of curries alongside Lao dishes such as nam khao tod and khao soi, plus a Thai beef noodle soup that may skip the traditional pork blood.
The kitchen will cook with non-GMO avocado seed oil and favor organic, seasonal produce, pasture-raised chicken, and grass-fed or grass-finished beef, with the menu tilting heavily toward seafood to match the coastal address. Soft openings are scheduled to run Wednesday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (closed Tuesdays), according to San Diego Magazine.
From Convoy To Coast Highway
Bayphouthongkham is part of the team behind Mekong Cuisine Lao & Thai on Convoy, where a recent expansion and menu refresh signaled a growing focus on natural wine and regional Lao specialties. Eater San Diego has chronicled Mekong's evolution, while the restaurant's own site digs into the family recipes that are now inspiring Coast Thai-Way's coastal menu.
Where It’s Moving In
The new restaurant will take over the Shatto Building space on the 101 that most recently housed the second iteration of A Little Moore Café. That café went dark following a disputed reopening and subsequent legal fallout, leaving behind a turnkey restaurant space. The Coast News reported on the closure and the lingering vacancy that Coast Thai-Way will now fill.
Why It Matters
Lao Americans have been part of San Diego's cultural fabric since the mid-1970s, with local groups working to keep language, dance, and food traditions alive. The Alliance for California Traditional Arts highlights the Lao Community Cultural Center's role in that effort. Bayphouthongkham told San Diego Magazine she hopes Coast Thai-Way will introduce more locals to Lao dishes, pairing them with natural wines and matcha in a laid-back beachside setting.
