H.O.P.E. Healthy Organic Positive Eating — Restaurant in Los Angeles

We had dinner at H.O.P.E. while traveling through Sherman Oaks on our way back home from Beverly Hills. They're focused on the preservation of the environment, a holistic approach to food and nutrition, and the sustenance of the ingredients they use.

We asked for outdoor seating because my young son is not vaccinated, and they accommodate us. We are vegetarians, and H.O.P.E. only serves vegan food, but regardless of that, this was one of the best Thai experiences we've ever had.

The food was served with an artistic touch, very pleasing to the eye, but it actually tasted even better than it looked. I ordered the yellow curry, my wife ordered the panang curry, and my 4-year-old had the appetizer, Chef Mod's Mac and cheese. They were all exquisite.

The pasta in the mac and cheese was cooked al dente, with some chew left in it, which both he and I loved. The sauce had a tomato base and was slightly tangy, and the vegan cashew cheese was delicious--melted and stringy. It was very slightly spicy, but he didn't mind it. I had to stop myself from eating his food.

I ordered my yellow curry spicy (the highest spice level available) and it wasn't over the top spicy. It was perfect for my taste. We ordered brown rice on the sauce, which my wife and I shared. They not only split the rice order into two plates, but they shaped it into hearts.They looked to pretty to eat! My yellow curry came with slices of carrots, large potato chunks that were not overcooked, slices of onions, with a sauce of green chili paste, coconut milk, and turmeric.The depth of flavor was surreal, with a hint of sweetness balancing the spice. I nearly picked up the bowl and slurped it from the side. (I'm glad I didn't do that, by the way).

My wife's panang curry was equally good (I had several tastes of it). Spicy, with a hint of sweetness, and a rich flavor. It was made with panang curry paste, coconut milk, carrots, bell peppers, basil and green beans. The flavors were balanced, full-bodied and drop. None overpowered the other.

Our meal was truly 5 stars, from all aspects. It was one of the best Thai experiences we've ever had. H.O.P.E. also serves dinner vegan Mexican dishes, which I was tempted to try. I bet they are delicious, because this place cares-about the quality of the ingredients they use, about the preparation of their offerings, about the exquisite presentation, about the experience and health of their patrons, and lastly but not least, about the future of this planet that we live on. What more can be said?

Check out the accompanying photos. I highly recommend you experience H.O.P.E.: Healthy, Organic,...

H.O.P.E. kitchen is an all vegan thai food place with plenty of tasty meat substitute and gluten free options for every diet. Okay, full disclosure, H.O.P.E. stands for “Healthy Organic Positive Eating” which is just the other side of new-agey for my general comfort level so I was a little skeptical going on…but everything we had was delicious and we weren’t made to answer any “questions of the day” or required to order our food using words that indicate what mood we were in…so great start!

We started with the crispy chicken side-dish. This was as good as any fish and chips dish I remember having…the “chicken” was battered in a gluten free batter, and was tender on the inside. Although it was more like a fish dish as I said, it was super-super-delicious and I started to fantasize about adding a lemon squeeze and some properly cooked fries and, done! This is crave-worthy

I had, from the House Special menu, the Kai Ga-Tiam & Sticky rice. This was okay, but the side of sticky rice it came with was not my favorite sticky rice ever (it was a little dry to be sticky), and the chicken was a bit over cooked and reminded me of vegetarian “beef” I’ve gotten elsewhere. The broccoli this came with was perfectly cooked, and the hot sauce it was served with was nice in moderation

My wife had the See-Ew (gluten free) which I tried a little of and we both thought it was among the best tasting “Pad See Ew” dishes we’d ever had. Again with perfectly cooked veggies.

Our kid who has more basic tastes got a Veggie Lovers with “beef” on the side. The beef was a little too crispy and dry, and he didn’t like it. He did order it on the side and we think it might have been better cooked with dish so it was moister.

They brought our side of brown rice on the side in the shape of a heart which made us feel the rice loved us. :)

Everyone was friendly including our server…and we liked that the menu, which we already knew was all vegan, had labeled each dish that was gluten free.

There’s plenty more to choose from here with an extensive soups, starters, noodles, curries and more sections of their menu…I’d come back based on crave-worthiness of the “Crispy Chicken” (Which I’ll forever think of as fish and chips) alone. (and they do have french fries to so I can...

I became a vegan recently for health reasons so when my friend wanted to go out for dinner, I suggested this place in Studio City. It's located in a small plaza on Ventura Blvd. The plaza offers valet parking only so we found metered street parking a block away. Another option could be to park in the large plaza across the street with a Trader Joe's but I'm not sure how strict they are about parking and walking over there.

My friend NH and I got the following: -- Spicy Noodle: stir fried flat rice noodles, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, sweet basil, garlic - NH got this and she really enjoyed it. She thought this place would be "white people spicy" so she ordered SPICY and regretted it because it was really spicy. She said next time she's getting Medium Spicy instead :P -- Papaya Salad: shredded green papaya, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, garlic, peanuts tossed in a traditional Thai lime dressing - obviously I got this without peanuts since I'm allergic. This was my first time having papaya salad and it was really good! The papaya and carrots were so refreshing and crunchy and I really liked them. I hate green beans though so NH ate mine. I got it Mild Spicy and it was still pretty spicy for me. It was really good though! -- Coconut Ice Cream: NH got this for dessert because she needed something cooling after her spicy entree. She thought this was good and very refreshing for a hot summer day. -- Mango & Sticky Rice: I'm currently on a raw vegan diet so I got this and just ate the mango, which was ripe and yummy. In hindsight, I should have asked for it without the rice instead of wasting it. Oops.

Overall we both enjoyed our meal here and would definitely be down to come back. I love that this place is 100% vegan so once I'm off my raw vegan diet I can order their other foods...