After years of dominance by a standardized menu of familiar food deemed suitable for export, Thai restaurants in Phoenix are beginning to offer more variety. Somewhat paradoxically, the trend is more differentiation from one restaurant to another but with each restaurant having a smaller menu. Instead of trying to cater to every customer with any type of protein in any sauce, not to mention extensive borrowings from Americanized versions of other Asian cuisines, restaurants like LeDu Thai on Roosevelt Row define their own niches and excel within them.
hat-yai fried chicken
LeDu, which is based on a Thai word for "seasons" rather than the fictional fashion brand in the television series La Maison, is a recent arrival on Fifth Street, just a few doors south of Roosevelt and a five-block walk from the Roosevelt/Central light rail station. Bike racks are found along Fifth Street with one directly in front of LeDu. An attractive patio prominently addresses the street, but its lack of shade limits its appeal during daytime. The facade is generally unassuming but is enlivened by colorful orchids, which are common in Thailand.
khao soi
Inside, there are natural wood furnishings, elephant-themed art, colorful banquettes, and more orchids in a stylish dining room that seems worthy of being a set in the fictional Ledu seen on Apple TV+. A small bar is defined by a granite counter with flecks of color that sparkle under the lights overhead, and the restaurant's tables are a mix of wood and marble tops. The interior suggests something like a small version of the celebrated Jim Thompson House of Bangkok has transplanted into one of the bungalows that are plentiful in the side streets off Roosevelt Row.
sadtor shrimp
The menu changes occasionally, consistent with the "seasons" theme behind the restaurant's name, and it is often augmented by one or two specials specified on signs near the host station. In contrast to the typical American Thai restaurant menu, it's a single page with a progression of dishes categorized from appetizers to desserts; however, actual distinctions between starters and main dishes are fluid. With an emphasis on quality over quantity, portion sizes are sometimes smaller than at typical Thai restaurants, but most items are still suitable for sharing.
Thai-style papaya salad
For the most part, dishes are predefined combinations of sauces and meats rather than the build-your-own approach used by many restaurants. The exceptions are a trio of popular noodle dishes – pad Thai, pad see ew, and pad ki mao – that can be augmented with a protein of choice. Otherwise, it's best to trust the kitchen here to deliver an appropriate blend of authenticity and seasonality with customization only in terms of the desired spice level. Be warned: LeDu's medium is hot, and the restaurant's hot is everyone else's "Thai hot."
gaeng crabmeat turmeric
One of the simpler starters is the hat-yai fried chicken, a quartet of wings marinated in coconut milk and served with crispy shallots and a slightly sweet dipping sauce. A traditional green papaya salad is served both Thai style with peanuts and Lao style with salted crab. Larb, the salad of ground meat and herbs, is prepared at LeDu either with pork or in a vegetarian variant involving oyster mushrooms. Ground pork costars with prawns in the Magic Noodles appetizer and also in the sadtor shrimp dish, which incorporates a type of beans similar to limas.
nuer toon zaap
Curries here show depth and differentiation beyond the usual colors of red and green. Panang neur contains tender, braised beef in a thick peanut sauce with lime. Gaeng crabmeat curry is an interesting seafood dish with a DIY twist. The sauce has a moderate heat level and yellow color from the turmeric within. Bits of crab are found at the bottom. Rice vermicelli, cabbage, cucumbers, an egg, and bits of pickled vegetable sit on the side. The customer can add those items as desired and stir them with the crabmeat and curry to create a customized noodle soup.
gaeng panang nuer
Kao soi is a noodle soup with tangy and spicy notes from onions, pickled radish, and lime with tender chicken and noodles in a rich broth. Most dishes here seem to originate in southern Thailand, but this one is northern and equally well executed. A lighter soup is nuer toon zaap, a spicy, tart broth with beef and thick stalks of mushrooms. Tom Yum with shrimp is no doubt familiar from many local Thai menus, but LeDu's version is particularly well crafted with shrimp in a complex broth of chilies, tomatoes, shallots, mushroom, lemongrass, cilantro, and lime.
mango with sticky rice
LeDu offers three desserts. The most familiar is the classic combination of mango and sticky rice, and the elegant presentation here adds to the mix of starchy sweetness and tropical flavor. Banana roti is a delicate pancake drizzled with condensed milk and topped with sliced fruit. Bong bong is a not reference to the head shop down the street but instead a delicately toasted piece of bread with honey and ice cream. It's a slightly fancy version of Thai ice cream sandwiches with better-than-average bread, but it might benefit from coconut instead of vanilla.
Clever Rama
The small bar serves cocktails like a Thai margarita with yuzu and Thai basil and a Clever Rama, a tall drink of tequila, grapefruit, lychee, and lime that is essentially a Thai paloma. Bottled beers, both Thai and American, and wine add to the adult beverage choices while Thai tea and Fever Tree sodas provide ample non-alcoholic options. While the core of downtown Phoenix has long had its share of typical Thai food, the Evans-Churchill and Roosevelt Row are now catching up, and restaurants like LeDu are offering an alternative to the usual menu.
915 N. 5th St., Phoenix AZ 85004
https://leduthai.com
