Natalee Thai Cuisine

Usually I do not write negative reviews about restaurants, but this place is way overrated. I went to this restaurant with some of my friends once, and ordered delivery. At the restaraurant, I ordered Panang Curry, and my friends ordered some sushi and salad.
Panang Curry had nothing special for the price. I have tasted much better curry for 5 bucks. But mine wasnt too bad compared to my friends'. All types of sushi is very expensive, and fish on top was... just disgusting.
It tasted like its been sitting on the sushi counter for a week. Dry, and slimy inside. My friend said it smelled like fresh garbage, and she couldnt even finish one third of he portion( By the way, each sushi is pricey, plus damn small).

When we ordered delivery, it was even more bizzare. the person who picked up the phone started telling me what to order! He couldnt even find a right address, but for some reason he know the history of what we ordered before. And he didnt know what I ordered was on the menu, so I ended up talking 3 or 4 people in a row. Even they had my number and address on the computer, I had to explain everything all over. Some ladies on the phone was shockingly rude.

They said it was going to be here 45min. the food showed up an hour and 30 min later (after bunch of calls we made) . we didnt give him much tip (we were starving for waiting, so we couldnt afford to be nice), then he looked offended and asking many times how much the change was gonna be. I repeated over and over, and he finally left without saying a word.

We gave some tries, but everytime we get food from this place, we are frustrated and stressed out. I dont think I would ever go back. EVER!! Serously, another Thai restaurant accross the street is much better. they dont have any odd sushi or "Korean BBQ".

Posted 04/17/09

I thought this place would be rocking considering how many people rave about it. Prices were steep, small portions and I couldn't figure out why they had sushi and fortune cookies in a Thai restaurant. I spent almost 40 bucks with tip (water as my beverage) and was disappointed.

Our waitiress was slow and couldn't handle more than one question at a time. Truly disappointing and they charge extra for white meat.

I think East Wind on Washington Blvd in Marina Del Rey rocks compared to Natalee. The food, authencity and overall attitude is much better than Natalee hands down.

Pros: Nice decor

Cons: Service and small portions

Posted 03/16/09

Come on, Natalee--be more generous with portions. It was embarrassing to have friends sit eye-balling my plates and discretely gulping down saliva. I guess that says something about good tasting but cost too pricey for certain items? Otherwise the food at Natalee is borderline above average and emphasis on a sparse but trendy setting. Okay: I suspect people go there to be seen rather than honestly eat because a movie studio is located near by. I've had tons of fun eating Thai food in every new city or town I happen to visit and sometimes there's another restaurant that just makes the total experience more enjoyable and memorable. Once in a while 'that other place' is right across the street.

Pros: Parking, corner location

Cons: Waiting, inexperienced waiters

Posted 03/15/09

I was really looking forward to eating Thai so I ordered delivery from Natalee Thai because I had heard good things. The curry I ordered, didn't come with rice which should be standard. The Pad-See-Ew with shrimp had about 5 shrimp in it, but the yellow curry with chicken had HUGE chunks of chicken with little to no vegetables (which some people may like but unfortunately, I planned on picking out the chicken).

Pros: Can order delivery online.

Cons: Food was disappointing.

Posted 03/14/09

We were genuinely disappointed in this restaurant. Service was fine but the food was bad quality. Parking seemed to be a pain also, not sure if you can really park in the smart and final lot or not! Don't be fooled by the fancy modernistic architecture.

Posted 01/16/09

This is one of my favorite asian restaurants in LA. The pad thai is so delicious. My second fav is this korean bbq in culver city called gyenari. 2 of my favorite asian restaurants.

Posted 01/15/09

Thai food is one of my favorites and this restaurant has it. It's atmosphere will have you in calm state and it's food will just make all those problems disappear.

Pros: Food is great

Cons: Drinks are kinda bad

Posted 09/26/08

I've been coming to Natalee since it was across the street in the strip mall. That's over 18 years! The food is excellent, though I've heard complaints from some friends that the curry is too hot. I just can't stand eating there. The prices are a bit higher and the portions a bit smaller than other Thai restaurants of equal quality, but their food is consistently good. The acoustics of the restaurant are so bad. With concrete floors and metal and glass walls, it seems as if you could hear every conversation in there at once. Not really what I consider "romantic" or "cozy." The atmosphere is that of eating in a airport cafeteria, but like I said, the food is good. I order take out from there all the time, but avoid it when taking out-of-town guests out to dinner. I'd give it five stars, if they could cut down on the noise levels in there somehow with some acoustic tiles, drapery or something. Oh and, they do charge 50 cents as a "fuel surcharge" for delivery, so technically it's not "free."

