My go to for fast delicious friendly Thai. Get the Thai iced tea!!! And the tom Kha is bomb!!!

I came here for a quick dinner a few nights ago. This restaurant is located near El Porto and there's plenty of paid parking across the street from the restaurant. Since it's close to Christmas, metered parking was free courtesy of the city of Manhattan Beach. It was a cold night so I was looking forward to having some Tom yum soup and added a side of rice. My boyfriend got pepper and garlic chicken that came with a side of rice. Our server is we a very polite and nice. Our food came out fairly quickly but my soup was a little sweet for my taste. My boyfriend didn't love the sauce used. The food was not bad but I guess just not what we were expecting. There's a 10% discount for cash payment and a 4% transaction fee for using a credit card thus there is a 14% higher cost for using card vs using cash. The food prices are on the higher side here. read more

Nawa Thai - Small Tom Yum Shrimp Soup - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

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Pretty good restaurant with authentic flavors. Prices are a little on the higher side, but the dishes are interesting, like the special lobster pad Thai and soft shell crab pad Thai. The lobster one seemed especially popular, so I might give it a try next time. There's only 1 bathroom, so good luck during rush hour. read more

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Likely the best Thai food I have had in over 20 years. I honestly can't rate this restaurant high enough. Started off with the lobster pad Thai. They actually serve you a whole lobster tail with the main dish. If you're a pad Thai fan, I highly recommend it. We then ordered the yellow chicken curry. This dish was sensational. Likely the best Thai chicken curry dish I've ever had. It was the subtlety of the different flavors that made all the difference. The server was a very nice lady and very informative, who gave useful information. Can't wait to go back and try their crab fried rice dish. Based on the photo in the menu, it looked amazing. read more

Nawa Thai - Lobster pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

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Very popular Thai spot in Manhattan Beach. I only ordered takeout. Both the service and the food were good. The only downside was the often long lead time, sometimes around an hour, for takeout orders. What does that translate to for those dining in? It's about two blocks from the beach walk. That's where I went to avoid sitting in the tiny restaurant. read more

Food Went in for a quick friday lunch. It was a particulary cold day by the beach so I was craving for something to keep me warm. I ordered the tom yum noodle soup. The soup was delicious, perfectly spiced to give off the right amount of heat that doesn't overwhelm the palate and the soup's temperature was just right. Good portion size as well. I ordered it with chicken, making it the perfect comfort food for the weather. Service/Ambiance The place itself is pretty small but had really nice vibes going for it. Our server was nice and we got served the food pretty quickly read more

Nawa Thai - Tom Yum noodle soup - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

I came here with family and the food was DELICIOUS! I ordered the panang curry and it was so flavorful and delicious! I should have ordered it slightly milder as it was very spicy but it was sooo good! I also ordered a Thai iced tea which was delicious as always. We ordered chicken wings which were okay nothing special, crab cream cheese wontons which were also okay and egg rolls which were good. I decided to try something new the mango with sticky rice and it was unlike anything I'd tasted before but was very good! The service was very attentive as no one else was there. The restaurant is a little small but it fit our party fine. This was a great find! I definitely would come back! read more

