Chef Wipada Rattanapun & Arkaranit Dusitnitsakul — West Portal, San Francisco.
“We didn’t open a restaurant. We opened our home — and invited San Francisco to the table.”
— Chef Wipada Rattanapun & Arkaranit Dusitnitsakul
Khao Tiew’s story begins not in a restaurant kitchen, but on a street corner. During the pandemic, Chef Wipada Rattanapun and her partner Arkaranit Dusitnitsakul launched Sowl Bowls — a street food stand built on resilience, community, and the bold flavors of Thai cuisine.
What started as a humble operation quickly earned a devoted following. Guests kept coming back not just for the food, but for the feeling — the warmth, the generosity, the sense that every dish had been made with care and intention.
Chef Wipada’s relationship with Thai cuisine runs deeper than professional training. It is woven into her earliest memories — the fragrant steam of her grandmother’s kitchen, the complex spice profiles that took decades to master, the rituals around food that Thai families have honored for generations.
Every dish on the Khao Tiew menu carries that lineage. The Khao Soi, the Pad Thai Bolan, the Duck Breast Panang Curry — each rooted in tradition, elevated through Chef Wipada’s refined technique and California sensibility.
When the time came to find a permanent home, West Portal felt right immediately. Nestled near the historic West Portal Theatre, the neighborhood offers exactly the warm, walkable, community-driven energy that Khao Tiew was built around.
Inside, the restaurant is decorated with vintage Thai cinema posters and mid-century Thai advertisements — a quiet nod to the visual culture that shaped Chef Wipada’s youth. The atmosphere is intentional: vibrant but grounded, bold yet inviting, distinctly Thai and undeniably San Franciscan.
At Khao Tiew, we believe great food is an act of generosity. We source fresh, quality ingredients, cook with care, and serve with the kind of hospitality that makes guests feel genuinely welcomed — not merely served.
Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a longtime regular, our goal is the same: give you a meal worth remembering.
Locally sourced, carefully chosen for every dish.
Authentic Thai spice profiles, never watered down.
Every guest treated like family, every single visit.