The Rustic Spoon

BEST PHO IN TOWN!!! The chicken satay, pad si ew, phở gai was soooooo delicious. Everything was great! Definitely my new go to for Thai food. The only downfall is the size of the building. Needs to be a bit roomier. But will be going back for sure :). You gotta try them out

LOVE.
They never disappoint.
Fave dishes…
Phở Gai
Veggie Roll
Cinnamon chicken
Roti
I order the Phở Gai once a week. Two-​three times a week when I’m sick. It will heal you!

OMG. We didn’t want to wait 45 minutes for a burrito and taco at Ernie’s, so we walked back to our car. Happens that we had parked almost in front of The Rustic Spoon. So we like Thai food a lot and thought «what the hell». OMG. That’s all I have to say. OMG. GO !!!

Such good food! I love this place. It’s perfect– casual and cozy with amazing food. It’s technically Asian fusion because they offer different types of cuisines. They do the Thai basics incredibly well, like pad Thai, drunken noodles, salad w beef, and I recently tried the phở here which was excellent. You can’t go wrong. The specialty Virgin drinks are delicious, I liked the rose mojito.
The people who work here are also very nice. It’s a great neighborhood spot, wish I lived closer to it! Can’t wait to go back and try more menu items.

CHICKEN. COCONUT. TOM. KAH.
I have ordered the Chicken Coconut Tom Kah four times over the course of the last week. I have become obsessed with the Rustic Spoon because of it. This menu item is, without fail, absolutely spectacular each and every time I order it.
See you again soon, Rustic Spoon.

Ummmm YES please! My aunt had told me this place was really tasty it did not disappoint!
The sauces served along side the Calamari and The Roti Bread we ordered were great! Especially with the bread which was unique and yummy in itself, I could have had just the curry sauce sand I’d be set. Defiantly try he Roti Bread, it’s almost like a cross between a pancake and pita bread so it’s a little oily/​greasy but so worth it.
Also had the Pad Thai with shrimp as well as threefold the with beef. Those four things were enough for the three of us present to share and be satisfied and have left overs. But seriously, the food was absolutely amazing! I lived by and drove by this place for over 2 years and never tried it!
Given that it’s in Toluca Lake bordering north Hollywood/​Studio City, it’s actually very reasonable priced and the portions are not bad. I highly highly recommend it here. The leftovers that I ended up eating 2 days later were just as good as when they were freshly served. I just heated it back up on the stove and less than 10 minutes later was enjoying the restaurant once again.

Go there and eat drunken noodles !!! Those guys are the best !!
It’s a small place, but the food it’s amazing !!!

Really good food I had the pad tai and my brother had the pad see ew I will be back again soon!
Well that was Friday 01÷01÷16 and today is 01÷02÷16 and was back already, the food is really damn good and tonight I had the drunken noodles and was floored! This place is a must it is clean cozy with great staff also seating outside on the Blvd.

Great food! Drunken noodles and Warm House Noodles are really good! Excellent Thai tea also. We also ordered tom yum soup… some people might want to kick me for saying this, but I prefer the soup from a mix! This was clearly homemade but had way too much lime juice in it for my taste. It lacked any other flavor.
Dishes are big enough to share.
Serving size — 1 dish=average size male/​female couple sharing OR one average sized female eating with her two senior parents OR one male bodybuilder. ;)

I walked in around 7 pm with the place 30% at capacity. Twenty minutes later there were no tables left! My friend insisted I had soup to feed my cold.
BEST TOM YUM I’ve ever had. EVER
The perfect balance of spicy, creamy, and very subtle fish sauce. Order it with chicken and you’ll want to bathe in the bowl (and with the portion size you technically could!)
Looking at the entrees, japanese pumpkin and cinnamon braised chicken caught my eye!
We felt obliged to order the Filet Mignon Pa-​nang Curry with Japanese Pumpkin and the Cinnamon Braised Chicken Breast Mussaman Curry.
Ten minutes later, two beautiful succulent curry dishes come out. The Filet Pa-​nang curry with pumpkin was sweet and spicy. The Cinnamon braised chicken curry was mild but tasty.
This place is so cheap, portions are big, and the menu can cater to anyone. Never going anywhere else.

