Acclaimed Bay Area Thai Chef Behind New Restaurant Coming to Carlsbad

Torsap Thai Kitchen, a high-end Thai restaurant hailing from Walnut Creek, California, is expanding to Carlsbad where it’s due to open by May 2022 at the Square at Bressi Ranch. Its executive chef, Lalita Souksamlane, is well-known in San Francisco where she’s opened the first of her go-to Thai spot OSHA Thai over 25 years ago; in 2016, Souksamlane also partnered to launch a Laotian restaurant called Lao Table in the city’s SoMa district.

Her extensive menu for Torsap Thai features some of OSHA Thai’s original dishes, including Volcanic Beef — wok-fried flank steak with Thai basil, onion rings, bell pepper, and “lava” sauce — as well as Lao-style pork sausage, stick rice salad, lobster pad thai, khao soi, pumpkin curry, and a 50-ounce tomahawk steak served with Isaan chili sauce.

Owner Wendy Torsap Sanchez worked with Mike Spilky of Location Matters on a 10-year lease of the 3,990-square-foot restaurant space, which includes an outdoor patio. Sanchez is opening another Torsap Thai in Hawaii later this year, after which a rep for the restaurant says they’ll be exploring more expansion in San Diego.

• All Coming Attractions Coverage on Eater [ESD]