Jo's Modern Thai

Intu-On Kornnawong opened Jo's Modern Thai on MacArthur Boulevard in 2021, cooking the drinking food of Thailand's Issan region for an Oakland crowd. She earned the room a Michelin Bib Gourmand and then left in late 2024; owner Kao Saelee, who named the place for his wife Jo, has kept the kitchen on its line. The signature is drunken noodles built on smoked brisket, and most tables order it before they read the rest of the menu.

The Kitchen

Kornnawong trained at the International Culinary Center in San Francisco and worked the line at Michelin-starred Kin Khao and the Californian rooms Outerlands and The Range before opening her own place. Her cooking comes out of Issan, the country's north-east, where the food turns on fermentation, chilli, lime and grilled meat rather than coconut-milk curries. At Jo's that reads as bold, sour seasoning over careful technique.

The dish that made the room is the drunken noodles, or pad kee mao: wide rice noodles wok-fried hard with Thai basil, green peppercorn and smoked barbecue brisket, listed at $27 and large enough to split. The pork burger, seasoned with the toasted rice and herbs of a northern laab, is the other order regulars repeat. Produce comes from small growers such as Radical Family Farms, and the menu is built to be eaten family-style across the table. The address is 3725 MacArthur Boulevard, in the Laurel district, and the Michelin Bib Gourmand the room won after opening in 2021 still does its work on the door. Kao Saelee runs the floor and the pass now, and the cooking has held its standard through the change.

The Room

The room is small and informal, a single bright storefront with hard surfaces that let sound build; at a full Friday service the noise sits at a steady roar rather than a hum. Lighting is plain and functional, not candlelit. Tables are close together and mostly two- and four-tops, with a short counter, and the room seats around forty. There is no dress code, so you will see jeans, work clothes and the odd date outfit at the same time. Service is quick and warm, and the kitchen sends plates as they are ready, landing them in the centre of the table to be shared.

Best for Team Dinner

Book Jo's for a team dinner because the format does the work. The food arrives family-style and meant for sharing, so a table of six splits drunken noodles, the pork burger, green papaya salad and a few drinking snacks without anyone studying a menu. The volume is high enough that a loud table feels normal rather than rude. The bill stays sensible for a group, since most plates run between $14 and $27. Picture eight people, a stack of shared dishes down the centre, a round of Singha, and the brisket noodles going round twice. For more group rooms, see our guide to team dinners.

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