A new Thai restaurant has opened in Alexandria’s Oakville development, between Potomac Yard and Del Ray.
Dok Khao Thai Eatery is currently in a soft opening at 2514 Richmond Highway with an all-day, Thai street food-inspired menu with more than a dozen specials from owner and chef Porntipa Pattanamekar, also known as “Chef Pat.” The restaurant includes an all-day menu and full-service bar, with space for about 100 guests.
Signature dishes at the new eatery include a crispy batter-fried duck in spicy basil sauce and a “volcano seafood” with shrimp, scallops, New Zealand mussels, squid and crab meat in a spicy sauce. These are joined by roasted duck in a spicy red coconut curry with lychee, and a braised lamb massaman curry.
The restaurant’s wide-ranging menu includes appetizers like fried chive cakes and spicy-sweet fried tofu wings, along with several entrées, soups, salads, curries and staple rice noodle dishes.
“We offer you a chance to experience the sense of Thai food which, until now, could only be found in the endless and sleepless streets of Thailand,” the restaurant’s website says. “Here, you’ll discover rustic, vibrant, tasty and fun food that reflects our culture in every bite.”
The restaurant is currently offering seasonal cherry blossom-themed specials through mid-April, including the Lychee Lantern cocktail — “a tropical blend of rum, lychee, strawberry, lime, orange & pineapple.”
Pattanamekar hopes guests feel at home in the new restaurant, which is part of the regional Pattana Restaurant Group.
“I want people come and try and visit my ‘house,'” she told ALXnow. “I want my kitchen to be their second kitchen.”
Outdoor patio dining is expected later this summer.
Dok Khao Thai Eatery is open in Alexandria from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday through Saturday. Validated parking is available in the nearby garage at 2575 Oakville Street.
This is Dok Khao’s fourth location in the region, in addition to restaurants in Woodbridge, Chevy Chase, Md. and Columbia, Md. A fifth restaurant is also underway in Falls Church.
The redevelopment of Oakville at Richmond Highway and Swann Avenue, which kicked off in 2021, includes a mix of apartments, townhouses, an Inova HealthPlex, Founding Farmers and N&J Nails salon.
