11 Thai Restaurants To Try In Los Angeles
It sure seems like people worldwide love Thai food and there are almost 7,000 Thai restaurants in the United States alone. Los Angeles County has the largest Thai population among all major U.S. cities, so it comes as no surprise there are many great Thai eateries to discover there. When a section of the East Hollywood neighborhood became the world's first official Thai Town in 1999, the area grew popular for its epic Thai restaurants. But the influence has also spread to other locations.
With so many options, it can be hard to decide where to eat. I have been blogging and writing about the Los Angeles food scene since 2007 and have visited most of the Thai restaurants in and around the city. To help narrow down the choices, here are 11 Thai restaurants in LA that I believe are worth visiting. Of course, these aren't the only Thai restaurants to discover, so I encourage you to explore, learn Thai celebrity chef Jet Tila's top red flag for a second-rate Thai restaurant, and uncover favorites of your own.
Anajak Thai
Anajak Thai is one of the oldest Thai restaurants in Los Angeles — it opened in 1981 — but it has recently gained renewed fame and was named The L.A. Times Restaurant of the Year in 2022. The family-owned restaurant has managed to maintain its classic Thai menu while also offering creative takes on Thai food with Los Angeles influences.
A trip to Anajak Thai can be three very different experiences, depending on when you visit. On most nights, you get traditional Thai dishes that Anajak's founder, Ricky Pichetrungsi, has served in the restaurant for decades. On Tuesday nights, the alley next to the restaurant turns into Thai Taco Tuesday (TTT), where Justin Pichetrungsi, Ricky's son and winner of the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: California, has fun creating tacos with Thai flavors and often collaborates with chefs from all over the country. The TTT menu changes weekly but I've always enjoyed the creative takes. And one weekend a month, Anajak holds a multi-course tasting menu, called Omakase, complete with wine pairing.
(818) 501-4201
14704 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Jitlada
Jitlada has long been a local and celebrity favorite, as proven by a few signed drawings by Matt Groening, creator of "The Simpsons," hanging on the wall and the restaurant's Instagram feed which shows Selena Gomez posing with the owner and staff. The eatery was awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand Award in 2019, 2022, and 2023.
The eatery offers an extensive menu with a jaw-dropping 400 items, but is particularly known for its Southern Thai food. These menu choices, such as the jungle curry lamb and the khua kling phat lung (a Southern Thai dry beef curry), are recommended only for those who can handle their spice. For people who can't eat spicy food, though, there is still plenty to choose from. I've always been a fan of the New Zealand green mussels in lemongrass and basil broth, and the crispy catfish salad. The taepo chicken curry (made with turmeric and coconut milk) is a good compromise, featuring a nice heat that's not overly spicy.
(323) 667-9809
5233 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Chao Krung Thai
Another long-standing, family-owned Thai restaurant, Chao Krung Thai, is located in the Beverly Grove neighborhood of Los Angeles. The restaurant is currently run by the family's second-generation, sisters Amanda Maneesilasan and Katy Noochlaor. Maneesilasan and Noochlaor's grandmother worked as a cook in the Thai Royal Palace and many of Chao Krung's menu draws from her recipes, so you can feel like you're eating like royalty.
Since taking over Chao Krung, Maneesilasan and Noochalor have revamped the restaurant with an interior renovation, a redesigned menu, and a new list of wine and craft beers. Some of the standouts from the current menu are the beef massaman curry (a Thai curry with Indian influences), larb — a salad typically made of herbs and minced meat, but in this case, it's made with duck breast and crispy duck skin, and an excellent pad thai. The restaurant also typically offers special menus for celebratory days like Valentine's Day, Songkran (Thai New Year), and Mother's Day, so keep an eye out for those.
