Esaan – A Taste Of Thai

Steak banh mi… misleading use of the words ‘steak’ and ‘banh mi’ imo. I would try the chicken next time to see if its different. The steak was so overcooked and tough. i’m thinking 2 day old cubed chuck. also didn’t really care for the rough chopped veges so much. i’m not saying it was a terrible ‘wich, i ate it all. It just should be called something different. such are the perils of the banh mi addict. i really wanna try one of their bowls, looks fresh and healthy, for what thats worth.

The food is okay, not too many good real food places around so the lemongrass skirt steak and rice is decent. My problem is the owner, she is not very friendly. She’s short with me when I order and god forbid you have a question. There was another woman there as well that could barely speak English and was not very friendly, pick a struggle homegirl you can’t be mean AND unable to speak to customers…

I came here a couple times before because it’s conveniently located near my work. I tried the curry and it was pretty bland. I also tried the spring rolls which is just meh, nothing special. They also have a pretty small menu, nothing special. Overall, I’ve had better Thai food else where. It’s worth a try if you’re not near any other Thai restaurants but I personally wouldn’t go there again.

I’m Thai. I have lived in Thailand. I was raised in a Thai Restaurant family business. So I think I know Thai food pretty well.
First off, the name is misleading. A lot of the dishes here are more Asian fusion than «a Taste of Thai.»
My first time here a few months ago, I got: the Pad-​Thai. I honestly don’t know what I ate, it was definitely not Pad Thai. Even the noodles were spaghetti noodles. Really? I did not enjoy it at all, I wanted to not come back here.
But today, I decided to give them a second chance and order another dish: Yellow Curry Chicken with a side of white rice. Oh man, I’ve had dozens of better curry than this. I really wanted to like this place, but I just can’t. Curry was generic, which is fine, but it’s how they prepared the ingredients that really sent this dish downhill. It has chicken, sweet potatoes, and carrots; all of which were cut in gigantic pieces. Even the white rice, was dry and grainy, it was like they reused dried up rice from yesterday’s batch. I was disappointed they could’t even get the rice right.
TL;DR Pad-​Thai, aside from using spaghetti noodles, does not taste anything like Pad-​Thai. Yellow Curry ingredients were all gigantic cuts; white rice was dry & grainy, it’s like they reheated old rice from the day before.

I love coming here for lunch because the food is so fresh and delicious! Ive only had two dishes from here– the banh mi sandwich with steak and the shrimp pad thai pasta salad. I want to try something different everytime i come here but these two dishes are so good that i end up getting one or the other. The first time I tried the pad thai pasta salad, I was a little disappointed bc I was craving pad thai and this ended up being a fusion dish. It didnt quite hit the spot but its a very good dish.
The portions are also HUGE — another reason i love this place. I can usually eat what i get for two meals

I had the yellow chicken curry with brown rice which was really good. The sauce was sort of sweet, and I don’t think my stomach agreed with it much but you couldn’t tell me that at the time. I ordered to go, so I can’t comment on much else. I would go back and possibly try other items on their menu.

This place is just OK. Seems like it will be a great place, but ends up disappointing and underwhelming each time. Everything is just blah. Nothing to write home about, nothing to excite you for. The banh mi sandwiches are overly large and STINK (and honestly is I’d so much rather have an option of a $ 7 sandwich that is smaller and fresher than a $ 9 – 10 dollar sandwich that is massive with terrible, stale bread.
They always run out of spring rolls quickly, which sucks, until you have them and realize they kinda suck themselves.
And their salads. Sound good in theory. But nothing is more annoying to me than when you order a salad, it comes PACKED to the BRIM with stuff, and then the dressing is served on the side. It’s never enough, and then you have to make a fucking mess wherever you eat because you have to do the work that they should be doing in the kitchen with giant metal bowls. I HATE that.
Esaan is like purgatory. Not heaven, not hell, just a place that gets you through lunch when you are too busy to look elsewhere.

This place is fantastic! The food is tasty, portions are enormous, and everybody working there is super fun!

My two star rating is only because their pad thai is not actually pad thai. Instead of using rice noodles, they use spaghetti noodles! Why would you do this?! I can’t tell if this is some sort of American/​Asian fusion or they were just too cheap to buy real pad thai noodles.
My coworkers said that their banh mi and curry is good, so I might come back and try that. Just don’t ever get their pad thai.

