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I've driven and run by this place all the time. From the looks outside, it didn't look like anything special. Here's another place that will remind you not to judge a book by its cover.
Great dishes... we had the pad see ew, spring rolls, and one of the soups with shrimp and mushroom. Yes the portions are all pretty big. But of course it comes at a cost. Whereas most places, the standard dishes are $8-10, here it runs about $13. The food was really quite good. One thing that really stood out to us, was the peanut sauce that came with the spring rolls. I think most places serve this cold.... here they serve it warm, which surprisingly made it SOOO much better.
Anyway, the only reason it's 4 stars, is the price. Nice service, good food. Decor is pretty nice, though some of the things inside are a little bit outdated. I figure if you're going to pay a bit more, you might as well get a fancier set up too.
The portions here are HUGE. My friend and I shared a pad Thai and a salad, couldn't finish either one. But the food itself was pretty good. To be honest, Thai food is usually not horrible or amazing, it's just pretty good, and this was on the higher end of that scale, but still on it. So if you want solid, well priced food, this is your place.
Also, the service was pretty good, but they didn't bring our check even though we had been done and everything was cleared for about 15 minutes. Once we asked for it, they gave it to us immediately. Just FYI.
melanee thai is GREAT FOR LARGE GROUPS.. because its very empty (don't be scared it's not because the food is horrible), they can put together large tables and they have large booths, and the food is relatively cheap depending on what you order
its pretty good food wise, got all your usual thai dishes such as pad thai and pad see ew.. YOU CAN DEFINITELY SHARE A PLATE WITH SOMEONE.. unless your f-ungry ahaha then you'd probably want your own
there was one dish that stood out to me! it was some minced chicken/pork over coconut rice.. very flavorful!
i got the chicken green curry .. the chicken was kind of dry.. probably should of gotten it with tofu!
over all not bad though.. if i needed my thai fix i'd come back, the staff is very friendly and welcoming
I love this place!!! If you like thai food, and need some relaxation time, this is the place to go. I've come here and just stayed for several hours without hassle. and stuffed myself full.
Parking is easy, I almost always get a spot right in front of the restaurant, if not the next side street.
Service here has always been awesome. The same guy is always here, prolly part of the family or something, he doesn't say much at all, but hes always there when you need him. He hangs round the back and then all you have to do is signal him to come. No hovering 5 feet away.
Decor is just comfy and worn in. The outside always has the same icicle lights and the inside the same cracked and worn booths and seats. It's always been clean and all though. I've come here for lunch and dinner, and both times it's never been packed. Maybe halfway full. Either way its great because it feels cozy and its more intimate here. Yet they can still handle a 12 person group. Very laidback.
And onto the food, always fresh, perfect, and I almost always finish it even though I'm just full to bursting (cause I'm such a pig). Haha one time I took half home, but reheated it that night and ate the rest. So now I just eat the whole dish. I've always gotten the pad see ew, melanee noodles, pad thai, or curry. Most of the time its the pad see ew, its just soooo good.
Pad see ew, perfectly cooked noodles with the most flavorful sweetish sauce. Noodles don't stick together, nor do they just slide off cause the sauce is too thin. And they give you a good amount, just enough so that I'm full, then I eat a bit more and I'm ultra full. Veggies too, can't forget those, always fresh tasting and they give a good amount, not just 2 pieces.
The melanee noodles are also good here too. And so is the pad thai, a more sweet version. I don't think its as good as the pad see ew, but still tasty. Curry is yummy too, I love coconut milk in curry. I've heard the bbq chicken isn't so good here though.
Everytime I come here I tend to stay a long time. It's such a good place to grab good food and catch up with friends cause they don't rush you here at all.
Don't ever order the thai barbeque chicken. Looked like last nights left overs. Didn't even recognize it was chicken. Do not go use the bathroom...I repeat do not go use the bathroom and look into the kitchen. The place should be shut down. Used to love this place. Went down hill....fast.
This is my favorite Thai place in LA. It's right near my house so i can walk there and it's definitely a hidden gem. Very laid back atmosphere inside - always surprisingly great music playing too.
Some recommendations: Green curry (i get steamed tofu - so good), pad thai, tom kar goong soup (this soup is absolutely amazing), seafood noodles, papaya salad, tofu salad, dumpling appetizer. the only thing i would not recommend is Paul's Special. it wasn't flavorful enough.
try some of their thai beers as well - really yummy.
