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Mon. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
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OMG - the clay pot with glass noodles and shrimp was amazing! It includes two 5-inch-long prawns, sliced lengthwise, plus veggies and glass noodles.The addition of egg was genius!
Other good dishes are the squid salad, and their tom kha gai.
Jitlada is delicious. On more than one occasion, I have been there two nights in a row because it is… Read more »
You would think I would know my thai after spending $90 on Thai food in a day (how is that possible, isn't everything 6.95?) $25 on lunch (Ayara in Westchester) and $65 on a dinner for 2 (at Jitlada), but sadly I don't as I've never been to Thailand...
All i know are my tastebuds.
Here goes:
Crying Crouching tiger beef was forgettably cooked (fried) though the sauce was spicy and interesting. Crispy on the outside but sinewy and chewy on the inside. Not an M&M.
Though I've never had Thai Fish Balls they weren't as flavorful as the ones for Shabu Shabu, and a hardened egg yolk for the center akin to moon cake. The viscosity of the Green Curry (fish ball curry) was something to be reckoned with though the flavor wasn't as tasty as say, Ayara's...it was lacking some herbs though every dish was lemongrassy. :)
The real reason I came here was to try the beloved Green Mussels.
My friend Ronnie said if someone found mussels better than those sweet delectables @ Tasca(they're awesome) she would blow their dad...
And though you can't compare the preparations like apples and oranges all I can say is this...
heh heh
Dad, you owe me!
Really awful experience.
Went to Jitlada as I had heard very good things about the 'back of the menu' dishes. My girlfriend and I each ordered a meal, and we ordered wontons as an appetizer. Half-hour goes by, but the appetizer never arrives.
The waitress eventually brings out my girlfriend's meal (she'd forgotten about the appetizer). The waitress does not, however, bring out my meal. So, we wait. Five minutes go by. Then 10 minutes. Then a full 15 minutes. The waitress never even comes near our table during all this time.
I was trying hard not to blame this absurdly long wait for my food on the waitress-- I was sure had to be some kind of problem in the kitchen that was causing my meal to be delayed by 15 minutes, while my girlfriend nibbled at hers, trying to be polite.
Finally, the waitress brings out my food, giggles 'sorry' and walks away without a word of explanation. I take a bite of my hot noodle meal and it's cold! So, my meal had been sitting in the kitchen for 15 minutes getting cold after the waitress had already brought out my girlfriend's! My food was by now slimy and disgusting, I couldn't eat it.
First time in my life I've left a bad tip at a restaurant-- the waitress is lucky she got anything. I would never recommend this place to anyone.
Southern Curry..My God!
Don't ask me what else I had here because I have no clue. This dish. This dish.. definitely a keeper. Chicken and Pineapple were added choices.
The staff here was really nice and the service was good. I wish OC had a place like this. It is too bad I have to drive all the way to LA and Thai Town to get decent Thai food. I will be back.
This place has been popular in the chowhound and foodie blogosphere so decided to check it out when in the area. I heard the items on the back or their specialties are where it's at. Food roundup:
Chicken yellow curry: Standard, really good and not too sweet. Definitely follows in the thai style so more soupy and with a spicy kick.
Steamed egg noodle in spicy sauce: Tender thin egg noodles with some chicken, veggies, and spicy broth. This was really good, and quite spicy
Deep fried chicken leg in tumeric with mango salad: Chicken drumsticks spliced so the peel away from the bones when fried. Nice shredded mango salad on the side with some spice.
Lowdown: Random place in a strip mall, but the service friendly and the place cute and quaint. You can get pad thai and pad see ewe anywhere, make a beeline for the specials near the back of the menu and you'll get a new taste sensation. Nothing else like it around!
If I had one wish, I would be a pig and try everything on the menu. But I can't and value my health. Anyways, I came here the other day. The food here is so tasteful. Crab fried rice (take out the tomato) was very flavorful. We also had the shrimp and king crab in red curry. Talk about flavor!! Dayeum! It's a bit hard lookfing for the crab as it's shreded and mixed in with the curry. Other than that, the flavor was great. We also ordered the pork short rib pepper garlic. Great tasting. Sort of like, lechon ribs with garlic. I just wish there were more pieces.. I didn't care that much for the dessert. We had fried banana on a tihick batter which was greasy along with cococut ice cream. Service is great and people are friendly. Parking isn't that great though. Overall, was a nice place to go. Next time, I'll try other things on the menu.
