Pete Amadhanirundr and Ally Smith opened Puma Yu’s at the Southern Mill complex in Athens in August 2022, offering a hybrid of a cool cocktail bar and a Thai-influenced restaurant.
Amadhanirundr, born in Thailand, heads up the kitchen and Smith, who is from Virginia, leads the wine and spirits program. Both went to the University of Georgia. Before opening Puma Yu’s in a redeveloped manufacturing site built in 1902, they each worked at multiple bars and restaurants around Athens, starting with Grindhouse Killer Burgers, where they first met in 2014.
Credit: Alexa Rivera
Credit: Alexa Rivera
Starting a new restaurant isn’t easy. In fact, “it’s really hard,” Amadhanirundr said as Smith nodded. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve done in my life, but also the most rewarding, and the most fun.”
The cozy space at Puma Yu’s, designed by Tami Ramsay of Athens-based interior design firm Cloth & Kind, features a covered patio with 36 seats at the front of the restaurant, and a rustic brick and wood interior with another 36 seats. Small tables easily can be moved to accommodate big or small parties, though the busy bar seemed to be the most coveted perch.
Puma Yu’s Thai-influenced menu always is evolving, Amadhanirundr said. “We use locally sourced ingredients as much as we can. Our chicken, beef and pork come from Statesboro. Most of our vegetables come from Athens and surrounding areas.”
He described Puma Yu’s offerings as small plates and spicy, acidic food that reminds him of when he was young. “But I’m deeply creative,” he said, “and I just want to show that in the food. It’s not classic Thai. I want people to come here and have a new experience and I want to push Thai food forward.”
Asked whether Puma Yu’s is a restaurant or a cocktail bar, Smith laughed. “People think it’s a restaurant, but it’s a cocktail bar,” Amadhanirundr said.
Smith said the cocktail menu was structured to have something for everyone. She prides herself on using spirits from companies around the South, and mainly offers certified organic and biodynamic wines.
Credit: Kristin Karch
Credit: Kristin Karch
“People come here for the cocktails,” she said. “I’ve been doing cocktails in this town for a long time, and I’m going to riff on classics. I’ll have a slushy of the day, a gimlet of the day and a daiquiri of the day. And I put a lot of emphasis on zero-proof cocktails, so that people can come with friends who are not drinking.”
Sitting down at the bar, I ordered a Wild Horses cocktail, made with barrel-aged soju, bourbon, charred oak absinthe, Luxardo, Peychaud’s, angostura bitters and orange oil. It was lot to take in, but I found it very well-balanced, with a steady dance of flavors and aromas that didn’t overwhelm the spirits.
From the food menu, I started with crispy chicken wings spiced with garlic fish sauce, pickled chiles, carrots, cucumbers and ranch dressing. With eight pieces to a serving, there was plenty to share, and it definitely was crispy and fiery.
Credit: Alexa Rivera
Credit: Alexa Rivera
For the rest of the meal, I switched to drinking Singha Thai lager, which matched well with a briny, spicy bowl of Sapelo Island clams, finely flavored with red-hot curry butter, sake and Thai basil.
Confit duck congee was special — a huge duck leg perched above a big bowl of rice congee, plus pickled shiitake mushrooms, scallions and cilantro. The dish was shareable and quite filling, but the duck was in need of some carving.
Like the other dishes, though, it was fun and flavorful.
Puma Yu’s. 355 Oneta St., Athens. 706-850-0709, pumayus.com
Editor’s note: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is expanding its food and dining coverage beyond greater Atlanta to encompass Georgia and other states in the Southeast. Watch the print edition of the AJC and AJC.com for more stories about the people, places and products that make this region’s food culture so vibrant. Let us know what you think about our expanded coverage. Email Food and Dining Editor Ligaya Figueras: ligaya.figueras@ajc.com.
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