Winner of Oakland Press Best of the Best awards for the past 5 years in a row, including 2016. Bangkok Cuisine has made a name for itself with its take on the exotic flavors of authentic Thai cooking. But don't let the press fool you: the crew has been at it for more than 30 years.

Master chefs—one of whom schooled newscasters about noodles on Fox 2 Cooking School—blend fresh herbs, veggies, and meats into creative dishes. Snow peas, shrimp, napa cabbage, and scallops sizzle in woks over the stove. Catfish fillets marinate before chefs cover them in breading and garlic sauce, and shrimp, scallops, and squid evoke Thailand’s palm-tree-sprinkled coast. Chefs tailor each dish’s spiciness to individual palates, delighting daring diners with Thai peppers hotter than a fully-suited astronaut in a sauna. Fusion dishes include Chinese staples such as sweet-and-sour sauce.