When the world finally comes to terms with a Sex in the City set in LA, this will be a frequent haunt for Carrie and the girls, of this I am sure. In the mean time, it will be my haunt.
Don't mind the crack addict on the corner where you parked your car, this place is legit. As in, you best believe that was a huge plate of steaming hot mussels with pineapple in an equally hot green curry that just took you down. And you love it.
The food is amazing. Period. And the have frog legs. I love frog legs!
Staff is friendly and attentive without being intrusive.
The patrons themselves are cool. An hour into our meal, my girlfriend proudly proclaimed "LA men suck" in a moment of endorphin induced hysteria, to which two women at the table next to us whole heartedly agreed. We then toasted our Thai ice teas in solidarity. I can't remember the last time a group of women in LA didn't look at each other like they were smelling raw onions. It must have been the food, I tell ya.
I loved the food. The service, as many of the reviews also state, is pretty much the slowest and least consistent I've ever experienced. It was my first time there, but my friend, V, has been there quite frequently I guess because the majority of the wait staff came up to him and said hi at some point. We ended up have to leave in a bit of a hurry to catch a show, but I noticed as we left that there was a crowd of people waiting to be seated, so despite the service and wait, people obviously love this place.
We found street parking (the lots was full) & had to wait about 10 mins. to be seated.
V and I both got nice huge frosty beers, but we had all but finished them by the time our food came....and being that this is Southern Thai, get ready for the spiciness. Beverages will be needed.
There IS a sign on the wall that says the food is made to order and warns of the wait, but I was really surprised. I don't know if I can stress that enough. LONG WAIT.
We ordered some kind of deep fried shrimp dish with spicy chili sauce as an appetizer, but it came with all the other food at different times. Really yummy. I can't seem to find it on the online menu.
I always have to get Pad Thai, and this one was super awesome. I bit more spice than the average pad thai, but a smaller portion than I expected.
V ordered Chicken Pa-nang. We had it over rice. Quite good, but we kind of shoveled it into our mouths.
The poor girl at the table next to us kept coughing and choking on the spiciness of everything. Pretty funny.
We ended up just paying at the register and getting out of there fast. I would definitely like to return....maybe not on a Friday night....and get to take in the experience a bit more.
But I'll be prepared for the wait.
Hot women! Wait...that was later that night with the women of Jumbo's. Hot food! Yes, that's what you get at Jitlada if you're craving it.
FIrst things first: I always get Thia iced tea. They got it right. Now I see the curry section. I'm in. Giggity!
The one thing about eating at a place that serves spicy food is I like to have a balance between heat and tasting my food. I don't want to numb my senses, so I got the lamb curry slightly spicy. I liked the lamb curry very much. There was super tender pieces of lamb mixed with potatoes and carrots. The flavor was fantastic, but I wanted the curry to be thicker. It was too thin for me.
I also shared some of the pad see ew with pork. It was standard goodness all around. The noodles were thick and not too oily. The pork was tender and in small strips. Mmmmm.
I also tried the crying tiger? I think it was named that. Jonathan L. ordered it. The dish was quite small and the pieces of beef was like eating beef jerky. I liked it, but I don't think I would get it.
One of the best things on the menu were the mussels. My god. The broth the muscles came with outrageously tasty. I could put it in my thermos and drink it all day. The broth went fantastic with the tender muscles. You also had this option of mixing the broth with a spicy green substance. Do it! It's worth it.
There were some other things I tried, but if it hasn't made a memorable impression, it's not worth mentioning. The service was great, the food was great, Yelpers are always great company. Come with an empty stomach and exit knowing you had fuel for your culinary soul.
First, there is Jaz, the owner. She is a lovely person, both inside and out. If you are lucky enough to be there when she has time to get to know you, then enjoy the experience.
We had the Morning Glory Salad, which I will dream about. Not at all what I expected, but I could have slurped up the last remaining bits. Sooooo good! Spicy Brown Sugar Chicken was very, very good, with a complex curry sauce that I won't forget. The Crying Tiger beef was scrumptious, and the rice salad was yummy. In between, Jaz would drop by, a beer here, a Sugar Pumpkin Custard there....such a generous person. Will definitely be back, and lucked out with a parking spot on Sunset. Who could ask more?
