Kala Eatery

Kala was my favorite Thai spot for lunch and it was so convenient being across the street from where I work but I left on maternity leave in March and just returned to find it replaced with another restaurant! Pita, if you read this and have opened another location, please let me know where!

This is my 2^nd trip to Kala Eatery. After my first trip, I remember leaving still hungry. My impression was that I paid too much (around $ 15) for too little food. My second experience has been better, but not great. I ordered the DUI noodles (yakisoba). It has a good assortment of green peppers and octopus pieces, and a decent amount of food. However, the noodles were too salty and drenched in sauce, making it hard to get through, and I only received two pieces of shrimp.
The restaurant has an inviting outdoor patio, where you can enjoy the weather and a gentle breeze. The staff is extremely polite and friendly. I just wish the food was a little better and the portions a tad bigger.

I need to say this:
This is the first time Unilocal has deceived me and lied! I had the grilled salmon salad. It tasted like it had been marinating in toilet water. Like it’s been living in a chlorine sewage tank. Like it was caught in the LA river. I have never in my life… Ugh. It wasn’t even seasoned, or grilled. It came out fried. The first bite I took I spit it out. I was embarrassed for them. The greens didn’t look fresh. They get two stars instead of one because the salad dressing was amazing. I won’t be back.

Everyday for many years, we pass by Kala Eatery on our way to work. We’ve always been curious but even more when we learned it featured Thai cuisine. The other night we decided to drop in and try what they had to offer. It was a Saturday night and we had the place to ourselves. We opted to seat ourselves outside in the garden which was spacious. It didn’t take us long to decide which ones we wanted to try. My wife, son and I ordered the pork spare ribs, Larb, Tom yum soup and the Bangkok chicken. The food arrived on time and all steaming hot — perfect for a chilly night. Everything was perfect and delicious. The papaya salad and the coleslaw and potatoes complimented the dishes well. I’m a fan of KALA ETERY now!

I’M A KALA FAN! This place is my favorite Thai restaurant. I’m so glad this place is literally a minute away from my work. I first discovered this place because my work catered from them. I remember they were closed for remodeling for a couple months and I was DEVASTATED. But now they are back in business and it’s still quite delicious :)
I love the people that work here. I love the atmosphere, especially outside when the weather is nice out. Sometimes I come here by myself to enjoy a meal by myself while reading a book, or I bring my coworkers along. They’re fans too!
My go-​to order is the Spicy Fried Rice because I love all things spicy. You can choose the level of spiciness, which is great! They also have this homemade garlic hot sauce that they make… SO. GOOD. I’ve tried their green curry, pineapple fried rice, pad thai, papaya salad, drunken noodle, DUI noodle, tom yum soup. Everything was really good. I love strong flavors and this place has just that.
Also, their Thai tea is on point. I’m going to miss this place once I quit my job.

Kala’s location makes it a little hard to find but there’s great parking & outdoor seating once you do. They have local delivery too — which I take advantage of at least twice a week.
I swear by the Sassy Salmon — the sauce is delicious. My co workers gets the yellow curry or the tofu curry/​vegetables. It’s one of the only places that we all find dishes we really love.
The staff is really sweet and service oriented too. Once they hear my address, they know my order immediately. They genuinely care about their customers & always deliver to us quickly.

First let me start off by saying that this is the best Thai food place I’ve been to. I’ve been to a lot!
The drunken noodles here are amazing. The Thai tea compliments the spiciness of the noodles. The well cooked meats and crisp bell peppers are just harmonious together. That hint of basil leaf just seals the package to one of legend! And that is just the drunken noodles!

I am so disappointed! I expected to give this place 5 stars, because I have never had any problems with my lunch order before. I usually get the chicken kabob plate with a side of hummus (since it doesn’t come with any, and I can take the elftovers home). Sometimes I use grub hub codes to get a discount because it ends up being like $ 17 normally without a promo code.
The reason for the 3 stars is that I ordered online and when I got back to work today I saw that the container of the $ 5 hummus side was not even filled ¹⁄₃ of the way! The container is fairly small as is for $ 5 so to only give me like two big spoonfuls of hummus is ridiculous.
Otherwise, the chicken plate is always good– it’s moist and flavorful. You get rice, chicken, and salad.
It’s a little more than I like to pay for a work lunch, but usually a nice treat and my favorite place to get lunch in this area by far. It is odd that they have Thai, Mediterranean, Italian, sandwiches… all at one restaurant, but even when my work has had them cater it has been delicious.

