Lum-Ka-Naad

Not good. Worst Tom Yum I’ve ever had. None of their other dishes were great either. Service was ok.

Have been to the Northridge location a few times and have always enjoyed it so I was happy to see this one open up a little closer to me. I held off for a while as the first reviews were very mixed at best. But so glad I decided to come. I’m pretty blown away by some of the reviews that say the food is bland. I found their dishes to be quite flavorful and there was quite a selection. Maybe those that had bland dishes were not feeling the adventure that Thai food can be. I can handle a significant amount of spice so I appreciate that the waiter asked how spicy to make the dishes and when I responded with «go for it», I was very pleased with how they came out.

Flavorless. Flavorless. Flaverless. 2^nd time at this place and this time we decided to do take out. Called in and order chicken fried rice and pad Thai with beef as well as veggie egg rolls! Veggie egg rolls… not spring rolls with veggies! On top of that the pad Thai was the greasiest I’ve ever had. I couldn’t even add soy sauce cuz I felt like it was getting extremely soggy. My wife’s fried rice very
flavor. Had to be drenched with soy sauce and chili sauce to make it appetizing. Definitely gna be the last time we go here.

I was hesitant to come here because I saw a couple of bad reviews. However, my sister and I were close by after going to church and had a craving for Thai food, so we figured we would try it out. There are a few parking spaces in the back and it was completely empty for a Sunday brunch time. My sister and I walked in and we’re able to sit where we wanted. They had the place decorated for Christmas which was nice. A server promptly took our drink order and gave us menus. We decided to order small since there were 2 of us. We got an order of the pad thai shrimp and the crispy calamari. They use a different batter, so it was not horrible, but it’s not what I’m used to. We also got a main entrée, which was good but nothing special. My sister ordered a large thai iced tea that came in a huge to go cup… bonus points there!
Anyways, I hate to say that I have had better thai food but I have. I would come back here if I was nearby, but if I have a specific craving for Thai food I think I’ll hit my usual joint in Van Nuys.

I used to work right across the street so I would come here for lunch all the time. The lunch specials are only $ 7.45 which are the entrée, the side it comes with, and a salad or soup. I would usually get the fried rice/​pad thai or fried rice/​orange chicken. The soup is the Tom Yum and it is sooo good. If I wasn’t feeling good I would go there just for that, they serve it in those big metal bowls to keep it piping hot. All of the soups have been great. The only time I ordered something I didn’t like was a Papaya salad and it was because it had HOT peppers in it, I like heat, but these were unbearable! I even asked for tomatoes to try to tone it down. Haha. This is an affordable, great eat. It does kind of have the odor of a wet dog when you walk in, which used to bug me, but now I just overlook it because the food is so worth it.

Last two times we ate here the food was oily and we both had stomach aches for the entire day

I love the regional Thai food experience. The fried tofu is a can’t miss and is very flavorful. The spicy and basil chicken is also a great and flavorful choice that will fulfill your taste bud needs. The choices of dishes that you will have at this location will have your eyes picking which region would I like to visit today.
Service is great as the staff will make sure your needs are met.
Parking is a non issue as you can park in their lot or the adjacent street.

Was pretty stoked that Lum Ka Naad decided to open this location in Encino. Their Northridge spot is my absolute favorite Thai restaurant, so I had high hopes for their second joint. I went right when it opened and it was super crowded, dim lighting, service was a bit slow and the food quality honestly did not live up to the Northridge location. I chalked it up to newly-​opened jitters.
HOWEVER, my friend and I went back a few nights ago and it was an extremely pleasurable experience. The lighting was much brighter, service perfect, and the ambiance was overall more calm and chill. Not to mention that the food was spot on (I had the duck soup and my friend had chicken fried rice).
But I must say the highlight of our night was seeing Ampika, one of our favorite servers who previously worked at the Northridge Lum Ka Naad. She’s absolutely the bomb and seeing a friendly face made everything so much sweeter.
Needless to say, I’m psyched that I can get my Lum fix in Encino, closer to my place.

I really like this spot!
The ambiance has been updated in comparison to the Reseda location. It’s so «classy» now!
The service has always been good! Staff are very friendly! Service is fast.
Food: Everything I’ve ordered here so far has been very yummy! I ordered a chicken satay at the other location which I thought was bland… I haven’t tried this location’s satay yet.
I’ve had their curry, combo fried rice, beef jerky, some chinese brocoli + crispy pork dish + pad thai, pad see ew, spicy eggplant and the list goes on. All their dishes have been good to me!
Catch them during lunch! They have a good lunch menu!

