This Lowkey Gem Is LA’s Go-To For Northern Thai Cuisine

With just six tables to go around and the intoxicating smells of coconut milk, chilies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and various spices combining to create a thrilling whiff, Northern Thai Food Club in East Hollywood, California feels like a quaint world of its own — even within Thai Town, where the bantam-sized restaurant manages to stand out amongst the concentrated cluster of other Thai restaurants.

Though the space is small, the food coming out of Chef Toon’s kitchen is a monument of Northern Thai flavor. So expect dishes like an ultra herbaceous and fiery sai ua (Northern Thai Sausage), rich curries and stews that coax maximum flavor from thoughtful simmering, and zesty dips that compliment the essential and warm sticky rice.

While you’re tucking into a comforting bowl of some of the best khao soi in the city, sink into the charming vibe of Northern Thai Food Club, where a hot food table on one end of the space serves as center stage for the restaurant’s daily specialties. Boxes of fresh mango are stacked in one corner, while a menagerie of Thai food products lay opposite, fulfilling my logic that if a restaurant can serve as a pseudo marketplace and storage room all at once, then it’s gotta be fire.

One visit is an easy gateway to other Northern Thai dishes, most of which are under ten dollars, so the chances of Northern Thai Food Club being a go-to spot are high. And though this type of club doesn’t thrive on its exclusivity, any fellow if-you-know-you-know diner would welcome you in with an approving nod in between emphatic slurps of the khao soi.