Outside the picture windows, folks stroll the boardwalk eating ice cream and cast for rockfish from the public pier. Inside the airy, minimalist loft, white-gloved servers present lemongrass-scented hand towels with gold tongs — the luxe prelude to a 13-course tasting menu of exquisitely plated dishes traditionally reserved for kings and queens. Baan Lao is a revelation — unexpected in Steveston Village, a charming tourist enclave better known for fish and chips, but even more so because chef-owner Nutcha Phanthoupheng, a former nurse and cancer researcher, applies such astonishing finesse to the rarefied canons of Royal Thai cuisine. Trained in Bangkok but never a professional chef before opening the 20-seat restaurant in 2021, she delivers a menu as meticulous as it is transporting. It begins with a cascade of small bites, including wild pepper leaf and tamarind wraps in tiny boxes carved from carrots; coconut mousse and Dungeness crab in rice cups capped with caviar; a palate-awakening tart filled with spicy catfish and sour mango. To follow, there is bright and creamy galangal soup poured over truffle pearls; Miyazaki A5 wagyu served over smoking binchō-tan with nam jim jaew for dipping; and lobster in a sensational tom yum reduction. Wine pairings — premium and private collection — are curated by master sommelier Pier-Alexis Soulière. More than a meal, this is a cultural immersion where every guest is treated like royalty.

Amazing CREATIVITY and craftsmanship. EXTRAORDINARY cuisine. Nestor Forster