Jitlada Thai

Having covered restaurants for many years, we know there are fundamental differences between buzzy places that achieve recognition through marketing, and ones that organically generate excitement because they’re doing something excellent and/or unique. Of all the Thai restaurants we’ve visited in LA, two strike us as worthy of organic buzz, and Jiltada is one of them.

To cut through Jitlada’s formidable history, it suffices to say that the family-owned restaurant is famous for three things: an amazing and long menu, a tragic but subsequently Michelin/James Beard-redeemed backstory, and conspicuous Matt Groening (of The Simpsons fame) artwork on the walls, a tribute to his patronage and friendship with the owners, who bought and rebooted Jitlada in 2006. The latter two aren’t super important to us; Jitlada’s current menu and execution are what matter.

Distilling the nearly 400-item menu down to a sentence is simple: Expect unmatched diversity spanning authentic Thai and Thai-inspired dishes you’ve never heard of, including a lot – a lot – of “Thai spicy” options. You can go light and spiceless with plates of morning glory salad, satay, soft shell crab spring rolls, mild green curry with beef, and mango sticky rice, any of which you might find elsewhere, or head straight into the depths of Thai spice hell with Khua Kling lamb or beef dry curry, a bubbling peppercorn-filled jungle curry with giant prawns, and a turmeric and jicama-based spicy Southern curry with lychee and chicken. Hot but manageable dishes include a chili-pasted Celebrity Chicken and marinated beef or pork Crying Tiger.