Elephant Hut

Awesome delivery service. Maybe I was in luck that they are very near my building. Food arrived 30 minutes earlier than expected. My Tom Kha and Pineapple Fried Rice was still hot and fresh!

Free delivery with a minimum order of $25!

The two ladies who delivered my order were very nice and cheerful.

Glad I tried their delivery today!

I come here often during the week with some coworkers for their lunch specials. For about $10 you get an entree and a side salad with egg rolls or soup. I always order the pad se ew because that is my favorite and it is consistently delicious!

Tips: there is a parking lot in the back!

It was 5:30pm. We came with a party of 11. There was no one else in the restaurant. We ordered 4 apps and our meals. The food came one dish at a time, with two incorrect orders and two meals we didn't even order in addition. It is 8pm and we have just finished our meal. Our last meal came out the 3rd time, finally correct, at 7:30pm.

Yes we were cordial and left a tip. But the service was atroc

I came with a party of about 10. Everything was fine at the beginning, until my friend's main course was forgotten, they brought me the incorrect item, and when it came to paying the bill.

Not sure what went wrong with the forgotten dish and incorrect items - I understand mistakes happen, but I do not recall the woman taking our order writing anything down. I recommend to the owner/servers that if there is a large party to write things down or read back the order to ensure there are no errors.

Friend's forgotten dish - When we asked about the dish they brought the incorrect dish, which was another inconvenience because by that time everyone was finished eating. They were nice to correct the mistake and comp the meal, but I felt bad for my friend who did not get to eat her dish with our party while dining in.

Incorrect order - I ordered the lunch pad thai combo with chicken and shrimp, however I only received shrimp. I accepted that because I did not have the time to wait for them to correct it. When it came to the bill they charged me for chicken and shrimp, but this was corrected when we informed the server. As mentioned earlier this could have been prevented if communicated back to our party and to the chef. Make sure you check your bill for errors because we had several mistakes with ours.

Paying was SUCH a hassle. I understand the policy for accepting up to 4 credit cards because it would take too long to charge everyone separately. Two people had already left and paid, so that left us with only 2 cards among 8 people. No biggie, except they were charging the remaining people for items that the other people had paid and charged incorrect items. It took about 20 to 30 minutes for them to figure everything out and for us to pay. At that rate it would have been quicker to have charged everyone separately.

Also a huge turnoff was the woman's attitude towards our party. It was not so pleasant, which just made the experience unpleasant...

Well, I can now boast one more Thai restaurant on my list, but I cannot give this place 4 or 5 stars like so many others did. While I thought the service was definitely a "5," that was about it.

The most outrageous part of this meal (and not a good kind of outrageous) was the bill...... it came to $82.00 WITH tip.......and that was just for 3 people. To put some perspective on it, so you will understand why we were so upset about it, a couple of months ago, we ordered takeout from our favorite Thai restaurant, Pronpiya, for THIRTEEN people......the total bill on that came to $99. That's a GREAT price to feed that many people. While $99 might seem like a chunk 'o change, it isn't for 13 people. Yet, for 3 people tonight, we got hit with just $17 shy of that. Not much of a difference in price, yet the amount of food that we got tonite versus for 13 people is staggering. Worse yet, the portions on tonight's entrees were like 1/2 the size of normal individual meals.....so we paid MORE but got LESS. That did not make me happy.

Don't get me wrong,, though, the food tasted good, yet, it wasn't outstanding. It was not the best I've ever had, but yes, it was GOOD.

We tried:

Chicken Satay - good flavor, but chicken a little dry. Peanut sauce good. $8.00

Tom Kha Kai Soup - really good soup flavor, plentiful amount of chicken and mushrooms. I was a little amused that Richard M found it strange to see onions in this soup. I can top that........I found it strange to see TOMATOES in this soup !! I can go with onions, although he's correct in that they're not usually there....but TOMATOES??? I just left them there. They seemed so out of place. Luckily, they didn't alter the flavor of the soup, but so strange to me. $10.00

Yellow Curry w/Chicken - Interesting and unusual brown color (it's YELLOW curry, thus, one expects to see YELLOW sauce) and rather runny sauce, which definitely worried me, but it ended up tasting surprisingly fine, served with brown rice, although add an extra $2.00 for the rice !!!! Really? Can't serve some WITH the food free of charge? The curry dish was $10.00, so we're talking $12 w/ rice (which I didn't realize when I ordered it)

Thai BBQ Chicken - definitely not thrilled with this......used to AN ENTIRE chicken worth of pieces....like 8-9 big pieces (spoiled by Pronpiya)... plus flavor throughout each bite of the chicken....at Pronpiya While tonite's chicken was moist, the flavor did not carry throughout, and only FOUR pieces were given. Plus, at Pronpiya, their dish with 8-9 pieces only costs $8.99, and here, it cost $15.00 for 4 pieces.