The Rustic Spoon comes so highly recommended by my Unilocal community that I came ravenous for what I was so sure would be amazing, grade-​A Thai food. While it wasn’t the mind-​blowing Thai dinner that I was expecting, I still enjoyed my dinner at The Rustic Spoon and walked away satisfied.
First of all, it’s Asian fusion, not Thai — so, my bad there. The menu offers a nice array of Thai favorites, a sprinkling of Vietnamese dishes, and more Americanized fare — think «Rustic Fried Calamari». Second of all, the Thai iced tea is great, and you should definitely order it.
With my tea at the ready, I started off with the Tuna Tartare appetizer. I know, it’s not really a dish you would normally think to order at a Thai restaurant… well, good thing for me, The Rustic Spoon is ‘fusion’ and this tartare app is actually really tasty. The fish is fresh, chips aren’t greasy, and the sweet chili sauce has a comforting hint of gochujang in it that I naturally gravitated towards. No ragrets.
Pause for roti. The roti bread at The Rustic Spoon is the stuff of dreams. Chewy dough fried to a perfect texture — crispy on the outside, warm and chewy everywhere else. Served with a curry dipping sauce and refreshing cucumber salad, this sweet bite of carb-​y heaven is so worth the pound it’ll add to your waistline.
Up next at bat were the Yellow Curry, Pad Thai, and Drunken Noodles. Needless to say, my party of 2 ordered way too much — nobody’s surprised. Yellow Curry is my go-​to Thai order and I must say that I was a little disappointed. The curry, while creamy and savory, lacks a sweet note that I’ve come to look for in my Thai curry. Don’t get me wrong, the curry is flavorful, but I still longed for a sweeter bite. Similarly, the Pad Thai is not as sweet as you’ll find at other establishments — definitely more sour notes from a lot of lime. Oddly enough, the Drunken Noodles make up for the sweetness that’s lacking in the curry and pad thai. The noodles are not spicy at tall and taste overwhelmingly of basil.
For me at least, my meal started on very high notes with my Thai tea and appetizers, and kind of simmered down to a tepid finale with the entrees. Maybe it’s because I ordered too much to be able to enjoy any one dish to the fullest, but I don’t see what the hype is about. The Rustic Spoon is a comfortable spot to get some Asian food and if you don’t come with grand expectations, you’ll enjoy yourself.

Although the food wasn’t bad, our experience here wasn’t anything too special. I ordered the Panang Curry with Beef and the Salmon Roles and my friend ordered some seafood dish.
The Salmon Roles were delicious but there were only four of them on the plate! Definitely wanted to order more but $ 9 feels a little pricey. Seeing that I’m not generally a curry person, I felt that the curry dish tasted amazing. I actually finished the elite bowl. My friend’s fish on the other hand was way too overcooked and ended up being extremely chewy.
There were also only 2 waiters in the restaurant. Took us a while to wave the waiter over to take our check/​refill water but it’s totally understandable with the amount of customers the recieve.
All in all, I would come back if I am around the universal area again if whoever I’m with suggests it.

What more can I say? This place rocks! After being in North Hollywood for work the past few weeks, I was more into exploring coffee places that is not as crowded inside so I could enjoy my drink while doing paperwork.
A Unilocal buddy drove all the up from Long Beach just to hang out and have lunch with me! I asked him to look for a place to grub, and he found this hidden gem. Well not so hidden anymore after seeing almost 900 Unilocal reviews here.
This is a Thai fusion restaurant that serves good food. I didn’t really know what to order since I was at an awe from their menu selections. Yep, my stomach was growling so I ordered the Drunken Noodles with Beef with a shot of Thai Whiskey mixed into the noodles while cooking. I’m not sure if there was actually alcohol in it. I did not taste it, and if there was… it’s well camaflouged. The drunken noodles was delicious! Probably one of the best I ever had aside from the Taiwanese style drunken noodles. They use flat rice noodles to cook which is my favorite. It was flavorful with a spicy kick in it that wasn’t too overwhelming. The beef was cut into small chunks while the peppers were neatly sliced. Good size proportions, flavorful, and presentable with bay leaves sprinkled on top.
Other items ordered was the soft shell crab and the seared large scallops. Oh boy, great choices. These are great! The soft shell crab was fried a little with a light batter and chopped into three pieces with a mild chile sauce and small peppers on top. It was flavorful and so delicious. Yes, the shells are edible for consumption. The large seared scallops are big alright. They’re lightly seared to perfection. The inside of the scallop was perfectly cooked and was also delicious. The presentation was beautiful with tiny alfalfa sprouts topped with a neutral sauce. It was good.
This place is located in Toluca Lake bordering North Hollywood just south of the 134 Freeway off Lankershim Blvd. It is extremely hard to find since the restaurant is tiny and more on a divey side. Divey meaning it’s old and rustic with only small tables inside. But it is a well kept place, and locals knows about it, so they’re constantly busy.
The service is top notch where the waitress and the server kept checking up on us making sure we’re happy.
Parking is basically non-​existent. Probably only two spaces in the back. So parking on the street is better. But even that’s hard to find.
I will definitely come back here to try out another delicious dish in the future. I actually think it’s good enough, so it’s worth the drive.
Probably a great place for a date… if you would. I was extremely happy coming here. Especially when I took one of the two parking spots.
A happy five stars in my book!

