Mesa Thai Cuisine

🇹🇭 THAILAND / Just south of Los Angeles's excellent Thai Town, this East Hollywood gem is unfocused but never underwhelming.

🇹🇭 THAILAND
📍 820 N. Western Avenue, East Hollywood, Central Los Angeles
🅿️ Plaza has small lot
🥤 No Alcohol but BYOB for nice folks

In most of Los Angeles, the simple word “mesa” is the word for table, the piece of furniture used to eat delicious meals. In Thai though, the word is the month of April (เมษายน) and used as the namesake. This choice is because it is the hottest month of the year in Thailand, a hint towards how they serve the food from this kitchen.

Los Angeles has no shortage of Thai restaurants that are not afraid to make their foods very spicy, but the long, red Thai bird’s eye chili that shares the sign of Mesa Thai Cuisine in East Hollywood should serve as a guide. Spice lovers will be satisfied even with an order that is directed to be medium, just as the cuisine intends. Go more than that at your own risk (and possible peril).

When Mesa took over the space from another Thai restaurant in 2018, it quickly became a favorite within the community, with many coming back again and again for the properly prepared pad thai and fiery pad krapow. Whenever you plan for thoroughly spicy meals, make sure to get a dish or two to the table that can relieve your taste buds like sai krok isan ไส้กรอกอีสาน ($8.95, above). Simple and sour with a snappy crisp skin, everything a fermented pork and lemongrass sausage should be.

An all-Thai “specials” menu is written on the wall, the first clue that you might want to invite your Thai friends when dining here. The printed menus also have big differences, a sole papaya salad on the English menu is made to look ridiculous by the double digit renditions on the Thai version. Many other dishes are omitted entirely for English speakers.

One great option for a funky papaya salad ride is the salty egg version, known as som tum kai kem ส้มตำไข่เค็ม ($12.95, above). Just about every different taste and texture you can think of is on this one plate, while the build-up of chilies only takes two or three bites before it starts to set in that you might need another order of sticky rice.

The other great pair for that rice is Mesa’s wonderful larb. On the menu they have pork and chicken versions, but if you mention you are in the mood for beef, they can do that too. The deeply rich and smoky larb nuer ลาบเนื้อ ($10.95, below) is almost a must order going forward. These bold flavors from the roasting of red peppers and rice powder, combine with mint and many other herbs and of course the fires of many chilies.

If you are thinking you may need more options to calm your mouth in between bites of those spicy dishes, grab a plate of moo dad deaw หมูแดดเดียว ($8.95, above). These thick chunks of sweet pork jerky come with a spicy dipping sauce called nam jim jeow (น้ำจิ้มแจ่ว) that you can skip if you are going only for the cooling effects. The meat is so full of flavor that it impresses even when your mouth is on fire from other items.

The wonderful rendition of boat noodles ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ (available in small and large, small below) was what prompted eating at Mesa Thai Cuisine the first time after a ringing endorsement from a friend. This broth is thick from pork blood, but smooth and without iron that you may expect from this ingredient. Cuts of pork and meatballs make even the small bowl quite filling.

The English menu offers a “choice of meat” but order the pad thai ผัดไทย (10.95, below) as it is meant to be eaten with only the dried shrimp that make for its unique taste. This deep and dark fermented flavor is the way the dish should look, almost as if it was cooked in front of you in Bangkok.

Add the fresh vegetables and squeeze the lime wedge over the plate when it arrives, and once again the tastes and textures create a symphony in each bite. Pad thai is often written off as an overload of sweetness created for western palates, and rightly so, but when made in its original style it is supremely enjoyable.

Mesa Thai Cuisine has become well-known for their unbeatable version of pad krapow ผัดกะเพรา ($11.95, above). With its ability to be reheated well, it is usually chosen for takeout after meals full of other dishes for dine-in. The meat is stir-fried with the namesake holy basil as well as onions and what seems like about 17 bird’s eye chilies.

The yum moo yor ยำหมูยอ ($11.95, below) is fun, enough heat and flavor to be interesting but almost like a kids menu order. The kids of Thailand have it much better than those eating chicken nuggets though, and this has a mid-range spiciness that helps make for a well-rounded meal.

🇹🇭🇹🇭🇹🇭