Charm Thai Kitchen opens in Rancho Bernardo
By Emily Sorensen
Take a culinary adventure with Charm Thai Kitchen, a new Thai restaurant in Rancho Bernardo.
Charm Thai Kitchen, at 11625 Duenda Road, opened on July 2, and Krit Sritong, the owner, has been enjoying the experience. “We’re new, and we want to serve the community,” said Sritong. “We’re open daily, so stop by.”
Sritong runs the restaurant with his girlfriend, Bo Sirikhajohndejgakal, and his mother, Kathy, is the head chef. “It’s a family business,” said Sritong.
Sritong previously worked for five years in a popular Thai restaurant in San Diego, before deciding to open Charm Thai Kitchen. “I thought it was time for us to open our own,” said Sritong. His entire family works in the restaurant industry.
The decision to open Charm Thai Kitchen in Rancho Bernardo is an effort to help expand Thai food into North County. “There aren’t all that many Thai restaurants in North County,” said Sritong. “We thought it was a great idea to bring Thai food to the area.”
Sritong went modern in the design of his restaurant. “It’s very modern,” said Sritong. “I didn’t want to stick to the classical Thai restaurant style. I wanted it to be a cozy experience.”
The restaurant features indoor and bar seating, as well as outdoor, dog-friendly patio seating.
Sritong described Charm Thai Kitchen’s food as “Thai fusion,” and in keeping with the theme, features a number of on-tap beers, including Stone IPA, Ballast Point Sculpin, Red Trolley and Pizza Port. Charm Thai Kitchen also has Singha, a Thai beer, on tap. “Thai restaurants usually have wine instead of beer,” said Sritong. “But I like drinking beer, and San Diego is becoming a big brewing town, so I decided to focus on tap beer instead.” Charm Thai Kitchen does offer a variety of wines as well.
Whether you’re a frequent visitor to Thai restaurants or completely new to the cuisine, Charm Thai Kitchen’s varied menu has something for everyone.
“I’d recommend our curries, and noodles like our Pad Thai, for someone who is new to Thai food,” said Sritong. Some popular dishes at the restaurant include Som Dtum, a green papaya salad; Gapraou, a Thai basil stir fry; the mango curry; the Thai steak and the barbecued chicken. “The barbecued chicken is my mother’s recipe,” said Sritong.
Charm Thai Kitchen also has a weekday lunch special that includes an entree, a pot sticker and a side salad. Prices vary depending on the protein chosen for your entree, from $6.95 for vegetables or tofu, to $9.95 for fish or seafood. Other proteins available are chicken, pork, beef, shrimp and calamari.
Charm Thai Kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, call 858-798-5126 or visit
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