RESTAURANT REVIEW: Tara Thai, a pleasant surprise

Tara Thai, tucked into a strip mall in Redondo Beach, features specialties from the Northwest of Thailand. Photo by Brad Jacoson. Architects like creative spaces, odd curves and alcoves that give a building character, while tenants generally prefer symmetrical squares and rectangles. The regular spaces make it easy to find furniture and to rearrange it at will, though the resulting business is more likely to look mathematical than artistic. Restaurants are like water, fitting into oddly shaped containers and making use of every square inch, and they are found in ends and afterthoughts of real estate around the South Bay. Among the interesting examples is Redondo’s Tara Thai, which is squeezed into a corner of a mini-mall on PCH. The place has little curb appeal because you enter from the point of a triangle – there’s not much room outside to make an impact – but the sea-green and burnt orange interior is pretty and sophisticated. Thai pop plays in the background and a fish tank, plants, and an artistic assortment of Asian knickknacks add visual appeal. At first glance the menu looks like the standard Bangkok-style specialties, but those who know regional Thai cuisine will notice…

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