I’ve only eaten takeout from here but I don’t really get the hype.
We got the beef spring rolls, pad thai and drunken noodles. Everything was good but nothing stood out to set it apart from any other Thai restaurants I’ve been to?
The patio is cute and decorated with fairy lights at night, so it’s a better ambiance than most restaurants serving southeast Asian fare and don’t get me wrong, the food was just fine, but I expected more given the reviews. Still, I would try this place out again.

Craving thai last night and this place was righty around the corner so I gave it a go! So glad I did. I enjoyed the Pad See Yew with beef and a delicious Rose Mojito (non-​alcoholic). The food came quickly and my dish incorporated just the right amount of Chinese broccoli, noodles, beef and egg. They were able to accommodate levels of spice in each dish, so being a wimp I stuck to a mild spice while my friend went for the hot option. They give you some hot sauces with your meal in case you wanted to add a bit more on your own.
My Rose Mojito was so good! I only ordered it after seeing a diner next to me enjoying hers. It was served in a tall glass with rose buds, limes, and a good amount of mint leaves (my favorite). It was fruity and refreshing.
I definitely recommend this if you’re in need of a good thai fix and some air conditioning.

This place is literally around the corner from me and I order from here at least once a week! I love Thai food and this place is great. My favorite items on the menu are:
— filet mignon phở
— shrimp spring rolls (with their house made peanut sauce)
— drunken noodle with beef or tofu
— tom kah soup
— tuna tar tar appetizer
— roti appetizer with their dipping sauces (SO GOOD)
— pad thai with shrimp.
Their Thai iced tea is also delicious!
I usually get takeout but when I’ve sat in I’ve only had to wait a couple of times. On weekends this place gets packed and I’ve seen lines out the door and down the street!
Very clean and casual ambiance, great for casual dining or take out, friendly staff.

RUST REMOVER WAS NOT NEEDED!
BACKGROUND:
The Rustic Spoon is a restaurant featuring fine Thai food. An Asian fusion of flavors and ingredients is unique and sure to impress your taste buds.
STATS:
Monday — Saturday 11:00 am — 9:30 pm
Sunday 4:00 pm — 9:30 pm
Small private lot
Metered street parking
Indoor/​covered outdoor seating
EXPERIENCE:
Fellow Unilocaler and I came here one eve before heading off to a comedy show down the road. First off, this is not the easiest place to find at night, even though they have strings of mini lights hanging on the awning, it doesn’t stand out among the rest of the hodgepodge of shops around it. There are only a few parking spots in the back dedicated to this establishment, so be prepared to give into parking on the street.
The inside is quaint and elegantly adorned with hanging lights and a chandelier sent on a low dim setting. The outdoor patio is covered, tables are elegantly set for two to four people and a candle on each table. Utensils are rolled inside cloth napkins and placed across the plate setting.
A bit too dimly lit we used the candle to add brightness to the menu. Cucumber lemon water comes complimentary, in lieu of plain water and was quite refreshing. We enjoyed a tasty appetizer before plunging into the entrée.
We ordered:
Crab roll with lettuce, cucumber, mint with peanut sauce-​this appetizer was a great way to start off our meal. The collection of flavors of the crab mixed with the wetness of the lettuce and cucumber sat idle till the mint stepped in, then it was a party in the mouth. The mint was not overpowering, but added a sweet little kick. And when the peanut sauce maneuvered through the crowd of the other flavors, taste buds were partying like it was 1999.
The Rustic Spoon offers up quite a collection of Thai dishes, from appetizers to soups & salads, Phở Filet Mignon to chicken, fish, and veggies, as well as noodle dishes and curries. In addition, they have a pretty wide-​range of both hot and cold drinks.