Came in for dinner at about 5:30PM on a Friday afternoon and we were the only customers in there. Well, it was still early. The server was nice and seated us and brought us water, which tasted a little funny in my opinion...
Shrimp pad thai- eh. Sauce was a little too sweet for my liking. 3 stars.
Chicken green curry- meh. A little tasteless. 2 stars.
David's special with minced meat, fired egg on top of coconut rice- interesting... sweet and salty dish all mixed together, but somehow just did not work for me. Especially the coconut rice: rice with coconut milk drizzled on top. Interesting... 2 stars.
Honey Duck- most arguably the best dish of the entire meal. 4 stars.
An okay restuarant overall, but not amazing. And when before we left, there were 3 other patrons in the establishment an hour later.... hmm.
My favorite Thai Food in a town of great Thai food. Their food is always SO FRESH! It tastes like the veggies were just picked.
The restaurant itself has a great and welcoming atmosphere, however every time we have been there the dining room has been empty which is uncomfortable so we usually order take away.
The Tom Kar Gai soup should be prescription medicine for any upper respiratory ailment (delicious prescription medicine).
I also love the Pad See Ew (Rice noodles with spinach and chicken). The Pad Thai is Pad Thai as another reviewer mention, but still tasty if that is what you are after.
++Delivery only
Melanee is better than Natalee Thai Cuisine but Joom Bangkok Cafe and Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen are better than Melanee. Garlic Chicken with Brown Rice (ok, chicken was a little chewy..). Generous portions. Orange Tofu is a hit or miss. Their Pad Thai is Pad Thai--nothing special.
Delivery time is usually around 30-45 minutes.
"Meh. I've had better."
It's pricey for what you get. For example, a bowl of green curry w/chicken, and a side of rice is about ~$10. That's cool, if it's better than all the other places that charge ~$8 for it, but it's not. It seems like they cater to the bougie Beverly Hills crowd. Sugary green curry. Is that supposed to be tasty? Pardon me!
The coconut soup was subpar. WAYYY too much lemon in that sheiza. Ruined the soup. That's on the appetizer menu, so you know what to avoid.
The white rice was good. =)
The waiter, tight lipped dude. Cool I suppose, but he was treating me strange cuz I walked in w/my last year Yelpoween costume on. Bro, it's almost Halloween, plus I have a date with me stop giving me the queer eye, straight guy.
Won't be back. 9/10 Thai places I've had beat this in terms of taste and value.
Disclaimer: This review is for takeout only.
DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!
It's really not worth it. .
Got the pad thai and the yellow curry w/ beef. Curry=not bad -3ish stars, pad thai=barf - 0 stars. Overall - I ate more curry so we give it 2 stars.
But how could you say the pad thai is so bad when all those other people say it's sooooooo good you ask?
To that I respond do not be sucked in by the glow of those 4 and 5 star reviews, the pad thai was orangey (you know what I mean if you've had good pad thai), and the sprouts were old/wilty. The whole concoction smelled like it had lived in a fridge for a week and had a general aura of decomposition.
bottom line: I was REALLY hoping Melanee would be the end of my quest for good thai food on the west side...the quest goes on.
We ordered delivery from them for the first time last night (Thursday) around 7:30 p.m. We got the vegetable and tofu soup, thai fried rice w/vegetables, and spicy basil noodles w/shrimp.
First things first- the delivery was SO fast! I was shocked when someone knocked on the door- I thought it couldn't be the delivery people. But it was! It took about 20 minutes from when I hung up the phone to when it got to the door.
The food- oh man. Wonderful! The rice was actually tasty and flavorful, not just greasy and generic tasting like lots of fried rice is. The noodles were perfectly spicy. Only the soup was a bit of a disappointment- the broth could have used more flavor- but the tofu was really silky and the vegetables were perfectly cooked. We ate so much I thought I was going to burst. The portions were huge, so we have tons of leftovers.
At first we thought this was a bit expensive for take out, but it is totally worth it. This is my new favorite delivery place.
We really miss not living as close anymore but recently went. The food is as delicious as it has ever been. Paul also travels back and forth to Thailand where he connects with where all his great cooking skills started.
