Araya's Vegetarian Place — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Let me start out by saying how happy I am to have stumbled upon the lovely Araya's Place on a free 'self-care, me-day' type of afternoon!

I had just finished getting a facial and was looking for something healthy I could grab for lunch nearby, and decided to give Araya's Place a try since I noticed that it was a vegan spot!

Now, I'm not personally vegan, although I try to eat healthier and more plant-based, and have a lot of experience with vegan food, as several family members of mine are vegan! So, let me just start out by describing the food as most DEFINITELY hitting the spot! But let's back track a little bit first!

When I entered, it's a very small space but with plenty of tables and seating available. The lady inside was very attentive and sweet and had me seated and my order taken in no time at all!

There was a great lunch special for around $12 that they have during the afternoon all week, and includes a spring roll, salad, rice, soup, and entree of your choice. My soup was piping hot and out in no time at all after ordering!! It was soothing, light, and very delicious with a good amount of spice and chunks of mushroom and some other healthy protein inside it.

The rest of the lunch special was similarly tasty and out really quickly! It was beautifully and very aesthetically presented on the plate as well (check the photo for reference). Perfect crunch to the spring roll, well cooked rice, and a light salad with some dressing on the side. For my entree I had some green tofu curry that similarly to the soup had a good amount of heat without being overpowering and was deliciously creamy and soothing. The tofu on other bits of carrot and zucchini provided a great crunch and texture to the curry.

This is a bit of a hole-in-the-wall type of place that can be easy to overlook, situated right next to a Supercuts. I'd advise you to not miss out on it though, whether you're vegan or not, and give it a try! I had a great lunch here and I...

Quite late in writing this review but finally got around to it and had to write this review as we had a wonderful experience eating Thai vegan food.

We visited here in June 2023 when we were driving the Pacific Coast Highway from San Fran to San Diego and stayed in LA for couple nights. We were excited to try a Thai vegan place because we are vegetarians most other Thai restaurants use commercially prepared sauces that have seafood/fish/shrimp & MSG in their sauces

Food - We ordered spring rolls, papaya salad, a Panang curry dish and one pad Thai noodle dish. Overall all items were good and well balanced in terms of flavor. Mango salad and spring rolls were very good. Great thing was as vegetarians we could eat freely without wondering if anything had meat/seafood in it

Service - we were the only ones dining in on that weekday evening though they had folks who were picking up take-out orders. The server Kwan was friendly and chatty.

Ambiance - regular mom/pop place so don't expect anything in terms of ambiance. It is a small clean place with a few tables; one strange thing was to go to the restroom, you went thru the kitchen !

If you are in the area go eat here but I wouldn't recommend driving specially to eat here except if you don't have any other vegan/vegetarian Thai...

A Mixed Experience at This Cozy Thai Spot

I recently tried out this Thai restaurant in Hollywood for a takeout order via DoorDash. The restaurant itself is quite small, but it has a charming atmosphere.

As someone who isn't strictly vegan but leans towards a more vegetable-focused diet, I was excited to explore their menu. We ordered a variety of dishes, including veggie cakes, papaya salad, Tom ka soup, and pumpkin curry.

Let's start with the highlights. The pumpkin curry was absolutely delightful – rich, flavorful, and a real winner. The Tom ka soup also impressed me with its deliciously balanced spiciness at level 4.

However, not everything hit the mark for me. The papaya salad left me a bit disappointed. The papaya lacked the thickness and flavor I expected, and it fell short of my expectations. As for the veggie cakes, they were decent but didn't quite stand out.

In summary, this Thai restaurant offers a cozy ambiance and some standout dishes, particularly the pumpkin curry and Tom ka soup. However, there is room for improvement in some of their other offerings like the papaya salad and veggie cakes. If you're a fan of Thai cuisine, it's worth giving them a try, but be selective with...