Mesa Thai

About

Chef Phitwasuphon “Ple” Thanaporn opened Mesa Thai on North Western Avenue in 2018, after selling northeastern Thai street food from her home kitchen and learning boat noodles and papaya salad from her mother Bungon Inyu’s Bangkok street stand. The vinyl-booth room sits about a mile south of Thai Town’s core and reads as a standard takeout menu until you chase the Thai-language chalkboard of Isaan specials: moo tok krok, garlicky Isaan sausage, Lao-style papaya salad with unfiltered fish sauce, mango salad with crab, and tom sap sparerib soup. The Infatuation and Eater keep the shop on boat-noodle shortlists; beef boat noodles (often Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday) come heavy with liver, meatballs, cinnamon, and star anise, with pork versions on other days. Soft heat runs high even at medium; soft hours close evenings Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday). Confirm live on mesathaitogo.com. No Michelin listing as of July 2026.

Menu highlights

• Boat noodles (beef on select days; pork otherwise)
• Som tum with fermented fish sauce and crab when offered
• Yum ma muang (green mango salad)
• Chalkboard Isaan specials (moo tok krok, tom sap, sausages)
• Pad krapow and other wok staples

Diners say

Public reviews praise the boat noodles, funky salads, honest spice, and a busy family room. Recurring friction includes a chalkboard that needs translation help, heat that can overwhelm, and a loud, chaotic pace at peak times. Diners who like it usually come for Isaan punch and noodles rather than a mild pad Thai night or a wine-pairing tasting.

Review synthesis as of 2026-07-31. Synthesis of recurring themes in public Yelp and Google Maps reviews sampled July 2026; not a rating or ranking. Cross-checked against mesathaitogo.com, The Infatuation, Eater LA dining report and boat-noodle map, and Eater opening notes (2018). Soft Tue–Sun hours from house site: confirm live. No live Michelin listing found July 2026.