(323) 939-8361
111 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Ayara Thai
Ayara Thai is one of the best restaurants within a three-mile radius of Los Angeles International Airport. Opened by the Asapahu family, eldest daughter Vanda Asapahu currently acts as head chef and managing owner, bringing the skills she learned from working in Thailand for four years. At Ayara Thai, Asapahu serves classic Thai dishes such as papaya salad, but also puts her own twist on meals like adding slices of green apples to lobster pad thai.
Another aspect that makes Ayara Thai stand out is that its desserts go beyond what you'd normally expect at a casual Thai restaurant. The dessert menu is created by younger sister Cathy Asapahu, who previously worked as a pastry chef at the Michelin two-starred restaurant, Providence, located in Hollywood. Sure, you'll find mango sticky rice here, but the younger Asapahu brings her fine dining training to the table to create beautifully sophisticated desserts like the chocolate cherry tart, made using Kad Kokoa's single-origin chocolates from Thailand.
(310) 410-8848
6245 W 87th St, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Night+Market
Kris Yenbamroong made waves in the Los Angeles Thai food scene when he paired his Thai street food with natural wines at Night+Market. At the restaurant, which he first opened on Sunset Boulevard in 2010, Yenbamroong serves up bold Thai food to be enjoyed family-style. In 2019, Yenbamroong was nominated for a James Beard Best Chef award and Night+Market was nominated for the Best Wine Program.
There are now three Night+Market locations around Los Angeles and one location in Las Vegas. Visit with a group and enjoy deep-fried "party wings" tossed in a slightly spicy sauce or the crispy rice salad. Yenbamroong also throws in some fun riffs on the menu with items like a fried chicken sandwich made using Northern Thai-style fried chicken, and the Grapow Crunchwrap Supreme which combines grapow chicken (Thai basil chicken stir fry) with cheese, crema, lettuce, and tomato wrapped in a griddled tortilla. I'm personally always excited when he brings back one of the recurring specials: uni fried rice, which is garlic fried rice topped with sea urchin and tobiko (flying fish roe).
Multiple locations
Mae Malai
Thai Town's latest noodle spot started as a nighttime sidewalk pop-up. The stall drew crowds on weekends for its rendition of boat noodle soup, traditionally made with dark soy sauce and cow or pig's blood. Mae Malai prepares two separate broths: one with beef and one with pork. Both get the addition of cow's blood and coconut milk. In addition to boat noodles, they also serve sour and spicy tom yum noodle soups. The boat noodles come in small bowls, which is consistent with the way they're served in Thailand, but since bowls are priced under $9 each, it's easy enough to order two if you're still hungry.
Mae Malai later opened a brick-and-mortar location in a strip mall in Thai Town. While it was still a small operation with only a few tables, the full kitchen allowed them to offer a slightly expanded menu, which now also includes Isaan-style pork sausages, egg rolls, and fried wontons. The star of the show, though, is still the boat noodle soup.
(323) 652-2935
5445 Hollywood Blvd, Unit A, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Holy Basil
Holy Basil started as a stall in a small, half-defunct food hall in downtown Los Angeles. The takeout-only spot quickly became popular and The Los Angeles Times named it one of the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles in 2023. Holy Basil's initial menu was inspired by Bangkok street food. It featured what I think is one of the most flavorful and aromatic tom yum soups in the city, served with large Ecuadorian white shrimp. I can also never resist ordering the shrimp kaeng karee, a shrimp curry served with a housemade yellow curry sauce thickened with eggs. The curry sauce is so savory that I would happily eat the sauce itself on white rice.
Holy Basil recently opened a second location in Atwater Village, which has a more extensive menu. In particular, this location has a raw bar with a Thai twist: think shrimp aguachile (traditionally a Mexican raw seafood dish) with fish sauce, and makrut lime or razor clams with holy basil sauce. The restaurant also frequently experiments with new dishes, which are often offered as specials of the day.