Really good food and great service. Had the Pad Thai. Watch out for the spice factor, but they are aware of it and will accommodate your taste. I had a level 2 and could feel it.
The exterior does not invite, but the good food should attract!
Give Em a try! Support creative talent!

I haven’t had the chance to eat at the actual restaurant but I have ordered for delivery. Let me just say that they are quick! Very accommodating over the phone and the delivery guy was really cool. I believe it’s a $ 20 minimum while being within 2 miles from the restaurant to qualify for delivery. I had the chicken koobideh and my chicken was savory and delicious.

DUI noodles with spice level 8 were VERY tasty and spicy! Very nice mixture of flavors as expected of good Thai food. The flat rice noodles were a good compliment. Served piping hot! Arrived early 10am and served within 10 minutes

First of all don’t let yourself fool from the outside! I was very skeptical when I passed by every day in my way to work. Today I finally tried it and it was worth every penny. «Don’t judge the book by it’s cover» and it fits perfectly to this place.
I had the Panang Curry and it was delicious. Since they are not preparing the food medium spicy or anything it is completely up to you how spicy you want it. You can choose between 1 – 10. I picked 5 since I do like spicy stuff and it was SPICY!
Next time I will try 4 to have a perfect taste.
Overall the food was great and the staff is really nice.
Go try it out :)

Interesting little location. I can’t speak to the Mediterranean side of the house but ordered quite a few Thai items and it wasn’t bad. The pineapple rice was blah. The D.U.I. noodles were great! The shrimp papaya salad wasn’t bad and I wasn’t impressed with the green curry.
The service was good, the folks we ordered from nice. All in all, would revisit for the D.U.I. Noodles and try something new too!

I had planned on eating Peruvian on this particular Friday and so one thing lead to another and I end up at this Thai/​Mediterranean place next door to this unnecessary and rather large Sketchers building.
Anyways, we get seated outside just like everyone else, and keep in mind that they do have seating inside which has always been empty, I’m guessing because it feels like a sauna in there. The outdoor seating is pleasant, there’s the sound of running water from their pond (very relaxing) and decent music.
Initially, I had ordered the Panang curry with brown rice but unfortunately they had ran out of the curry. Immediately, I figured it was a best seller. Our waitress broke the news to us and was very sorry (she was extremely sincere about it). I got the Kiew Wan curry with white rice instead. I’m no curry expert but I thought it was a fine green curry. I actually emptied the entire bowl
Hoping to return one day to try the Panang Curry.

Lovely, cozy, and tasty! There are only five indoor tables (4 – 2 seaters, and 2 – 4 seat tables) so seating is limited… They do have a nice patio, which is used heavily at lunch. (weather permitting!).
I had the Tom Kar soup & the DUI noodles (w/​yakisoba). The soup was tasty, ok spice (asked for 7 on the spice scale)…

This place isn’t bad! My co-​workers and I came here on a Friday afternoon, and ordered a variety of dishes ranging from salads, to sandwiches, rice, and soup. All of the food was pretty decent; no complaints from anyone.
Their eating area is only outside on a makeshift patio area, with limited shade — so bring a hat if you’re planning a trip during the day. You’ll need it! It gets HOT.
Our waitress and helper kept forgetting a few items we’d requested, but we got over it after the 4^th attempt to get sugar for iced tea.
There was also a gentleman who was allowed to smoke outside while everyone was eating, which was a real bummer.
I’m pretty sure we won’t be back, but it was worth a shot.