Jitlada was recommended by Gourmet Magazine and now I know why Gourmet is no longer around. Apparently, the original owners were the ones who brought this restaurant to fame. They have since sold the establishment and retired back in Thailand. The mussels were average, there was nothing special about the broth. I would prefer that dish to have a sauce of spice and lemongrass instead of that broth. It is actually sad how this place compares with other Thai Restaurants considering that 1) they are highly regarded by top critics 2) located in Los Angeles, home to the largest Thai population outside of Thailand.
I've been here several times. Jazz, staff, and food never disappoint.
The watercress salad, mussels, everything was pretty much gourmet.
A great place to take someone and show them Thai dishes they haven't seen or eaten.
Its about time that I went to Jitlada! After many failed attempts, I have finally experienced what everyone was raving about...and I wasnt let down.
Before I go into the restaurant I want to preface this by saying, this is an authentic, southern style Thai restaurant. I have to say this because I mentioned that I went to an amazing Thai place to co-workers and the first thing they said was..."Oh I love Pad Thai." I explained, that southern Thai is a little different and more of a go out of our comfort zone place if your used to more common Thai food. They then said...Oh, so did you get the Pad See Ew?
Okay, well...to be honest, I dont even know if Jitlada had either but we definitely didnt try those dishes!
I can't really add anything that everyone hasnt already said but Ill try to give my take on Jitlada. We went on a Sunday around 8:30pm and it was still packed. It wasnt a long wait, probably about 15 minutes. In the meantime we discussed which Thai foot massage place we were going to after dinner. (Foot massages definitely didn't happen).
Once we were seated we were bummed to find out that Jazz wasnt there that night. Oh well, in her place we got a crying baby and some hollywooders talking about a movie they just put out. I prefer hearing the baby cry! That being said, nothing could take away from the experience I was about to have.
We got the following:
Green Mussels- I would go back for this alone. As a matter of fact, I never need chicken soup again if Im sick. This is my dish! Hands down. The broth, left from the mussels is ridiculous.
Morning Glory Salad with Shrimp- I never thought eating flowers would be so addictive. This sweet and fried salad was fork licking good
Spicy Prawns- Huge prawns that looked more like mini lobsters then prawns. As a matter of fact they tasted as good as most lobster I have had. They were in a sweet curry, almost a deep mole taste, sauce. I basically used this as my sauce in my rice the rest of the night. The mushy part at the end....I think the head, but I dont want to know...was like butter.
Dry Curry Lamb- My least favorite, not because it was bad but just SO damn spicy. I was warned before I tried it but man...there is no warning for that. Luckily I only ate two pieces so it didnt hurt me too much
Chili Paste Chicken- Very similar to most fried and glazed Asian dishes and who can hate on that? Sweet and Salty with slightly fried greens mixed in.
Jitlada Fried Rice- Im glad this came at the end or I wouldnt have had room
We also got a large beer, Thai Tea, Jasmine Tea, extra rice and a coke which brought the bill to about 100 bucks. Definitely not the cheapest Thai food I have had but easily some of the best. The fact that my stomach wasnt destroyed afterwards was also a good look.
Although my friend, who took us, today is dealing with a forecast of lighting storms!
Long live the Steam Mussels!
The steam mussels are perhaps the best mussels in the world, the only reason for me to go there at least once a month too. My other favorite dishes are Mango Salad, Bangkok Fried rice, and Tom Yum Soup. The authentic thai food they serve is pretty close to the real thai food I had in Thailand.
The service could be very slow sometimes especially at peak hours. Sometimes it is quite frustrating when you go there with a starving stomach. But soon you will be convinced by the slogan "Good food must wait" written on the wall.
One more thing, parking spots are very limited around the area.
Oh Jitlada, I was about to sing praises about your food but somehow you managed to push my button! You leave me all angry, hungry waiting for your food to come out. I know your morning glory salad taste like dynamite, but to wait for 40 minutes for a frickin' salad?? Gimme a break! We wonder whether you only have one cook in the kitchen...
My frustration didn't stop there. Watching tables next to us getting all their dishes and eating when we know exactly they sit 10 minutes after we ordered was SO fantastic. While waiting, I also realized how bad our seating was - below a full blast AC and we were freezing hungry! Thanks Jitlada for making us feel really special.
Despite their extremely poor service, all of their dishes are pleasantly spiced and really fulfilling. My suggestion don't come when your tummy is very hungry 'cause this place just knows how to tick you off.
I promised my friend I wouldn't rave too much about Jitlada. So I will try to find something wrong with it.
