Thursday, October 19, 2006

Thai Patio: Elvis has left the building

crab purses appetizer
As you all probably know, Thai Elvis moved out of his old stomping grounds along with the Palms Thai restaurant several months ago. The space is now occupied by a restaurant named Thai Patio which turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. It was surprising because their other branch is in the odd patio area between Whole Foods and K-Mart on Third St., which has harbored some pretty scary restaurants in its time. So I had no idea that Thai Patio was a serious Thai restaurant -- and in fact I still have no idea if the Third St. outlet is of equal quality. steamed whole trout
Thai Patio hasn't changed the decor much from the Palms days, although the tables seem to be more spaced out. They've added a patio, natch, along Hollywood Blvd., with comfy chairs screened from the street by plants -- I imagine this caters to the late night smoking-and-sate crowd. We were invited to try the restaurant, but I would have gladly paid myself, since you don't have to exactly twist my arm to get me to try a Thai restaurant.
The menu is pretty similar to the Palms, with all manner of exotic meats on the back page and some unusual dishes like raw beef salad along with all the Thai standards. We just weren't in a frog or boar kind of mood, so manager Scott sent out some yummy little crab purses to start, packed with crab meat and fried into cute little packages. We also tried a perfectly steamed trout in a fragrant tom yam goong type broth and shrimp curry in a complex red sauce dominated strongly by kaffir lime leaves. A solidly flavorful, meaty bowl of boat noodles finished the meal. If you want your food spicy, though, be very clear, since the servers are a little nervous about burning the non-Thai clientele. (Pet pet!)
The stage formerly occupied by Elvis will be put to good use, with costumed Thai dancers performing on weekends. Thai Patio is going for slightly more upscale feel and some of the dishes are a bit more expensive than in your neighborhood Thai greasy spoon. But don't let that dissuade you from ordering the whole fish or the shrimp curry, because they're well worth it.
Beer and wine are available.
Thai Patio
5273 Hollywood Blvd.
(323) 466-3894

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

i just had thai patio for lunch. the food was awesome. i had the papaya salad which my companion said was too spicy (but heck i added on more hot sauce), the red curry was very good, and we had the tom yang coconut soup. total cost $25 before tip (oh had two thai beers with this)

the food was a bit pricier but you see the quality of the food. it wasn't overly greasy as cheaper places will douse in grease to smooth over flavors. i recommend it although my companion kept looking over at ruen pair across the way....

Anonymous said...

Where is Palms located now?

Anonymous said...

Palms has moved just down the road about a mile, still on Hollywood Blvd. and it's better than ever. I was at the new location a couple of weeks ago and it was really great. Had an incredibly flavorful duck curry, and maybe the best Thai beef salad I've ever had. I don't know how the hell they keep the quality up while serving enough people to overthrow the Thai monarchy, but they do.
Martin Booe

Anonymous said...

All I have to say is I love the Thai Patio next to Whole foods/K-Mart. They have the $3.99 special until 5pm! It is great and so inexpensive. I guess I will check out the new location, but I HIGHLY recommend the little version, even if it is in a crappy location.

Unknown said...

I found the 3rd street one accidentally. I couldn't believe how good the food was--it looks like nothing and is surrounded by crappy looking restaurants. I keep telling people about it and nobody even knows it's there. Great for delivery in that area. Fantastic flavors.

Anonymous said...

Thai patio is awesome. The steam fish was a pleasant surprise.

The waitresses were very friendly. One of them definitely caught my eyes.

Anonymous said...

The steamed fish is like a Lemongrass flavored fish served with tradtionally sticky rice. And I've yet to have better in and around Thai town. They now have live entertainment most nights? Maybe just weekend nights but it gives the place a much better atmosphere than the Palms down the street, which sadly now has the appeal now of a cafeteria!

"One of them definitely caught my eyes." I think I know the one mate- Kat right? Very good service here. Wish they would sort out the horrible parking situation, soon.