Rama

WOW, Where do I start?
It was time for my annual Christmas dinner with friends; 5 L.A. locals, 1 from up North and 2 from London, England. So you can imagine the planning to get everyone to meet. I had my reservation at Rama 2 weeks in advance. December 17^th, the night of the party, I get a call from Rama saying the had a water main burst in the restaurant and they had to close. I told them my situation, and they could not suggest other restaurants, or comp a meal, or please come another time.
Something was not right to me. I drove by Rama and saw people inside!!!
Long story short, Rama had a party of 250 people. I would have been okay with, «Sorry Mr. Jones but we are over-​booked and cannot serve more guest». (A lie, but okay). I was complaining my ass off. No help from Rama. They did not offer me to come back or have dinner on them. Wow, some customer service. The woman greeter was NO help at all. The manger would not come out to speak with me. TERRIBLE!!! I stood there for an hour, trying to figure out what to do. It ruined my whole evening.
Shame on Rama :(
Mr. Jones

I love thai food, no doubt. As soon as I moved to Los Angeles, I was on a mission to find the best daaaamn Thai food in this huge city.
Place after place; looking high-​and-​low, classy to hole-​in-​the-​wall, no Thai restaurants satisfied my stomach, until I ran into Rama. Let me tell you first, the décor is absolutely wonderful. The ambiance is to DIE for. I really enjoyed it.
Secondly, the food! It’s definitely not your traditional Thai food, but it’s adjusted to more american tastes. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely still has that strong Thai spice and kick that makes Thai food. well, Thai!
Last but not least, the service is impeccable. I was very please with how consistent and friendly the employees were. Definitely coming back!

The food was really exceptional, both me and my fella agreed! So yum that you eat even when you’re full. We had spring rolls to start and then I had some veg pad thai and he had some meat thing (I can’t remember). We both LOVED our food — super-​exceptional.
The only thing this restaurant needs is a better sign/​lighting outside. We drove by at first and thought they were closed. It’s way too low key.

Rama was supposed to host a Christmas party for my company and canceled 3 days before the event, via text no less. Alex Thao the events manager was UNCOMMUNICATIVE and UNPROFESSIONAL numerous times, not returning phone calls and emails throughout the entire process.
After Rama canceled our Christmas party Alex told me that he would immediately refund our credit card deposit of $ 600.00. He had double booked the night and decided to honor the larger party instead.
He NEVER credited us for our deposit. When I called at the end of January to tell him there was never a credit submitted, he told me he gave it to merchant processing and I was to then take it up with my own credit card company. (he told me this via text).He never returned my phone calls on this matter, nor did anyone in accounting. I left 3 different messages with Rama and Alex. According to my credit card company there was NEVER a credit submitted from Rama. We are now in the process of a charge back.
I have owned a business in Los Angeles for almost 10 years and this is the WORST SERVICE from another business that I have ever received.
First they broke our original contract that was all legally documented and then this hassle with a refund.
I will never go there and will not recommend it to anyone.

I am repelled from anything negative, but am 100% compelled to write this review.
Rama ripped off my company! Most shocking and immoral. Poor management and low character. Bad business practices. Dishonest. Not accepting responsibility.
My company organized our holiday party at Rama, placed a $ 600 credit card deposit for a $ 1500 party for 30 people on December 11, 2011. We worked with the events manager, Alex Thao, and had a signed agreement for the sale – a legal contract.
3 days before our party, the events manager called to tell us that he’d booked a larger party of 300 people from Cedar’s Sinai and that we’d have to find another place for our party. We argued that we had a legal document, dated and signed by both parties and that the deposit of $ 600 had already gone through on our card and that this was a breech of contract, illegal and a poor business practice. The events manager, Alex Thao, said he, «could not help us.»
We requested a refund of our deposit and they refused. We are in the process of a charge-​back with the credit card company.
3^rd Street has many excellent restaurants. Rama could have been one of them. Please consider this review and the dishonesty of the management staff at Rama before you choose to spend your money there.