It's not spicy enough? Nope. That's wrong. Jitlada makes Thai food spicy enough to write an entire article about, and I don't know how they do it. That's the sure-fire way to my heart, by the way: correctly spiced food.
They make their curry from a mix? Nope. They make it from scratch.
Not enough hand-drawn Matt Groening comics on the walls? Nope. And if you come here and rip them off, I will personally hunt you down and do unthinkable things to your vehicle. That's just uncool.
Crappy service? Nope. It's excellent.
No parking? Nope. There's a lot. (Literally.)
Overpriced? Small portions? Greasy? Insects falling from the ceiling? No alcohol? No space for groups? Cash only? No, no, no, no, no, no, and no. Sorry.
The singular complaint that I have about Jitlada is that the ladies' bathroom is scuzzy. But don't go, ok? I don't want my friend all pissed off at me.
All about the green mussels, but first must say that I went here on a weeknight with a friend about a month ago. 25 minute wait to be seated, so we grabbed a drink at the bar down the street before returning at the prescribed time and our table was already waiting for us. In addition to green mussels (#45), we ordered the coconut mango salad and spicy seafood pad thai. For all the naysayers about slow service, I checked my watch and drinks were served in a couple minutes, while it was less than 15 minutes before all our food showed up. Also, our server repeatedly checked on us to see if we needed anything else.
As for the green mussels, they were big and plump, and only $13 for about 9 or 10 of them in a pot with Jitlada's broth including lemongrass and mint leaves. We both had a couple mussels, and my friend who'd never had them before, agreed with me that they were delicious. However, the broth was sooooo spicy hot, that she let me finish the rest of them. Now I love spicy food, but this broth took hot to a whole new level, making it difficult to enjoy the mussels. I was literally sweating (and she was glowing), and we were both laughing at each other, as we finished the mussels. We did notice that there were a LOT of red chilis in the broth. I'm not sure if they threw in too many chilis, but by comparison the spicy seafood pad thai wasn't spicy at all. We also didn't realize that the green sauce served with our food was specifically intended for dipping the mussels, so maybe that would've neutralized some of the fire in the broth.
Based on all the other positive reviews of mussels at Jitlada and the fact that the mussels were huge even for green mussels, we'll definitely be going back for another taste of them. Also, the coconut mango salad and the spicy seafood pad thai were both delicious, not to mention numerous other items I saw on the menu that I'd like to try. 3 stars for the mussels but I'm reserving final judgement until I get a chance to try them again with the green dipping sauce, and 4 stars for the restaurant as a whole.
I came here once before going the 2nd time with Shauna. Didn't order the right stuff cause I heard they're famous for their Southern style Thai dishes, so when I arrived with Shauna, we finally did ordered the great dishes.
FYI, I saw Orlando Bloom sitting right behind me with his family d 1st time I went and too bad, even with that great scene, I couldn't make my food taste better :P. The one thing memorable from this first trip was to order Shrimp Roll, it's DELISH!!!
Here's my review from the second trip, I can't do it better than Shauna already did :). When you're a fan of spicy foods, always flip to the last page of the menu, because when it's listed Spicy there, it's REAL spicy, because if you go to the front pages with all those pictures, even when it's listed with a chili, you could barely taste any spicyness AT all!!!
We ordered:
Crispy morning glory salad with shrimp - always the popular dish $12.95
Blue Crab green papaya salad - $12.95 (totally refreshing dish, be careful or the spiky blue crab, it almost punctured my finger)
Steamed mussels with green curry sauce - $13.95 (comes with about 7-8 big mussels, luv the soup, sweet and spicy)
Pork belly with sabor beans - $12.05 (the portion of this was small, only good for 2 people)
This second visit definitely worth 4 stars, great service by the waiters, always checking if everything was okay, even the owner were busy visiting the customers. Overall, this was a great meal. It's a lil' pricey for my regular meal, but hey once in awhile, this food is really worth it.
Now I would definitely come back again to taste the rest of the Southern dishes, it's good-spicy for me, not too hot, not too mild, it's just right.
Parking is a bit sucks, it's Thai town, what do you expect, but a lil' walk wouldn't hurt for a great meal. Simply luv it!
We didn't have to wait long to be seated but folks are right - it takes them hella long to bring out your food. We were having a good time and didn't mind too much, except that they had the AC on full blast and we were freezing! Plus, when they finally brought the food the cold air blew on it and it became cold right away.
