Lacha Somtum

Nice authentic Thai food! * Been here the third time. Always missed the naked shrimp and Tom Yum Soup!

the crispy catfish somtum was outstanding! make sure to get sticky rice or vermicelli noodles on the side and dip/pour the sauce all over it. got a medium spicy but wish i got it hotter– not too bad at all. for the bev i had to get my favorite, chrysanthemum tea. sooo good and nostalgic as always. the service was quick and friendly. will be back soon :)

Not your typical Thai restaurant! Exotic flavors with friendly staff. Great service. Hard to find parking but well worth it. I'll be back!!

+1

So after my friend and I turned away from Sapp Coffee (they accepted cash only and we only have cards) we happened upon Lacha and were immediately blown away by the cuteness of the decor and even being able to buy some things to take home. I ordered the fresh coconut and they cut it open right in the kitchen and stick a straw in the fresh water (and it was pretty dang fresh and good). My friend had the Chinese sausage fried rice and I got the seafood tom yum which were both amazing, fresh, and well seasoned. The staff was so extraordinarily friendly that we had to give the waitress the biggest tip possible. If I'm ever back in LA I'll definitely be stopping by here.

I had to go check out Thai town in LA and went to lacha for some Thai food. I tried the green curry and it was amazing. It made me want to eat the whole bowl of rice. I recommend coming here if you’re visiting after the Griffith observatory or taking a bus to Hollywood.

Just had a great dinner here. The red curry and the pad thai were both standouts. So was the passion fruit slush. Fantastic service as well.

The food was excellent with large portion sizes and the staff were very helpful with making sure my fried tofu pad Thai was gluten-free. I really appreciated how detailed they were about it, and the mango sticky rice was amazing to boot!

Amazing food and great service. Super authentic. Staff was friendly and did a good job recommending dishes. We eat Thai food a lot and this was top tier for sure. Worth the money! We got the fried larb, roasted duck red curry, and yam nam tord. We will be back!

Genuinely everything you want from flavor authenticity kindness and deliciousness. I wish we had one of these in my town.

It is the best Thai food I ever had in my life! Highly recommend it :)

The sticky rice with mango absolutely tastes amazing!!! The best mango rice I have ever had. The yellow curry was also pretty nice, it had more of a sweet rather than salty taste. One of the waitress didn’t really speak English and couldn’t understand our words. But the service was good. Definitely recommend overall!

This place is so authentic and delicious. You can’t really go wrong ordering anything on the menu but my personal favorites are the papaya salad and rad na. They can do the papaya salad Lao or Thai style. If you like Lao way and like raw marinated crab, then please get that. It’s amazing. Spicy means spicy here. Of all the many delicious place in Thai town, this is top of most of my friends list

I wish we found this place much sooner! That pad thai was flavorful just like thipsamai in bangkok.

I've lived in Thai town for about 3 years, and only recently realized this place is my favorite out of all the places around! Consistently best in texture, flavor, price, and portion size. Everything just right. If you're wondering how to choose which place to order from, I'm telling you this is the one.

Good and authentic Thai food at a good price! Had Tom yum soup, Pad See Ew, Lacha noodles. All of them were good. Lacha noodles are light and comforting. Overall a nice place to go.

Honestly best thai spot I've been to in awhile! Food was great service was great atmosphere was great. Come here for a warm meal and excellent everything. Seriously. These people rocked it.

All I can say is WOW. I've had a lot of Thai food in my life (never in Thailand though) but this one has to be one of the best if not THE best place I've been to! We ordered quite a few things: duck on rice, yellow curry, pad see ew, panang curry, and egg rolls. That Pad See Ew has to be one of the best I've had. The curries were absolutely PERFECT. No notes. We did get mild because we always want to taste the dish before the spice so next time, I'll be getting medium. Parking is just street parking but we literally were in and out in an hour because service was so quick and we scarfed everything down. This will be hard to beat, that's for sure!

The food was so good with authentic Thai flavors. We ordered Papaya Salad with blue crab, roasted chicken and fried liver. It was all "Aroy mak, Kap" - very delicious. Just spicy enough and not too sweet. The sticky rice was perfect too. We'll come back again.