Pros: Great food and delivery

Cons: Bad atmosphere, too loud and "tinny" sounding

Posted 06/28/08

I've eaten here a handful of times and have loved it every time. There's a sushi bar as well as the Thai food. I'm not sure that it's terribly authentic, but outside of Thai Town I don't usually expect that. The portions are big, the food is flavorful and super tasty and the drinks are solid! Skip the weekends if you can cuz the wait's a bit long, but otherwise it's totally worth it.

Pros: Menu

Cons: Long wait on weekends, parking

Posted 06/24/08

I'll be honest, the PadThai is good half the time. It's not consistent and it's a little over priced. Some times flavorless, sometimes salty, sometimes PERFECT. Last time my friends ordered curry it was filled with Thai chilli's and almost too hot to eat.
Delivery is average on timing, they've never made it under 45 minutes. Dining in is TERRIBLE. Over-crowded, poor customer service, have to wait way too long for the check (probably why tables don't turn over). Trendy, cool building. Good luck getting near the bar. Seems to be more than the staff can handle.

Pros: Cool building, Big delivery area

Cons: Inconsistent Food, Over-crowded, Poor Service

Posted 05/07/08

There was nothing authentic about the food. It was overly salted and the portions are not worth my money. This place is just trendy and it's over rated, just good for probably a first date, because of the bar area. I've always liked the Thai BBQ across the street, but I decided to give this place a chance. I made a bad choice and do not recommend this restaurant. I left the place hungry and unsatisfied with my meal. I tried the vegetable curry, cashew chicken (too much salt and sauce), Korean bbq beef (2 slices on the plate) and their brown rice. NOT IMPRESSED. Across the street is by far the best on Venice Blvd.

Posted 02/17/08

We went here once last year and haven't been back. The food was all very salty -- nothing special about it. We had to wait a long time to be seated. It seems to be the hip and trendy place to go -- but that's just not my style. Try the Thai BBQ place across the street for better food and less wait time.

Pros: trendy and hip if you're in to that sort of thing

Cons: food

Posted 11/28/07

This WAS my favorite restaurant for nearly 2 years. I ordered from them at least 3 times a week. I was a very loyal customer. I have to say that they have the WORST customer service ever! I found a nasty insect in my tom yum soup. When I called the restaurant to get a replacement, not only did the employee NOT apologize, she was very defensive and unpleasant. When I got my replacement, it was lukewarm and extremely watered down. This is only one instance. Even though the food is decent, they have no clue how to treat their customers. You can bet I will NEVER order from this place ever again.

Posted 11/27/07

really unfortunate. this used to be my local favorite. i have ordered food from them a few times now and i NEVER get my order within an HOUR.
i have seen their million dollar buidling, surely they can allocate appropriate staff for delivery. management requires some rehaul.
food is mediocre. don't be fooled by the restaurant description; it's just a place you should go to to drink, and when drunk, eat.
my vote, go the extra distance: Sanam Luang Cafe, Yai Restaurant, or Palms Thai.
i'm done natalee thai, i've given you enough chances.

Pros: drinks

Cons: service

Posted 09/29/07

The rolls were below average and the service wasn't there either. Take the waitress so long to take drink order. Manager was so rude. The atmosphere so lousy. We placed our order and after receiving our food, I tasted my brother's Pad se ew. I decided to get an order also. Shortly the waitress brought my Pad se ew and I immediately noticed the order was half the size of my brother's serving and asked her why. She said no that was the usual portion. I had a couple of bites and took the remainder home. At home I decided to eat some of the Pad se ew, and after spooning some into a platel, I noticed a USED TOOTHPICK in the Pad se ew. I knew immediately this was another customers food. I had been served someones left over food ! This explained the small portion size. They had eaten half of their food! Try Thai BBQ across street.

