Thailand’s floating markets are a feast for the senses—part food destination, part cultural spectacle. But a visit in the near future isn’t in the cards for most. Lucky for us, sister restaurateurs Niki and Tanya Pattharakositkul have brought yet another piece of Thailand to Atlanta.
On Monday, June 8, the sibling duo behind 26 Thai and Pink Lotus opened Terminal 26 in Ponce City Market’s Central Food Hall—a Thai street food concept built around the sensory overload of Thailand’s iconic floating markets, translated into a very landlocked Old Fourth Ward.
“Ponce City Market is a destination spot,” Niki says. “That’s how I want Terminal 26 to be: a destination spot for the foodie.”
Niki opened the first 26 Thai in Buckhead’s Lindbergh neighborhood in 2016 at age 26, which is where the name comes from. Tanya joined three years later, and the group has grown to nine locations plus Pink Lotus in West Midtown and Blackjack Bar Tapas in Midtown. Terminal 26 is their most personal concept yet.
The space commits to the premise. Thai-based architects designed the interior to feel less like a restaurant and more like an honest-to-goodness street market. A traditional Thai long-tail boat—shipped directly from Thailand—greets guests at the entrance. Fishing nets hang from the ceiling alongside bamboo lanterns, and garlic, red onion, and duck hang in the open the way they would at any floating market stall. A reflective surface evokes the river running beneath it all. “From the minute you walk in,” Niki says, “You should feel like you’re stepping into everyday Thailand.”
Niki, who has spent over a decade cooking, traveling, and eating her way through Thailand and beyond, leads the street (or, rather, boat) food menu. “We’re not just selling entrees,” she says. “We have everything, from street snacks you can grab and go, to soup, salad, main dishes—something for everybody, the way a real market would.”
The raw bar anchors the seafood side, alongside a crispy oyster pancake—fried seafood and egg, battered in flour—and a tamarind snapper, deep-fried and served with chili-lime-dressed Thai herb salad. Khao soi shows up twice, as a coconut yellow curry noodle bowl and tucked inside a roti wrap with fried chicken thigh and sweet chili sauce. A street shrimp pot, floating market red curry, and spicy mango salad round out a menu that flows from familiar to unexpected. The boat noodle broth—a dish Niki says took the most work to perfect—simmers for a full day with a layered blend of herbs. Dessert keeps things simple: mango sticky rice or steamed coconut custard pudding (khanom tuay).
The bar leans into its origin story. Floating market-inspired cocktails anchor the drink menu, alongside wine and beer. Then there’s the jelly beer: a frozen Singha slushie spiked with honey and lime that Niki says was never not going to be on the menu. “For Thai people, we do everything with ice,” she says. “I wanted to make it fun—something everyone can enjoy and grab on the go.”
For Niki and Tanya, none of it is an affectation. They grew up with this. And what Niki wants Atlanta to understand most of all is that Thai food is not a single note. “It’s a balance: sour, sweet, salty, a little spicy,” she says. “Come hungry and with an open mind. Order family style. Taste a little bit of everything. That’s how we eat.”
When you walk into a floating market, you don’t taste just one thing. Terminal 26 is counting on that.
Terminal 26 is now open daily for lunch and dinner at Ponce City Market.
Terminal 26, 675 Ponce De Leon Ave. NE Ste. N 133, Atlanta, terminal26.com
