RIMTANG DC
Restaurant · Georgetown ·
Homestyle Thai street food from family recipes, seafood specialties
Homestyle Thai street food from family recipes, seafood specialties
"Just a block away from M Street, this brick-walled, two-story townhouse serves Thai comfort food inspired by Isan and Bangkok, where head chef Prapit La Femina grew up and ran a popular restaurant; her son, Saran “Peter” Kannasute, runs the kitchen, and it definitely tastes like a mom is cooking — you’ll even see La Femina checking in on tables. The menu ranges from familiar dishes like pad thai to specialties like a crab omelet and chile jam clams. To start, get something fried: incredibly crispy and spicy calamari ($17) and charming crab meat spring rolls ($15) are great, but the giant fried shrimp with Thai chile and garlic salt ($22) had a perfect crunch and we were scraping the plate for the last bit of crispy, spicy garlic topping. The tom yum seafood soup ($30), the priciest item on the budget-friendly menu, is so worth it — filled with shrimp, squid, and small clams in an aromatic clear broth seasoned with lemongrass, cilantro, holy basil, and a tiny bit of chili that builds nicely as you finish the bowl. There aren’t many places serving lump crab meat folded into a perfect fluffy omelet ($25); crisp on the outside, incredibly rich on the inside, it’s a must order. If you’re a real funk and heat lover, go for the papaya salad ee-sahn ($15), the bold Isan version packed with fermented fish sauce and hog plum. The drinks list sticks to wines, beer (classic Singha hits the spot), and teas poured into plastic pouches that recall Bangkok street stalls, and a corner off the upstairs dining room looks over the quiet Georgetown street." - Emily Venezky
"Rimtang is a takeout-first spot that understands exactly what its job is: quietly serving some of the best Thai food in DC. The menu is rooted in family recipes from the chef and his mother that don’t try to reimagine Thai cuisine so much as perfect it. Take the crab dumplings—plump with juicy kurobuta pork, each bite carries just the right hit of fried garlic. Or the sai ua, a Chiang Mai-style sausage that’s smoky, herbaceous, and made for pairing with sticky rice. But the dish that just might turn into your next obsession is the chicken panang curry. Silky, rich, and unapologetically heavy on the coconut, it’s the kind of comfort food you’ll find yourself thinking about at random hours of the day." - joe brantlinger, tristiana hinton, omnia saed, madeline weinfield, allison robicelli
"Unlike its sleek, scene-stealing sister restaurant, Kyojin Sushi, Rimtang isn’t trying to impress with a high-design dining room or a soundtrack curated by someone with an esoteric vinyl collection. This is a takeout-first spot that understands exactly what its job is: quietly serving excellent Thai food you’ll crave on a weekly (daily?) basis. The menu is rooted in family recipes from the chef and his mother that don’t try to reimagine Thai cuisine so much as perfect it. Take the crab dumplings—plump with juicy kurobuta pork, each bite carrying just the right hit of fried garlic. Or the sai ua, a Chiang Mai-style sausage that’s smoky, herbaceous, and made for pairing with sticky rice. But the dish that just might turn into your next obsession is the chicken panang curry. Silky, rich, and unapologetically heavy on the coconut, it’s the kind of comfort food you’ll find yourself thinking about at random hours of the day. photo credit: Nina Palazzolo photo credit: Nina Palazzolo photo credit: Nina Palazzolo Pause Unmute" - Allison Robicelli
"Rimtang is a new Thai street food spot in Georgetown. The owner’s mother is the head chef, and she brings over four decades of experience, plus a collection of recipes from her former restaurant in Thailand. The menu includes some familiar favorites and specialty dishes, all rooted in homestyle cooking, with influences from both north and central Thailand." - omnia saed
"The latest restaurant from Yume Hospitality Group brings Thai street foods to Georgetown. A love letter to executive chef and co-owner Saran “Peter” Kannasute’s roots in Thailand, Rimtang is a true family affair. Kannasute’s mother, Prapit La Femina, will lead kitchen as head chef and is responsible for much of the restaurant’s recipe development. The pair are serving up a seafood-heavy menu, featuring more specialty Thai dishes, like the stir-fried clams with chili paste, sweetened with condensed milk and served over jasmine rice. Stir-fried broken bucket noodles are Kannasute and La Femina’s take on pad kee mao (or drunken noodles), with flat rice noodles, egg, chives, and tofu served with ground peanuts, chilis, and lime." - Tierney Plumb, Emily Venezky