Cons: worst customer service ever

Posted 07/09/07

I have been to Natalee Thai's a 3-4 times and I've had both good and bad experiences. You have to go when at off hours when it is not crowded because the wait can be very long. The food is OK but a few things to complain about:
1. parking is awful. don't let the parking lot fool you -- it's mostly for the drugstore that is in the same lot. best bet is to find street parking.
2. service is pretty bad when it gets busy. long wait and not so friendly waiters.
3. it's super noisy when it gets crowded! you can't even hear yourself think.

but, again the food is OK.

Pros: Ok food

Cons: parking, crowded, noisy

Posted 06/24/07

We've been eating here as well as getting take-out for years, and a recent unpleasant experience made us decide to give up. Arriving with a party of four, we were told it would be a 20 minute wait--no problem. Then we sat and watched the hostess seat other parties first. When we asked her why, she explained that the party of 5 that came in long after us could only be seated at a certain table, meanwhile we saw them breaking up a cluster of tables in order to create more space for other smaller parties. They should have given us the first table and made the other party wait a few minutes or given them the cluster of tables pushed together, but I think that greed has got the better of them. Really frustrating. After this treatment, our waiter was curt, brought things out in a weird order, and basically rushed us out even though it was only around 9:30pm and the restaurant was fairly full. At one point I even asked him "Do you have to leave or something?" Someone came by and took our candle and flower off the table--so incredibly rude while you are still eating your entree! And, on my way out, I noticed the sign on the front has a "B" rating--no excuse.

Posted 05/16/07

sometimes great. sometime.. hmm... what happened? Chef has been changed?
Great service and Clean but NEED to be Consistent of quality and TASTE!!

Pros: Clean ambience

Cons: consistency taste required!!

Posted 04/24/07

I eat here all the time, or used to, not for 3 months now. The food is not good anymore nor is the service. I will try the other location now.

Posted 04/10/07

The customer service is horrible. My boyfriend and I went there at 5:30pm on a Friday night. Take note that there was not a lot of people there yet. We were seated very quickly, but it took 15 minutes before a server came over to our table to take our drinks and orders. What kind of service is that? The food also took a long time to come out. The taste of the food was average; nothing spectacular. I don't think we would go back to this restaurant for a very long time. Go find some place else for good Thai food.

Pros: Nothing.

Cons: Horrible customer service, rude staff, food is not that great, parking

Posted 04/06/07

This was one of the first Thai restaurants I went to when I moved to Culver City. My thought was, "wow, this is a beautiful restaurant", and then the food came. Equally as good. I would recommend any of the curry dishes, Jade or Ruby. The soups are good too. It gets pretty busy, so sometimes I just call in my order and pick it up to avoid the crowd.

Pros: food, ambience

Cons: crowded

Posted 02/27/07

I LOVE Natalee Thai. All their dishes (that I've tried...and there are a bunch) are delicious. It's very reasonably priced. Their wonton soup is without a doubt the best tasting soup I've had. I reccomend either dining there or taking out b/c despite their wonderful food, the one thing they are teeeerrible about it delivery...it usually takes at least an hour. Although it gets really crowded, there's a bar to get a few drinks while you wait and the service is fast, so there's nothing to worry about. It's also a good lunch spot, offering a bunch of lunch specials.

Pros: Yum

Cons: Delivery service

Posted 02/22/07

I've ordered takeout from Natalee Thai tons of times and had a very good experience. A few friends and I went to the restaurant to check out the place. My friend ordered the Pad Thai and removed the garnish from his plate...and took a bite before realizing that the garnish was moving. There was an enormous (about 2 inches long) caterpillar on the leaf. There are two ways of looking at this: 1) that the garnish was fresh and 2) that this was seriously disgusting. The rest of us lost our appetite and asked to leave. The management didn't apoloize or comp our appetizers; instead they asked if it was "alright" if he kept the same plate and then removed the offending garnish. We left without eating anything else. Gross.