We ordered from the special back page menu. These are the items that are supposed to be unique and authentic thai. I had one of the spicy, dry curry dishes and subbed in tofu. The food was pretty good, but salty as hell. I ain't gonna lie - I tend to like salty food.
Overall it was okay. I wouldn't break my neck getting back over there.
There are just some restaurants that you hear about over and over and you finally go and understand why they're talked so much about. Jitlada is definitely beloved by many a foodie and now I know why.
I should have probably had Jenny B take a picture of me at the end of the meal. I was crying, sweating and also very happy. I didn't even mind the mascara smears!
We came in last night armed with too much information but that didn't deter us from enjoying our meal.
We selected:
Crispy morning glory salad with shrimp
Blue Crab green papaya salad
Steamed mussels with green curry sauce
Pork belly with sabor beans
The crispy morning glory salad was great. Really good texture and shrimp was super fresh. And though the dressing was similar to the blue crab green papaya salad, I enjoyed both. We kept finding more and more blue crab to eat. And I really liked how the green papaya was sliced a bit thicker than other Thai places. Lots of crunch!
Jenny thought these two dishes were fairly mild but I was starting to get a pleasant tingle.
Next came the pork belly which was thinly sliced and served with these beans called sabor. I thought they were the size and look of fava beans but Jenny said they'd be stinky. She was right! Very pungent. The dish was beautiful with a whole stick of peppercorn snaking its way through the dish. Oh wow! But it wasn't too spicy. That is, until it snuck up on you and whizbanged you on the back of the head or in my case, electrified the tip of my tongue. I also liked how there were quartered green zebra tomatoes in this dish.
We weren't sure which mussels to get and the waitress recommended the steamed mussels with green curry dipping sauce. Jenny was spooning it into her soup, I was tentatively dipping my mussel into it. In the end, that sneaky spicy broth got me. There were whole red chilies in there. I'd carefully pick them out of the enormous mussels shells.
We thought we did pretty good with our ordering. Four dishes seemed like a lot but we didn't have much carbs (except for our bowls of rice which I ate to help tamp down on the spice level for me). But once we finished and got up, oh baby, I felt it! I also had drank a zillion gallons of water so I was maneuvering my very full stomach out of the pleasantly decorated space.
$72 total including tax and tip
mango salad, lamb and pumpkin curry, rice salad, morning glory fried salady something with little shrimpies, oxtail soup--all of them gave me a boner. Take-out RARELY gives me a boner.
I'm adding a mile to my daily running routine to make room for jitlada. even though I TOTALLY don't feel like it. you know??
Made reservations for my birthday here.. for 20 ppl. We sat at a long table. I love their thai food here. The service is also great.
1. crab fried rice - okay
2. raw crab papaya salad - its must.. very good!
3. brown spicy chicken - very good
The first time I went here, it was empty. A woman who quite possibly could be the owner (?) told us story after story about the time Matt Groening came in and drank many many beers. She may as well have sat down with us. It was great.
I miss those times. Whenever we visit now, it is less like visiting an old friend, and more like going to an "ESSENTIAL LA Restaurant". Expect hour-long waits at totally random hours of the day - like 11pm on a Sunday night? What?! Even so, this place deserves the honor.
Still, if you're into spicy, the Southern Style Dry-rub curry will blow your face off. It did that to a friend of mine who ordered the spice level at 2 (5 being the highest). I imagine ordering a 5 may have killed him. Be very careful!
Actually, most of the menu items are just plain delicious, and not very spicy at all. Just choose wisely.
Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 - we waited one and a half hours before being served any food. By then we had invested too much time and were not familiar enough with the neighborhood to go elsewhere. Supposedly, they were short a chef, but no apologies or explanations were made regarding the wait. We went because of the rave reviews by S. Irene Virbila and Jonathan Gold. I was very disappointed in all 6 entrees ordered. We also ordered every dessert to cap the evening. The mango sticky rice was improperly prepared. Looked and tasted like rice w/ coconut milk poured over it. The bananas were fried in what tasted like rancid oil and served w/ some nondescript ice cream. I had to ask what flavor it was supposed to be.
The wait staff though pleasant offered no explanation, did not refill water glasses or drinks but they did say they would check on our meal after three requests. This is the worse service and evening I've experienced in any restaurant. An apology or explanation would have gone a long way in assuaging our disappointment.
