ShopHouse

Good healthy meal. It’s straight forward and you definitely see the similarities with the Chipotle concept. They’re a little skimpy on the noodles sometimes and I take issue with that because it’s noodles, its not like I’m asking for extra meat and scoffing at the fact that I have to pay for it. Great low price option for the area.

**FYI — This is a post that I had started and had realized I never posted so this may be a little dated**
I really wanted to love this place since it was the Asian version of Chipotle. (They are from the same people that open Chipotle). Plus I love Chipotle.
I came one day because my friends and I got a free bowl from a Daily riddle promotion they were doing. So when I was at the counter I selected a noodle base. Next was the meat which I selected the pepper steak, veggies — I got green beans (I had asked if I could get corn as well but was told they will charge extra for that so I opt out), sauce — Green Curry, Garnishes — Green papaya slaw and top it off with some peanuts and crispy garlic.
When I took my first bite it was okay however, everything was not hot it was barely even warm, in my opinion. I continued to eat and realized that my «steak» was more of tiny broken down pieces of ground beef. I was thinking that if they were calling it steak that I would at least get some cubed pieces. The sauce ended up making everything besides the little beef pieces mushy.
Needless to say I was a pretty disappointed and will probably not return.

I don’t understand anything less than raves for this place. Every time I go to a ShopHouse, I order something different, and each time it is insanely delicious. It’s also pretty healthy. I really appreciate the care they take with the sourcing of their ingredients, in terms of having them be organic or locavore or at least pesticide/​bovine growth hormone free as much as feasible.
My only complaints are that a) they need to advertise more! People hardly know about this place or that it is brought to you by the Chipotle people. b) they need more locations!

Love this place! Love their chicken satay bowl!

Had been wanting to try this place for the longest time and it was meh.
Portions aren’t the largest and something about the flavors in their bowls just doesn’t mix right. Kaya Kitchen does it better, but not by a landslide haha. I’ll stick with regular Chipotle for now.

This place has come a long way, and they seem to continue to improve.
Shophouse is a great lunch option for those who have a healthy type asian craving.
Fresh bowls made to your liking:
White/​Brown Rice, noodles, or salad to start with.
Your choice of protein: chicken satay, pork & chicken meatball, steak, or tofu.
With your selection of zesty toppings. They’ll always have seasonal ones, but they usually have spicy green beans & charred corn.
Top off with your choice of sauce: green curry, spicy red curry, peanut sauce, or tamarind.
Don’t forget the fresh pickled veggies, papaya slaw, and fresh herbs to cool your bowl off.
And finally a dash of crispy rice, crispy garlic, spicy chilies, and herbs.
I like to go with:
White rice, tofu, half corn half green beans, half red half green curry, papaya slaw and pickled veggies, and crispy garlic.
Bön Appétit!
Don’t forget to try their mango sticky rice, sweet and salty. Yum!
P. s. their order online system still needs work. There are errors everytime I order, which gets aggrevating.

ShopHouse is a good cheap lunch option. It looks like Asian food, but doesn’t really taste like it. If you go in with this expectation, you’ll do just fine. I, on the other hand, was initially disappointed that the flavors were so bland and, well… American.
Still, I would return to get lunch if I were in a pinch or if a coworker with a craving requested we go there. You get to make your own bowl and put whatever you want in it. The ingredients are fresh and a bowl will fill you up nicely. And there is a wall of Sriracha!

I was underwhelmed by my lunch today. I’ve seen ShopHouse in Hollywood before, but didn’t really understand the name. ShopHouse rhymes with ChopHouse, but what IS a shophouse and what does it have to do with a chophouse? I have no idea. I guess I could have asked.
Service was very friendly and the seemingly insanely long line was really quick. It’s a Chipotle style of serving. I chose the chicken satay on brown rice with the seasonal vegetable (today was broccoli) and peanut sauce, with crispy garlic, toasted rice and crushed peanuts.
All I can really say is MEH. It wasn’t a great mix of flavors. They became muddled and mushy. It tasted like a failed «Thai bowl» that of make at home. Oh well. At least it was cheap ($ 6.60, not bad at all) and I didn’t have to wait in line for too long.

Look, it’s not Osteria Mozza, but it’s cheap, fast and clean. Also, it’s almost entirely gluten free so all you paleo weirdos can find something to make your cross fit hearts sing.
If you order the tofu and aren’t a vegetarian, get ready to say, «I’m not a vegetarian» real fast because the moment you say, «I’d like the green curry» they’re going to tell you it has fish sauce in it. I ain’t scurred of you, fish.
My standard order is all greens or greens /​half brown rice, tofu, kale, green curry, papaya slaw, peanuts, crispy garlic stuff. It comes out to under $ 8. My wallet is happy, I’m happy.
PS. ONE MAJOR DOWNER — EVERYTHING IS SPICY. There is nothing mild here. NOTHING. It’s a major bummer for myself but my husbers loves it.