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I really like the atmosphere here, the location, clean bathroom, easy parking, and all the food except the chicken. The employees here are the nicest people I have ever met in a Thai restaurant. I had my usual Spicy Eggplant with Chicken and Shrimp you can see in the pics. The sauce and eggplant were great--what a great taste, but: I could not finish the chicken--it just did not taste good--and not in a make me sick way--it just had a bad taste and I know it can be better--I have a lot better at Thai restaurants. The shrimp was excellent but you don't get a lot. The thing about chicken breast in Asian restaurants is that many use pre-cut bagged frozen like you find in the grocery store and that kind just does not taste good. I would not be able to order the chicken here again and that is a shame because the rest of the food was excellent. Here is my suggestion to the owner: See if LA LA Thai in West LA will allow you to sit in with them and learn how they buy and prepare the chicken. ( https://www.yelp.com/biz/lala-rice-thai-eatery-and-more-los-angeles-2?osq=lala+thai ) This is the best Thai in LA and their chicken is excellent always. You are far away and not in competition so probably they would show you. No one in South Bay is going to come to LA LA for Thai--South Bay people don't like to drive in LA. And while you are there, teach LA LA where to buy and how to cook brown rice because LA LA's brown rice is mediocre and yours is a lot better. Last, prices here are expensive--probably the highest I have ever encountered for these Thai dishes. It's basically $50+ for 2 people to dine here. But Nawa is in the very high rent district so that is probably where a lot of the money is going--to the landlord. A lot of people not in real estate don't know that the cost of land in Manhattan Beach exceeds the price per square foot in Beverly Hills or Bel Air. It's that expensive here. read more

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Located by the heart of Manhattan Beach. Walking distance from the shore. There was no private parking but plenty of street parking. The decor was simple and touch of Thai style. The service was great. Water and menu were brought to the table immediately. The food were served without much of a wait. The food was absolutely delicious. The shrimp in the papaya salad was tender and fresh. The portion was slightly small. Nonetheless, it was still a satisfying experience. The price wasn't too bad for its location. Overall, it gets a 4.7 out of 5. May visit again! read more

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Parking is convenient with meters out front and a structure across the street. Just make sure you pay because parking enforcement is active. This place feels like such an underrated gem. Every time we visit, it is never overly crowded and the waiters are always friendly. The Crab Fried Rice ($23.95) is my absolute favorite here. They give a generous amount of real crab meat, and ordering it medium spicy gives it just the right kick. The portion is large enough for me and my husband to share, with leftovers to take home. The Pad See Ew with beef ($20.95) is another must-try, also great medium spicy. Both dishes are packed with flavor and quality. One thing to note, it does get a little warm inside. On our last visit, it felt like the AC might not have been working. There were two fans that sprayed mist, but they didn't completely cool the restaurant down. Overall, this has become our go-to Thai spot in the area. A little on the pricier side but worth every bite. read more

Nawa Thai - Crab Fried Rice ($23.95) Medium Spicy - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

Celebrated a Fantastic Birthday dinner at Nawa Thai Restaurant in Manhattan Beach, California!! There was only one negative factor that occurred that special evening. It took forever to find parking!! We went there on a Saturday night, and Manhattan Beach was bustling with activity and traffic. Had to drop off my family while I searched long and hard for parking. Other than that, it was a perfect evening. The parking issue was no fault of Nawa Thai. The restaurant is not very large, but it is cozy. The staff were attentive and kind. The food was DELICIOUS!!!! I don't remember the names of all the entrees that we shared, but I do remember that we were all happy with the food! Everything from the Thai Iced Tea to the Pad Thai to the Mango with Sticky Rice was very very good!! We are not in the Manhattan Beach area very often. If we were, then we'd be regulars at Nawa Thai. Look forward to returning someday. read more

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Small quaint location in North Manhattan Beach. Service was friendly and precise. Never had the fried shrimp donut before but its possibly the best asian food appetizer I have ever had. Then the Pad See Ew was fixed perfectly and with the requested amount of spice (Spicy). Great experience. Only losing a star for the canned sodas. read more

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Excellent customer service Casual ambiance Delicious and flavorful food If you're in the neighborhood, this place is open 7 days a week! (Closed from 3pm-4pm week days) Lovely assortment of beers, including Singha, Sapporo, Stella, Leo. They also have red/white wine and sake. There is no outdoor seating ,but there are plenty of tables available inside. They have the ability to seat parties of 6, but I recommend calling ahead. They do offer plastic free to-go containers, as well as reusable utensils. All-in-all a delicious lunch! I can't wait to go back, and try the lobster pad thai read more