I had purchased a Groupon a few months back for this place, so Wednesday night, a friend and I decided to go try this Thai spot.
First let me start off, by saying the inside décor is very eye pleasing, the service was amazing. Though we sat down to eat, an hour before closing everything we ordered was fresh.
We started with the Vegetable Spring Rolls with Plum sauce, they were so good. For dinner, we ordered the Rama Spicy rice with chicken, Pepper and garlic shrimp and the Broccoli in spicy sauce.
Everything was so hot and fresh and GOOD, my least fav was the Broccoli dish. Dinner came out to $ 55 w/​out tip, I would return and the location is prime.

A long overdue review! Got a chance to sample lots of different dishes in small bites at a Unilocal event hosted here a couple months ago, in the secret side of the restaurant (you enter through a door dressed as a bookshelf). They were still in its final stages of construction, and it looked like it was coming together nicely.
Honestly, I don’t remember the food being spectacular, just ok– …wish I could remember what I actually ate; ha ha. I think I’ll cut this review short by saying the atmosphere, design, layout, and décor are great, but the food is mediocre for the price.

Went to this place with a friend (who had been there before, so I knew it had to be great). We had the fresh spring rolls which were awesome! I don’t care for peanut sauce so the waitress brought me a couple of extra ones — a tasty plum sauce and a spicy chili sauce. For entrees, I had the red curry with shrimp and she had the yellow curry with chicken — both totally yummy. We were too full for dessert but my friend said that the coconut ice cream was incredible– I’ve already planned on that for next time. Large portions so I brought home the rest and the waitress added a fresh box of rice for me, so now I have a tasty meal waiting for me!
About the actual place — Really nice, awesome décor, very modern. It would be great for a date or a group, so any occasion really! :)
PS… I looooove the giant Buddha in the middle. Gave him a dollar, rubbed his belly, and hopefully some good luck will be coming my way!

I stumbled upon this place thanks to my trusty Unilocal app on my phone. Reading the reviews on this relatively new place, I was quite excited to witness the hype of this loungey Thai restaurant/​bar myself.
For me, pricey Thai food comes with an extra thorough critic. The food on the menu didn’t stray too far from the norm– so not too many fusion items as I was hoping for. I decided to give the Crispy Mahi-​Mahi and the Coconut & Lemon Grass Grilled Tiger Prawns a try. The mahi-​mahi was true to its name, with a flavorful crispy tempera batter topped with beautiful slices of sweet mango (to my surprise since mango is not in season). The larb sauce was a surprise element that gave it a nice twist in texture from the pounded toasted rice. The tiger prawns were grilled to perfection and not chewy. Although I did not taste the lemon grass, the sauce tasted like fresh coconut milk (i could be wrong) with an essence of sweet thai peanut sauce making your mouth watering for more. These flavors were refreshing light and not overwhelming making the prawns the star of the dish.
I was unexpectedly but pleasantly surprised with my experience. A must try!

I was craving Thai, so we went here on our anniversary.
The food was delicious. It’s Thai food at its finest. The green curry was creamy and the textures of the different vegetables made it amazing. There were baby mushrooms, baby corn, eggplants, bamboo shoots, snow peas,… It just worked really well together. The pad see ew was my favorite. The noodles were soft and packed with flavor. The eggplant dish was good, but the other dishes just left a more memorable note.

I first learned about Rama from
. I received an email for what seemed like a pretty good deal: $ 20 for $ 40 worth of food at Rama Thai. Since my boyfriend really loves Thai food, I went ahead and purchased the Groupon. I was pretty pleased with myself for scoring such a good deal for us until I started reading some of the reviews on Unilocal for the place. Overall, it sounded like people were unimpressed by the food. That’s probably why it took us a couple of months before we decided to try the place.
We called around 4 PM on a Sunday to make reservations for 7 PM that night. We showed up hungry and tired and ready to eat but had to circle the block a few times. This was because there is no illuminated sign out front, and it was very hard to see the place from the street. Once we did, we easily found some parking right out front at the meters.
When we gave the host our name, he couldn’t find our reservation in the system. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, but since they were able to seat us immediately, it wasn’t a big deal. This was not surprising given the fact that the restaurant was empty with the exception of patrons at two other tables.
The ambiance of the restaurant was romantic. The interior was filled with soft lighting and lots of Asian statues and nice foliage. The staff was really polite and attentive.
As expected, the food was double the price of what you would pay at any good, hole-​in-​the-​wall Thai restaurant. We ordered pineapple fried rice ($ 16), crispy mahi mahi ($ 22), and spring rolls ($ 9). We were expecting small portions but were pleasantly surprised when the dishes came out with a good amount of food. Overall, I’d give the food a 3 out of 5. I’ve definitely had better Thai food. The flavors seemed to be dulled down from what you would normally expect of true Thai cuisine.
With all the great Thai restaurants in LA, I doubt I would make an effort to try Rama again. I would, however, give it another shot if someone else suggested it.

