{"id":415297,"date":"2026-07-28T15:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/415297\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T15:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:31:11","slug":"one-of-the-east-bays-best-lao-restaurants-is-reopening-in-albany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/415297\/","title":{"rendered":"One of the East Bay\u2019s Best Lao Restaurants Is Reopening in Albany"},"content":{"rendered":"

Souk Savanh is bringing its Lao sausage, rice ball salad and budget-priced rice plates to San Pablo Avenue.<\/p>\n

\"Lao<\/p>\n

Souk Savanh’s nam khao, or crispy rice ball salad, served at the Lao restaurant’s short-lived downtown Oakland location. The restaurant will reopen in Albany later this summer. \u00a0(Luke Tsai\/KQED)<\/p>\n

The first time I ate Souk Savanh\u2019s soulful, funk-forward kao soy noodle soup and outrageously crunchy rice ball salad in East Oakland, I immediately crowned the restaurant<\/a> one of my favorite Lao spots in the Bay Area. The under-radar-spot closed in 2016, seemingly for good, but then reemerged 10 years later in downtown Oakland, where it briefly served some of the tastiest $10 rice plates in town<\/a> \u2014 only to close again<\/a> after just a couple of months.<\/p>\n

The restaurant has simultaneously been one of the best and most elusive Lao food businesses that I\u2019ve encountered in the Bay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, husband-and-wife owners Tea Chaiyasith and Nai Sailee are hoping they\u2019ve found a long-term home for their business. Souk Savanh 2.0<\/a> \u2014 technically 3.0? \u2014 will open in Albany as early as next month, in the space previously occupied by the Match Point Brewing taproom at 745 San Pablo Ave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like the most recent Oakland incarnation of the restaurant, the new Souk Savanh will be a fast-casual, counter-service spot, with a focus on budget-friendly rice and noodle plates starting at $10 a pop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make our food very tasty and affordable for the community,\u201d Chaiyasith says, \u201cbecause not everyone can afford a $20 meal every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StickyThe $10 Lao sausage plate at the newly opened Souk Savanh 2.0\u2019s previous incarnation in Oakland.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the couple stayed active in the food and beverage industry during Souk Savanh\u2019s 10-year hiatus. Chaiyasith ran a Rockin\u2019 Crawfish franchise in Sacramento for about a year, after which he and Sailee opened End Zone, a bar in Oakland that evolved into a nightclub called Everything But Hugs & Kisses \u2014 and, eventually, the first short-lived reboot of Souk Savanh.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Chaiyasith, the main problem was that the landlord in Oakland kept raising the rent. The new Albany location was appealing in part because it\u2019s much closer to Chaiyasith and Sailee\u2019s home in Richmond, where for the past two years they\u2019ve also built up a customer base through their pop-up, Pai\u2019s Eatery<\/a> (named after the first initials of their children, Princeton, Ava and Ivy), which is open twice a week at The Lot street food market<\/a>. The plan, Chaiyasith says, is to continue those pop-ups even after the new restaurant opens.<\/p>\n

\"AnPai\u2019s Eatery pops up at The Lot in Richmond on Tuesdays and Thursdays.<\/p>\n

Souk Savanh 2.0<\/a> will open at 745 San Pablo Ave. in Albany in the coming weeks \u2014 hopefully no later than the end of August, the owners say. Hours are TBD, but Chaiyasith says he plans to open for dinner six days a week and serve lunch on days when the Pai\u2019s Eatery pop-up isn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n