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We came to check out Nawa Thai while in the area and we were pleasantly surprised by the selections. My fiancé jumped on the lobster pad Thai and I sampled a couple of their appetizers. The chicken satay and crying tiger were really good. My fiancé especially loved that they cut off the fat of the beef and put it to the side since he doesn't like the fat (there's still some lean meat on it, I loved it). He didn't love the lobster pad Thai but that's more because it's on the sweeter side and he likes more savory dishes. I thought the pad Thai was good personally, so something to keep in mind. Our server was very attentive and food came out quickly. He even distinguished between the room temp water for me and ice water for my fiancé. Music was nice and mellow and decor was nice and green. Parking was your typical beach parking so it wasn't great... side note: did you know that the parking meters in Manhattan Beach know when you leave your parking spot? The person in front of me left and had more time than me, so I pulled forward and BOTH meters reset. Just a word of warning for those looking for parking or hoping to use someone else's spot read more

Nawa Thai - Lobster pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

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Wow and wow. It seems to be relatively easy to make passable Thai food and with some effort decent Thai food, but Nawa is neither. Nawa is exceptional. In fact it is so good that I would place it in the destination category! Meaning it's worth a drive of an hour or even more give. Its location too. This is the best Thai food I've ever had! And the customer service is top shelf!! Hats off. read more

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The food was so fresh and delicious. It blew me away. The staff is so nice as well. New go to spot for sure

Hands-down, the best Thai restaurant in the neighborhood and perhaps the greater Los Angeles area. The food here is not only authentically flavorful, but also interesting. They have dishes that other restaurants do not have for example they have a pad Thai with a lobster tail, and they have crab fried rice. Their mango sticky rises to die for, I recommend you eat at the restaurant because when you get the mango sticky rice the rice part will be piping hot. Simply extremely delicious. Also, if you eat at the restaurant, the owner will bring you a wide assortment of different spices. My wife considered the spices extremely special and perhaps the highlight of the meal.. Pro tips: There's a discount if you pay cash. Parking is quite difficult, consider ubering here and try their Thai beer! read more

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Ambiance: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Food: 3/5 Beautiful, casual and cozy restaurant with phenomenal service and solid Thai food in Manhattan Beach. Will was an absolutely outstanding server, and we heard multiple others eating around this time also comment of the exceptional service -- super attentive but not overbearing, thoughtful, professional and courteous, and made the dining experience wonderful; this man deserves a raise! The food was tasty but not standout, though it may just be the dishes we tried and personal preference. Dishes we tried: - Fried shrimp donut: fun concept and tasty fried fare but didn't have strong shrimp taste; the menu notes that this is also made with a combination of chicken and the taste perhaps had more resemblance to chicken, paired with a unique sweet plum sauce for dipping - Papaya salad: refreshing and served with well prepared shrimp, we opted for the mild which wasn't spicy at all (which we were fine with) so there are certainly options for those who don't want something too spicy; there is also a no spice option; for those who want some kick, may want to choose at least medium - Pad Thai: generous portions, the sauce leans sweet and sweeter than the dish at any other we have tried, too sweet for our preference Parking is tight in Manhattan Beach. There is a paid lot across the street with limited spots that gets busy. Pro tip: paying in cash comes with a 10% discount so prepare in advance for a saving! read more

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Amazing Thai food, the best I've had in the South Bay. My first time ordering from Nawa...certainly won't be my last. I can only comment on what we had: yellow curry, tom kha and gyoza. All were the best I've had. The flavors were fresh, service was great and food was an A+. Note: I like medium spice for Thai. Their medium is spot on IMHO but may be a tad too spicy for some. Super good. Try it. read more

Good food, good vibe, good service. Sweet spot in Manhattan beach, I would highly recommend their Thai tea, and their salmon curry! read more