It’s like a shrine. There is a water fountain on the outside, and candles and Buddha statues all over the inside. The ambiance is dark and quiet with twist of elegance. But it’s not a religious shrine, it’s a temple that celebrates the art of Thai cuisine.
When most of us think of Thai food, we think of curries, we think of pad thai, and we think of Thai iced tea. We also think of Thai food as reasonably priced take-​out food.
Rama takes Thai food to a whole new level.
Executive Chef Pannuwat Soukjai picks out the delicate flavors that we normally take for granted and makes them the star of the show.
After purchasing a prefix dinner voucher on a website, I found myself driving all of the 65 minutes to LA amidst traffic to experience a taste of Rama. It was quite worth the drive. Each dish was delicately prepared and the flavors were sensational. I loved every bite. Most notable were the spicy and sour tom yum soup and the beef filet dish. The beef was perfectly cooked and the sauce complemented the beef flavor beautifully. You can definitely not find this at a regular Thai restaurant.
At the end of the meal, we were surprised with a dish of mango sweet rice on the house for our anniversary. Definitely a pleasant and delicious surprise. The mango was fresh and sweet and the coconut flavored rice was cooked perfectly. How can such a simple dish be so flavorful? The chef also surprised us at the table side and thanked us for our patronage.
Thank you, Rama, you made our anniversary unforgettable.

Young and beautiful only 3 months old, under the spotlight’s constant glare,
Dynamic and electrifying, Rama’s the queen of the 3^rd street.
She overlooks the LA Grove and Farmer’s Market below,
She moved in to the city of innovated glamour.
Buddha Statues and dim lit candle,
birthing the most unforgettable romances.
LA Foodies can be tough,
Schlep food to the masses, and never stop coming;
Tough dealing with rotten customers, tormented after getting stiffed on the tips,
but she keeps that smile on, checking up again with a big smile and fill the empty glass with wine.
Romantic ambiance but LA is not used to rain,
everything breaks when rain comes to this city of sunshine.
Room is icy cold, broken heater… no use of wearing scandalous sexy dress,
but all is compensated with constantly refilled chamomile hot tea.
Bird’s Nest, Kratong Tong, Five-​Spiced Braised Pork Belly,
Fresh Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice and Banana Fritters with Coconut Ice Cream.
Tasty, elegant and interesting all together,
Upscale Thai food only found at Rama.
Excellent service, going back home with Chef’s autograph on the tasting menu,
Young and beautiful only 3 months old, keep up the great job and last for next 3 decades and many more to come.

The best of times… and then, the not so good. Rama opened strong with excellent food made with high quality ingredients. I’ve been back twice since my first review. Unfortunately, Rama is not maintaining the quality — in food or comfort. The last time I was in, the place was an icebox (broken heater) and the shrimps were of a lesser quality. Today, the place was still an icebox (heater’s still broken) and the yellow curry (previously my favorite dish here) was off. The coconut milk was not the same and the potatoes were not properly incorporated into the dish. The potatoes were obviously cooked outside of the curry and tasted bad. I hope Rama is not on a downhill slide.
If you’re looking to treat yourself to a fancy meal, this is no longer fine dining but is still worth a try if you’re in the mood for Thai. But I recommend waiting till summer — so you don’t freeze your ass off.

OMG. I stuffed my face over at this place.
Pretty nice interior. Good for a group or a cozy date. Parking in the back.
Waiter service was a little slow, and the food took forever but 1) we were a big group; 2) we were really hungry.
— Drunken noodles was good. In fact all of their noodle dishes were delish!
— Fried rice dishes were pretty standard.
— Birds Nest — Good. Interesting mix of sauteed served with fried noodles. Try it.
I wouldn’t really call this place an ‘authentic’ Thai, but well suited for the slightly more American palate.

