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Within walking distance from Warner Brothers and the Disney building on Alameda, this restaurant is a good compromise when you can't decide between Chinese or Thai food.
One star for an extensive menu. 9/10 of its pages are Thai food, and there is a half page of vegetarian options.
One star for a clean, decent and distinctly Thai interior.
One star for great service and free fried noodle-type appetizers with duck sauce.
One star for an affordable lunch menu.
Negative star for a forgettable meal, however.
Go to Arunee's House if: you are in the area and need to eat and jet within an hour; you are on a budget; you are craving authentic Thai food.
Don't go to Arunee's House: you are only a PF Chang's kind of Asian connoisseur; you need a clean bathroom to wash your hands in before your meal.
It pains me to write a bad review about this place, because I have eaten here for years, and the staff is generally nice and courteous.
But there is just something awful about their food nowadays.
They seem to specialize in oversized, bland, sauce covered portions of indistinguishable Chinese-American food. Chicken with broccoli. Chicken in garlic sauce. Kung Pao chicken. Shrimp with broccoli, shrimp in garlic sauce, Kung-Pao shrimp.
There is no imagination, no evolution of taste. It is the same year after year.
And the decor is ugly and tacky. Too much. They need to remove some of the knick-knacks and the headshots, and the Buddha, and the candles and statues and plastic dolls. You begin to suffocate in here.
Imagine that much of their clientele works in entertainment offices nearby. They sit in cubicles all morning, and then emerge, to get into a car and sit in this restaurant for an hour, and then exit, into the blistering heat and sun and go back to their offices having digested egg roll, rice, iceberg salad, chicken in brown sauce, and egg drop soup.
I ate here yesterday after two other moderately priced Chinese restaurants that I used to eat in (in Studio City and Toluca Lake) were now closed. If Arunee House does not improve, it may just join the out-of-business, mediocre Chinese that once flourished in the not too demanding San Fernando Valley.
Had some dinner here last night with friends and had a lovely time. Besides our amazing conversation about P.T.S.D., I found this place very cozy and the staff extremely hospitable and friendly. Our food was pretty good and everyone else agreed. On the table, we had pad thai, pad-see-ew, mushy pork and garlic shrimp. Everyone was satisfied and the prices are excellent. I will definitely be going back here *AND* they serve late. Finding food late in this area is like finding an altar girl in church.
I happen to find this little place about two years ago on my way home from IKEA. Needless to say, once I moved to the valley, it was my go to spot for Thai food. I love their Pad-see-ew and the Pad Thai!
Last night went again to get my fix of red currie. I have tried their red and yellow currie and I am a huge fan of both. The broths are the right consistency, not too watery and not too thick as I have often found to be the problem at other Thai restaurants.
The prices are great for the portions they serve. My boyfriend and I always have leftovers after getting our fill. The decor might not be the most eye catching but you have to go for the savory sweet sauce they serve with chips. The egg rolls... yummm! Postickers... not so much.
Lori loves Thai food. I love Chinese. This is one beautiful little restaurant where we both get what we want. Their service is excellent, the food uniformly good and we love the decor as well. We've eaten here many times in the last ten years and are always satisfied. In addition, their prices are quite reasonable and their Thai iced tea is to die for.
So, - wait for it - Thai One On At Arunee's House.
Just FYI, went there a little while ago, saw the B in the window, and left. Just FYI.
This place gets 2 stars for the staff. You feel at home, and they are very attentive. Atmosphere also pleasant, and the edifice is aging gracefully.
The food is overpriced, and generally lame.
If you don't care about authenticity, you can get good quality ingredients at least, but you must pay extra. White meat chicken is an extra buck or two, for example. Lame, lame, lame.
Tom Yum tasted neither like Lemon Grass, nor is it even the least bit spicy.
Bathroom is a filthy mess.
I've been here about 15 times. Glutton for punishment. But I think I am finally done with second chances for this joint.
Decent food, but nothing particularly mindblowing. The pad thai wasn't very spicy, and the vegetable delight was pretty bland. I wound up in this place because Nippon across the street was closed, but if I was back in the area looking for noodles, I'd be willing to go back.
The staff could not have been any nicer, though. If you're looking for an average-but-good thai meal with great service to sweeten the deal, give them a try.
This place is not that bad. I live about a quarter of a mile away so it does the job when I need my thai food fix. It kinda seems like they are on the healthy tip, which is not a bad thing, but when it comes to Thai food I like it with a little more flavor. I will be sure to be back, beats driving to the Valley or Hollywood areas.
I have no idea if Arunee House serves 'traditional' food, but I do think that their food is satisfying and good, and I will be going back for more. The people working there are really nice and attentive, and our food came out really quickly. The inside isn't super nice or fancy, but it's an easy place for lunch.
I would come back here solely for the soup. Their tofu & vegetable soup is very flavorful, and filled with tofu & mushrooms & other goodies. They serve the soup in a large chafing dish, so it stays warm your entire meal (which I really appreciate...who likes cold soup?). The moo shu is great, too. The food in general may not be out of this world, but Arunee definitely satisfies.