Chipotle meets his estranged cousin. SHOPHOUSE!
This place had some great flavors to offer!
They have bowls that they recommend and then you have the option to create your own.
You choose your carb, your protein, your veggies, your sauce, and finally your toppings.
I chose the brown rice with chicken satay, spicy green beans, peanut sauce, spicy mango slaw, and crushed peanuts.
They flavors were great! Tasted like a healthy Thai dish. My only complaint was that I felt the green beans weren’t spicy enough but no biggie. They have a wall of siriacha bottles available if you need to turn up the heat. The peanut sauce was peanutty and coconutty! The portion was also good as well. Enough to feel satisfied and not heavy.
Flavors were unique and this approach is a great way to introduce these kinds of flavors to some of those who haven’t ventured out to southeast cuisine.
YUM in my TUM.

For a subway style Thai food, everything is great.
They just should not estimate the time for food to be ready for hungry costumers like me. They just lost a star only for a wrong TE.

I’d never tried Shop House before and the woman helping us provided samples of the different meats served in their bowls. I tried everything except the tofu. I decided upon a chicken satay bowl. Instead of rice or noodles, I choose salad for my bowl. I was happy to have a non-​carb option.
The bowl included grilled chicken satay, charred corn, green papaya slaw, peanuts and peanut sauce. The peanut sauce is good and has some spice to it. The bowl was a good, healthier choice but unremarkable. I didn’t dislike it but I probably wouldn’t go again.

Is this really related to the golden egg that is Chipotle? Who is in charge of this place? All the topping are totally over-​seasoned and make no sense together.
Severe diarrhea both times. Best of luck!

How have I never heard of Shophouse? Chipotle concept but Asian style? I am so out of the food trends.
First of all, the flavors are inspired by Thai and Vietnamese. That is not to say that this is Thai or Vietnamese, just in the way I would not consider Chipotle real Mexican food. But the ingredients are fresh, albeit a little salty. I loved my salad.
The options are pretty straightforward. For you veg eaters, they carry HODO tofu. Now that is legit stuff right there. I remember going to the little Hodo stand in the Ferry Building. Good stuff. Anyways, my bowl was full of delicious kale, green beans (the salty culprit), papaya slaw… mmm. I would much rather have this than Chipotle. I have to say, I am feeling a little spoiled with all my lunch options in the area. I’ll be back!

I love this place! Found out about Shophouse from a Chipotle documentary (Inside: Chipotle, I believe). Everything they serve is fresh, flavorful, and reasonably priced.
You have the options:
Base: Rice, Noodles, or Salad
You add
-(1 type) Meat/​Protean
-(2 types) Vegetables
-(1 type) Sauce
-(0-​All types) Garnishes
A cool thing they do is offer seasonal vegetables which gives you more variety based upon what veggies are in season. My only complaint would be that you are only able to choose from one vegetable unlike Chipotle where you can choose from as many as you’d like (My review would actually be a 4.5 if I could!). Other then that, everything is great. The staff is also very friendly and pretty accommodating. During my first visit on of the employees took his time to explain how everything worked and even let us taste anything we wanted. They really made an effort to make sure we were satisfied with what we were eating.
OH, and if you really like spicy food they have some items to make your meal flaming hot! (i.e Thai chili’s, Spicy Red Curry Sauce, and Green Beans)

Who knew right!
Quick and tasty.
This restaurant is a member of the Chipotle family of restaurants — there should be more of these around.
Food is served quickly and honestly the price is perfect. Great place to go for a quick bite before you head in to the Arc Light!
Till the next time!

Yea, dude. I’m a fan. Owned by Chipotle so I am assuming everything here is non-​GMO, organic and made fresh, this South East Asian concept of build-​your-​own bowl is a winner in my book. For a person who is conscious of what they eat but need fast food but not «fat» food, this is a great solution.
Location:
Open, high ceilings and airy with a good amount of seating. They make great use of the space. They have a post filled with sriracha bottles that look like an installation but its for you to grab.
The food:
So DELICIOUS! Word of advice from a South East Asian– lean towards «less is more.» There are tons of flavor in the dishes and entrees that you are better off knowing what to pair with what. Seriously, if you are just «yea give me some of that» mode, you can over do it and end up with a bowl filled with crazy bold tastes that compete with each other.
Right now I am all about the pork shrimp meatballs, with a base salad. The veggie dish I chose was the green beans and it was SPICY! Certainly didn’t need the sriracha. Also, I chose a vinegar soy dressing instead of the curries. And it was pretty damn good for the price. I left full and happy (and I just came from a dance class!)
The Staff:
Mad friendly and helpful. They were pretty good at recommending what goes with what so if you are uncertain what to pile in, ask.
Parking is located in the back and the hour is free with validation.
Overall, I’m impressed to go back. Glad to add this to my list of fast food joints I’m happy to give my money to.