This is Thai food at its finest, everything I’ve had here is GOOD.
The place obviously wasn’t designed for rainy days as there was a huge water puddle inside the restaurant and an umbrella make shift placed in the front door. Orders took long and waitresses seemed to have taken their dear sweet time.
As far as food, I was blown away. I love thai food, and this place was great. I don’t think it was authentic but I think I like it here better.
The seared scallops with spinach were really good… but its only 5 pieces (for $ 22) so expect to order something else if you even want to satisfy your stomach.
The yellow curry here was really good, I highly recommend it. The duck curry has the same yellow curry and the duck is made just right, great tasting skin as usual.
The pad-​see-​ew here was GREAT. It was cooked to the right consistency with a little burnt taste which all came together finely.
The drunken noodles were just good, it’s hard to praise this dish so much even though it was good but doesn’t measure to the pad-​see-​ew.
I wasn’t a big fan of the salmon, which like the duck also had yellow curry. The taste and texture just made it seem like it didn’t belong.
The pineapple fried rice was good as well, it wasn’t very spicy and didn’t compare to the other dishes.

i almost dont want to give it a good rating b/​c i liked how not busy the restaurant was. :T i go to 3^rd street often (either to beverly center or the grove, or everywhere else in between). so one day i was stopped on 3^rd & fairfax, and i saw this gorgeous little restaurant in the corner. with so many candles (electric candles) on all walls, flickering so romantically in a dark restaurant. after doing a little research on the restaurant, i booked a reservation for my friend’s farewell party.
the inside is actually a lot bigger than it looks outside. they actually have a pretty spacious bar&lounge area further inside past the dining area. it’s very clean and modern. not your average local thai restaurant. i felt fancy just sitting there.
food was great! i love thai food and had many many thai food before. here was definitely one of the best i’ve ever had. one of the best dishes was the drunken noodle. it was so flavorful and delicious. i highly recommend that over any other noodles you see on rama’s menu. pad thai was actually disappointing. so ½ star knocked off for not making my favorite thai dish right! anyway don’t get pad thai. get drunken noodle! other dishes were great too, but for me, the drunken noodle was the star of that night. :)
service was ok. it was great in the beginning when there were literally no other customers except us. (we got there early). they were all very nice, but it was actually a little difficult to get a hold of them. couple of my friends weren’t very happy with our waiter, but we weren’t in a hurry. so it wasn’t so bad to just wait around for our waiter. lol but ½ star knocked off for that.
parking’s not that great either actually. the street parking’s free starting at 8!: (but they do have free parking right behind the restaurant building. but not a lot of spaces. if i come here again with friends, i think i’ll carpool.
i know people say the food here is sooo overpriced. yes. it is really overpriced compared to 7−8dollar pad thais you can get from your local hole in the wall thai restaurants. the food here is priced from 12 – 25 dollar range. compared to my ultimate favorite thai restaurant that has 6 dollar pad thai, which is still the best pad thai i’ve ever had, rama is definitely expensive. but you go to rama for the dining out experience. rama’s a nice place for a fancy 1^st date and/​or a dinner parties. i can’t wait to go back to rama for their excellent drunken noodle :)

Not gonna lie, I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t have a gift certificate. We walked in and were greeted by friendly staff and an empty dining room with a wall of flickering candles. Quite surprising for a restaurant to be completely empty on a Thursday night, but I think being across the street from The Grove had something to do with that.
Drunken Noodles (Fresh rice noodles with thai basil, tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh chili, and kai lan) — Really good sauce but should be a lot more spicy.
Crying Tiger (Grilled marinated rib-​eye) — Thinly sliced pieces of ribeye that comes with a lemon dipper sauce. The sauce overpowered the steak, which was lacking some flavor.
The food was actually good but overpriced. Most of the fried rice dishes are around $ 15. The staff was very nice and friendly. The décor was amazing. I’m surprised that they don’t get more business. Maybe they need to put a sign up so people can put a name to the restaurant they are driving by.

