Chada Thai & Wine Starts Wowing Tonight

3400 S. Jones Blvd.
Phone: 702-641-1345
Status: Opens at 5 p.m.

The day has finally come when Bank Atcharawan opens his highly anticipated Chada Thai & Wine in Chinatown.

The former sommelier of Lotus of Siam won't have his liquor license when the restaurant opens, so the 150 to 170 wines that skew toward Rieslings and global whites won't be available. While Atcharawan hopes to have it within two weeks, the restaurant is BYO in the meantime.

Look for Southern Thai dishes that can't be found anywhere else in town on the 50-item menu with prices in the $10 range. Many are meant to be shared much like tapas, so expect to order several to get a grasp of the menu that features mild, medium and hot dishes.

And no pad Thai here. This is authentic Thai cuisine with offal, a crispy sardine salad, spare ribs soup, crab meat and ginger wraps and Thai-style shrimp cakes. Must-order dishes include a grilled salt-crusted tilapia served whole with a cilantro-lime chile sauce inside and a crabmeat curry with three swirls of Vietnamese noodles.

All is tucked inside a 45-seat restaurant decked out in grays and dark woods with touches of burgundy. Black banquettes line the tables. Framed wine labels line the walls and a tease of the wines fills out the back rack.

Don't feel a need to rush in right when it opens. Atcharawan plans to be open until 3 a.m. seven nights a week, making it a natural go-to spot for chefs and the late-night crowd.
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