This was not a charming experience of return.
I ordered the Kala Salad, anticipating that the dish would be a popular and exciting item. Well, not really. The greens were old and overly chewy, the peanut sauce was okay, the chicken breast were plain.
The waitress seemed new and very attentive. But she obviously didn’t remember that I had lemonade. She grabbed the nearly empty glass and refilled it with water. Then she walked away before I had a chance to say anything. Uh…
It’s easy to leave a perfect first impression. It’s quite a challenge to keep it up.

Delightful vegetable lovers rice with fresh broccoli, cabbage, carrots, green onions, bell peppers, & tomatoes. I requested no mushrooms and they obliged. Crunchy, colorful, & tasty. Yum! Hubby ordered pineapple fried rice with shrimp. «All my favorite ingredients in one dish!» He said. Rice, raisins, cashews, eggs, & shrimp. «Mmmm mmmmm.» He didn’t like the Thai iced tea so switched it out for passion flavor. Server/​hostess was very accommodating and they served us extremely fast. Ordering dessert now…

I was enticed by the awesome reviews on Unilocal,especially the pictures people took of their exotic dishes. The presentation of their dishes looked too good to pass up. Ooh, and this hole-​in-​the-​wall place was just a few blocks away from my friend’s place! They offered a check-​in deal of 9% off your bill if you pay cash or you could take advantage of the $ 8 for $ 10 Unilocal deal.
My friend and I came here for lunch a few weeks ago. We had no trouble finding parking in a little corner of a commercial building lot. This is a SERIOUS hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant which can be easily missed. Imagine hanging out in your backyard patio, under a trellis with outdoor speakers playing soft rock music.
There’s a couple of weathered leather seats, a water fountain, and a few decorative plants to make this place feel homey. This place looked more casual than I had imagined. Inside seating was like the size of a walk-​in closet. Definitely NOT intended for claustrophobics. Our hostess even recommended we sit outside.
Our hostess and server was very friendly and patient, as we tried to narrow down our order. We ended up getting Thai egg rolls, The Tiger Beef Salad, and The Bangkok Charbroiled Chicken with Green Papaya Salad. It took awhile for our food to come out despite the fact we were the only ones eating (two other ladies were having drinks nearby).
Five stars for the presentation of the dishes (Ahh, so deceiving).
Thai egg rolls (²⁄₅)
Deep fried egg rolls with chicken, cabbage, and carrots
Crunchy on the outside but mushy inside. We couldn’t tell it had chicken.
The Bangkok Chicken w/​Papaya Salad (²⁄₅)
Chicken thighs, thai herbs, green papaya salad, jasmine rice
Chicken was SUPER SALTY!!! A few chunky pieces that looked bigger in the photos than on my plate for $ 12.99. I ate all my papaya salad and rice to compensate for the saltiness of the chicken. Without the Papaya salad, this dish would’ve received (¹⁄₅).
The Tiger Beef Salad (¹⁄₅)
Slices of beef with cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, red onions, lettuce, and cilantro w/​spicy lime juice.
Beef was over-​cooked, tough, and SALTY. It didn’t have that expected zesty taste.
My friend barely touched her dish and she usually finishes her plate even when a dish is mediocre. I tried her dish and had to agree with her.
My overall thought on this place…
Seriously over-​priced for lunch, especially for this hole-​in-​the-​wall establishment. Our bill came out to around $ 35 with the 9% discount. I did inform our server that our dishes were too salty so hopefully they can make some improvements.
Will we come back?
My friend: No way!
Me: Maybe… the dishes looks so good. Maybe I should have ordered the drunken noodles instead.

I’ll admit this place had to grow on me. My first experience was with their drunken noodles which I hated and swore I wouldn’t come back, but after more Thai experiences came to the conclusion I’m just not a fan of thai noddle dishes.
Since I work all of 2 minutes away I gave them another try and have had their spicy fried rice, chicken satay, steamed veggies, and yellow chicken curry. The last of which I am currently eating and was so good I had to write a review immediately. While all the other dishes were good (the spicy fried rice is an office favorite) the yellow chicken curry is definitely my favorite now. I can do without the chicken as its’s a bit tough but the actual curry broth itself is fan-​friggen-​tastic.
I never see too many people actually eat in but they have the worlds cutest patio if you so choose.