This visit to Shophouse has been years in the making. Being a huge fan of Chipotle, when I heard that they were introducing a similar but new concept based on SE Asian cuisine, I knew that I had to try it. The only issue was that the only locations are in the Los Angeles and DC areas, so not local for me.
Fast forward to a friend’s wedding in LA and our hotel being a few blocks from the Hollywood location. My chance was here to finally try Shophouse and see if it lived up to the hype in my own head. I’ve tried many Chipotle-​like places but never an OFFICIAL version.
IT WAS AMAZING! My wife and I were wondering it could be, I dare say, better than Chipotle! I’ll admit that may be taking Chipotle for granted because I’ve probably had it hundreds of times. That said, Shophouse is just fantastic in absolute terms.
Being a rookie, I just went with one of their pre-​set options rather than creating my own: the Spicy Noodle Bowl (which had 3 or 4 flames next to it indicating spice level). It came with glass noodles, beef larb, and spicy green beans among a few other ingredients. The spice level was as indicated but I added some Sri Racha, of which they have an abundance, for good measure. Like I said, the meal was just great and it only cost $ 7.50 (plus applicable taxes)!!
After dinner, I ordered the mango & rice parfait because I have a huge sweet tooth and wanted more Shophouse. This was a small dish that cost $ 1.25 and was just the right size after our filing meal. It fulfilled the sweet fix that I was after.
At the time of this writing, I’m in LA and definitely plan to go at least once more to try other combinations of ingredients.
(***UPDATE: I came here 2 more times within a 36 hour period to try the other carbs, meats, and veggies. All were
! If I had to pick my fav, I’d say the bowl I reviewed above but I could see myself rotating through the options as I do at Chipotle.***)
Lastly, to Shophouse /​Chipotle: PLEASE BRING SHOPHOUSE TO SAN FRANCISCO SOON!

ShopHouse was created by the same people who made Chipotle and it has a very similar vibe, with a simple, clean décor; affordable prices for large portions; and customizable food made-​to-​order. Plus, everything they make here is gluten-​free, wheat-​free, and dairy-​free so it’s perfect for all of your friends with allergies!
Now let’s get on to the food: woah, lots of flavors going on here! My go-​to is the bowl with Jasmine Rice, Grilled Chicken Satay, Charred Corn or Green Beans, Green or Spicy Red Curry (depending on how spicy I want it), Green Papaya Slaw, and Crushed Peanuts to top it off. The chicken is always juicy and perfectly charred and it works well with all of the vegetables and sauces you can pair it with. Getting a bite that has the rice, meat, vegetables, slaw, curry, and peanuts all at once is really unique! There aren’t many casual restaurants that build this many flavors like that, especially such varied tastes that all go together at all. I love the sweetness of the slaw with the saltiness of the peanuts and the spiciness of the curry and vegetables.
ShopHouse isn’t a place that I can go very often because it is a very distinct, and pretty intense, flavor, but I do enjoy it when I eat there. A lot of reviews talk about the Pork and Chicken Meatballs and my girlfriend loves them, but I don’t like the texture – they’re a little slimy for me. The service has always been quick and attentive as well, but it’s usually not very busy when I go in. Oh and did I mention that there is an entire WALL of sriracha at this location? Yeah, I don’t hate the sight of that.

I first saw this place on TV… and had to bookmark it ASAP. Unfortunately it sat on my bookmarked list for quite a while… until today! The best way I can describe Shophouse: Vietnamese/​Thai style Chipotle!
You customize everything: base, meat, sauce, veggies, garnishes and toppings. There was no line at all even though it was around noon. But the employees were very kind and patient as I contemplated which items to choose.
I went with chilled rice noodles with pork and chicken meatballs, charred corn, tamarind vinaigrette, green papaya salad, pickled veggies and thai chilis. I was starving so I dug in right away. The absolute highlight of the meal were the meatballs! They had so much flavor. However I think the mix of papaya salad and the tamarind vinaigrette ruined my bowl for me. I did enjoy the peanut sauce that my boyfriend chose. I wish I had gone with that or the green curry instead! But I can’t knock them down on that, it was just poor mix of choices on my part. I wish I lived closer, I would definitely be back just for the meatballs!