The food and atmosphere of Saladang Song in Pasadena is much better.
Dessertarian
This is my favorite thai place in whole entire L.A...after trying so many thai resturants I have to say this is the number one ! It's authentic southern thai cousine cooked with much of love.
Try the rice salad when you go there. This dish has wonderful aroma with their native exotic spices and very very tasty.
Also try lamb with winter yellow squash in a hot spicy curry sauce that knocks your feet off...THis is a must try!
I WAS SO ANGRY AT THIS PLACE.
A friend was visiting from Philly and he decided to look up Yelp for Thai food, and this place popped up. So we decided to check it out before heading over to Groundlings for a preview show.
So we started off with Tom Yum Kum and a salad. The soup was mediocre. I've had better ones out there, and the salad was the same.
WE WAITED FOR FUCKING 45 MINUTES WHILE EVERYONE SURROUNDING US GOT FOOD WITHIN 5-10 MINUTES. AND IT TURNED OUT THE WAITRESS FORGOT TO PUT IN OUR ORDER. SHE DIDN'T EVEN COME TO US PERSONALLY TO INFORM US. IT WAS SOME OTHER CHICK. WE HAD TO GET GOING BECAUSE WE WERE GONNA BE LATE FOR OUR SHOW. AND WHEN WE ASKED FOR CHECK THIS FUCKING BITCH SHOWED UP, APOLOGIZING WITH ABSOLUTELY NO SINCERITY WHATSOEVER.
Told another friend about this (he's a BIG advocate of the restaurant and was telling me how great their mussels were and how the owner of the restaurant was bragging about their mussels). IF YOU CAN BRAG ABOUT YOUR FOOD WHY CAN'T YOU FUCKING TRAIN YOUR STAFF BETTER? HUH?
What really really pissed me off was the signs around the restaurant telling people to be fucking patient. If you are going to be this fucking arrogant about your food then FUCKING IMPROVE YOUR FUCKING SERVICE.
Part of going to a restaurant is to enjoy its atmosphere and SERVICE. Growing up watching my parents invest/manage restaurants, this place is a GIANT failure for me.
I was really looking forward to trying this place out. Unfortunately after waiting for 3 minutes without being acknowledged or greeted, even though 3 employees were in front of us, we decided to leave. That was the first time I was ignored in a restaurant.
This is my favorite restaurant in LA, and maybe the world. The first time I came, I was in a terrible funk and was desperate to feel better. When I ate the food here, the change in my mood was like night and day. We had asked for "level 4" spiciness, and while we were eating, I got a strange feeling that made me think of a cartoon character who has just taken ether. You know-- floating around. I'm serious. I still go to Jitlada when I need a lift, or for any reason or no reason. AND the people who work here are BEYOND nice. Great, great service. Very thoughtful.
Had seen this place while doing errands. It's in my neighborhood so i thought it'd be the perfect place to take my Dad for a nice lunch. He likes spicy and I'm trying to.
We were the only patrons there when we arrived at 11:15 or so, i believe the restaurant had just opened. Service was (as mentioned by other reviewers) a bit on the slow side. Lucky for us the place wasn't crowded! Or my dad might have insisted we go somewhere else.
Now for the meat of the review- We ordered Tom Yom soup, Morning Glory salad (thought it came with shrimp, but next time I'll ask.), sticky rice and a braised beef entree. We shared the entire meal. Plus, of course, two Thai iced teas with cream (Oh, yummy day!! i always feel like a kid who gets to have dessert with dinner every time i order one.) yum-ya-yumyummmm.
Tom Yom soup how i love thee, let me count the ways...you are pungent with an aroma bordering on sweet but hovering on earthy, you are spicy but in that mild tickles-my-tastebuds sort of way, you are comforting in your complexity yet not overwhelming. Oh, Tom Yom i must see you again and soon!
The salad was good and went well with the extra sticky rice. Kind of a mild flavor but tasty. I can only imagine how much better it will be when there are shrimpies in it.
The beef dish is would love to comment on and will do my best. It was over my spice tolerance, way over. My dad seemed to like it, at least i think so, he's a man of few words but lets just say half the dish was gone. When i tried it i got the maddest legal headrush I've ever experienced. I'm not kidding, there was sweat on the brow, spinning of the brain, and a quick grab for the table edge. Wow, who knew "Mild, please." meant "I'd like to feel like someone has blown off the back of my head?