I can count on these guys to deliver some amazing Thai food. I’ve eaten here almost a dozen times and I usually go for the green curry, chicken with medium spice.
The green curry comes with a very good amount of bell peppers, grilled eggplant, green tomatoes, bamboo shoots and just the right amount of basil.
Warning … I can handle spicy food, their spicy is no joke. With their spicy you can expect sweat, tears and finding yourself taking breaks between attempts of eating their quality ingredients. Medium is flavorful with a good dosage of spice.
Brown rice here is phenomenal … Good with any entrée. Highly recommended.
Drunken noodles here with shrimp and chicken is good at best.
Quintessential Pad Thai… You’ll never be let down with that order here.
I usually order to go, but their atmosphere here is unique and welcoming. Friendly and knowledgable staff keeps you coming back … Not to mention the food
If you are looking for wholesome, hearty food with quality ingredients … This place is for you.

I had the Pad Sew Yoo with fried tofu. The thick noodles were slightly, sweet, and had a little grilled taste. The inside of the tofu were soft and favorable. Really pretty Christmas lights they have.

The best Thai food in the Valley! The service was great! Just had lunch special today it was soooo good!

This, as well as the place in Northridge, are two of my favorite spots for Thai food in the Los Angeles area. Incredibly fresh and bursting with flavor. Furthermore, they have a lot of Northern Thai dishes that are not always easy to get. Absolutely delicious with fair prices for such high quality food. Good ambience. We’ve always had good service here as well, which I would probably say is attentive but reserved. Because we’ve been there so many times, they seem to have warmed up to us, but they don’t overtly bowl you over with warmth… but they are attentive. And that’s alright. Did I mention that the food absolutely rules?

This was the second time in one week I went to Lum Ka Naad. It’s my cousin’s regular Thai go-​to place, and now it will be mine too. Their Panang is delicious and leaves you craving for it– it’s a perfect balance of curry and coconut flavors. I order mine with a side of rice noodles. I’m also a picky Pad-​Thai eater and their’s is a winner– they were nice enough to even listen to our vegetable preferences. Also, service was good — the staff was kind, helpful, and attentive. They listened to my food requests. I told them I wanted to customize and they helped me customize my entre and didn’t even complain about it. they were so accommodating and even excited to hear about how we liked it. It really makes a difference when staff is friendly because it’s not just about the food, it’s about the experience as well.
The setting is also cool and modern — my cousin actually wants to have your birthday party there.
Parking is easy.

Lum ka naad you brought excitement into my life as I thought I would not be able to find authentic Northern Thai style dishes outside of Thai town. I was happy to discover that you had fermented pork ribs on your menu and unusual delights like the salted mackerel fried rice. Those menu items along with the fermented sausage signal authenticity.
The Northern style food dishes did not disappoint. They tickled the taste buds with punchy unapologetically authentic flavors.
The restaurant venue is beautiful. Its decorated in a very upscale manner. The staff could use some training. The young boy, that took my to go order, had no filter and tripped over his words. He unabashedly promoted the other location as being better due to its smaller hole in the wall feel and family oriented management. He tried to back peddle and say this location had some of that close family feel as well but it was easy to see that he didn’t believe the words that he was saying to appeal to a customer.
This is family run establishment that has grown out of its old knickers. The older folks try to take care of their customers but some of the young staff could use some indoctrination training. This location is beautiful. The food is fabulous. The staff needs to believe that they are serving amazing and special cuisine to the customers and that people are excited to be there enjoying the delicious eats.

Take-​out review only:
(+) Their salt mackerel fried rice was delicious. Huge portion too, the box was heavy and filled up. My new favorite dish from Lum-​Ka-​Naad.
(+) Pickup was simple enough. The manager (I suppose) greeted me as soon as I entered, but he seemed dressed kind of casual, which initially made me unsure if he even worked there haha. Also, the Thai iced coffee that was ordered was already in a styrofoam to-​go cup but it looked like it could’ve been Thai ice tea from the top. I asked and they checked with the kitchen to confirm it was right for me.
(+) Consistent with the other location on Reseda blvd in Northridge. This one is a little closer though because of the freeway. The things we do for good Thai cuisine.
(+) Crying Tiger was more lettuce than meat it seemed, but it was still good. The cuts are sliced thin and aren’t too large. The spicy sauce/​spread that comes with it has a good amount of flavor and heat.
(+/​-​) Kind of a strange parking layout in the front with a one-​way entrance. Didn’t really pay much attention since it was dark but the signs indicate the front parking lot is mostly designated for the surrounding businesses. Also, once you exit that lot you have to turn left toward the back which has another lot with plenty more parking spaces. Entrance to the restaurant is on the side. The exit from the back lot goes to White Oak which has an on-​ramp to the 101.

