Holy Basil Review – Downtown LA – Los Angeles

LA’s profound scope of Thai restaurants is no secret. Places like Jitlada and Night + Market are among the most recognizable restaurant names in the city. Others, like Luv2Eat, Ruen Pair and Sapp Coffee Shop have cult followings that make K-Pop fans look like they’re half-assing it. At times, it feels as if there couldn’t possibly be room for more greatness. But when Holy Basil in Downtown LA came along, we’ve been reminded that there’s always room for another place to shift the conversation.

Everything about Holy Basil DTLA, a tiny takeout window inside a Downtown food court, is straightforward, particularly the menu. It’s filled with pad thai, green curry, and tom yum soup—all things that can be found on plenty of Thai menus around town. But to eat at Holy Basil is like trying them for the first time. It’s this complexity of flavor that once made us drop our fork after a single bite of drunken noodles and double-check our receipt to make sure we ordered the right thing.

Compared to Holy Basil’s second, more ambitious sit-down location in Atwater Village, the original window is a tight operation that’s both unique and accessible: The casual environment that allows you to either pick up your food or quickly order at the window. Eventually, tables will inhabit the food court’s shared space, but for now, this pandemic-born operation has kept things as streamlined as possible.