May serves many of the dishes you’ll see on Thai menus all over town. But the setting and presentation here are far more sophisticated than at any of its peers. Lest this sound like code for fusion or other sorts of inauthenticity, that’s not the case...well, not entirely: there certainly are those made-up dishes that cater to the American palate: “Babycorn Spicy Delight,” asparagus with shiitake and tofu, pineapple fried rice. But there are also excellent versions of tom kha and tom yum soups, as well as crispy catfish with eggplant and curry paste. Even on the usual curries, more spice is built in and the individual flavors in Thai cooking are allowed to shine through—nice sour notes, no cloying sweetness. Even pad Thai, generally the ultimate Thai-American throwaway, is palatable here: instead of a glutinous mess, it’s deconstructed with its components (sprouts, ground peanuts, and spices) served in separate banana leaves and mixed together at the table. In this dish and others, you’ll also see some ingredients you won’t find at most other Seattle Thai restaurants, like fried banana blossoms.

With an imported teak façade and walls, May looks as much like a temple plunked in Seattle as possible. The upstairs dining room is casually royal, with ornate utensils and serving dishes, and the downstairs bar follows suit, with red walls, gold fixtures, and Buddhist murals.