Some of LA’s Best New Thai Food Expands to Atwater Village This Summer

Atwater Village is about to get some new Bangkok-style Thai street food this year, and right on the neighborhood’s main drag. Holy Basil, which has found success in Downtown operating as a fast-casual takeaway with some on-site seating, is pushing a similar service focus to 3166 Glendale Boulevard, doors down from the always-busy Proof Bakery and across the street from Dune.

Holy Basil owners Wedchayan Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal Yuon currently operate out of a not-quite-finished Fashion District food hall, while also popping up with monthly dinner series events at places like Melody in Virgil Village under the simple name Yum. The focus is on Thai street food staples turned up to 11 (that often means lots of fish sauce and heat), from seafood-heavy tom yum soup to pad thai that’s loaded with shrimp — and don’t sleep on the dry-aged salmon, either.

The Downtown takeaway restaurant — winner of Eater LA’s Best New Food Stall award for 2021 — runs seven days a week and offers delivery in a limited radius, a feat Yuon and Arpapornnopparat hope to continue in Atwater Village.

The incoming Glendale Boulevard setup will look and feel similar as well, with room for pickup and takeaway only, plus some communal tables to be shared among other tenants. The building operated for years as El Cañonazo Market but has been boarded up since the start of the pandemic with plans to flip to a multi-tenant destination for restaurants and retail renamed El Cañon — perhaps not a food hall in the full sense, but close. The proposed layout allows for six otherwise still-unnamed tenants to begin occupying spaces this year; it’s unclear, so far, who else will be taking up residency inside.

As for Holy Basil, expect an opening by mid-summer at 3166 Glendale Boulevard in Atwater Village, with the same menu as the Downtown location and expanded options for delivery. Until then, Eastsiders can find a similar vibe at Sticky Rice’s sidewalk-facing takeout window in Highland Park.

• LA’s 2021 Eater Award Winners