Indra Restaurant — Restaurant in Glendale

For more than 30 years, whenever I am in the area, I visit Indra Thai restaurant for “two kinds over rice” (chicken curry with bamboo shoots plus another dish), the city’s best deep-fried catfish with red chili sauce, and the city’s best Thai ice tea.

In the 1970s most of the few Thai restaurants in L.A. were started by chefs or Thais with previous restaurant success in Thailand. I lived in Eagle Rock, but for years I would not go to Indra because I already had a favorite Thai restaurant, Chao Praya (now closed), and Indra seemed more like the other kind of Thai restaurant, those that were started by Thai entrepreneurs with a cookbook.

In the early 1980s, my Indra-fan friends convinced me to try it. Ordering what I would order at Chao Praya, I was underwhelmed except by the good brown Thai ice tea that restaurants in Thailand and that Chao Praya served, not that orange malty chalky crap that is everywhere else for some crazy reason. That brown tea, and the advice to not get my favorite Chao Praya dishes, has made Indra one of my favorite Thai restaurants.

I am very happy to now work in Glendale. I can go to Indra regularly for lunch with coworkers. Family style always leads to trying new dishes, even after so many years.

Besides the dishes mentioned above, I recommend the super tasty cha cha fish, the pad see you, the egg rolls, and check out the stuff that is sometimes in the heating vats: deep fried pork, prik dan gai, those small red crunchy things, or another curry.

Indra is a gem. The staff has not changed since I began coming here. A few years ago they remodeled away from the dive feel. I don’t know if the owner was a restaurateur before she started, but she...

Under the same caring family ownership since the 80's, Indra is a treasure. Try the wonderful Kra Pow, spicy and flavorful with garlic and basil. The Tom Yum soup is light and completely irresistible. They have great Thai iced tea and coffee. Indra is very popular with the local Thai community and is well known for its selection of Thai desserts which can often be found on the counter. The servers are very nice and have years of experience working there. The staff is very stable, which tells you something about how the restaurant is run. Prices are still very reasonable. I can't say enough good things about this unassuming strip mall Thai restaurant that is like a trip to Bangkok...

Authentic and very good food, attentive service. The only issue is that they’re still serving on cheap styrofoam, plastic and paper disposable dinnerware. All other restaurants are back to using regular dinnerware but I think Indra found it more convenient and are sticking to it, even if no longer necessary. It’s tacky and informal, I think it changes the flavor of the food too, not enjoyable. Not to mention how it pollutes the environment, they’re not even using the eco friendly or biodegradable kind. I won’t go back until they start using more formal dinnerware. It’s a shame because I really like it, we’ve been regulars...