The great discounts are still up on his website, check it out!
I love it love it love it!
I barely found this place as well. The owner and head chef Paul is…
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I think this is my favorite thai restaurant on the westside. Im not sure why i like it so much. All i can say is that the food is really flavorful and hearty. Its a bit more expensive than most thai restaurants but the portions are a bit larger as well. I recommend the curries and the pad thai. They also serve this purple wild rice that usually comes with the curries. I like their little twist on things.
After driving around, oh lets say and hour, trying to find ANY place to have lunch, we stumbled upon Melanee Thai.
At first glance, the place looks a little run-down and disheveled. But the "A" displayed on the window killed all concerning thoughts.
The place was slightly occupied and people sat around gabbing over huge Thai Iced Teas. We sat in a booth...uneven seats, but whatever.
We placed our orders; I, the Pad Thai lunch special and a Thai iced tea. My friend, the Orange Chicken special with a glass of water.
The waitress immediately brought us a tiny bowl of salad.
Twenty-five minutes later, we are sitting there twiddling our thumbs wondering when the hell the waitress was going to grace our presence with some beverages.
We were obviously dismayed, but the waitress finally popped in with our drinks.
Twenty-five minutes later (yes, I am counting), people who arrived WAAAAY after us were already feasting, while we sat there with half empty glasses, empty salad plates and rumbling tummies.
Ten more minutes pass by and a couple of girls had a mix up with their order. One of the girls was very irritated considering she was on her lunch break and she had been waiting for over 35 minutes for her dish. Now they had to prepare the proper dish, which would "take a long time."
Mind you, we still have nothing on our table. We continued counting how many other patrons AFTER US were either eating or finished eating and ready to pay the check.
If anyone knows Liz Ohhh, they should know that 1. I hate bad service 2. I hate bad food. and 3. I hate BAD SERVICE!!!!
We stood up and gestured that we were leaving. I mean, caaaamon!!! Does it take THAT long to make veggie Pad Thai??
The waitress scurried over to us with a pen in hand and a bill...
She was going to charge us for the 3 lettuce leaves, Thai iced tea and water.
Negative, Ghost Writer.
I gave her the stink eye.
The stink eye I give to people who really don't want a piece of me when I am hungry, annoyed and HUNGRY.
She insisted that we pay...I thought to myself "we didn't come here to admire the decor or see how many people -- BESIDES US -- you can serve faster."
She realized I was ready to unleash the fury...she backed off and I left that shit hole.
Sorry...especially to those who seem to have had a positive experience here...
This place is a load of CRAP.
Lemon grass soup. Pad Thai. Spicy basil with beef. It's all really good here. Lunch specials can't be beat if you are looking for some flavor to spice up your day. Everything tastes fresh and they really nail most of their dishes in an authentic way.
I drive from Santa Monica just to come here-- and I don't go east of the 405 unless I have to. Says a lot.
I had just come out of getting my hair did at Chess and Burman (anyone wants to know an excellent hair guy PM me), and was HUNGRY.
I planned on going to Fu's, a funny looking place I had seen on the drive up, but while on my way there a cute little building caught my eye. I made an insto decision, wrenched out a U turn and pulled up into a metered spot across the street.
The buildings facade is quaint and cute, painted red, and there are a couple of tables outside. The second I opened the door I had a good feeling.
My waitress was very friendly and intuitive. I ordered the Pineapple curry with steamed tofu, a side of brown rice and a Thai coffee.
The coffee came immediately. It was perfect, not obnoxiously sweet and actually had a coffee flavor. Perhaps 10 minutes went by and then the food arrived. I pulled the curry toward me, and dipped in the spoon. Wow, I was floored. I did not expect this to taste so good. No one could tell but I was doing a little happy jig in my mind.
It is a red curry with just the right amount of sweetness and coconut goodness. Swimming in this happy sauce were chunks of pineapple, tomato, Thai chilies, basil, red bell peppers, and creamy delicious soft tofu, LOTS of it. All the veggies were chopped into small identical triangles. Happily there were no annoying pieces of core to ruin the chewing consistency of the pineapple. The angry spiciness played against a mellow sweetness and my tongue played the happy moderator. This bowl would feed two people. I didn't think the curry was spicy enough until I got to the last of the broth where all the peppers were hiding. I was glowing like a Christmas tree bulb by the time I soaked up the last of it.