Multiple locations
White Elephant
White Elephant in downtown Los Angeles is not your classic Thai restaurant. Sure, it serves some Thai classics like pad thai and tom yum soup, but in fact, the restaurant leans more on dishes that fuse Thai cuisine with influences from Japanese and Chinese cooking, each elegantly plated. The restaurant's interior is date night-worthy with dim lighting, marble-top tables, and a full bar with cocktails.
Opened by Jenny Suwatluckul and her three children, who have worked at various restaurants around town, White Elephant started as a food stall in the Anaheim Packing District. The second location in downtown Los Angeles is a much more elaborate affair. Some of the noteworthy dishes at White Elephant include the charred Royal River Prawn topped with shrimp popcorn and prawn beurre blanc, and a whole crispy branzino. My favorite item on the menu, though, is the Panang curry made with A5 wagyu chuck, which is braised until tender.
(213) 395-0018
541 S Spring St Suite 106, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Amphai Northern Thai Food Club
The Amphai Northern Thai Food Club is a small operation with big flavors. There are only half a dozen tables at this counter-service restaurant but it's always worth snagging one. Not to be missed here are the sai oua (spicy pork sausage seasoned with herbs and spices) and the chicken khao soi.
Khao soi is a noodle soup in a yellow, creamy coconut curry broth. It's typically served with egg noodles and topped with crispy wonton noodles. This noodle soup has become more popular in Los Angeles lately, and in my opinion, Amphai Northern Thai Food Club serves one of the best versions in the city. There are other curries and soups here that are worth ordering, as well as daily specialty dishes. Not only is the food here some of the best Thai food around, with affordable prices and large portions, it's no wonder Northern Thai Food Club has maintained its popularity.
(323) 474-7212
5301 Sunset Blvd #11, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Sapp Coffee Shop
Even though it is called Sapp Coffee Shop, the restaurant is actually all about the noodles. In fact, Sapp Coffee Shop currently doesn't serve any coffee at all. Sapp originally opened a few blocks away from its current location in the 1970s, serving American breakfast and coffee during the day and Thai food at night. They later moved to the current location and decided to serve only Thai food, but kept the original name.
Sapp is known for its boat noodles, but I am partial to the jade noodles, which are spinach egg noodles served with BBQ pork, roast duck, and crab meat. The dish is sprinkled with sugar, ground peanuts, and chili powder. Since they are served at room temperature, jade noodles are particularly good in the hot summer months. The menu also has plenty of stir-fried noodles, rice dishes, and salads to try.
(323) 922-1081
5183 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Ruen Pair
Ruen Pair was popular for being one of the best late-night food options in Los Angeles as the restaurant used to be open until 3 a.m. Although the hours it stays open have been reduced, the eatery still doesn't close until 11 p.m. So you can still enjoy a large selection of Thai-Chinese dishes alongside classic Thai offerings from Central and Northeast Thailand late into the evening.
Even though it is one of the larger restaurants in Thai Town in terms of the number of tables, Ruen Pair is perpetually busy and there's often a wait to be seated. Some of the restaurant's signature dishes include the papaya salad (which can be ordered with raw crab) and fried egg with salted turnip. I'm personally a fan of the tender and savory stewed pork leg, served with Chinese pickles over rice. They also serve beer and even have a Tom Yum Beer made just for them by a local brewery. I can attest that it is surprisingly good.
(323) 466-0153
5257 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Methodology
Los Angeles is fortunate to have a large number of Thai restaurants. The selection on this list is based on my 17 years of experience exploring and writing about the Los Angeles food scene. I have dined at numerous Thai restaurants in the city over the years and have written about several of them in various publications. In selecting the restaurants I tried to keep the pool diverse in terms of the type of Thai cuisine served, from the more common curries to Thai-Chinese dishes and modern takes of Thai staples through a Thai-American lens.
The selection in this article includes both the generalists, who offer a large menu, and the specialists, who focus on specific types of noodles. The list includes both traditional and modern restaurants, in hopes that readers are encouraged to explore different Thai cuisines they may not have tried before.