Grilled Prawns w/ pineapple sauce - grilled veggies and brown rice. Good flavor but the food didn't retain heat well, and it was rather cold just a few minutes into it (that may be because the shrimp doesn't have much thickness to it, and thus, no way for the heat to stay in) .... plus, the other dishes were fine (heat wise). Flavor was good, though. 6 shrimp plus some veggies and rice $15.00

Then add in 3 drinks, plus tax and tip, we ended with $82.00. I'd like to be more positive about this place just because the servers were so sweet, and they tried to make our visit very pleasant. Unfortunately, this high price sticks with me, and I cannot forgive that. I am not opposed to paying good money for great food, but aside from the soup and the satay where portions were good/typical, the entrees were definitely much smaller, and they did not warrant the prices that were charged.

Sad to say, but I won't go back here for that reason. There are too many other restaurants to try in the area, and I'm quite certain, I won't get hit for these high prices unless the restaurant and their type of food warrant it. This clearly doesn't. I think I've more than made my point.

A great Thai place right smack on Ventura Blvd! It's a nice change from the numerous sushi and Mediterranean restaurants in Encino. I love the fact that they have ample veggie options.

My husband and I got the veggie soup, mixed veggies dish, and pad si eew. We would've ordered more but my pregnant belly has limited capacity. All the dishes were good but the pad si eew was exceptionally tasty and delicious! I love that rich dark soy sauce flavor with the luscious flat noodles! Some Thai restaurants make it bland but Elephant Hut's version hit the mark!

The ambiance was casual and their decor elegant. Their staff were friendly and attentive.

I'll be coming back for the pad si eew and next time I want to try their curry and pad thai.

The Elephant Hut is a great restaurant to take your family, friends, or a *DATE* !

It is like a hidden treasure, private, welcoming, and has indoor and outdoor seating.

There is * Complimentary * Free * parking behind the restaurant, which is awesome since it is located on the South Side of Ventura Boulevard.

We ordered Pad Prik Khing, Pad See Ew, Green Curry, and for Dessert Fried Banana.

I love Fried Banana desserts at Thai Restaurants, each one makes it differently. Here at The Elephant Hut, you won't be disappointed, the Fried Banana was Delicious :) Crispy outside, soft-warm-chewy inside, and a side of honey to dip in for extra sweetness... it tastes good even without the extra honey.

I would recommend this place if you want to hide away with a friend or two, have an intimate date with someone, or escape by YOURSELF even. The staff is accommodating and our waiter was funny, made us feel right at home :)

This place is a gem of a find.

You get free parking in the back, the decor is beautiful, and there is patio seating.

Lunch specials are cheaper than regular dinner.

The Mango sticky rice is amazing and served I a huge portion so it's almost like a meal.

The Drunken noodles are some of the best I've had in years. Caution if you can't eat spicy ask for no spice because mild is hot!

The wonton soup is also pretty delicious.

Service can be slow because one person is usually handling everything. But people are friendly and it's worth coming back!

I came here on a Sunday night and it was pretty dead. There was only one server working in the front, so there were a bunch of dirty tables, which didn't look very inviting. Despite the unbussed tables, I liked the simple and modern decor. It didn't look like traditional Thai restaurants.

Food: 4 Stars****
1) Green Curry was so tasty! It had just the right consistency I prefer in Thai curry. It wasn't too watery or too thick.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/elephant-hut-encino-4?select=FnbVys8NSB_59yRcxNTRXA#71S-SXGECzMCr0rxm9xbBw

2) Pork Spare Ribs were very tender, easily fell off the bone, and flavorful.
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/elephant-hut-encino-4?select=FnbVys8NSB_59yRcxNTRXA#z3oJxMsGF8VTehoc1UhDCA

3) Mango Sticky Rice was absolutely amazing! They only serve this when mangoes are in season, so the mangoes were very ripe. The sticky rice was perfectly sweet as always. I highly recommend this when it's available.

Service: 2 Stars**
There was only one person working in the front on Sunday night, so service was very slow. It took awhile, but there were only 2 tables that needed service. The phones were always ringing and since there was only one person, it made the service even SLOWER.

This place totally sucks!!!! We went in and there was literally no one in the restaurant other than the employee. Despite the lack of business, it took the server 10 minutes to come take our order. 10 minutes after the order, our preferred for water still hadn't shown up. At this point I started looking up other Yelp reviews.

Let's just say I strongly suspect the positive reviews are paid and/or fake reviews.

WE WALKED OUT! How in the hell does it take you 20 f@cking minutes and you can't bring a cup of water when you have no business?!?!?

Also, when we were walking from the parking lot towards the restaurant entrance, I peered into the kitchen door and noticed an orange (rigid brand) power drill on the counter with the food that was being prepared.


And yes, I'm very hangry as I type this!