Ok, brown rice is for nutrition and white rice for pleasure. Not in this case. I could have eaten the brown rice with nothing on it and been happy. It was perfectly steamed and a hint nutty. They had playfully tossed in a few grains of wild rice for looks.
The place is funky but chic. It is a narrow and long place with large booths on the right hand side, each one guarded by a golden statue in Lotus position. The booths are very comfortable and every chair or booth in the place has a little pillow to use as a lumbar support, or as something to throw in a drunken rampage if things get wild.
The center of the restaurant is lined with tables made of veneered plywood, flanked by a wooden pillowed chair on each side. The left wall is a mirror which adds a sense of roominess to the place.
Let your eye follow the line of tables and it will land on a fully stocked bar lined with three wooden high chairs. Once up on one of them I imagine you might need help getting down.
Asides:
They are way into Chile, Mint, and Garlic here. They offer an unusual option of garlic noodles instead of a side of rice. The cutlery is unusually heavy even though all the handles are hollow.
WIDE selection of dishes AND they cater to Vegans and Vegetarians
Minus one star for old peeling carpet in serious need of a vacuuming and wobbly plywood tables.
3.5
My boyfriend wanted to go to Rodeo Dr because he's obsessed with nice suits, watches and cars, just like every other guy in the world. However, i absolutely hate Rodeo Dr so i wanted to get the hell out of there ASAP.
So in hopes of trying to get away from the Beverly Hills crowd, my boyfriend and i wanted to find a good asian place to have late lunch/early dinner. Little did it occur to us that 90% of asian restaurants close during "late lunch/early dinner" time. Stupid us didn't bother to call ANY of the places we wanted to go to before we went, and we wasted my gas instead. We went to 3 different really nice places, which of course were all closed. Finally we were going to give up on the asian food and just head back over to BH and settle for some expensive mediocre italian food. But on the way back, this little thai place caught my eye because it said OPEN!!! Not to mention i'm always down for thai food.
It was practically empty, just us and one other family but i didn't care. I don't know if it was just because my boyfriend and i were so hungry that absolutely everything on the menu sounded delicious, but absolutely everything on the menu sounded delicious. We figured since we ended up not going to one of the nicer places that we were planning on going to, that we'd just go crazy and get a million things here. But thennnn we changed our mind again because thai places are usually pretty generous with the portions. Decisions, decisions. We landed somewhere in the middle.
We got dumplings and fried won tons to start. Won tons were amazinggg and came with clear sweet and sour sauce! Which i have never seen before so that was kinda cool. I ordered the Honey Duck and Dylan ordered some beef thing that was good according to him (i don't eat beef). But my Honey Duck was deliciousss. We also split the Melanee Noodles which were alright. A little too much egg for my liking, but tasty none the less. But i must say i regret not getting Rad Na like i always do. Surprisingly the portions really weren't that big, especially the Honey Duck. Service was decent, a little slow especially considering we were basically the only customers in there. But all in all it was good. It wasn't exactly a bargain, especially for the portions, but 45 bucks for a meal for 2 around here is pretty good, even if we didn't get any leftovers out of what we ordered. I doubt i'll ever come back, but it's good to know that there's at least one place open while everyone else is closed.
I discovered Melanee Thai 4 years ago, and I have been there probably 30 times. I've had 2 birthday dinners there, and my friends call it "Katie's" Thai place.
I have never had anything less than a fabulous experience there. The food is amazing, always topped with fresh herbs, and the surroundings are calming.
I highly recommend the orange tofu and Vietnamese spring rolls.
I love Thai food. Coming from a small town in Pennsylvania, I had never experienced it before moving out here to LA.
Since I've been here I've had good, so-so & downright "aw, hell -- never again!" Thai food.
My favorite place is Melanee Thai. It's this tiny place that's nestled in between other buildings on W Pico near Century City -- if you blink you'll miss it.
It has a great ambiance. There is cool Asian decor and circular booths with pillows. It has never been loud or packed when I was there, so you kinda feel like this place is your little secret.
I've only been there for lunch and have introduced quite a few friends to this little secret, so consider yourself privileged, Yelpers! I had to add it as a new business to this site.