I really like this unassuming yet vibrant lunch spot. For about $ 10, you can get any number of tasty Thai dishes. I’ve had salads and hot plates, too, and have always been happy with the results. They are quick, too, which can be a big plus if you’re dashing around at lunchtime, or if you just want to be able to kick back and spend more time chatting with friends at small tables.
The staff is friendly, and there’s always a weekly special to consider in addtion to the fairly big menu. Just pick something and keep it moving (my advice). Take to go and sit by the Library or any number of nearby places. Or, squeeze in and have one of their indoor/​outdoor seats.
It’s simple, it’s fresh and it’s definitely worth checking out.

Food just wasn’t up to snuff. Got the lemongrass steak (couldn’t call it that) and brown rice that came with cucumbers for $ 9.25. I couldn’t taste any lemongrass. The beef looks like one of the cheap parts you can get at a grocery chain, didn’t taste or feel good in my mouth. Brown rice had a good texture to it but that’s about it.
The melon tapioca was too sweet, but the tapioca pieces were nice and chewy.
I wouldn’t come back here again.

In an area of many many offices, this place is not bad if you are craving Thai and not wanting to go to Grand Central. They have a concise menu but all the essentials of noodles, salads, curries, and sandwiches. The prices are medium range ($ 9 – 12 for lunch) but they are fast and it’s a relatively quick and convenient place to eat. It’s not really super authentic it’s just Thai enough, like a white version of Thai food, a very pale one. But the quality is decent for what it is and sometimes, you just get sick of American food.

Super simple healthy menu. You won’t find any wok or deep fried here (no pad thai, fried rice or fried egg rolls). The salads are delicious and if you get shrimp the portions are very generous.
The weekly special is posted every Monday on their Facebook page. My office mates and I are hoping for Yum Mama (Thai ramen salad).

Esaan is located right off 5^th street, near Bunker Hill Bar and Grill, a Coffee Bean, the US Bank Library Tower, and at a major bus stop. Parking isn’t an option around here, as they close around 3:00 p.m.
Tl:dr
It’s DBNTD — Decent But Not That Decent (my opinion)
Prices are higher than many Thai places in areas like Hollywood
It’s one of three Thai places in the area
Not a lot area to sit down, more of a to go place
Note their hours, they close early and peak rush hour of lunch
When in the mood for a nice soup and when I’m too lazy to walk a few blocks to view other options, you can bet your sweet sassy molasses I’ll come down to Esaan. Despite their slightly higher prices and their plug for offering healthy options, I come here because I’m a sucker for Thai food. Considering the salt content in many of their foods, and highly caloric nature of Thai dishes, I am a skeptic on some their claims.
The pungent tom khao soup is my go-​to usual. On cold days the soup is a pleaser, served up in a large to-​go bowl, soy sauce, and chili. It’s got a decent amount of chicken, and veggies. After a few tries, I’ve noted it’s quite watery and not as flavorful as other tom khao soups at other places. While I can’t figure out why that is the case, the watery factor is quite a let-​down. Whether by this factor or not, the noodles also lack a bit of flavor.
The chicken cuts in the khao soi are good but not great, and boiled to a soft and tender texture. I’ve encountered a few chunks I’ve had to spit out. It’s not a pleasant feeling until you take the next sip of broth. The soup is basically put together right before you, and you’ll note the veggies are crisper, and may need more time in the pot. If anything, let the soup sit for a bit before you eat it.
Enjoy what you can of their dishes, but in my opinion, know that it gets better in pricing and flavor. The flavor can lack, perhaps because of a made-​to-​order model for most dishes. I will be back to try their other dishes on a lazy day, but more often than anything I’ll be exploring downtown for all kinds of adventures.

Located close the corner of 5ths & Grand along a long storefront is Essan which is Thai restaurant that also has Vietnamese dishes.
The line gets a bit long here sometimes since it’s right behind a bus stop and adjacent to a CBTL.
Food does smell good out the door. I needed something quick for lunch and luckily was there just after 11:30 am and the line was light.
I ordered the lemon grass steak served over rice, two broccoli stalks and cucumber salad. The steak is grass feed beef. I can’t tell the difference between grass fed or not. The steak itself wasn’t that good and not the best cut of meat. There was flavor but couldn’t distinguish the lemongrass which I know well. The portions were skimpy served in a to go container. I think there was just as much cucumber salad as there was entrée.
Just okay. I might come back just to try something else.