Just walking into Arunee House the first time, I didn't know what to expect, with all their very many artifacts, thematic decor, but what a wonderful surprise when my daughters and I received our curry! It was wonderful.. not too spicy, but just right!
Arunee House also offers free delivery, which we have taken advantage of since arriving in Burbank. We will frequent there often for their wonderful service and affordable prices.
Darn it, I like Arunee's house. It's a relaxing hang. It's really clean and airy and bright inside with lots of fun things to look at. There are Oriental figurines and dolls scattered all over the place and two large carved wooden fish that swim along the wall acting as a divider between the two center rows of booths.
One wall is hung with large "menu" style pictures of food which sounds bad but comes across as arty. The other main wall has pictures of celebrities. Hanging throughout the space are opaque glassy lamps ranging from beatnik to mission style. Fairy lights dangle over the front door making the place look very inviting at night. The booths are comfy and large and the waitstaff is super friendly and accommodating.
It's fun to enter through the back because you get to peek into the kitchen and then when you push your way thru the hanging strips of plastic acting as a door and suddenly appear in the rear foyer the host always seems just a little surprised but then looks honestly glad to see you and seats you immediately.
Here's why the "Darn it" at the beginning.
Suspicions should have kicked in at clue #1 which was the appetizer of deep fried won ton shells and a sticky sweet/sour dipping sauce. Not very traditional and not very thrilling.
A few minutes later and my main dish of spicy mint beef rolled in. The sides: fried rice and a small salad. It was presented nicely "box" style and I thought at first I would be happy.
Clue #2. There was Spanish rice on this plate. Yup, orange and fluffy, a little tangy...This was the same rice I had at Ernie's Taco house last night! This was just confusing. The lackluster salad consisting of crispy ice berg lettuce with a soy based dressing had no charisma thus forcing the spotlight onto the beef which I had requested "very spicy" but that's not what I got so I had to request chili paste. They brought me all kinds of peppers and sauce which was nice but still...
The flavor would have been alright if the salt could have been dialed down a notch but most bizzarely there was no mint to be found. I thought I had ordered the mint beef. (I was so stunned by the rice that the mystery of the missing mint didn't even occur to me until after I left).
The beef was too chewy and this whole thing just wasn't working out. The only good things about the meal were the green and red bell peppers accompanying the beef and the fortune in my cookie which was very complimentary.
Would I go again. Yup, but only for the atmosphere and maybe the decent Pad Thai. Oh, and don't even consider the Boba, it's not worth it.
For years and years I have sat at my mani/pedi place and looked across the street wondering, "Hmmm, do I dare try it?" Not that it looks sketch or anything, but I dunno, it never really struck me as having that "Come hither" allure that some places do. But today, my sicky friend and I were standing in front of the Discovery Shop and starving and soup sounded great, so to Arunee House we walked.
As soon as we walked in, we saw people. Goood sign! We sat down and were handed menus and maybe it was the slight hangover I'm rockin today, but damn, there are way too many options to choose from here. You see they have two different menus, one is Chinese food, the other is Thai and unless you are a pro and deciphering the differences, it was a little rough.
We did spot the Coconut Soup with Shrimp and ordered that along with some pork wontons and a spicy scallop dish. The soup was by far the best thing we had. It was tasty, not too lemony and just the right consistency of coconut, cream and yum. The wontons were not my favorite, a bit on the greasy side, but they were good when you dipped them in the soup. The scallop dish was a little disappointing as well. Way too much liquid in the bottom of the bowl. A sad case of OVERSAUCIFIED syndrome!!
The staff however was really great and super welcoming and friendly and our waitress cracked me up. So for that, I give it 4 stars and if you are on that block and craving some soup, hit this place up!!
Just had lunch there and found it to be not that bad at all. Row got the Thai Red Curry Chicken and I got the Chicken Mint Leaves and Chili. The only problem is that the Mint & Chili was not that spicy. Overall it was well worth the money (we've had worse!). Hope this helps, cheers!
When we lived in the area, this was our go to Thai place. The outside is cutely decorated with lights, and the inside is totally overdecorated with pictures, statues and the like.
They serve both Thai and Chinese so you get the best of both worlds. The food is vegetarian friendly and they are generous with the Thai iced tea.
Parking can be a bit of a pain, but you can enter through the back as well.
This place hit the spot. It was Christmas Eve, we just completed a 6 hour drive from the Bay Area and we had no idea what was out there that was opened. We spied Arunee's House by chance and we are glad we stopped. The Pad Thai was great. It wasn't too heavy, yet full of flavor. The Silver Lake Noodle Soup had fresh seafood/meat and fresh vegetables. My wife had a very memorable experience here and she would love to go back next time we visit Los Angeles. You definitely have 3 fans from the Bay Area.