I’d give this place 10 stars if given the option! We wanted to get authentic Thai food and our friend recommended this spot in Thai town. Def top 3 Thai food I have ever had! It was a cozy down-to-earth environment and had plenty of walk-in seating. We ordered a thing of fried rice and hot pot and a pork sausage for appetizer. It was very much casual & street food style Thai food and delicious. Recommend their chrysanthemum tea - good for a hot summer day. The staff were really friendly and professional. The only thing was that the air conditioning seemed to be broken and they had large fans on.

Ordered pad thai with pork belly. Delish! Only caveat is I asked for mild and it was still spicy. Next time I will ask for no spice at all.

I came in for lunch on Sat and was able to find free street parking in the side street across the street. I like that they have an extensive menu, much more options than other Thai restaurants I've been to. I think my favorite dishes are Duck Larb and shrimp cake, but all the other stables such as papaya salad and drunken noodles are good as well.

AUTHENTIC THAI, foods are very good, big portions and reasonable prices… one thing very important “SERVICE is very good”

Amazing Thai foods at LA Thai town.

Craving some Thai Food and drove from Santa Monica to Thai Town after work to Lacha Somtum. Staff are super friendly and always checked in with us. Wanna give them more than 5 stars if I could. Got my favorite Crispy Grounded Catfish Salad, Somtum Thai and Crab Cake. All delishhhhh!! Drop what you doing and go to Lacha. You will never be disappointed. 😋

My friends has good time here. Food is delicious.

Good authentic Thai food for a good price! Love the flavor and ingredients of both the pad thai and papaya salad. Staff is kind and food is served fast. A big menu with a lot of options. They also sell snacks and some dessert options. Would visit again to try their other dish.

B W

The food was so good with authentic Thai flavors. We ordered Papaya Salad with blue crab, roasted chicken and fried liver. It was all "Aroy mak, Kap" - very delicious. Just spicy enough and not too sweet. The sticky rice was perfect too. We'll come back again.

J G

Ordered pad thai with pork belly. Delish! Only caveat is I asked for mild and it was still spicy. Next time I will ask for no spice at all.

Yuwei Pan

I’d give this place 10 stars if given the option! We wanted to get authentic Thai food and our friend recommended this spot in Thai town. Def top 3 Thai food I have ever had! It was a cozy down-to-earth environment and had plenty of walk-in seating. We ordered a thing of fried rice and hot pot and a pork sausage for appetizer. It was very much casual & street food style Thai food and delicious. Recommend their chrysanthemum tea - good for a hot summer day. The staff were really friendly and professional. The only thing was that the air conditioning seemed to be broken and they had large fans on.

J Tan

I came in for lunch on Sat and was able to find free street parking in the side street across the street. I like that they have an extensive menu, much more options than other Thai restaurants I've been to. I think my favorite dishes are Duck Larb and shrimp cake, but all the other stables such as papaya salad and drunken noodles are good as well.

ช.ญ.ภ

AUTHENTIC THAI, foods are very good, big portions and reasonable prices… one thing very important “SERVICE is very good”

James Luei

Amazing Thai foods at LA Thai town.

William Chu

I had to go check out Thai town in LA and went to lacha for some Thai food. I tried the green curry and it was amazing. It made me want to eat the whole bowl of rice. I recommend coming here if you’re visiting after the Griffith observatory or taking a bus to Hollywood.

Kanda Ph

Craving some Thai Food and drove from Santa Monica to Thai Town after work to Lacha Somtum. Staff are super friendly and always checked in with us. Wanna give them more than 5 stars if I could. Got my favorite Crispy Grounded Catfish Salad, Somtum Thai and Crab Cake. All delishhhhh!! Drop what you doing and go to Lacha. You will never be disappointed. 😋

Thanuttha Kumpol

My friends has good time here. Food is delicious.

S. L

Good authentic Thai food for a good price! Love the flavor and ingredients of both the pad thai and papaya salad. Staff is kind and food is served fast. A big menu with a lot of options. They also sell snacks and some dessert options. Would visit again to try their other dish.