Thank heavens the cucumbers are sliced thick and are easy to pick out… nightmare avoided.
The steak banh mi is really tasty and is easily a must try. The baguette is served warm and they fill it up with plenty of warm steak. This is all served in a traditional fashion with pickled carrots/​daikon, cucumbers (gross), cilantro, and raw jalapenos. Don’t underestimate the jalapenos; I had a handful in there and I was definitely feeling the heat. $ 8.50 might seem a little high, but you practically get two sandwiches so it’s reasonable.
I think the only thing they need to improve is their cleanliness. The restaurant had multiple flies going around and I noticed that they weren’t closing some of the catering trays in the back. Pretty gross knowing multiple flies could have been hovering around your soup. Other then that, cashier was very friendly and food came out quickly.

This place rocks, the food, the people working there. Not sure why they only have 3.5 stars. I enjoy the bahmi sandwiches, best I’ve tasted. Also they’re prices are not over the top. I would suggest ordering before during the lunch rush that way you don’t wait too long. I could eat at this place every day!

Service is always on par here; exceptionally courteous and fast. These girls mean business when it comes to being friendly and getting your order out fast.
I come here on a regular basis because currently since it is so close to my office and the service is super-​fast so I know I will have time to get back and still have time to spare. This place is across the Central Library near Coffee Bean.
The lemongrass soup is just delicious paired with an a’ok spring roll. I am not thrilled about the spring rolls but they suffice my craving for a healthy lunch. There were too many large chunks of vegetables that could have been cut better. I do like the healthy dipping sauce they offer instead of the peanut sauce.
The lemon spicy shrimp has got to be my favorite dish thus far. Shrimp was lightly battered and covered with spicy goodness and paired with an option of brown or white rice.
The lemon steak I was not too thrilled about. The consistency of the meat seemed like the same consistency of lengua. I suppose I was expecting a firmer beef cut for Thai. I did not like the cucumber salad that it was paired with but only because I do not like sweet pickled food. Next time I will substitute the salad.
I will be back this winter to try all the delicious soups. Esaan, I absolutely love the lemon grass flavor that is in these healthy concoctions. You may not be authentic Thai, but your my favorite healthy Thai lunch spot.

Went from liking this place a lot to LOVING IT!
Anyway, started off loving the lemongrass grill with steak and rice/​brown rice. Tried both types of rice, both delicious, flavorful, tender, and feels somewhat healthy. The pickled veggie salad on the side is super refreshing.
Another time, tried the vermicelli salad with beef. Yea I really like that beef. It’s the same one from the other dish, but this time paired up with layers and layers upon LAYERS of fresh veggies and vermicelli. Everything is so bright and crisp, and the dressing was tangy and delicious. It’s also huge (as is every dish here). I ate half for lunch, and saved the other half for lunch the next day. Still crisp!
Also LOVE their special for this past week — tom kha noodle soup with chicken. It is a coconut based soup with all sorts of other seasonings and herbs and stuff. It is SPICY. The noodles are great, the veggies, mushrooms etc etc. are perfect. I went back two days in a row for this lol.
And the lemongrass lemonade. It tastes different than regular lemonade, had a hint of honey flavor to it (?), and is just a very refreshing drink with the perfect amount of sweetness.

Hmmmm… well, I’m not sure how this place is going for 4+ stars. Are people really rating it on the food… or just because it’s not the standard sandwich place for lunch in DTLA?
Walked over here from the LAUSD HQ building on the other side of the 110 freeway, which came to be a 10 – 15 mins walk, which isn’t bad, even for this current preggo lady.
Opens at 11am, so that’s pretty much when I landed here. Teeny tiny joint, so I suspect if you’re here by noon, you’ll have to take your order to go.
Foodwise, I opted for the yellow chicken curry. This is the most watered down curry I’ve eaten in quite a while. It literally tasted like watered down can of coconut milk with yellow dye — that is DEFINITELY not Thai, I’m sorry. On top of that, you get chunks of chicken literally cut in blocks that are overcooked, with miniscule amounts of carrots and potatoes in the curry. Definitely doesn’t match what other Unilocalers have said about the yellow chicken curry. Hmmm…
It’s at least a decent portion for the ~$ 9 you’re charging me, but you’re definitely not paying for quality.
Figuring it’s a Thai spot… so opted for the Thai Ice Tea. Again, tasted nothing like a standard Thai Ice Tea.
I guess I’ll leave it up to you if you’re in the neighborhood and can’t afford anymore Mendocino Farm sandwiches for lunch for the day or simply sick of burgers and sandwiches for lunch, then this would be a spot to try. At your own risk for taste. I’d question the high stars reviews for this particular joint though. At least the food concept is on the right track for DTLA.