Wow, I'm honestly shocked by some of these reviews. I used to order Arunee at least 2 to 3 times a week & not ONCE did I ever have a bad meal. I've moved away so I can't order from here anymore but I miss it on a regular basis.
Their pad see-euw (sic?) was always tops & there tom kha kai superb :)
I finally came here for lunch today with Ti B and a few other non-yelpers. It was OK. First There is a very small parking lot in the back. Very small meaning 6 to 8 cars (or 2 SUVs...ha ha just kidding). We walked in the back entrance and for a minute I thought I had walked in the wrong way. I thought I was in the kitchen. We came around the corner and walked down a narrow hallway to the seating area.
I sometimes wonder what makes the smells in small restaurants because I smelled something that made me think of a homeless guy that walked by me a few days earlier. I stopped noticing it after a few minutes.
They seem to have a good selection of food items. I chose the Pad Thai Chicken. It was actually good but not the best I've ever had.
One nice thing is that the wait staff seemed friendly and despite that our conversations became a little loud at numerous times, our service was pretty good.
Another nice thing is that they are rather close to the studios (for those of you that work in that area) and seemed relatively empty of patrons.
The desert menu was a bit limited due to the fact that they were out of just about everything except Bananas and Vanilla Ice cream. So.. that what we had. Fried bananas and fried Ice cream. Delicious! I'll definitely go back.
BLAH. The pumpkin (read: squash) curry sounded promising but the bits of squash were terribly undercooked (or maybe that's just the way they like it). The scallops were on the tough side. The one thing I'll give 'em is they got the brown rice thing down... Thai Town ain't THAT far away if you really want decent Thai food.
a friend and I ordered delivery from this place and the service was terrible. not only were the portions small, the delivery was late, food was lukewarm, and they did not even include napkins or flatware. to top it off, the driver was extremely rude and begged for a bigger tip since I "was lucky to get anything at all" since they were busy. he then gave me a sob story after not getting the tip he wanted even though he was 20 minutes late from the 45 minutes that they told me it would take. I could have driven to north hollywood gotten better food, at a better price than this place. the food was ok. quality meats and seafood, but my green curry was a little more watery than I like it.
the driver suggested I go pick up next time. I don't think so . . .Never again.
they did give us extra fortune cookies though...
I went to Arunee House late one night when I got home late and didn't want to cook dinner, it was the only place in Toluca lake open that wasn't fast food or Bob's Big boy. I thought the food was average if anything. We got the Angel Wings and they were kind of dry. The Tom Yum Gai was very bland, not very spicy or sour. We also had the Red curry with Chicken that was decent but definitely not one of the best. I think they sacrifice the quality of a type of food when they tried to mix Thai and Chinese they both end up being just average and not great. It's a decent place but not my favorite.
If we're doing Thai for lunch n dnt wanna travel too far, it's Arunee House ... located in the vicinity of our office on Olive. There is a parking in the backside and we make our way thru the kitchen to the well decorated setup in the front. Their food is good. You should check out their Lunch specials, thy are economical and tasty. The one thing i always love abt these thai joints is the FORTUNE COOKIES :) ... so that gives us a fun time while our cards are being swiped. My most regular pick here is Chicken Kung Pow ... a part of the lunch special ... it is quite fulfilling and does the job :) The service is good and so is the ambience.
Like Hillary K., I'm pretty shocked that Arunee House has any bad comments about their food and service. The heavily maternal waitresses and hosts, along with the apologetic (in that polite Thai way) busboys who give you water like some kind of offering have negative feedback? My Buddha, I don't get it. Okay fine, the parking is kind of crappy and the back entrance looks like a dirty abondoned car wash BUT everything here is tasty AND you get to look at ALL SORTS OF WONDEROUS THINGS such as: portraits of important Thai people, colorful food pictures, massive carved fish, little figurines all over made of stone and wood, a giant cardboard cut-out of a Thai lady holding a beer or something to show how hospitable she is, a salt-water fish tank, dangly ceiling things, and faded sort-of celebrities on the walls. My favorite? Miss Universe 1986, a Thai woman named PORNTIP. Coming from the front entrance, sit in the second to last seat to the right and you will dine with PORNTIP. I mustn't discount the continuous play of "ding ding ding" relaxing Thai songs that you'd expect in a massage parlor. The food is always good, ESPECIALLY the soups. One word of negativity though: Don't get any of the curry if you like your food to cause all kinds of hurting. NONE of their curries are hot, but luckily all you have to do is ask for the chilies and they will bring you a jar of lethal Thai green chilies that should really only be in the hands of someone with a weapons license.
One of my friends recommended this place to us - we ended up going on a Saturday night. There were several other guests in the restaurant so it looked promising. Overall, the food was average at best. The service was so so. Don't think we'll be going back...we'd rather drive to Pasadena and go to Saladong on Fair Oaks.
Neighborhood: Toluca Lake
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Burbank
Category: Restaurants
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Neighborhood: Toluca Lake
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Toluca Lake
Category: Grocery
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