In total we’ve order probably a half dozen or so different entrees in the last few months, and all have almost matched our high expectations set at the Northridge Lum Ka Naad. Everything is exceptionally fresh, with exquisite flavor, amazing curries, solid basics, and a huuuuuuuge and wide variety of dishes. We’ve been branching out lately and ordering some more interesting dishes rather than just the standard pad see ew or whatever, and have always been pleasantly satisfied.
Biggest con: no alcohol license yet! C’mon guys; you’ve been open for quite awhile now.
The service is not quite as fast as their Northridge location, but I’ve only been there during rush hour and the waiters are doing anything but sitting down.

Next time I crave thai food, I’m coming here! Great prices, crazy big menu for lots of variety, big portions and great execution! What else could you ask for?
By the way, they serve their «large» Thai Iced Tea in a huge paper cup so you can take it to go — which I definitely did!
We had too much food for three!
We had their drunken noodles (AMAZING!). They used fried fresh noodles, which had plenty of flavor with Thai basil, chili, carrots, onion, bell pepper, mushroom, and garlic. I can’t explain the amazing texture to do them justice — they definitely not soggy, but were soaked in delicious spices and veggies.
Their Chicken Pad Thai was a great take on the classic. You could tell the ingredients used were fresh. You won’t be disappointed.
The Panang also had a nice kick to it, although I was bummed that it didn’t come with potatoes as it sometimes does. But the sauce was rich and creamy, with just the right amount of coconut.
We also tried their egg rolls, which were good. I kind of wish we had just gone straight to the curries and noodles, since they were SO good and the portions were huge.
Final Verdict: great service, great prices, amazingly flavorful food, lots of variety on their menu, and easy free parking in the back lot. Also, it’s very clean and lots of space if you’re sitting in their booths. Can’t wait to come back to try more dishes!

Yum! This place is probably my favorite Thai place in the area. The food was amazingly delicious with so much flavor! The décor in the restaurant is very nice, modern and welcoming.
(5 stars for everything we ordered!)
Spring rolls = loved the sweet sauce and peanut sauce. The inside veggies with tofu tasted great.
Crispy tofu = the square pieces make it very easy to eat with the special sweet sauce they give you.
Papaya salad = yum! I never had this before and it was so refreshing and flavorful. I definitely recommend trying this out. They shred the papaya and add a little spice to it as well.
Panang curry = the flavors were great, sauce consistency was perfect and the flavors were spot on!
Pad see ew = loved this dish too! It tasted great!
Dessert = Sticky rice with mango and ice cream (green tea and coconut/​pineapple) They made a special dessert for us as they found out we were celebrating, which was so nice of them. The whole combo of this dessert went so well together.
Overall the food was great, you must come try this place out!
The owner is really nice and takes time to make sure his dishes are prepared perfectly, as he will not let a dish leave the kitchen if it wasn’t up to his standards, which is really high!

This is now my go to place for local Thai food. Decently priced, easily accessible, nice looking restaurant (ordered take-​out), big portions, and quality food. Not a whole lot more you can ask for in a week night meal.
My favorites in order:
Pad See Ew with Chicken — A classic dish done right! Yum! Plenty of chicken and noodles!
Yellow Curry with Chicken — Good flavoring of the curry. Plenty of chicken. Should have more potatoes, and the potatoes should be cut smaller.
Pad Key Mao (Drunken Noodle) with Chicken — Good, but not as good as Pad See Ew. The flavor was alright.
Orange Chicken with Soy Substitute instead of Chicken — Awesome that they can make dishes with Soy Substitute. Didn’t try, but it looked like the right amount of orange sauce.
Sai Oua (pork sausages) — Very very spicy with a mint flavor. Had a different consistency from other sausages. If you like a lot of spice and mint flavor, then give it a go. Not for me though.
Finally, their menu is accessible on their website through Unilocal,but it’s very hard to read. There are a bunch of categories, and you have to click on each one. They should put their menu up directly on Unilocal,where it’ll be listed on one page.