Fame has lessened the appeal of visiting this much-hyped Thai restaurant in the Valley, where second-generation chef Justin Pichetrungsi holds court over the restaurant's infamously busy Thai Taco Tuesdays (where, on a good day, you’ll wait only a hour to be seated—unless you’re a celebrity, of course), plus dinner service and monthly omakase dinners that are all but impossible to book. Still, I can’t deny the food is excellent, including one extremely craveable dish: Hat yai fried chicken. Crispy and perfectly seasoned, the Southern Thai-style chicken pairs wonderfully with the white rice and spicy, deeply aromatic nam jim sauce that come on the side.

Though it is impossible to pinpoint LA’s best dining to one place, if given no other choice, Thai Taco Tuesdays at chef Justin Pichetrungsi’s family-owned Thai restaurant, Anajak Thai, in Sherman Oaks might be the answer. On Tuesday nights, Pichetrungsi moves the seating to the adjacent alley for an al fresco party fueled by by-the-bottle-only old school and natural wines. A handwritten menu lists some of his regular dishes, like Southern Thai style fried chicken with sticky rice along with tacos and tostada specials.

This family-run Thai restaurant in Sherman Oaks has a superpower: shape-shifting. Tuesdays are for Thai-inspired tacos and tostadas, which make sense the second you taste them, or for cheffy, one-off collaborations, while the last weekend of each month means it’s time for Justin Pichetrungsi’s freestyle tasting menu. But what some might consider the ordinary days in between are a joy, too, with dishes like the mouthwatering fish custard haw mok or Southern Thai fried chicken.

For starters, you could dine at this family-run Thai spot in Sherman Oaks a hundred times and have a completely different—and equally special—experience each time. Come on Tuesdays for dry-aged fish tacos and collaborations with guest chefs, farmers, and foragers. Show up on just about any other night to drink wine that’s been sourced from a Slovenian commune and eat Southern Thai fried chicken you will be thinking about for the rest of your life.

In 2019 Justin Pichetrungsi made the life-changing decision to leave a thriving career as an art director at Walt Disney Imagineering and take over the Sherman Oaks restaurant his parents founded in 1981. Anajak’s core menu continues to honor Ricky Pichetrungsi, Justin’s father, whose recipes merge his Thai upbringing and Cantonese heritage. The creative individualism that Justin has asserted — specifically his Thai Taco Tuesday phenomenon, when the menu crisscrosses fish tacos lit up by chili crisp and limey nam jim with wok-fragrant drunken noodles and Dungeness crab fried rice, and also building what has become one of L.A.’s great wine lists — catapulted the restaurant into one of the decade’s great dining sensations.

For most of its 43-year history, Anajak Thai served as a dependable, straightforward Thai restaurant serving the community of Sherman Oaks, in the San Fernando Valley. That all changed in 2019, when Justin Pichetrungsi, son of the founder-owners, took over the management of the restaurant and began to make some changes. The playlist was modernised (and turned way up), the Pichetrungsi family recipes were retooled using California’s stellar farmer’s market produce, caviar supplements were made available and, most significantly, a proper wine program was created to complement the newfound finess...

The experience of a thriving dinner party continues nightly at Anajak Thai in its affectionate, relaxed dining hall covered with bottles of organic European wines. The room overflows with the smells of incredibly intricate Thai food from Justin Pichetrungsi and his family, which can be bought a la carte or in a special flavorful menu template (which is quite hard to make a reservation). Still, you’ll find something for everyone, from traditional pad Thai and sticky fried wings to its innovative Thai Taco Tuesdays, which take over the next-door side and back car park for an organic wine carnival.

Anajak Thai is one of the oldest Thai restaurants in Los Angeles — it opened in 1981 — but it has recently gained renewed fame and was named The L.A. Times Restaurant of the Year in 2022. The family-owned restaurant has managed to maintain its classic Thai menu while also offering creative takes on Thai food with Los Angeles influences. A trip to Anajak Thai can be three very different experiences, depending on when you visit.

The best and most enduring restaurants change and morph over time to suit the ever-evolving culinary scene. Anajak Thai first opened in 1981 in an area of Los Angeles full of people to whom Thai cuisine was still considered very unfamiliar. Almost 40 years later, Justin Pichetrungsi took over his father's restaurant and immediately got to work on bringing his own artistic spirit to the space and menu.

You likely don't need me to recommend Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks—it’s a mainstay on every “best restaurant in L.A.” list out there. But I’ll do it anyway. This family-owned restaurant challenges every notion that Thai food is best enjoyed as takeout and elevates it to Michelin-worthy cuisine (once a month, they even offer their own take on an omakase experience).

Anajak Thai Cuisine puts out just a single table for on-premise service, so groups of two to six can enjoy the space without interacting with other customers, you just have to commit to buy at least two bottles from their interesting natural wine list along with your food order. Book ahead via Instagram. 14704 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

Anajak Thai Cuisine offers a relaxed setting where you can enjoy Thai flavors in both a cozy dining room and a lively outdoor alley space. They’re known for an impressive wine list and a friendly team that makes you feel welcome. It’s a straightforward spot where good food, music, and atmosphere come together.

The crispy fried chicken wings at this family-owned Thai restaurant in Sherman Oaks are coated in a sticky and sweet, umami-laden sauce of garlic and tamarind. They also manage to remain surprisingly crispy as a takeout option.

Anajak Thai is a 44-year-old, family-owned Thai restaurant in Sherman Oaks. Once a hidden gem, this spot has skyrocketed in popularity in the past few years. The restaurant was originally started by Rick Pichetrungsi.

14704 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403Phone: 818-501-4201 Visit Website. View this post on Instagram. A post shared by Anajak Thai Cuisine (@anajakthaifood)

I live walking distance to Anajak, it’s great, been many times. Excellent, authentic, atmospheric. This really is a special spot.