On a quiet stretch of Thornhill Drive along the border of Oakland's Montclair and Merriewood neighborhoods, a gray stucco standalone building that once housed a catering kitchen has become one of the East Bay's most ambitious Thai dining rooms. Payakk serves upscale Thai food including dishes inspired by the royal family, built around a rotating seasonal menu that draws from different regions of Thailand, and it has quietly become a destination since opening in fall 2025.
From a Catering Kitchen to a Royal Thai Dining Room
Before Chef Nattaporn Pinpech took over the space at 5761 Thornhill Drive, the standalone building operated as Little Kitchen under Jessica Lasky Catering, according to Payakk. The transition from commercial catering space to full-service supper club mirrors the broader arc of Pinpech's own career, as reported by The Oaklandside. Pinpech, who also goes by Chef Tobb, grew up in Phichit in lower northern Thailand and worked in architecture and advertising before shifting careers into culinary arts, per a report from SFGATE.
Her training runs deep: the station's report notes she studied at two cooking schools in Bangkok and holds a pastry chef credential from Osaka, Japan. That cross-disciplinary background shows up on the plate. Pinpech told the outlet that traditional recipes are adapted to seasonal Bay Area ingredients, a philosophy that runs through Payakk's current menu, which covers the period from August to November.
Southern Thai Flavors Meet Sonoma Duck and Tomales Beef
The signature dish is Pad Thai Chaiya, a $38 Southern Thai-style plate built on a coconut milk broth with shrimp fat, chile paste, shrimp, tamarind sauce, palm sugar, fish sauce and rice noodles. Other large plates, priced between $27 and $46, include a $35 keang som fried white seabass and a $37 roasted sirloin nam prik num. Regional variation is central to the concept; the same reporting from the Oaklandside explains that Northern Thailand favors milder mountain curries, while Southern Thailand leans into spicy, turmeric-rich coastal seafood dishes and distinct nam prik chile pastes.
Payakk pairs those regional traditions with deliberate, science-driven sourcing. The restaurant selects duck from Sonoma County's Liberty Duck because controlled raising methods help regulate hormone levels and reduce gamey odors. The restaurant's site describes Pinpech's approach as blending Thai cuisine methods with pastry. Beef comes from Stemple Creek Ranch in Tomales, seafood is sourced from Monterey, Bodega Bay and San Francisco, and the tofu comes from Hodo Soy in Oakland. Pinpech visited Hodo Soy's factory, where she learned from the Hodo team before developing a tofu custard, according to Payakk's site.
A Space Built by Thai Artisans, Set to Vinyl
The restaurant's interior was designed by Pinpech's husband, Yong Pinpech, and its centerpiece wooden bar counter was hand-crafted by Tle, a Thai architect and artisan from Khon Kaen University whose family comes from a lineage of traditional carpenters in northeast Thailand, per Payakk. That craftsmanship extends into the restaurant's atmosphere: Payakk hosts a listening party every other Friday night, with Yong Pinpech spinning vinyl records as part of an ambiance SFGATE describes as an intimate Thai supper club complete with occasional contemporary dance performances and lo-fi ambient music composed by Pinpech herself. Wines on offer come from Carboniste, Folk Machine and Broc Cellars.
The restaurant's name carries its own story. Payakk means great tiger in Thai and is named after Pinpech's 16-year-old daughter, who was born in the Year of the Tiger. Pinpech has said Payakk reflects her and her husband's journey together, a sentiment that also echoes in the name of her first restaurant, Secrets of Tiger, which opened in Emeryville in 2023.
Building on a Fast-Casual Foundation in Emeryville
Secrets of Tiger, located at 6520 Hollis Street in Emeryville, serves simple, quick Thai street food including Pad Thai Chaiya. That original spot grounds the geographic relationship between Pinpech's street-food Emeryville venture and her upscale Oakland hills supper club, giving her a foothold on both ends of the East Bay's Thai dining spectrum.
Payakk enters a hillside dining scene that already has an established Thai anchor nearby: Daughter Thai Kitchen, at 6118 Medau Place in neighboring Montclair Village, specializes in Southern Thai comfort food and street dishes as part of the regional Farmhouse Kitchen restaurant group. Hoodline has tracked the East Bay hills appetite for upscale Thai concepts since Farmhouse Thai's 2016 expansion into Montclair.
Payakk's menu also draws on a much older culinary lineage. Royal Thai cuisine is refined, balanced and meticulously prepared, and was historically served in palaces, according to the Michelin Guide. Payakk is open Thursday through Monday from 5 to 9 p.m. at 5761 Thornhill Drive.