The food here is absolutely amazing. Literally, the best Thai dishes we have ever had!!!! The tables are comfortable, but you arent there for the atmosphere...you are there to EAT ALL THE FOODs. Wear your eating pants...(i.e. elastic waist band will be your friend). Its go time.

Omg this is THE BEST Thai restaurant in southern California! I finally found this gem after years of searching. All spices and flavors are just right on. Cannot be happier!

Very sweet people and very good food. We got the medium and were sweating, so if you haven't been hitting the heat a lot lately lean towards the low end. Get a papaya salad of some variety, there are a lot of options

Ordered take out - the spice level definitely brings the heat. Medium here is spicy at most other restaurants. Good flavors!

No-frills unassuming Thai place serves some of the best authentic, non-westernized, Thai food anywhere outside of Thailand. Not nearly as spicy as Thailand but for most people, that’s a positive. I haven’t been back in years but flavors here would rank well there as well. Good service. - Naked Shrimp: 8.3/10, iconic raw shrimp dish. - papaya salad: 7.2/10, staple. - Panang curry: more Malaysian ofc but still good (6.8/10). Sauce itself is tasty maybe a tad sweet - clams with bean sprout pancake: 7.4/10 good with sauce, not too oily. - catfish: 6/10 - Shrimp paste rice: 7.5/10 - Mini hot pot: 6.3/10 not exactly my style bc I like Szechuan style hot pot Bad: AC not working, plastic dishes, some sand in food, some cleaning fibers on dish, tip on itemized receipt is different from the one shown after they scan your card.

Puja Shah

Ordered take out - the spice level definitely brings the heat. Medium here is spicy at most other restaurants. Good flavors!

Nick Troiano

Honestly best thai spot I've been to in awhile! Food was great service was great atmosphere was great. Come here for a warm meal and excellent everything. Seriously. These people rocked it.

cannedyamss

No-frills unassuming Thai place serves some of the best authentic, non-westernized, Thai food anywhere outside of Thailand. Not nearly as spicy as Thailand but for most people, that’s a positive. I haven’t been back in years but flavors here would rank well there as well. Good service. - Naked Shrimp: 8.3/10, iconic raw shrimp dish. - papaya salad: 7.2/10, staple. - Panang curry: more Malaysian ofc but still good (6.8/10). Sauce itself is tasty maybe a tad sweet - clams with bean sprout pancake: 7.4/10 good with sauce, not too oily. - catfish: 6/10 - Shrimp paste rice: 7.5/10 - Mini hot pot: 6.3/10 not exactly my style bc I like Szechuan style hot pot Bad: AC not working, plastic dishes, some sand in food, some cleaning fibers on dish, tip on itemized receipt is different from the one shown after they scan your card.

Anjeline Ramirez

All I can say is WOW. I've had a lot of Thai food in my life (never in Thailand though) but this one has to be one of the best if not THE best place I've been to! We ordered quite a few things: duck on rice, yellow curry, pad see ew, panang curry, and egg rolls. That Pad See Ew has to be one of the best I've had. The curries were absolutely PERFECT. No notes. We did get mild because we always want to taste the dish before the spice so next time, I'll be getting medium. Parking is just street parking but we literally were in and out in an hour because service was so quick and we scarfed everything down. This will be hard to beat, that's for sure!

This place is the real deal. We were a party of 7 for lunch and tried more than 15 dishes. Very fresh and tasty. Service is great. Friendly and tasty. And honest prices. Will def go back. AND! is now on my staple list. 🔥

Amazing food. We ordered the classics such as pad thai and papaya salad, but this restaurant did it slightly differently by using crispy pork belly in the pad thai and salted eggs in the salad. The shrimp paste fried rice was the standout. Service was friendly and attentive as well, and the place is nicely decorated and spacious. Restroom needs work, however.

Chicken satay made from chicken breast, I preferred chicken thigh. Pineapple fried rice, papaya salad, curry and fried fish (forgot to take pic) were great!