They have great lunch specials, which they serve with soup, salad and appetizer of the day. I have a love affair with the cashew nut chicken. Also, be sure to try the Thai iced tea.
Although I am quite carnivorous, according to their website (http://www.thaifoodla.com) vegetarians have given this place quite a shout out.
Before your visit, go to their website to check out the menu & print a coupon for 10% off . You can either get the discount on dining in or take out.
This place is reasonably priced, has fantastic Thai cuisine & you won't have to take a megaphone to talk to your companions. Check it out. You won't be sorry.
Really, really enjoyed the food.
Really good service (maybe because we were one of 2-3 groups there?)
Far, far better than Natalee Thai....
I had the spicy basil noodle dish and it was awesome. Great amount of spicyness and veges- though sort of odd that they put lettuce in it.
We all shared the spring rolls (fried of course...they offer the steamed ones too) which were really good
(and knowing we were a group of 7 they cut them up for us, which I think is just a nice touch..well played melanee).
2 friends had the pad thai- I thought it was a little saucy, but one person really liked it and another didn't really like it much.
another had the pad see ew, which I really liked and she really liked too.
another had the duck - really good, almost perfect but a little overcooked- still, really good.
All noodle dishes as 9.95, all soft drinks and stuff I think are like 2.95
So all in all, it was pretty decently priced, I got out of there in a group of 7, paying 14 for a noodle dish and my portion of the spring rolls.
Overall, it's my new thai place in West LA.
PS bathrooms were sorta gross- which was odd since it seemed like not many people have been there.
This neighborhood is flooded with thai food. Most of it is decent to pretty good, Melanee is AMAZING. I love this place. I'm lucky enough to live and work near this place and the menu is fabulous for lunch and dinner.
The place is small, but adorable. Its very cozy, nice circular booths with throw pillows. Great place for conversation-you feel like you could stay all day --or not--take out comes in very generous portions.
I've had quite a few menu items, all were good (cashew chicken and crystal's special both rock) however two are stand outs in my mind - the fried filet of sole and the yellow curry - the sole is so lightly fried and comes with an excellent house curry sauce and yellow curry is my personal thai food staple, but no one makes it like Paul and the gang.
If I ever leave LA I'll miss this place.
Tonya's right, very good Thai food, I went there last week while we were waiting for happy hour friends to show up at the Loew's across the street.
My friend Gabe was told it was the best Thai in LA, my vote's still out, but it was pretty great.
He had Pad Thai, and it was perfect, right down to the crushed peanuts sprinkled on the plate.
I ate something the waitor reccomended and it made my tummy feel good.
The sun was setting. There was a feeling of excitement in the air. I was to be taken to a tasty restaurant...so tasty, in fact, that I was urged to eat lightly all day so I could save my appetite for this mysterious new place. Though it was dinner time in West LA, this restaurant had an air of comforting homliness about it.
From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by a smiling waitress who tended to us with sincerity. No pretentiousness here. The booths were so comfortable and the pillow was a bonus point for me! We ordered pad thai and yellow curry, the standard stuff. It's the best way to compare different restaurants, in my opinion. The food came out super fast, as they do in most efficient Asian restaurants. The pad thai was PERFECT. I used to think that pad thai noodles were supposed to be soggy because that's the only way I ever had it. I thought that as a Korean, I was just being picky about the consistency of noodles, preferring the noodles that had a little bit of tension and spring left in it over the soggy chef-boyardee type noodles. Well, I'm glad I was wrong. I know that I will be bringing all my nitpicky Korean noodle fiends to this Thai restaurant. The yellow curry was also pretty amazing. Not as amazing as the pad thai, but still, pretty amazing.
I looked around at all the other customers in the restaurant. They seemed to be more relaxed than the usual quick-dinner-date types. They looked like regulars who were in on "the secret". This restaurant was like their haven. What a great place to sit down for a long meal to get to know each other and not be distracted by the hectic commotion usually apparent in most restaurants during dinner time.
Great for first dates ;)
This place ROCKS! I have been to Thailand and this is the most authentic Thai restaurant I have been to in LA. I live for their spicy basil tofu and my husband is obsessed with their steak salad. And the staff couldn't be nicer. I really, really recommend this place!!
Average, a bit overpriced.
"Free Delivery!"
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Drink 6 Get 4 Free!
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Category: Thai
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