I’m a picky Thai food person and as I’ve stated before I like the hole in the wall eateries here in LB which are very similar to the ones I grubbed at touring South East Asia 8 years ago.
I enjoy gourmet Thai restaurants but so far only one in Belmont Shorehttp://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-gourmet-by-sri-maya-long-beach#hrid:t_UKCYAcVESY7hdxtugbnw has met with palatable approval and, is the only one on my list for that category too.
So then comes along Rama to steer me clear of my Thai-​Tunnel Vision and allow me to explore a different Thai gourmet dining experience and dichotomy.
A extensive menu with many delicious options yet not confusing or, dishes offered up that you don’t need to do a visual in your head as to what they might be.
Yummy Chicken Pad Thai Skewers, Chicken Bite Starters, Fresh and flavorful Basil Leaf appetizers with options of Red, Green and Yellow Bell Peppers in a syrup Orange Curry Sauce with a nice kick. Next, fresh Rice Flakes (round flat crisp rice patties broken into various sizes) with a semi sweet Red Curry and Lemon spread or, Green Curry Mint Syrup with Orange Slivers. Also, this same mouth pleaser is offered up on fresh Basil Leaves that roll up nicely for popping into your mouth for a real semi sweet and spicy treat!
Vegetarian (Slivered Bamboo Shoots, Heart of Palm and Olives) and Pork Spring Rolls (sliced thin and seasoned) wrapped in traditional Thai Sheet Leaves and a spicy Peanut sauce with just enough Peanut chips for dipping. Also, melt in you mouth Mildly seasoned Stir Fried Rice with Baby Shrimps, bits of Chicken, Pork and Lamb with, a sweet Red Curry and Honey sauce to lightly dribble over this steaming side dish.
Thai Iced Tea made with real cream to cool the palate after every bite; refreshing, bold and with a sweetness at middle ground.
I’d been cry’in…Boo-Hoo until Rama was singing 2 versions to me of:

Rama Restaurant is my new favorite high-​end Thai restaurant in LA!
I discovered Rama via Bloomspot.com’s «Prix fixe dinner for two» special ($ 65 for a dinner for 2, $ 155 value).
We made reservations and arrived on time to a beautifully decorated, romantic and open space filled with pretty plants, Buddha statues and rows of flickering «candles» lining the walls. We were seated in a comfortable booth and immediately relaxed in our new surroundings. Our waitress was super friendly, helpful, genuine, and I swear she was part psychic as she was able to anticipate all our needs (sometimes before we even knew what they were!).
Example:
Food Buddy (musing to me): «I could really use some wi…»
Psychic Waitress (walking up): «The prix fixe dinner comes with one glass of house wine per person. We have pinot grigio, etc…»
Food Buddy: «Sweet.»
As part of the prix fixe dinner, we were offered a choice of 2 appetizers:
* Kratong Tong
* Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls
* Stuffed Chicken Wings
* Fried Calamari
We picked the fresh shrimp spring rolls and stuffed chicken wings. Both were delicious, accompanied by sauces with just the right amount of kick.
We also had a choice of 2 entrees, to be selected from the following:
* Garlic and Pepper Crusted Chicken
* Green Curry with Tofu
* Five-​Spiced Braised Pork Belly
* Bird’s Nest
* Vegetable Delight
We tried the bird’s nest and the five-​spiced braised pork belly. The bird’s nest was enjoyable with a slightly sweet sauce that complimented the chicken and vegetables in the crunchy, tasty «nest.» My favorite was the braised pork belly, a little fatty but ultra-​yummy.
We also received a choice of 2 sides:
* Vegetable Traditional Fried Rice
* Rama Spicy Rice With Shrimp
* Chicken Pad Thai
* Beef Pad See Ew
We shared the chicken pad thai and beef pad see ew. The beef pad see ew was the best I’d eaten anywhere, so flavorful and perfectly prepared. The pad thai was solid.
Finally, we received our choice of 2 desserts:
* Fresh Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice
* Banana Fritters with Coconut Ice Cream
* Mango Pudding
* Tapioca
We ordered the fresh mango with coconut sticky rice and banana fritters with coconut ice cream. Both were divine! The fresh mango was sweet and perfectly paired with the coconut sticky rice. The banana fritters were hot and crisp and the coconut ice cream had big chunks of real coconut in it — YUM!
The service was outstanding, the food was delectable and the ambiance was calm, relaxing and romantic. The prices are a little high for Thai food, even really really REALLY good Thai food as ours was. The classic dishes we enjoyed weren’t particularly creative or innovative, just perfectly prepared and presented which was plenty.
Rama Restaurant was a delicious dining experience and I hope we can go back again sometime soon!