Lacha Somtum

Thai restaurant · Los Feliz

Lacha Somtum

Thai restaurant · Los Feliz

5171 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Highlights

Relaxed, modern Thai restaurant offering a wide range of soups, noodle dishes, stir-fries & curries.

5171 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Get directions

lachasomtum.com

@infatuation

"Lacha Somtum is the Baskin-Robbins of Thai papaya salad. The menu at this blink-and-miss-it spot in the heart of Thai Town has over a dozen types of mortar-pounded som tum on the menu, tossed with things like salted crab, duck eggs, or crispy pork belly. The tangy, sometimes-searing papaya salad here is enough reason to visit, but we might love their other Northeastern Thai (Isaan) dishes even more. There’s raw shrimp dabbed with fiery chile-garlic paste, larb with bits of duck cracklings, and a pungent shrimp paste rice decorated with piles of toppings that might it look like a painter’s palette. The spice levels here get serious in a hurry, but fortunately, Lacha used to be a tea shop in a previous life, which means you can order an Ovaltine mudslide or passion fruit slushie to cool the burn." - brant cox, arden shore, garrett snyder, sylvio martins

The 24 Best Thai Restaurants In Los Angeles

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@eater

"For papaya salad connoisseurs, Lacha Som Tum is a must visit. There are more than a dozen kinds of som tum to choose from, including variations that swap out the base of shredded papaya for long beans, corn, green mango, and even mixed fruits. Protein additions include fried shredded catfish, crispy pork belly, and salted black crab. Beyond the papaya salads, the hot pot options, which include Isaan-style hot pot and Thailand’s interpretation of sukiyaki, are also excellent and hard to find elsewhere." - Kat Thompson

The Best Thai Restaurants in Los Angeles, According to Eater Editors

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@infatuation

Lacha Somtum - Review - East Hollywood - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

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Fransco Sukarto

Google

Amazing food. We ordered the classics such as pad thai and papaya salad, but this restaurant did it slightly differently by using crispy pork belly in the pad thai and salted eggs in the salad. The shrimp paste fried rice was the standout. Service was friendly and attentive as well, and the place is nicely decorated and spacious. Restroom needs work, however.

J Tan

Google

I came in for lunch on Sat and was able to find free street parking in the side street across the street. I like that they have an extensive menu, much more options than other Thai restaurants I've been to. I think my favorite dishes are Duck Larb and shrimp cake, but all the other stables such as papaya salad and drunken noodles are good as well.

Yuwei Pan

Google

I’d give this place 10 stars if given the option! We wanted to get authentic Thai food and our friend recommended this spot in Thai town. Def top 3 Thai food I have ever had! It was a cozy down-to-earth environment and had plenty of walk-in seating. We ordered a thing of fried rice and hot pot and a pork sausage for appetizer. It was very much casual & street food style Thai food and delicious. Recommend their chrysanthemum tea - good for a hot summer day. The staff were really friendly and professional. The only thing was that the air conditioning seemed to be broken and they had large fans on.

Daniel John

Google

Review based on one dish only, the salted crab papaya salad. Flavors were fine, although more salt than crab taste. I thought very little crab for what was a $20 salad after tax/tip. And the biggest dealbreaker for me was that the crab shells were dispersed through the salad so every other bite had an inedible large piece of crab shell. Not fun to eat at all.

Fang Phattha

Google

My Thai friend recommended this and I found the restaurant and the service decent but the food was a bit disappointing. The taste was okay to good but I extremely crave water after finishing the meal so I guess the deliciousness comes from putting too much of the delicious powder itself. The shrimp starter and the Pad See Ew was similar to what I had back in Thailand. Tom yum was a bit too sour. The chicken satay was so dry and plain, even the sauce was dull too. No parking lot, only metered street parking or park in the resident area.

Elise Lam

Google

I like that Lacha has a warmer feel to the restaurant, mismatch cushion seats but it all pulls together really well. Not sure if it's family owned and run but it has that cozy feeling of service with care but not annoyingly noisy or trying to get a higher tip. The food is really good, I usually order take out because of my schedule. This is one of the places that take out tastes and have the same quantity as if you are dining in. I had naked shrimp in Vegas and couldn't find a place that did it well until I ran across Lacha. Only caution the food is really spicy, so if you want medium order mild. Like any place in Hollywood it's super difficult to find parking.

William Chu

Google

I had to go check out Thai town in LA and went to lacha for some Thai food. I tried the green curry and it was amazing. It made me want to eat the whole bowl of rice. I recommend coming here if you’re visiting after the Griffith observatory or taking a bus to Hollywood.

Vaughn Trudeau

Google

Just had a great dinner here. The red curry and the pad thai were both standouts. So was the passion fruit slush. Fantastic service as well.