Natalee Thai’s California Curry

I must have driven by this place over 100 times, but when you actually step inside this very popular Thai restaurant, the first impression is that the restaurant is a lot bigger and spacier than it looks from the outside. The Beverly Hills restaurant has been open 15 years and the Culver City location even longer at 25 years and they seem to be showing no signs of slowing down.

For a Beverly Hills destination, the prices are extremely reasonable. Portions are large, and although the Thai food served at Natalee Thai may not have the hot spices or street cred that the places featured in the well publicized Jet Tila/Anthony Bourdain television episode have. but you will like what they deliver here. Service is efficient enough, and there seemed to be no pressure from anyone to rush your food so that the table could be re-circulated.

Some of the dishes that I tried and liked are the following from the rather large and comprehensive menu. The Andaman Fisherman’s Soup ($10.75) contains filet of sole, calamari, shrimp, mussels, crab meat and cilantro in a spicy lemongrass broth and a fresh galangal ginger and can be easily shared and a perfect start to a meal here. There are a whole host of signature dishes to select from, but the Korean BBQ Beef ($15.95) is a good one. More than enough for two people, the sliced beef ribs are marinated in a ginger and sesame oil and then grilled. They are then sprinkled with sesame seed and served with Kimchi for extra flavor. I also liked the Thai BBQ Pork ($10.95), a superb value
and served with a spicy red crust chilli sauce and tomato and cucumber slices.

If you like seafood then the Phukat Sea Bass Filet ($15.95) is the perfect choice with some of the tenderest fish you will try. Vegetables all steamed with it are bok-choi, green onions, ginger and black mushrooms and garnished with cilantro. The Thai curries are always worth checking out, and the signature curry here is I believe the California Yellow Curry ($10.75), with chicken slowly cooked in coconut milk with potatoes and carrots.

I also tried the Pineapple Crab Fried Rice ($13.75) with all kinds of extras like onions, egg, carrots, scallions, tomatoes and pineapple chunks. If you are on any kind of budget, then the white steamed rice at $1 has to be the deal, or even the sticky rice at $1.50.

The drinks here are another story and I mean that in a good way. The signature cocktail is a massive gargantuan assemblage of liquids known as the Volcano cocktail. You need some sort of prize to finish this and it is certainly a drink to share and even then there will be some left over. There are also plenty of beers and wine to choose from, and if you want to plan your meal before your visit, then the website is one of the easiest to navigate that I have seen in some time.

Natalee Thai
998 S. Robertson Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90035
Tel: (310) 855-9380

Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 11:30am – 10pm
Friday – Saturday: 11:30am – 10:30pm

Free Valet Parking and for Take Out.

Also there’s a location at 10101 Venice Blvd, Culver City
Tel: (310) 202-7003