Toi On Wilshire

05/21/07

Terrible service with average food

by vargas35 at Citysearch

I used to eat at Toi quite a bit, but after my last experience, I definitely do not plan to go there anymore. I had a few friends in from out of town and we ordered for takeout. The person who took the order told us it would take 10 minutes. We arrived there about 40 minutes after the order was placed and it still wasn't ready. The extremely rude guy who attended to us (and we found out took our order) just stood there blankly, never telling us that the food wasn't ready. I finally asked where the food was and he said, "it's not ready." I asked why since it should've been ready 30 minutes earlier and he again said, "it's not ready." He also told me I was wrong about it having been 40 minutes even though my cell phone had the time I called. I kept pressing him, but he ignored me although finally, a nicer lady tried to explain it was busy. Needless to say, we were all upset and the food was certainly not worth it. I feel the food was much better before (and I honestly believe that it's not inspired by my anger) and so now there is no reason to go there. Perhaps this is why the restaurant has been fairly empty the last couple times I've gone.

• Pros: Inexpensive
• Cons: Horrendous service, average food

10/19/09

No longer our favorite

by Marco Delgado at Citysearch

We used to go to Toi a couple times a month for years!

We loved it. It is local and always delicious. The wait staff was never that great, but the last few times we've been, the awful wait staff matched the awful food! Not sure what happened here but the food became inedible. The chicken in the curry was RAW! Hope they can figure it out because we will miss the great food they once served.

05/19/08

cool atmosphere, open late

by LAFoodChick at Citysearch

Toi is pretty cool. The atmosphere rocks! I love the music they play here. That's the real reason I go to Toi. Rockin' cool vibes. The food...it's ok for this side of the 405. I usually take out-of-towners here when they want some cool, non-pretentious LA vibe and cheap food. My rock band friends from SF always want to come here every time they're in town. It's cute, like our little ritual...they always look forward to hitting up Toi. I'll usually order the pad thai, pad kee mow or tom khai gai - those are safe bets. It's all about the atmosphere, not really the food, but they're open late and a good place to stop into after the bars. Gotta love the free parking!

• Pros: open late, cheap food, awesome rockin' vibes
• Cons: the food's only ok

03/01/07

WORST SERVICE

by sonyastew at Citysearch

OK.THAT WAS ALWAYS ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES; I'VE BEEN THERE A COUPLE OF TIMES, RECOMMANDED IT TO PEOPLE (I WORK WITH A LOT OF CLIENTS) AND OFTEN BROUGHT FRIENDS THERE. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A LITTLE BIT DISSAPOINTED ABOUT THE SERVICE...BUT WE ALWAYS LIKED THE FOOD, MUSIC, OTHER GUESTS AND THE ATMOSPHERE..SINCE IT'S A NICE ALTERNATIVE TO OTHER THAI-PLACES... THE LAST TIME WAS A SAD EXPERIENCE.. WE FIRST RECIEVED OUR APPETIZER AND SERIOUSLY 5 MINUTES LATER THE MAIN COURSE!! (what??) BESIDES THAT WE RECIEVED A DISH WE DIDN'T ORDER AND WHEN WE ASKED FOR THE DISH WE ACTUALLY ORDERED, WE EXPERIENCED A RATHER ARROGANT RESPONSE. THE STAFF DEFINATELY HAS DIFFICULTIES SMILING OR SPEAKING AT ALL ( FOR EXAMPLE "YOU ARE WELCOME") ALTOGETHER IT WAS A VERY DISSAPOINTING EXPERIENCE AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY PLANS TO GO BACK , NEITHER RECOMMAND IT TO FRIENDS OR CLIENTS ANYMORE .ALTHOUGH THE FOOD IS REALLY GOOD(!!) , I'D RATHER SPEND MY MONEY WHERE MY BUSINESS IS APPRECIATED.

01/10/07

Disappointed

by geminigirli at Citysearch

If you're looking for really good Thai food, look elsewhere. Their Tom Yum Kai soup was sweet(?!) and had no tang or spice whatsoever. The best part of my visit was that they were showing the movie Dumb & Dumber.

12/09/06

Abominable service, Lousy food

by avoidtoi at Citysearch

I was satisfied with the spring rolls, once we were able to tackle a server and place our order. Of course, he did not return to check on us. Nearly had to jab him in the head with a chopstick to order my second beer. The two vegeterian dishes we tried included plenty of veggies...frozen. The sauces had spicy heat but not much flavor. It's edible at best but we left most of it on the plate. I had actually eaten at Toi on Sunset and was unimpressed with the food there so my expectations were minimal. But it was the atrocious service that left me puzzled. It was not busy, 8:30pm Friday night and they appeared to have plenty of staff. None of them were helping there tables, however. I've worked as a Server for years and am very forgiving and understanding. This was inexcusabale. I wondered if we were on hidden camera. Reading other reviews, I now realize it's late night drunk food. I wouldn't go there in coma.

• Pros: They probably have a bathroom but I didn't use it.
• Cons: Only the food and service stink, otherwise go for it!

11/14/06

not so great

by samsclams at Citysearch

I've ordered from here a few times for takeout and the first couple times were okay - good enough for take out, but the last time it was practically inedible. The chicken in the dishes was dry, stringy and dark and tasted gamey. I'm not sure what happened but it was not tasty. Aside from the chicken, the noodles were good and I like their brown rice - it's almost like a sweet, red bean rice.

11/06/06

Nice late-night option

by rudette at Citysearch

I love that they're open 'till 3AM - one of the few restaurants in sleepy Santa Monica that is open that late! Also has a fun, rock 'n roll decor, and they play 80s movies on their TV (no sound) that'll set off waves of nostalgia. I just wish the food was better, it's only OK.

08/10/06

The late night alternative to a diner

by rachel1215 at Citysearch

I have never been to the other TOI location, so I can only speak on the San Mo location's behalf. I liked it--it was exactly what I wanted at 2:30 in da morning after a night of bar hopping and dancing at Zanibar. I am so tired of Izzy's and Mel's--this was a nice (and less greasy) alternative. We had the yellow curry with rice--really hitt the spot. As for service, there was only one server and he was waiting on an-almost-full restaurant--he did a decent job, especially since they were about to close.

• Pros: price, food, late hrs
• Cons: perhaps could open until 4am?...

06/19/06

Similar to the Hollywood location in name only.

by danrogy at Citysearch

I've been going to Toi on Sunset for over ten years. It may not be the most authentic Thai food experience, but it's very close very fresh and very good tasting. I figured I'd be in good shape whe I visited Toi on Wilshire in Santa Monica. Boy was I wrong! I went there twice just to be sure. The food is just awful! It has a fraction of the ambience of Toi on Sunset. The service was poor and slow. None of that matters as THE FOOD IS NOT YUMMY!

• Pros: Close to home if you live in Santa Monica.
• Cons: Bad food. Average service. High prices.