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Stay away from the chicken. First time visiting this location and ordered take out. I ordered the pad thai and small Tom yum soup, both with chicken. Total was about $37 which I felt was on the higher end of the range and was expecting a higher quality meal. That was not the case. Tom Yum Soup with chicken. Broth was tart/citrusy and flavorful. Vegetables are cooked to perfection and was happy about the flavor until I had the chicken, which was tough with an offensive flavor, almost as if it's gone bad. Not saying it was, more like it's been left out and developed this rancid taste. Same goes with the pad Thai, except the whole dish was ruined by the awful chicken. With the soup, it was luckily mixed with the broth so it wasn't as pungent, but that wasn't the case with the noodles. Couldn't finish them unfortunately, and with the price, I was even more upset. **Recommendations to the owner, where ever you are sourcing your protein, please consider a different vendor if this is the quality they are offering. For the price point, the chicken should not have any texture or flavor issues. For patrons of the restaurant, stay away from the chicken. Ordered if you do, let me know if this was a one off situation, I'm hoping it is. read more

Nawa Thai - Stay away from the chicken options at this restaurant. Not good. - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

Really good curry dishes. The flavors are excellent. Staff is friendly and prices are reasonable

This place is delicious! Was very happy to try it for the first time today - got 2 noodles and 2 curries and all were great. I got takeout but I'd love to eat in sometime too. On top of the good food the staff were super nice. read more

Everything was delicious and better than at other Thai restaurants we've tried. It just tasted healthier. We had takeout. The cash discount was nice. We will definitely eat here regularly! read more

Nawa holds a special place in my heart. Whenever I'm having a tough day I find comfort coming here. The food is delicious, it warms the heart & the belly. And to boot it's right near the Ocean which is one of my most favorite places on the planet. Patron Forever! read more

3.5 stars rounded up. Location is nice and the inside is clean and cozy. Just wish the food was better. Did not see any Asian customers when we went for dinner; their flavor profile might be tweaked to suit more Americanized tastes? Tom Yum noodle soup was too sweet for me, and the noodles fell apart when lifting them with chopsticks. Vegetable basil stir fry was decent, but not too memorable. read more

Very nice Thai restaurant in Manhattan Beach. Parking is a little hard but there is a parking lot across the street. Service and food were excellent. It's a little more expensive though. Overall great Thai restaurant in MB. read more

We visited this place with some friends. Since it is highly rated (4.6), we gave it a try. Mmm, to be honest, our food is either dry, sweet, salty, oily or spicy to my taste. I thought I was the only one tasting it but when I started pointing them out, our friends said that it is. They are just being polite since it is our treat. It is disappointing, really. Where we are sitted, it's kind of cramped but have some privacy. The music is ok. Server is respectful and keeps on checking on us. This will be our first and last visit to this place. Tantawan is still better for me. To be fair, the fried rice combination that my son ordered is very flavorful with a lot of meat-shrimp, chicken and another meat. That is the only dish that we all personally liked. My son wants to order some more to go but he decided not to in the end. All the food we ordered are good for 3 people each dish with a lot of meat, bell peppers and onions. Here's the list: Appetizers: *Satay chicken-too dry, condiments that comes with it are sweet and a bit sour *Fried shrimp donut-really oily, condiments-too sweet with a hint of honey(?) *Drunken noodles-noodles are a bit off, a bit oily, mild means a bit spicy *Thai style pasta special-oily and salty, a bit spicy *Paradise Fried rice-yummy! Love the crunchy cashews, pineapple cubes/chunks, not oily, lots of meat, bell peppers and onions *Tom Yum seafood combination-salty, a bit spicy but with lots of seafood-fish, a little bit ( maybe 3 pieces ) of shellfish, shrimp and mushrooms read more

Service was good, but I hate to say the quality of the food was mid-grade. Noodles were over cooked and the beef was really chewy. I had higher hopes for the little place. read more

