In a butter yellow Georgetown row house, a recently opened restaurant is dishing out Thai comfort food in an intimate environment that honors its familial beginnings.

Rimtang, which opened in October and sits between Georgetown’s bustling M Street and the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on 33rd Street, offers a wide variety of classic Thai dishes — from pad thai to panang curry. The restaurant is the fruit of a collaboration between mother-son duo Prapit La Femina and Saran “Peter” Kannasute, with La Femina serving as the head chef and Kannasute acting as the executive chef and co-owner alongside Jeff King of Yume Hospitality Group. 

As a chilly wind cut through the false spring that hit the District the past week, my friend and I hopped on the 38B Metrobus for a 15-minute ride from campus to Rimtang. We soon spotted an “Open Now” banner hung above a mural of red poppies painted on the side of the restaurant’s row house. The mural was painted by the artist Ivo Koytchev in 2005 — who also painted the iconic Elizabeth Taylor mural at Dacha Beer Garden alongside artist Byron Peck. 

The row house’s sunny exterior complemented the tangerine door and window frames and a mailbox painted with yellow flowers hung by the front door. Through the front door, an Andy Warhol-esque collage of a woman, flowers and Thai script painted in jewel tones decorates the right interior wall. Worn bricks line the opposite wall, while wooden beams score the ceiling, giving the restaurant a lived-in quality. 

My friend and I grabbed a table on the first floor of the restaurant near the front, sun-soaked windows. Rimtang had only just opened for the day at noon, but two tables were already filled with people trying to beat the lunch rush. 

A waiter strolled over to our table a few minutes later to take our order. We settled on ordering two Thai iced teas ($8 each), the Papaya Salad ($15) and Mama’s Fried Rice ($28) to split. As we waited for our drinks and food to arrive, my friend and I discussed the cohesion of the restaurant’s decor — as jewel tones colored everything from the dishware to the bouquet of flowers on a counter near the entrance to the kitchen. The intentionality behind the decor foreshadowed the quality of the food in the works behind the kitchen door.

Just a few minutes later, the waiter delivered our Thai iced teas in unexpected containers: clear plastic pouches reminiscent of Capri-Suns. The orange hue of our drinks was as bright as the color of the window frames outside of the restaurant, and I honestly enjoyed the nostalgic experience of sipping from a juice pouch. My friend and I loved how sweet Rimtang’s Thai iced tea was, but those who prefer a punchier kick from the spices that typically flavor the drink, like cardamom and tamarind, may want to look elsewhere. 

When we ordered the Papaya Salad, our waiter had asked how spicy we wanted the dish on a scale of one to five. We played it safe and requested a two, but our salad felt more like a three or a four. Or maybe my tastebuds are just weak because my friend seemed fairly unfazed. 

Despite my poor spice tolerance, the Papaya Salad was a refreshing start to our lunch. Green beans, cherry tomatoes, Thai chili, peanuts and dried shrimp sat on the bed of shredded papaya and leafy greens in a steel blue bowl. The sweetness of the papaya and the cherry tomatoes played well with the rich, savory flavor of the peanuts and the dried shrimp, making each bite a new experience depending on which ingredients I scooped up.  

The presentation of the Mama’s Fried Rice was striking. Our dish arrived in a deep cerulean bowl with the fried rice shaped into a compacted mound, the lump crab pieces and scallions sprinkled on top and slices of cucumber and lime on the side. I couldn’t help but take multiple pictures of the dish, trying to get the best angle — even though it made me feel like the most obnoxious person in the restaurant.

To dig into the fried rice, we unfortunately had to break up the Instagram-worthy presentation. We first made sure to squeeze the lime over the dish, adding a needed citrus kick. The incorporation of the curry powder elevated Rimtang’s fried rice beyond any other I had tried over the years, giving the rice, egg and lump crab more depth and warmth. 

After downing our Thai iced teas and devouring the salad, we didn’t have the room in our stomachs to finish the fried rice. But we packed up our leftovers to take back to Foggy Bottom, eager to savor the rest of the fried rice from home. 

While its menu is on the pricier end for college students, Rimtang is a stellar option for when you want to treat yourself to something beyond Foggy Bottom’s sea of fast-casual eateries. The space’s welcoming and intimate ambiance make it a great spot to split some dishes and catch up with your friends. I know I’ll definitely be returning to this Georgetown gem as I try to soak up the District’s culinary scene in my last two months as a Revolutionary.

Nikki Ghaemi contributed reporting.