Meet our fearless leader, Chef Lalita Souksamlane. Renowned California restauranteur, her award-winning Thai cuisine has been a San Francisco staple since the opening of the first Osha Thai restaurant in 1996. Over the past 27 years her empire has expanded to become the Bay Area’s best known name in Thai cuisine, receiving multiple awards and acclaim from food critics. 

On top of owning and operating 2 famous San Francisco restaurants (Osha Thai & Lao Table), Lalita is also the founder of boutique bed and breakfast in Napa Valley, Bann at Oak Knoll. 

A native to Nongkhai in Northeast Thailand, Chef Lalita Souksamlane discovered her passion for cooking at a very young age by helping her father in the kitchen. Unlike traditional Thai families, her father did all of the cooking. He taught her his craft, and inspired her to open her own restaurant someday. Today, she has kept many of her father’s original recipes alive in the dishes at her four establishments; Osha Thai San Francisco, Osha Thai Napa, Lao Table San Francisco, and Bann at Oak Knoll Napa.

Souksamlane moved to San Francisco after completing culinary school in 1995 to pursue her lifelong dream of opening her own Thai restaurant. Just one year later, that dream turned into a reality with the opening of Osha Thai on Geary Street in 1996. Her dream didn’t end there. Over the next few years, Osha Thai expanded to become one of San Francisco’s best known names in Thai cuisine, receiving multiple awards and acclaim from food critics.