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vegan thai i can get behind.
12September 21st, 2009LA restaurants, toione thing we have way too much of in los angeles is vegan thai food. from west LA, to silverlake, to the valley, there seems to be a thai restaurant with the word vegan in its name popping up on every corner. after a few of these restaurants turned up sketchy results when we tested their food for non-vegan ingredients a few months ago, i have pretty much been avoiding them all together.
thankfully when i do need a thai food fix, i can head on over to toi on sunset. the omnivorous restaurant has loads of vegetarian and vegan options with plant-based sauces, fresh vegetables and tofu. the fake mystery meat will never be missed.
buddha chili: eggplant, pumpkin and fried tofu in a light soybean and garlic sauce with broccoli, mushrooms and spices. $11.95
toi has an entire vegetarian section on their menu with various noodle, curry, and vegetable selections…all of which can be made vegan. the thing i love about these dishes is their delicious simplicity. the sauces are light, the vegetables are fresh, and the flavors are all spot on.
a some of my favorite entrees include the buddha chili (i get it without bell peppers), a plate of chunky pumpkin cubes, fried tofu, eggplant, and broccoli all mixed up in a garlic sauce—or pad thai with no egg, a vegan take on the popular noodle dish that usually contains fish sauce.
vegi pad thai (no egg!): thai noodles with mixed veggies, tofu, beansprouts, w/ peanuts on the side. $9.95
on the lighter side, toi has a couple of stir-fried vegetable dishes which are also top notch.
ginger vegetables: a variety of mushrooms, mixed vegetables and tofu. $8.95
the ginger vegetables and combination vegetables both have very similar ingredients…but taste quite different due to their unique sauces. everything i’ve eaten at toi has been simple, unpretentious, fucking good food. that’s all. they don’t complicate stuff with crazy mock meats and strange menu items, they just make reliably tasty asian cuisine.
combination vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, snow peas, cabbage, carrots, beansprouts and tofu stir-fried in a light soy sauce. $9.95
oh and another awesome thing about toi is, they have THE BEST hot sauce carousel in town. it comes with smooth chili sauce, chunky chili sauce, sliced chilis, and chili powder. wowza!
the thing that really makes toi special, on top of the great food, is their rock n roll atmosphere and late night hours. the place is covered in music posters, and usually has rock documentaries playing on the TV. it’s open until 4am, and has a decent selection of beer, sake and wine until midnight. they also have the biggest painting of john lennon i’ve ever seen hanging on the wall, which doesn’t hurt.
definitely visit this place when you are in los angeles and need a good asian food fix. it’s one of my favorite restaurants, and i can’t think of anywhere i’ve eaten tastier pad thai.
toi
Tags: pad thai, pumpkin, thai, tofu, vegan thai
7505 W Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 874-8062
11am – 4am
12 responses to “vegan thai i can get behind.” 
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yay! i love toi! was bummed the location in sm closed 🙁 glad to hear they pass the qg test!! 🙂
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miss anthrope September 21st, 2009 at 11:01
i can’t believe that location closed down. what a tragedy!
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Toi has been one of my favorite places to get a great vegan meal for about 10 years or so now. My favorite is the pad thai (I love that crinkly tofu!), but I agree that the Buddha Chili with its big cubes of pumpkin is also great.
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i’ve been wanting to try this pad thai for so long! i need to get on it!
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O.K. so this may be a far off tangent, but I live in Newbury park, yes, wayyyyyyy out there, and every time I go into the city I want to check your blog to see where I should go. These days I have precious little time for a great reason (new baby) thus I am looking to you for guidance. So, my question – short and sweet and if you have time – is if I only had one meal in the city (Hollywoodish area – husband getting a tattoo on Sunset near Book Soup this saturday) where would you recommend that I must try? Maybe a list in order of perhaps top 3 – 5 favs that are must tries? I know it is asking a lot, but I would truly be grateful!!! Thank you and thank you for your amazing blog!!!
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@lisa
Toi is in that area so that might be a good place to try. Also Hugo’s, Zpizza, or the Whole Foods at Fairfax and Santa Monica might be good. I’ve only been to a small fraction of all these restaurants so I wouldn’t be a good person to ask but check out this google map to see what’s in the area.There are a few places in the Valley worth visiting too before or after if you’re driving down the 101.
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miss anthrope September 22nd, 2009 at 07:58
lisa: i agree with nick, and check out that map he made to see the locations! one place i would add that is somewhat close is m cafe on melrose. that place is amazing.
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mindtrain September 22nd, 2009 at 12:40
Yeaaa Toi! Glad to see you featuring them. It’s my all-time favorite restaurant EVER. Damn, too cool for words. The pumpkin/eggplant dish is to die for. Anytime someone visits me from another place, I take them to Toi on Sunset. Great food, cheap prices, huge portions, fun atmosphere, open laaate. I love it!
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mad props for reminding me of TOI! When its past midnight and I need to get my vegan eats on I can always count on the SM location here on the Westside!
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ah the SM location shut down? WTH! damn well at least I’m not riding my bike down there at 2am and finding out the hard way!
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Veganporvida September 23rd, 2009 at 20:40
Just make sure if you ever visit Pure Luck DO NOT DO NOT mention QG! You will get punched!
jennifer September 21st, 2009 at 10:11