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‘I feel like we are home’: Sense of Thai opens in Bethesda’s Westbard Square

Restaurant is sister to Dok Khao in Chevy Chase, Thai At Silver Spring June 5, 2026 11:46 a.m. 11:47 a.m. Sense of Thai, a modern restaurant offering authentic Southern Thai flavors, is now open in Bethesda’s Westbard Square neighborhood. The...

Dan Murphy • •4 min read
‘I feel like we are home’: Sense of Thai opens in Bethesda’s Westbard Square
Food & Drink

‘I feel like we are home’: Sense of Thai opens in Bethesda’s Westbard Square

Restaurant is sister to Dok Khao in Chevy Chase, Thai At Silver Spring

By

Elia Griffin

June 5, 2026 11:46 a.m. | Updated: June 5, 2026 11:47 a.m.

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    Sense of Thai is located at 5314 Zenith Overlook in the Westbard Square development in Bethesda. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

    Sense of Thai, a modern restaurant offering authentic Southern Thai flavors, is now open in Bethesda’s Westbard Square neighborhood.

    The restaurant at 5314 Zenith Overlook in Bethesda is a concept from the Pattana Restaurant Group, which owns and operates nearly a dozen Thai restaurants across Maryland and Virginia.

    Standing outside of the restaurant Thursday afternoon, Porntipa “Chef Pat” Pattanamekar, co-founder of the restaurant group, told Bethesda Today that she was excited about the opening, especially because the location has been in the works for more than a year.

    She noted that construction issues during the build-out of the restaurant caused a cascade of delays. What motivated her to keep pushing were the passersby who stopped by the Westbard Square restaurant to ask about the opening and express their excitement.

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    “I feel like we are home,” Pattanamekar said.

    • A peacock decoration, handmade in Thailand, sits behind the bar at Sense of Thai. Photo credit: Elia Griffin
    • Metal, tree-like structure is central to the restaurant, which offers a variety of table, booth and high-top seating. Photo credit: Elia Griffin
    • The bar at Sense of Thai in Westbard Square. Photo credit: Elia Griffin
    • Porntipa “Chef Pat” Pattanamekar in her latest restaurant, Sense of Thai in Bethesda during soft opening week. Photo credit: Elia Griffin
    • Wallpaper at Sense of Thai depicts Thai history. Photo credit: Elia Griffin

    Sense of Thai is Pattanamekar’s third Thai restaurant in Montgomery County. Her restaurant group also operates Dok Khao in Chevy Chase, which opened in August, and Thai At Silver Spring, which opened in downtown Silver Spring about 25 years ago, she said.

    At Sense of Thai, Pattanamekar aims to stimulate the five senses of diners. She said she chose to have an open kitchen concept in the restaurant to give patrons a view into the cooking process and connect them with the aromas of Thai cuisine and lively discussions in the kitchen.

    The restaurant offers typical Thai dishes such as pad Thai, Tom Yum soup, chicken satay and curries as well as signature dishes including short rib massaman curry; Phuket chili crab, a crispy soft shell crab dish; and lotus leaf rice, an appetizer dish consisting of pork sausage, gingko seed, chicken, shrimp, egg and truffle oil wrapped in a lotus leaf.

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    Pattanamekar told Bethesda Today that she wanted to challenge herself with the menu at Sense of Thai and deliver dishes that can’t be found at her other restaurants.

    The 4,200-square-foot restaurant offers a variety of dining options, from table seating and booths to high-top tables and seating at the 20-seat bar. There is also an outdoor dining patio.

    Throughout the restaurant are decorations handmade in Thailand, according to Pattanamekar, including a central brass-colored, metal tree-like structure set with warm-toned lights and a gold-mirrored peacock that sits behind the bar.

    Pattanamekar is particularly proud of the wallpaper throughout the space, which she said is decorated with images that resemble Thailand’s history.

    “I want to bring the culture, not just the food,” Pattanamekar said.

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    Before the June 1 opening, following Thai tradition, the restaurant hosted a blessing ceremony to prepare for the opening, according to a video posted to social media. Buddhist monks came to the restaurant to offer their blessings.

    Sense of Thai is in soft opening mode, according to Pattanamekar. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

    In about a month, the restaurant is expected to host a grand opening event, she said.

    “We want to make sure all my new team can deliver my DNA, my flavor to the neighborhood,” she said.

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    Originally published at Bethesdamagazine