Over all this is an excellent restaurant which i plan on patronizing again in the future, but only with my spice junkie foodie friends!
Just wow. Good, quick service. Amazing food. When we arrived on a Saturday night we were told the wait was an hour and fifteen minutes, but it ended up being only 20 minutes. The waitress was very friendly and helpful, suggesting dishes.
We ordered off the back of the menu where the specialty southern Thai dishes are, now translated into English luckily. The food came quickly, but not all at once, which I actually liked. Here's what we had:
Curried noodles with fish balls and a side platter of pickled and fresh condiments. The heat sneaks in with this one about five minutes after your first bite.
Morning glory and shrimp salad with a lime sauce that was delicate and not too acid like some places.
Pumpkin and pork in a delicate but complex sauce.
Top it off with a bottle of Nakhon beer that has a hint of something special -jasmine?
I have gone here more times than I can count and plan to go again and again. Everything tastes good that I've tried. And the service is friendly. Also a good place to see celebrities. But that's never a good reason to go anywhere. Who cares about celebrities when you're eating something spicy.
Speaking of spicy, when you tell them how spicy you want it, don't say, "Spicy please, and not white-people spicy but real spicy." Trust me, you want it white-people spicy because, well, the heat is hot.
What else can I say about this place that so many others have already said before.
The food is very authentic Thai and if you are not a lover of spice, don't bother coming here. They will make dishes on the blander side, but to fully enjoy what Jitlada has to offer you have to go all the way. "When in Rome/Bangkok."
The staff is very nice and just remember EVERYTHING is made to order so if it's busy you might have to wait a little bit. But it's worth it.
Be adventurous and ask the staff what the "must haves" are. They have great suggestions. The number 20 seems to be popular.
Fantastic
I have a lot of choices for Thai food here in East Hollywood. A LOT. I think this is the best place for curries, especially if you like them spicy.
Once I was in there and some little kid shit his pants in the middle of the restaurant. I'm not sure if it was because his food was too hot, but bring a change of underwear, just in case.
So we needed a place to eat before going to the event at Jumbos. A yelper suggested Jitlada since it is just around the corner from Jumbos. What can I say everything I tried was good. The Crying Tiger was hot, but a good heat, the Jitlada delight was good and the shrimp wrapped in fried egg noodle appetizer was very good as well. I left full and was not disappointed. I would definitely recommend this place.
Not only did I give this place 1 star, I also DID NOT TIP.
Out of the thousands of times that I have dined out in the past 20 something years, I can only think of 3 occasions where I have not tipped.
35 minutes for a salad to come out, another 10 for our pad Thai, then they bother to inform us that the dish that we had ordered 45 minutes ago was out.
1 table that came in 10 minutes after us, got all their food before us.
Another table that came in 20 minutes after us. . .got all 6 of theirs dishes when we finally got out pad Thai. I understand there is a fair amount of waiting time for food to get cooked, but you're a hole-in-the wall Thai restaurant. . . pad Thai should take 20 min tops especially since it was 2pm and the place was only half full.
The salad was pretty good, but overpriced. $12 for half a plate of salad.
The pad Thai was watery. . .how do you mess us pad Thai when you're a Thai restaurant?
The cincher . .. the owners at the table across the way from us that kept staring at us for the hour we were there.
oh and the table that ordered the 6 dishes, the owner Jaz came out and served the dishes herself to that table.
Must've been food critics at that table.. . next time I'll tell them I review for the Saigon Times.
I hate you Jitlada, you give me such high expectations with your food but you dash any hopes away with your lousy service! Damn you Jitlada, your service sucks!
It took you 35 minutes to make me the Morning Glory salad? 45 minutes to make my pad thai? AND 45 minutes to tell me that you're out of mussels (for steamed mussels)? WTF!
I got to your restaurant at 1:30PM and you were only half full, what's your excuse for this slow service? Oh wait, you have a sign... Something about food made to order so it may take a while. I guess other restaurant doesn't make their food to order. Are we comparing ourselves to Wendy's? Cause they make things to order. Perhaps Burger King? But there I can have it my way? Anyways...
Perhaps I wouldn't be as angry with you if the table next to me didn't get all their dishes (5 of them) before we got our first, we only got here 20 minutes before they did. Wait; is that a morning glory salad they're eating, the same salad I've been waiting for 35 minutes?
Jitlada, there is something wrong with you... I come in 20 minutes before another table, order the same dish, but the other table gets the dish before me? I'm beginning to think you don't like me!
