Yai Restaurant

5757 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Adequately Fed: $12

Ordered:
Crab Rolls***
Fried Tofu**
Papaya Salad**
Red Chicken Curry****
(Out of Five Stars)

I'm not going to pretend to have any expertise in Thai cuisine so I won't go into the authenticity of this hole-in-the-wall restaurant. However, speaking as someone who loves food, the cuisine at Yai Restaurant will leave you heartily satisfied, whether or not it's authentic.

This is the kind of restaurant you look for when you want food that isn't overly glamorous or pricey. Located conveniently next to a 7-Eleven and a donut shop, this restaurant is adequately clean and suspiciously well-lit. Parking was not too difficult on a Sunday night. At least parking was good enough that my car had somewhere to break down.

We had to wait about ten minutes for a table and the service left much to be desired. I figure the waitresses adopted an Asian custom of tending to customers the bare minimum, and so I adopted the Asian custom of tipping the bare minimum. But I'm not looking for excellent service or decor (which, by the way, was tastefully furnished with promotional Thai beer posters), I'm looking for good food at a reasonable price, and both these prerequisites were satisfied and exceeded.

Recommended: Great for "I dont want to cook" nights. Not so great a date restaurant unless you manage to get your car towed.