Pa-​nang Curry with Japanese pumpkin with a shrimp add-​on-​my Thai staple. Having ordered this dish at so many Thai restaurants from the SGV to the SFV, I can honestly say, it was near perfection. At that place was no fishing around the arena looking for shrimp, the red pepper was not cooked to a mushy state, instead, it nonetheless held a little crush. What makes this Pa-​nang stand out from the others was the Japanese pumpkin. Can’t say that I’ve ever come across this fruit in my pa-​nang before. A very nice touch.
Drunken Noodle with peppers, onion and a shot of Thai whiskey, with a shrimp add-​on– Better the noodles are drunk than the driver. The peppers, onions and noodles absorbed the flavor of the sauce and shot of whisky enough to soften the kick of the alcohol. The essence of the whisky was not overwhelming, but did hang out in the mouth after all the other ingredients were consumed.
There was nothing rusty about this place, it runs like a well oiled machine. Wait staff were friendly and attentive, we always had enough cucumber lemon water l and checked on us just the right amount of times.
Review 93 Unilocal 100+ Challenge 2015
#thaifood #sfv

Hiding on an unusual block on Lankershim is The Rustic Spoon: Asian fusion with a romantic atmosphere. You had me at dangling lights and meter parking (free after 8!). Super stoked to finally come here; there was a wait, even on a Thursday night, but only because there was a huge party taking up half of the dining room. Seated within 20 and ordered within 5; service started out exceptional – servers and host kept checking in on us while we waited and were super attentive up until we received our meal.
Got the drunken noodles with tofu (usually not a tofu gal, but my friend is vegetarian and wanted to try the dish). Drunken noodles is my FAVORITE kind of Thai food; needless to say, it did not disappoint. Even the tofu was on point and not mushy/​soft/​gross like it usually is at non-​veg restaurants. Well-​done. My friend got the Green Jungle Curry and the curry itself was freaking phenomenal; he refused to eat it with rice even though that’s WHAT MAKES THE CURRY WORTH IT. Granted, I ate it with a spoon… couldn’t help myself. I didn’t get the addition of cucumbers, though; definitely not my favorite (and I don’t care for eggplant, either). All the other stuff, though… mmmm. To round things out, our other dining companion tried the crispy fried chicken with plum sauce and left with nothing but good things to say about it. I would say that was a successful eating experience.
Two things kept this from being a 5 star experience. 1) After the plates were dropped off, our server stopped showing interest in our table. We didn’t see her until our plates were being cleared and then… she was gone again. We waited for the check for over 20 minutes. That was a little frustrating. 2) The cobweb hanging from the chandelier in the middle of the dining room. From my seat I got a clear view of the thing swinging around in the breeze. Gross. The restaurant itself is fairly clean – I just wish it extended to the things hanging over our tables.
I would definitely come back here again. Planning on it, in fact. But I’ll factor in the time (nearly 2 hours) before making the stop.

I went to this restaurant to meet up with a relative for lunch with my kids and I completely fell in love with their Rose Mojito. An elegant, non-​alcoholic drink that was pretty as a picture with actual tiny rose buds garnished on top. Definitely a sweet sensation with rosey flavors enough to wet my whistle but not overpower my senses. It put a smile on my face, just like receiving a bouquet of flowers.
This Thai, Asian, Vietnamese infusion restaurant served great food that cleared off the plates faster than my 45 minute parking meter ticking out front.
For starters we ordered the seared scallops with lemon cream sauce and rustic fried calamari. Nom, Nom, Nom! Bite sized and enough to want more, but needed room for our main dishes.
Sharing with 5 people we ordered:
1. Chicken Sa-​te with peanut curry sauce which was savory and flavorful. A tad spicy but muted down with the rice.
2. Shrimp Pad Thai which is my staple. Hallelujah, authentically perfect! Not dry and not over cooked.
3. Warm House Noodle with steak blended well together, like ramen with juicy meat, minus the soup. They can really cook it up here.
Experience the Rustic Spoon, a quaint little spot in Toluca Lake, corner of Lankershim and Moorpark. Service is great, attentive & friendly staff smiling and patiently waiting till you’re ready for the check. A thumbs up for me with a definite return in the near future.

We started off with the
Green Papaya Salad-​Green Papaya Salad in a spicy lime dressing, grilled shrimp, grape tomatoes, carrot, red cabbage and cashew nuts. Loved the Papaya Salad tasted fresh, light, & Delicious!
Chicken Coconut Milk Tom Kah-​mushroom, tomato, herbs and fresh lime juice. Soup was okay, not bad but not great.
Pad See Ew-​flat noodles w/​garlic black bean sauce, chicken, eggs, and Chinese broccoli. You can’t go wrong with this noddle dish, not too sweet and filling.
Green Jungle Curry-​chicken, greens bean, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, bamboo and Japanese pumpkin. I love love this curry dish, it’s such a yummy dish. I liked they added so many veggies in this curry. Big enough to share.
Our waiter was so nice and attentive, he checked on us through out our meal. I felt like I was at a friends house.
It’s a small thai place in North Hollywood but if your in the area, the food is good and the service is GREAT!!!