Talesai: A Place to Linger on Sunset

Talesai, 9043 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. (213) 275-9742. Open for lunch Monday-Friday; for dinner Monday-Saturday. Beer and wine. Valet parking. All major credit cards accepted. Dinner for 2, food only, $25-$50.

Of the 200 or so Thai restaurants in the Los Angeles area, almost none have any pretensions to elegance. And those that do tend to be disappointing.

Talesai is the exception.

It’s a lovely restaurant, filled with art and flowers and beautiful women. It’s a fine place to linger, to have a conversation, to feel that you are dining . But linen napkins, gracious service and a good wine list are not the only things that set this restaurant apart; it also has an extremely ambitious menu.

A recent visit proved that the menu is better than ever. The list of appetizers is now so long--and so enticing--that it is tempting to make a meal of them. You might begin with a totally seductive dish called Talesai special, a mixture of shrimp, peanuts, and minced pork cooked in coconut milk that you scoop up with crisp rice crackers. Naked shrimp make a perfect contrast to this richness, for the silky little morsels wear nothing more than a clear sauce whose major notes are lime, chile and fish sauce. And you won’t want to miss hor mok , little balls of shrimp and squid that are plunked into an appealingly absurd looking contraption and steamed in a sauce of lemon grass, basil, coconut and chile beneath what look like little clay dunce caps.

The kitchen has adapted a few dishes from other cultures that make the menu much more interesting. After savoring the rich coconut and chile flavors of so many of the Thai dishes, the contrast of Vietnamese spring rolls is almost shocking. These austere little cylinders of shrimp and pork and herbs wrapped up in rice paper are the perfect foil for Thai food.

More nibbles? Sticks of satay are satisfyingly simple. Larb-- ground beef mixed with onion, lime juice, mint, chiles and rice powder--is good. And don’t miss the restaurant’s version of pad Thai --it’s a great dish that is often ruined by sloppy cooking. Here the noodles come to the table without a drop of oil, so that all the combined flavors of shrimp, peanuts and herbs come sparkling through.

If, after so much food, you can still face the thought of main courses there is plenty to entice you. Like a sweet dish of marinated boneless chicken wrapped up in corn husks and fried. Or duck that is marinated in ginger and soy sauce then steamed and fried to crispness. Most of this food is on the mild side, but if you want a taste of fire, try the wonderful red curry (with chicken or pork) served on top of fluffy little balls of fragrant rice.

Dessert here does not explore the Thai repertoire the way the other dishes do. But there is a rather elegant version of coconut ice cream that will send you out the door with the taste of Thailand in your mouth.