I like that Lacha has a warmer feel to the restaurant, mismatch cushion seats but it all pulls together really well. Not sure if it's family owned and run but it has that cozy feeling of service with care but not annoyingly noisy or trying to get a higher tip. The food is really good, I usually order take out because of my schedule. This is one of the places that take out tastes and have the same quantity as if you are dining in. I had naked shrimp in Vegas and couldn't find a place that did it well until I ran across Lacha. Only caution the food is really spicy, so if you want medium order mild. Like any place in Hollywood it's super difficult to find parking.

The food has a really good flavor. The spicy level was spot on. The only thing is I could see the floors are a bit dirty (degreaser would help) and the bathroom could definitely be cleaned properly… since it’s a restaurant. The bathroom soap was almost water. :(

Fransco Sukarto

Amazing food. We ordered the classics such as pad thai and papaya salad, but this restaurant did it slightly differently by using crispy pork belly in the pad thai and salted eggs in the salad. The shrimp paste fried rice was the standout. Service was friendly and attentive as well, and the place is nicely decorated and spacious. Restroom needs work, however.

Joyce

Chicken satay made from chicken breast, I preferred chicken thigh. Pineapple fried rice, papaya salad, curry and fried fish (forgot to take pic) were great!

Elise Lam

I like that Lacha has a warmer feel to the restaurant, mismatch cushion seats but it all pulls together really well. Not sure if it's family owned and run but it has that cozy feeling of service with care but not annoyingly noisy or trying to get a higher tip. The food is really good, I usually order take out because of my schedule. This is one of the places that take out tastes and have the same quantity as if you are dining in. I had naked shrimp in Vegas and couldn't find a place that did it well until I ran across Lacha. Only caution the food is really spicy, so if you want medium order mild. Like any place in Hollywood it's super difficult to find parking.

smile smile

The food has a really good flavor. The spicy level was spot on. The only thing is I could see the floors are a bit dirty (degreaser would help) and the bathroom could definitely be cleaned properly… since it’s a restaurant. The bathroom soap was almost water. :(

Authentic Thai flavors with a lot of heat. Comfortable seating and the service was fast. Prices are lower than other comparable places. Food was good with reasonable portion sizes. Parking in the area can be difficult.

John O

Authentic Thai flavors with a lot of heat. Comfortable seating and the service was fast. Prices are lower than other comparable places. Food was good with reasonable portion sizes. Parking in the area can be difficult.

I can’t believe they would use canned pineapples instead of fresh ones!!! The artificial overly sweet and sour taste of a canned pineapple was like getting punched in the face while the flavor of the basil, curry leaf, everything else in the dish is going in the completely opposite direction. There’s also an unbelievable amount of it compared to all other ingredients, making the entire thing quite unbearable. I would caution against ordering any dish with pineapple in it :( service was nice but I really just wanted good food sorry

Review based on one dish only, the salted crab papaya salad. Flavors were fine, although more salt than crab taste. I thought very little crab for what was a $20 salad after tax/tip. And the biggest dealbreaker for me was that the crab shells were dispersed through the salad so every other bite had an inedible large piece of crab shell. Not fun to eat at all.

My Thai friend recommended this and I found the restaurant and the service decent but the food was a bit disappointing. The taste was okay to good but I extremely crave water after finishing the meal so I guess the deliciousness comes from putting too much of the delicious powder itself. The shrimp starter and the Pad See Ew was similar to what I had back in Thailand. Tom yum was a bit too sour. The chicken satay was so dry and plain, even the sauce was dull too. No parking lot, only metered street parking or park in the resident area.

Fang Phattha

My Thai friend recommended this and I found the restaurant and the service decent but the food was a bit disappointing. The taste was okay to good but I extremely crave water after finishing the meal so I guess the deliciousness comes from putting too much of the delicious powder itself. The shrimp starter and the Pad See Ew was similar to what I had back in Thailand. Tom yum was a bit too sour. The chicken satay was so dry and plain, even the sauce was dull too. No parking lot, only metered street parking or park in the resident area.