BTW, your pad thai sucks. I didn't know pad thai was supposed to be soupy but I guess you're doing your "own" thing now.
This trip could have been saved; all I really wanted was some yummy steamed mussels. Is that too much to ask for? I guess it was. You ran out of my favorite dish but did you have to wait 45 minutes to tell me that? Why did you tell another table that you were out of mussels when they ordered but waited 45 minutes to tell me? You made me feel special; I thought I was getting the last serving. Sigh.
Thanks for asking me if I wanted to order a different dish, apparently I looked like I had another 45 minutes to wait around.
Jitlada, I know you can do better. Come on, the table next to me, the one I was jealous of, got all 5 dishes in 15 minutes. Just because you have a sign up doesn't mean I don't get angry and hungry while I watch others eat.
I guess I can go on and on about what I didn't like but I don't think you're listening. But one last thing, you know that table right in front of the register? Who gets to sit there? I ask because the 3 ladies that were sitting there stared at our table the whole time we were there. It's kinda creepy to have people sitting at an empty table staring at you while you eat.
I've heard so many good things about this place that when my friends from NYC and SF visited, I… Read more »
Jitlada is an example of what makes eating out in the diverse dining world of LA so special. A plain pair of rooms in a scruffy strip mall location, Jitlada will make you forget 99% of the Thai restaurants you've ever tried. The long list of Southern Thai dishes in the back of the menu is daunting. Just ask your waitress for guidance and you won't be steered wrong. You may stumble across something extremely hot so ask your server if that's a concern. I like giant prawns and the flattened fried chicken legs, among many other amazing dishes. One of a kind. Beer is served but they welcome BYO.
If you have straight hair when you come here, you'll leave with it curled. If it's curly to begin with, expect to leave with a 'fro. This is easily the spiciest place I've ever eaten, and other than one Malaysian place in Pasadena it's not really even close. It's spicy in a good way, and it's sneaky, creeping up on you like a mugger in a dark alley. Before you know it, you're crying like a little girl and begging for more water. A lot of restaurants have spicy dishes that turn out to be not all that, catering to the masses. Here, when they say spicy take them at their word.
The menu is off the beaten track from most Thai places, most dishes coming from the south of the country. Mango salad is wonderful with coconut, cashews, shrimp and then suddenly a mouthful of fire. They also have a tasty mussels plate with lemon grass, chile, garlic, basil and a touch of lime. More gas on the fire. Another standard here are the curries. Where most Thai curries are moderately hot at best, at Jitlada they are all sweet little cauldrons of fire. If hot isn't your thingk there are many other options, but to really experience the joy of the place you should really eat it the way it's meant to be experienced.
I have to agree with a lot of Yelpers here, give the service here a break, waiting 30 minutes for food is nothing, especially when it's this delicious. One thing that drives me nuts in this city (country?) is our inability to just relax and enjoy an evening of food. Americans could learn something from the Europeans who make an evening of their meals and truly enjoy the experience. Trust me, you're life isn't that exciting and you're not that important. Sit back, have a nice Thai beer and settle down. The service here is slow, but it's also friendly and comfortable and caring which makes up for the vaguely slow delivery.
Be prepared to leave looking like you just finished watching Love Story, tears streaming down your face but your stomach will be smiling, and laughing.
Food - A
Ambience - A-
Service - A-
Value - A-
put yourself in the hands of the very nice staff people - none of whom seem to have any training as waiters. Let them guide you through the enormous menu and select a bunch of things you will not have had before. This is not the place for sate and pad thai - if you want that go somewhere else.
Wonderful and friendly owner wanders around greeting everyone - she can also be helpful in selecting dishes.
The food I ate was mostly wonderful and unique. ( details to follow) Spent $20 a person for food tax and tip ( no beverages) - but including mussels, lamb fish, etc.
Steamed mussels
Lamb with pumpkin
softshell crab with curry sauce
fried morning glory
etc
Biggest problem is this place is still run as a hole in the will ethnic place, but now gets too many people for that. The wait staff are nice kids who know the food - but are not professional waiters - and the kitchen timing leaves something to be desired.
we ordered appetizers and mains - and the mains arrived first. - this is not a place to come for immediate service - the pace is much more leisurely.
"Free Delivery!"
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Drink 6 Get 4 Free!
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Barbeque
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Category: Thai
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