Anajak Thai Cuisine
Forty years on Ventura Boulevard, and Tuesday is taco night with no reservations and a line around the block. The wine director won Michelin's California sommelier award in 2024.
Why go
The restaurant is in its fifth decade and Justin Pichetrungsi is the second generation cooking it. Michelin's inspectors credit the current demand to him, and to a sensibility that keeps the Thai classics while playing to the crowd in front of him.1
Getting in comes down to two nights. Thai Taco Tuesdays takes no reservations and draws a line around the block. One weekend a month the kitchen runs an omakase, and the guide calls it one of the city's most sought-after reservations.1
Then there is the list. Ian Krupp came up polishing glasses at Providence, learned wine there under Drew Langley, followed him to Kali, and now buys for a Thai restaurant in the Valley. He has started having wineries make custom bottles for Anajak guests.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: whatever Krupp pours beside the food. His own line on the pairing:
A lot of Riesling. We love our Riesling. That's the easy fastball for Asian food, but I also really lean towards Burgundy.
2 - Avoid: a Tuesday plan that assumes a table. No bookings that night.1
What locals & experts say
- MICHELIN Guide California:
Now in its fifth decade of operation, this beloved family-owned fixture has never been more in demand. Much of its current acclaim owes to second-generation Chef Justin Pichetrungsi, whose cooking balances tradition with a contemporary, crowd-driven sensibility.
1 - Awards: Ian Krupp won the MICHELIN Guide California Sommelier Award in 2024, for the list he runs here. The award is his; the restaurant carries no Michelin distinction of its own.2
Good to know
- Timing: Tuesday is the taco service and it is walk-in only. The omakase runs one weekend a month.1
- Booking: essential for anything other than Tuesday.
- Getting there: Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, over the hill from the basin.
Verdict
should-visit — A family Thai restaurant in its fifth decade on Ventura Boulevard is now one of the hardest bookings in the city, and the guide's inspectors put that down to Justin Pichetrungsi's cooking rather than to the noise around it. Ian Krupp built a wine list here that took Michelin's California sommelier award in 2024, and he is now having wineries make bottles for the room. Tuesday is walk-in only and the line goes around the block. It stops short of the top rung on one gap: nothing read this pass names a single dish, so a reader knows when to come and not yet what to order.