Bangkok Belly: Bringing Thai Skewers, Salads, and Spirits to Portland

A new Thai restaurant is opening on SE Belmont Street called Bangkok Belly. They’re setting up shop in what was most recently the home to Daily Fuel (they closed this past summer), but I remember it more as the location of Suzette, whose crepes I still miss.

I spoke with Kat Thirakomen, who owns Bangkok Belly with her husband David Fiske, about their plans for the restaurant. Here is what I learned.

Kat and David’s Story

As I mentioned above, Kat and David are the owners of Bangkok Belly. Kat is originally from Bangkok, but she had spent some time in Portland in 2014. However, it wasn’t until she was back in Thailand that she and David met. “We met in Bangkok and I came for grad school here,” she explained. “And then through COVID, we were living in Thailand. So it’s been a little bit of a back and forth.”

“We lived in Thailand together for almost 10 years,” Kat explained. “And we moved back to Portland, where David is from, three years ago to be closer to family. I was doing part-time with my work back home for a while, and then we decided to do this [restaurant] together.” Her work was in the corporate social responsibility and sustainability department of her previous company.

She continued, “When he needed to move back here, I thought, ‘Yeah! Portland is a great city—lots of trees, no traffic.’ And there seems to be a Thai community here, too.” She and David both hope the restaurant will be a good way to connect to and get to know more people in the local Thai community.

Why They Named it Bangkok Belly

Bangkok Belly got its name becuase they lived in Bangkok together for that decade. And they have many dishes that they like to eat from Thailand. “We think of them as our comforting food—comforting in your belly,” Kat explained. They also liked the alliteration of the B and B in “Bangkok Belly.” Taking all of this into account, it sounded like a good name to them.

She added, “Bangkok is kind of like the belly of Thailand, too. It’s a melting pot of culture, with all types of food from all around the country.”

Time in Hospitality 


Kat and David are first-time restaurant owners, but Kat’s family has operated restaurants in Thailand. Her familiarity with the restaurant world helped boost their confidence in starting their own spot here in Portland. And she had worked in restaurants little bit growing up,

And over the years, she found she was also drawn to the management side of things (HR) and the sustainability side (CSR) of business. So Kat will be able to bring her experience with those elements to their restaurant.

Finding the Bangkok Belly Space

They feel like they were fortunate in finding this space. “This space kind of came to us,” she said. “We found that it was available, and the location was great, of course. And it’s in a really cool 100-year old building.”

It used to be a pantorium—a laundromat for drapes. “It’s an old building with a vaulted ceiling,” she said. “We went in there and we really liked it. And the space is small enough that we think we can operate it successfully—it will be less than 25 seats.”

She continued, “And so we thought it would be a cool, doable, intimate space in a great neighborhood, with a lot of good restaurants already there—and bars. And HMart is already there, too!”

The Bangkok Belly Interior and Layout

I wondered if they were planning to change much about the interior—design-wise and construction. “We’re keeping the same layout,” Kate explained. “If you remember, it’s a straight narrow shot down. The kitchen is on one side and the seating is on the other side.”

She continued, “We’re working with our friend who’s an interior designer, just to make it a little bit more like our style. I describe it as eclectic—colorful, with some vintage pieces that we shopped for, as well as some new pieces. It’ll be a mix—it won’t be a super Thai-themed style.” An example of the mix they are aiming for: They found their light fixtures at Hippo Hardware, which will be in the same room with some art pieces they brought back from Thailand.

Food

As for the food they will serve, it will not be devoted to one particular region of Thailand. It will be a smaller, limited-focus menu—about 15 items on it, made from scratch.

“Our concept is more like the dishes that we miss from home,” said Kat. “So we’re not regionally-focused, but it’s all the dishes that we still think about. We’ll try to recreate the flavors that feel like home to us and that we want to eat, ourselves.”

The concept is going to be focused around skewers and salads—their tagline is “skewers, salads, and spirits. “So in Bangkok, there are like a lot of skewers being sold as street food,” explained Kat. “Like moo ping, which is grilled meat that is marinated—and also satay. So we will be having those charred skewers on a grill, as well as some weekend options on the skewers, too,” Vegans, they plan to offer skewers using tofu and possibly mushrooms.

To grill the skewers they are putting in an infrared grill. There is already a hood in the space, which is definitely a plus.

“And then to go with that, we will have like some Thai salads—some Thai yums. Something with some crunch, and bold flavors to go with the skewer options, as well as maybe one or two curries.

Speaking of curries, they plan to make their own curry paste from scratch, which they think people will notice. They plan to have a yellow curry, which Kat says is more of a southern Thai style. “And we’re still thinking about another curry as well, maybe a red curry.”

Drinks

As for the “spirits” side of the menu, Kat says, “We plan to have a few Thai-inspired cocktails that would pair well with their skewers and salads.” They will also have some NA options, including NA cocktails.

Menu Favorites

“Do I have a favorite thing on the menu?” Kat mused. “So many things! Of course, I like the moo ping. It would be one of the highlights. I grew up eating it, kind of like an after school thing. And then dipping in with the jaew sauce.” She also mentioned she’ll be looking forward to some of the salads they are putting together.

When Bangkok Belly Will Open

Kat tells me they are aiming for sometime this month. They’ll start by being open four days a week—Thursday to Sunday—and slowly build up from there. They’ll have early evening opening hours of 4pm or 5pm, closing close to 9pm. Lunch will come later.

Wishing Kat and David all the best as they get Bangkok Belly ready to open!

Bangkok Belly [opening October 2025]
3342 SE Belmont Street, Portland
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