Dark intensely-beefy noodle soup spiked with star anise, cinnamon, blood, soy and Thai chilli, served in small bowls with rice noodles, beef balls, sliced beef and bitter morning glory. Thai Town's defining dish.
Thai boat noodles (kuay teow ruea) originated as a floating-market dish in the central-Thai Ayutthaya region, sold in small portions from boats. LA's Thai Town on Hollywood Boulevard adopted the dish in the 1980s as the Thai-immigrant restaurant corridor took shape. The small-bowl serving format and the dark, spiced broth are the canonical Thai Town reference, with Jitlada, Anajak Thai and Noodle ST the LA pilgrimage stops.
4 editor picks for Thai Town boat noodles in Los Angeles, ranked by editorial score. All Los Angeles signature dishes · Thai Town boat noodles across every city.
Anajak Thai ★ 4.5
san-fernando-valley · 14704 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Justin Pichetrungsi's Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, runs his family's 1981 strip-mall Thai room as a James Beard 2023 Best Chef West winner.
Jitlada ★ 4.4
thai-town · 5233 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Jitlada in East Hollywood, Los Angeles has been LA's southern Thai room since the 1980s. Owner Jazz Singsanong runs the dining room front of house.
Noodle ST ★ 4.3
10936 Weyburn Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Noodle ST in Westwood near UCLA, Los Angeles pulls Lanzhou-style hand-pulled noodles to order and serves them in a long-simmered beef broth from an open.
626 Night Market ★ 4.1
Santa Anita Park, 285 West Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007
626 Night Market in Arcadia, Los Angeles County runs the largest Asian-American night market in the country, weekends June through September. 250 vendors.