We got the Lobster Pad Thai , a beef dish and pot stickers to go. It was about $80 for the 3 dishes. It was difficult to find parking for pick up but if the food was good we wouldn't have cared. The pad Thai was ok but the lobster tail was over cooked, dry and tasteless (we couldn't even eat it). The beef had no flavor (we did order it mild but it still should have had flavor. I thought it tasted like cafeteria meat). The pot stickers were ok. We didn't call to complain because even for free we wouldn't go back. read more

Decent food. Pretty overpriced. You can get Thai food for a lot less than this down the street in el segundo. I guess it's just expensive because it's near the beach. Crab fried rice is a somewhat unique stand out. read more

We tried this place today and it is going to be our go to Thai place from now on. Chef Alice makes the best tasting authentic Thai cuisine we have ever tasted and genuinely puts love into her food! Our services from Honey was also just exceptional, we will definitely be returning here and recommend others try it out as well! Eat and then enjoy a walk on the beach, nothing beats it. read more

My husband discovered this place while looking for a Thai restaurant for a casual Thursday night dinner. We came in without a reservation and were seated immediately around 7 pm. There is only indoor dining available here. Street parking is available nearby. The ambiance here is simple and casual. The restaurant isn't very big, and looks to seat about 30 people. There are a range of meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes on the menu. We shared the golden fried prawn rolls to start. For mains, my husband had the pad Thai with chicken while I had the glass noodle salad with prawns and vegetables. Everything we had was good but nothing was amazing. I had asked for my glass noodle salad to be extra spicy and I did find the spice level adequate. My husband and I both thought this place was solid but aren't rushing back here. Would recommend coming here if you're in Manhattan Beach and looking for Thai; but wouldn't say this is a place worth going out of the way for. read more

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This restaurant is cozy. Wait staff was very attentive. I had a Singha beer (which is nice to find), delicious iced tea, and pineapple curry. Everything was delicious. When I ordered I was given the choice of mild, medium, spicy, and extra spicy. I request between spicy and extra spicy. Frankly, I didn't think it was very hot. So, if you like spicy, order extra spicy. read more

Highly recommend. This is the best Thai I've had in LA, and I've been trying in Thai town. Casual dishes and fancy alike are top notch read more

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So cool, right in front of the beach, we can walk to the beach to walk off our food next time.. Service was good, server pay attention to us so much.. good soup and chicken basil.. dessert was too cute to each. Will for sure come back. read more

Nawa Thai - Chicken basil - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

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This is a tale of generally high expectations (4.6 stars!) and rather low experience. First time taking out and ordered spring roll, larb, pad see euw and panang curry. Sad to say every dish was off. Spring roll tasted of old oil; larb was strangely sweet but lacking any depth of flavor; the pad see euw was similarly bland and a bit oily; the curry was watery and only had chicken and 2 types of lazily chopped bell pepper--shockingly lacking in character and form. Now, I realize the restaurant's geography, and I live nearby. I get it : West Side Thai is never going to be as good as Valley Thai, which rarely gets close to Thai Town. However, we deserve better than this, especially for the price. Ayara remains the top dog in these parts and one to aspire to. Take notes, Nawa. Hope you improve. read more

Cute place, max room capacity is 38. Wait time for food was long considering there weren't too many people in the restaurant. Pad Thai noodles somewhat overcooked as it was soggy. Panang curry was good, medium spice. The portions of the food were good. The one thing that we didn't like too much is that the restroom is too close to where the food comes out from the kitchen. read more

Nawa Thai - Pad Thai - Thai Near Me - Manhattan Beach, California

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The food is a little pricy, but the food quality and service was truly exceptional, I can't wait to come back

What a delightful experience this Sunday evening! Right from service, ambiance, food and cleanliness- we (2 adults, 2 kids) enjoyed our dinner! Our kids relished- cream cheese wantons- shrimp donuts- crab fried rice immensely I got the special salmon (came with rice) and my husband got the steak spicy fried rice We will be back Nawa Thai! Well done!!! read more

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