Visit #1 ·
★★★★★Palms Thai on Hollywood Boulevard has been on my radar for a while — one of those spots that locals keep mentioning but somehow I never made it to until April. First visit, so I'm still in assessment mode.
Went with a group, which meant we ordered wide. That's intentional on a first visit. You want range. We hit a few curries, some noodles, a couple appetizers — the usual spread when you're trying to get a read on a kitchen. The thing I'm watching on visit one is consistency within the meal itself. Does the green curry taste like it came from the same kitchen as the pad see ew? At Palms, the answer is mostly yes. There's a coherent hand in the cooking.
What stood out: the heat levels are real. I've been burned (literally) by Thai spots in LA that dial it down without asking. Palms didn't do that, which I respect. The proteins were cooked properly — nothing overworked, nothing sliding out of texture. That tells me the line has some discipline.
Service was functional. Not warm, not cold. They moved plates efficiently, kept water filled, didn't hover.
My honest first read: this place has regulars for a reason. The food isn't trying to be fancy. It's trying to be correct, and largely it is.
But one visit tells me almost nothing. I've seen kitchens nail a Saturday night and fall apart on a Tuesday. I've seen lunch service look completely different from dinner. I'll be back — probably twice more before I form a real opinion. Third visit is when I'll know if Palms is a rotation spot or just a solid one-time recommendation.
Receipt is filed. Photos taken. We'll see.