How Holy Basil Is Leveling Up L.A.’s Thai Food Scene, in Six Dishes
After laying the groundwork in Downtown L.A. with a wildly popular takeout-only Thai joint, Holy Basil owners chef Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal “Joy” Yuon opened their first full-service location in Atwater Village at the beginning of 2024. The husband-and-wife duo, both Bangkok natives, serve street food-inspired cooking with a multicultural flare, the latter of which is dialed up in the tiny, spirited Atwater dining room. This freewheeling approach is by design: “The way most of our menu develops is we start from a Thai recipe and whatever it becomes, it becomes,” says Arpapornnopparat.
Holy Basil also stands out in L.A.’s crowded Thai food scene, in part, through its thoughtful sourcing, which includes farmers market produce and sustainably-raised pork from Idaho. Like many of the city’s best restaurants, they name-check their purveyors on the menu. “We want to show that we select the cleanest, most sustainable ingredients, and mentioning [our suppliers by name] is also a way to share our resources — anyone can use these ingredients,” says Arpapornnopparat.
In the sit-down Atwater location, the chef has more room to flex his creative muscles beyond the rice dishes, noodles, and curries that made up the bulk of the previous, to-go-focused menu. Here, he’s cooking up dishes like uni-topped razor clams served in the shell, Thai-flavored aguachile with wild shrimp, and charcoal-grilled crying tiger short ribs. (It’s worth noting that several items on the menu can be ordered with an uni supplement, including the wild shrimp yellow curry that’s also served downtown.)
Arpapornnopparat and Yuon are still awaiting a wine and beer license and plan to pour sake once it’s secured. They’re also gearing up to serve brunch. Meanwhile, another location in Santa Monica is on the way, and so is a tasting menu restaurant in Melrose Hill. As Holy Basil gears up to conquer Los Angeles, here’s what you can expect in Atwater, through the lens of six dishes, plus a sneak peek at an upcoming dessert.
Note: Arpapornnopparat changes up the menu frequently, so it’s possible you won’t encounter these exact dishes on your visit, but all the more reason to stop by to see what’s fresh.
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1. Nam Tok Angus Beef Tataki
“Our beef tataki is basically a mixed version of Japanese beef tataki and a nam tok, which is a steak salad with lime vinaigrette and toasted rice powder,” says Arpapornnopparat. Unlike a traditional nam tok, this dish is served cold, and utilizes vinegar in addition to lime juice to cut through the fat. The toasted rice powder is made in-house, the chile flakes are intentionally mellow, and the Angus beef is locally farmed. “We use a lot of family recipes, and then combine that with our experience,” Arpapornnopparat says. “So we don’t always use Thai chiles — we often use chiles grown in California.”
2. Wonton Nachos
Many restaurants have a dish on the menu that was born out of family meal. At Holy Basil, it’s wonton nachos. Fried pork wontons are topped with pickled onion and cucumber for acid, sweet and sour sauce, and Kewpie mayo. “I think it’s really fun,” says Arpapornnopparat. “Everything about it is super approachable, and it’s kid-friendly.”
3. Wild Shrimp Aguachile
This dish, as Arpapornnopparat points out, is obviously inspired by Mexican cuisine. It’s also a riff on a Thai dish of raw shrimp marinated in fish sauce that’s similar to aguachile, called gung chae nam pla. “We pound the shrimp to break down the muscle, add garlic oil for a little bit of fat, lime, Thai chile, fresh garlic, and culantro,” he says. They call it aguachile as a nod to the Mexican influence, particularly fitting since the shrimp are marinated in chile water before being cured in fish sauce.
4. Five Spiced-Braised Duck
Arpapornnopparat says that on the streets of Bangkok, braised duck is a more popular dish than pad Thai. “It usually comes with noodles, and it’s a very Thai-Chinese flavor,” he adds. For his take, Arpapornnopparat braises Maple Leaf Farms duck breast in a housemade Thai five-spice blend and galangal, then serves it over a fermented habanero vinaigrette, “which is a very California thing.”
5. Fried Shinkei-Jime Vermilion Rockfish
Shinkei-jime is a Japanese method for killing fish that’s believed to be more humane for the animal, resulting in more richly flavored, colored, and textured meat. “It’s growing in popularity, and since a lot of chefs are ordering it, the price has been pretty friendly for restaurants,” Arpapornnopparat says. “I’m not sure if many of our guests know what shinkei-jime is, but we have our staff trying to explain it. You can definitely tell the difference.” For this fried fish dish, he sources vermilion rockfish from Santa Barbara through Four Star Seafood, and serves it alongside a sam rod sauce made of tamarind, sugar, and fish sauce.
6. Grandma’s Fish and Rice
“Grandma’s fish and rice is something I grew up eating,” says Arpapornnopparat. “Whenever I came home, my grandma would grill fish, chiles, and shallots, and then use her hands and squeeze it together [with rice], so it became almost like an onigiri ball.” In the Holy Basil version, Arpapornnopparat fries barramundi instead of grilling it, and combines the fish with culantro, chile fish sauce, lime, and shallots. “We honestly didn’t think that it would become one of our most popular dishes — we just kind of threw it out there because we try to minimize all of the waste in the kitchen, although now [it’s so popular that] we have to order more fish for the dish,” he says with a laugh.
Bonus: Bing Ice Cream with Salted Egg Yolk
Arpapornnopparat has been working on a few desserts, which aren’t yet on the menu, including an orange sorbet with orange jelly and shiso and an alluring ice cream that incorporates bits of the Chinese pancake known as bing and salted egg yolk. Keep an eye out.
Emily Wilson is a Los Angeles-based food writer from New York. She has contributed to Bon Appétit, Eater, TASTE, The Los Angeles Times, Punch, Atlas Obscura, and more. Follow her on X and Instagram. Follow Resy, too.
