Isaan-style cuisine furnished in a casual eatery offering happy hours & outdoor seating Welcome to Sovereign Modern Thai where we celebrate the traditional Isaan style of cooking. Isaan is the north-easternmost region of Thailand which borders Laos and Cambodia. Isaan cooking blends the cuisine of all three countries and is distinctly different from central Thai fare. Isaan cooking focuses on ingredients that are available fresh from local farms and markets and prepared simply.
At Sovereign we bring our love for Isaan cuisine from Thailand to San Diego. We use produce and meat from local farms and seafood from the fishermen just a few blocks away. Our cooking may seem a bit different from much of the Thai food available in the area, but you can be assured that everything is prepared from scratch and from the heart, just like the home cooked meals we grew up with.
Brother and sister team—Uthan Dejcomrunkul and Jumi Pitiwartarlai—have made it their mission to bring the authentic flavors of the Isaan region of Northeastern Thailand to San Diego, and this East Village outpost clearly succeeds. You’ll be hard-pressed to make a wrong choice on the menu, whose small assortment of dishes are each made with unmistakable pride.
Diners might start with spicy fermented pork sausage (nicely paired with a side of purple sticky rice and an ice-cold Singha); then move on to a spin on khao soi, or coconut curry noodles, given extra heft thanks to a crispy leg of duck confit subbing in for the typical chicken. Finish on a sweet note with house-made taro ice cream, served over coconut sticky rice sprinkled with toasted flakes.
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