Words by Elaine Wu
If you’re looking for a place to grab a plate of bacon, eggs and toast, it isn’t hard to find. But for those craving something a little more outside the breakfast box, Nattacha Lerspreuk is here for you. Taste and Glory, her new brunch spot in San Mateo, has been generating plenty of buzz since it opened in March. Dishes like the “croffle” (croissant waffle) with berries, Thai tea French toast and the popular Thai-inspired tom yum crab scramble can lead to hour-long waits on weekends. “People just walking by were asking about when we were going to open for business, before we were even done with construction,” Nattacha marvels. “On the first day there was a wait. I was really not expecting that.”
A nurse in her native Thailand, Nattacha left her homeland 10 years ago to find a better life in America, settling in the Bay Area four years ago. That’s when she met her now-husband, Thanasit Nanthasitsira, who at the time owned and operated a Thai restaurant in South San Francisco. But after having a baby, they decided to move back to Thailand and try to live a simpler life. They were in for a rude awakening. “Bangkok is a bit crazy these days,” she says. “It’s so hot, there’s so much traffic and there’s just too many people. It was hard to start a new business. So after five months we came back.”
Once they returned to the Bay Area, Nattacha wanted to start a business that would allow her to spend as much time as possible with their daughter, now a toddler. Since she had previous experience running a restaurant, opening an eatery serving only breakfast and lunch became the answer. “When we had a Thai restaurant, the hours were long,” she recalls. “We would have to work all day and late into the night. Having a brunch restaurant close to where we live gives me more time with my family. We start early, but we’re usually done by 3.”
But a greasy spoon diner was never what she envisioned. A foodie herself, Nattacha had strong opinions about what she wanted on the menu. “I offer things that I myself would like to eat,” she declares. “Sometimes people want something different. If you don’t want a traditional American breakfast, we have an udon noodle dish or a basil ribeye with rice dish. And I put drinks on the menu that I like or are really popular right now.”
Beverages like the stunning, blue-hued butterfly pea lychee lemonade, the vibrant purple ube latte and the pink strawberry milk are proving just as popular with customers as the food.
The bright and breezy decor at Taste and Glory is modeled on the modern cafes Nattacha visited in Thailand. “People come in, relax, chill out, order some food, take their time and have conversations. I like that,” she says. “I want people to come back because they’re comfortable here. It’s not just about the food. Everything is important.”
Nattacha’s care in watching over every aspect of her eatery paid off quickly with a loyal following. “I have one customer who comes in three times a week, orders his tom yum scramble for breakfast, and then orders our ribeye dish to-go for his dinner!” she exclaims. “We also have a lot of repeat customers who bring in different friends and family every time.” It’s because of these regulars that she’s planning to add new menu items every few months to keep things fresh.
She also welcomes impromptu discussions about how she can improve. “If someone has left a lot of food on their plate and they don’t want to take the leftovers home, that means something was wrong,” Nattacha says. “I try to ask those customers for feedback.”
Even with Taste and Glory’s early success, Nattacha says she’ll never stop thinking of ways to improve. “My staff tells me I can go home because they’ve got everything taken care of, but I can’t,” she admits. “Someone may forget to decorate the plate with parsley or sprinkle the powdered sugar on the croffles. I care about the food—and I care about what the customers think.”