Los Angeles · Thai
Isaan Station
Koreatown strip-mall counter for northeastern Thai street food: som tum with pickled crab, larb, and fermented sausage.
- Price
- $
- Opened
- 2013
- Neighborhood
- Koreatown125 N Western Ave #111-112, Los Angeles, CA 90004
About
Isaan Station opened on North Western Avenue in Koreatown in February 2013 under Porapat Neungjumnong, specializing in the sour, spicy, and sometimes funky cooking of Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region. The small colorful room leans street-food: green papaya salad (often with pickled blue crab), pork and chicken larb, fermented sausage (sai krok Isaan / deep-fried namesake sticks), turmeric charcoal-grilled chicken, and sticky rice. Eater flagged the opening early; The Infatuation, Food GPS, and later essential-Thai maps still treat it as a Koreatown Isaan reference outside Thai Town. Expect a quick lunch or casual dinner pace and a useful front parking lot by Koreatown standards. Official menu and ordering live on isaanstationthaila.com.
Menu highlights
- Som tum with pickled blue crab
- Larb moo and chicken larb
- Deep-fried fermented Isaan sausage
- Turmeric charcoal-grilled chicken
- Sticky rice
Diners say
Public reviews praise the papaya salad, larb, sausage, and spice that does not get dialed down. The same threads note a tiny strip-mall room, heat that can stack fast, and a casual pace better for a quick meal than a long hang. Diners who like it usually want northeastern Thai street flavors and a Koreatown stop more than a wine-bar tasting night or a Southern Thai banquet menu.
Review synthesis as of 2026-07-30. Synthesis of recurring themes in public Yelp and Google Maps reviews sampled July 2026; not a rating or ranking. Cross-checked against The Infatuation, Eater LA, Food GPS, and the restaurant’s site.