Holy Basil's small-but-mighty second location amps up Thai classics - Review - Los Angeles - The Infatuation
"Sequels that are better than the original are rare. That rule generally extends to movies, younger siblings, and restaurants—which makes the second location of Holy Basil especially impressive. The inventive Thai cooking at this Atwater Village expansion builds on the excitement of the original in every way. As long as, like the first spot, you don’t mind sacrificing a few comforts. When Holy Basil’s DTLA takeout window opened in 2021, we were immediately smitten with Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal “Joy” Yuon’s amped-up takes on traditional Thai dishes, even if it meant eating out of paper cartons on wobbly chairs. Their Atwater Village space, accessible by a narrow alleyway, is an upgrade in terms of square footage, though not by much. A stainless steel counter fits just eight seats, all next to the open kitchen where woks sizzle and clang. Indoors and out, it’s intimate and energetic, but a tough fit for even modest-sized groups. photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp The food here is so special, though, we’d happily wolf it down in an actual shoebox. Holy Basil’s cooking lands somewhere between the high-finesse, seasonally driven luxuries you’ll find at Anajak, and the bold, fun fusion riffs at Night + Market. On any given day, the menu might ping-pong between delicate soft shell crabs in salted egg brown butter, and fried wonton “nachos” squiggled with Kewpie mayo and sweet chili sauce. Even standard-seeming staples like papaya salad (tossed with crispy fish croutons) and grilled satay (made with smoky mushrooms) are done with sneaky twists that’ll throw you on your butt like you've upset a judo instructor. Then the next night, or next week, those dishes might be gone, replaced by something just as spectacular. At lunch, Holy Basil is walk-in only and relatively mellow, which makes it a great option for a leisurely midday meal. If it's your first visit though, come for dinner—even if there's no booze on the menu just yet. The restaurant saves its more ambitious specials for nighttime service, and you can make a reservation ahead of time, though many people don't. Sure, the alleyway might be crowded with walk-in hopefuls, and you might be given an outdoor table so close to the HomeState patio next door that a dude eating brisket tacos could lean over the fence and ask you about your crab fried rice. But any minor inconveniences evaporate once the dishes start to land. Besides, the quirks are what make this tiny, scrappy Thai restaurant such a thrill. We wouldn't want our shoebox any other way. Food Rundown Drinks Even with the tight quarters and a thumping hip-hop playlist, nobody here is getting too rowdy. Probably because the restaurant is still waiting on their beer and wine license. If you want something stronger than oat milk thai tea, cross the street for a glass of pet-nat at Baby Battista afterward. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Nam Tok Angus Beef Tataki A recurring theme at Holy Basil involves familiar dishes flipped on their heads, which is the case with this riff on Thai steak salad. Thin slices of rare grilled steak are laid out carpaccio style, then showered with a salty-tart lime vinaigrette, roasted rice powder, and a big handful of roasted chile powder that’s more fruity and earthy than spicy. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Wild Shrimp Agua Chili This is Holy Basil’s must-order seafood dish. Raw shrimp are neatly sliced so they lie flat, then are bathed in a tongue-zapping mixture of sour tomatillos, fragrant lime leaves, fish sauce, and lots of raw garlic—a.k.a. Mexican aguachile that went to finishing school in Isaan. You can add uni on top for $18, though it more than doubles the price of the original dish. Delicious, but not strictly necessary. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Gra Pow Wagyu Beef Would you be able to tell this dish involves wagyu if it wasn’t listed on the menu? Maybe not. But the wok-tossed gra pow tastes like pure beefiness, balanced with fresh chiles, garlic, and three kinds of basil. The crunch of the snap peas is a nice touch, too. Make sure to add the optional puffy fried egg with a runny orange yolk. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Grandma’s Fish & Rice This deceptively simple dish is based on an after-school snack the chef’s grandmother used to make, and all we’ll say is Bagel Bites could never. The crunch of shredded fried fish nuggets over fluffy rice is pleasant already, but the shallots, cilantro, and dried chilies sprinkled on top (plus a little dish of fish sauce and lime) push it into the stratosphere. Mix everything and dig in. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Pad See Ew As big fans of the wide, flat rice noodles you’d typically find in pad see ew, we were skeptical about this thin-noodle version. We were very wrong. The chewy vermicelli soak up the stir-fry sauce and a little smoke from the wok, too. This is also one of the few dishes at Holy Basil that can be made vegan or vegetarian, provided you ask the kitchen to swap the pork for tofu. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Shrimp Yellow Curry You’ve probably had yellow curry before, but this deeply savory version is more complex than the math problem Matt Damon solves in Good Will Hunting. Fat grilled shrimp get slathered in a peppery, from-scratch curry paste (that’s more orange than yellow) and thickened with scrambled egg. Fried shallots and a drizzle of Sichuan peppercorn oil kick things up further. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Mango Sticky Rice Ceci n'est pas une mango. If you love desserts that double as art, this layered coconut and mango custard cake nails it. It’s creamy, refreshing, not-too-sweet, and looks convincingly like a gorgeous mango. We’re slightly let down that, despite the nod to sticky rice in the name, there’s no chewy, mochi-like textural contrast to the smooth filling. But it’s a small complaint." - Garrett Snyder
