Justin Pichetrungsi closed his family's forty-year-old Sherman Oaks dining room for two months in 2025, doubled it, and reopened in August to the same verdict it earned before the dust: Anajak is the best Thai restaurant in America's best Thai city. Los Angeles holds the deepest Thai cooking outside Thailand, and the gap between its temples and its strip malls is where this list lives. Eight rooms, ranked.
Thai Town and beyond
East Hollywood's Thai Town does volume and regional depth; the valleys do ambition. The Los Angeles dining guide carries the detail pages, and the Thai cuisine guide defines the regional registers, Isaan heat, southern turmeric, Bangkok street grammar, that this ranking scores against. Prices below are per head without drinks, and every room was verified open as of this writing.
The eight, ranked
1. Anajak Thai — Sherman Oaks
Justin Pichetrungsi, the 2023 James Beard winner for Best Chef: California, runs his parents' 1981 Ventura Boulevard restaurant as a two-track institution: the Thai-American canon his father built, and Thai Taco Tuesday plus an omakase that put Sherman Oaks on national lists. The 2025 renovation nearly doubled the dining room and added a proper bar. Expect $40 to $70 a la carte, more for the tasting formats. Book weeks ahead for Tuesdays. Not for diners who want one fixed identity; Anajak's code-switching is the entire thesis.
2. Holy Basil — Downtown
Wedchayan "Deau" Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal "Joy" Yuon cook Bangkok street food with studio-grade precision from Santee Passage in the Fashion District: boat noodles with real pork-blood depth, pad kra pao that earns the holy basil in the name, crab fried rice that sells out. Plates run $15 to $28. The downtown counter remains the format; expansions have followed across the city. The best pure flavor-per-dollar entry on this list. Not for table-service evenings; this is counter culture, deliberately.
3. Jitlada — Thai Town
Sarintip "Jazz" Singsanong has run the Sunset Boulevard institution since 2006, steering hundreds of southern Thai dishes most American menus never attempt: turmeric crispy mussels, coco lotus shrimp, and the dynamite challenge spice levels that built its legend. Most plates run $16 to $35. Jitlada's full review maps the southern menu's deep cuts. Order the southern pages, not the front of the book. Not for the heat-shy; asking Jazz for mild defeats the room's purpose.
4. Night + Market Song — Silver Lake
Kris Yenbamroong's second room has paired Isaan-leaning party food with natural wine since 2014: larb with uncompromised fish sauce, nam khao tod lettuce cups, fried chicken sandwiches that became civic property. Plates $14 to $29, bottles priced to drink rather than admire. Night + Market Song's review covers the wine list logic. The group-dinner and second-date engine of this list. Skip it for quiet; the room runs at Silver Lake volume, which is to say loud and pleased about it.
5. Luv2Eat Thai Bistro — Hollywood
Chefs Somruthai "Fern" Kaewtathip and Noree "Pla" Burapapituk cook their native Phuket's repertoire in a Sunset Boulevard strip mall: crab curry that travels by word of mouth, khao mok gai, jade noodles with barbecue pork. Michelin's guide has kept it on the Los Angeles list for years and most plates stay between $13 and $26. The strip-mall-to-stardom entry every Thai Town pilgrimage needs. Not for atmosphere hunters; the room is fluorescent and the food is the decor.
6. Ayara Thai — Westchester
The Asapahu family opened Ayara near LAX in 2004; daughters Vanda and Cathy now run the kitchen, Vanda on the savory side, Cathy on pastry, serving khao soi and crying tiger beef that reward the airport-adjacent detour. Plates run $15 to $30. Twenty years of family continuity, celebrated in 2024, shows in the consistency. The pre-flight and Westside-default pick of this ranking. Not for a destination evening; its genius is neighborhood-scale, not occasion-scale.
7. Ruen Pair — Thai Town
The Hollywood Boulevard room has fed Thai Town since 1996 and stays open past midnight, which is when it matters most: pork leg over rice, morning glory flash-fried with garlic, papaya salad without tourist dilution. Cash-friendly prices, most plates $12 to $20. Ruen Pair's full review covers the late-night ordering canon. The 1am answer on this list and the city's best post-show Thai. Not for lingering; turnover is the business model.
8. Chao Krung — Fairfax
Open since 1969 and now cooked by second-generation chef Amanda Maneesilasan, Chao Krung is Los Angeles Thai history that still earns its tables: crispy duck curry, tom kha with house-pressed coconut milk, a carved-teak dining room that predates every trend on this list. Plates run $16 to $28. The heritage pick, and the right call for parents who want comfort with their history. Not for regional spice safaris; the menu is royal-Bangkok polite by design.
What to skip
Skip the Hollywood Boulevard tourist pads with photo menus and valet-adjacent pricing; Thai Town's best rooms are its plainest. Skip weekend prime time at Anajak without a reservation made well ahead; the renovation grew the room, not the demand curve. And if a list still routes you to closed or relocated counters, check the date; this city's Thai map moves fast.
Booking and timing
Anajak takes reservations on Resy and Thai Taco Tuesday seats vanish fastest; midweek a la carte is the soft entry. Night + Market Song holds most seats for walk-ins, with waits peaking at 8pm. Jitlada, Ruen Pair, Luv2Eat and Chao Krung are functionally walk-in rooms where off-peak hours beat strategy. Holy Basil moves fastest at lunch. The Bangkok Thai ranking shows the source code these kitchens reference, the Los Angeles sushi guide applies the same counter logic across cuisines, and the LA French ranking covers the city's dressier end when the occasion demands linen.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Thai restaurant in Los Angeles?
Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks. Justin Pichetrungsi, the 2023 James Beard winner for Best Chef: California, reopened his family's 1981 restaurant in August 2025 after a renovation that nearly doubled the room, and both tracks of the menu, the Thai-American canon and the Thai Taco Tuesday omakase culture, remain the city's reference point. Holy Basil downtown is the strongest counter-format rival.
Is Jitlada still worth the hype?
Yes, if you order correctly. Jazz Singsanong's southern Thai pages, turmeric crispy mussels, coco lotus shrimp, the legitimately fierce curries, remain unmatched in the city, and the front-of-book Thai-American standards are not the point. Expect a wait at prime time, plates from $16 to $35, and spice levels that mean what they say.
Where should I eat Thai food late at night in LA?
Ruen Pair on Hollywood Boulevard, the Thai Town stalwart open past midnight since 1996. The late canon is pork leg over rice, garlic-fried morning glory and papaya salad, at $12 to $20 a plate. It outclasses every delivery app open at that hour, and the turnover keeps the kitchen honest even at 1am.
How far ahead do I need to book Anajak Thai?
Two to three weeks for Thai Taco Tuesday and weekend prime time, which clear quickly on Resy; ordinary weeknight a la carte tables often open within a few days. The 2025 expansion added seats and a bar but demand grew with it. Solo diners and 5:30pm arrivals have the easiest path in.
Which LA Thai restaurant is best for a group dinner?
Night + Market Song in Silver Lake: shareable Isaan plates, natural wine priced for rounds, and a room engineered for volume. Anajak handles groups well midweek post-renovation, and Chao Krung's teak dining room on Fairfax suits family tables that span generations. Keep Holy Basil and Luv2Eat for twos and threes; they are counter rooms at heart.
Prices, chefs, awards and opening status were checked against the restaurants' published menus, booking platforms and the current Michelin and local guide editions; all of it changes without notice, so confirm on the booking page before you commit. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.