Posted 01/24/07

Unfortunately my second time at Natalee will keep me from EVER going back. A group of 4 of us went for dinner and had a 15 minute wait, which was fine.. We were seated and had to wait a little bit before our server finally came to take our order. She was pleasant but it seemed like FOREVER before our food started to arrive. Two different guys were bringing our dishes out, all at different times -- and they were handling the plates carelessly, brushing their hands up against the food. Not only that -- the plates were huge while the portions were normal, but there was no room on the table to put it all! We also had to ask our server TWICE to check on 2 missing entrees. They arrived 15-20 minutes later. My friend had ordered a side of sticky rice and it arrived in a ball of aluminum foil in a small bowl. She opened it up and it looked NASTY -- like 2 day old rice. Needless to say, I will not be going back. Service was awful, food was ok but we sorta lost our appetites in the end.

Cons: Service, Food

Posted 01/15/07

I tried this place, which is near my home, based on the suggestion of a co-worker who couldn't stop gushing about it. The place is really new and clean, compared to most Thai establishments, but the food was so-so (isn't it always the dirty places that taste the best???). I got the pad thai, which wasn't as sweet as I'd like, and some other dishes that weren't so memorable. Comparatively, it's also a little more expensive than traditional Thai places that serve better, more flavourful food. I don't get why the place is always soo packed (I guess many people prefer the cleanliness over the taste)---maybe it's the pretty waitresses?

Pros: clean, ample parking, pretty waitresses

Cons: food lacks flavour

Posted 11/23/06

There are so many better thai food places in the city. The food we ordered was cold, the service was slow (maybe that's why the food was cold)... it just wasn't worth it. Maybe this place is nice on the eyes... but I'm looking to go to a place where I want to eat again...

Pros: There were pros?

Cons: Food, service, value...

Posted 11/23/06

This place rocks I been here a couple of times and I truly enjoy the food and the drinks. Actually my first time eating Thai food was at Natalee's. My favorite dish is the Flaming Chicken Dish and I love the Thai Iced Tea. The place is nice and hip and you see a lot of people that look like they work for the studios. If you want to have a nice dinner in a nice atmosphere than this is the place to go.

Posted 11/19/06

it looks like a trailor from the outside, but when you go inside, the ambience is amazing. They have a sushi bar, but I've never ordered anything from there. I say, you stick to the thai food. They service big portions, but sometimes the food comes a little slowly. I've had my pad see ew come out cold before. Nice waiters and waitresses, though.

Pros: thai iced tea, good portions

Cons: slow service, sometimes crazy parking

Posted 11/16/06

I feel like I'm indulging in a much more expensive night out when I go here- but the price is very affordable. And they have healthy choices like steamed fish & veggies and brown rice!

Posted 11/15/06

This may not be the best Thai food ever - but it's always a fun, bustling place to be and the food is affordable and pretty good. I particularly like the curries (california chicken curry - yum!) and the appetizers. Great local spot (and they deliver according to my friend who lives nearby).

Pros: Great curries; Fun Spot

Posted 11/12/06

I liked this place. It had a great mix of a little bit of everything. The food is tasty, and reasonably priced. I recommend the sushi here too. I know it's supposed to be Thai, but the have decent sushi as well.

Pros: Great prices, good lunch spot

Posted 11/09/06

A great spot to go out for a nice lunch when you have a bit of extra time. Lunch during the week can get hectic, so arriving early helps to avoid long waits. For a Thai restaurant, the sushi's actually not half bad! Sushi at a Thai restaurant, you ask? Well..it's not *really* Thai. More of an Asian Fusion place with a little bit of everything, but leaning heavily towards Thai dishes. The Pad Thai noodles are pretty good and the sushi lunch specials are decent; Natalee has some of the best spicy tuna rolls I've had in LA, oddly enough. The Hi Yo Silver plate is sort of weird and I wouldn't get it again. Sticking to the basics is recommended.

Pros: really cool ambience, decent Thai

Cons: not much parking, gets crowded, inconsistent service

Posted 10/29/06

i enjoy coming to this neighborhood thai restaurant. the price is not bad and the food is not bad either. i would not say that the food is spectacular but for the price and the fast service, it is a very good deal. the wing ding (appetizer) is an interesting concept -- stuffed chicken wing with vermicelli. it is good but i think that the best appetizer is the gulf of thailand shrimp roll. you can't go wrong with any of the fried rice selections. the pad see-iw is not bad (although a little bit on the greasy side). it could get hectic during the peak hours but the servers are generally friendly.

Posted 10/29/06

Granted I have been spoiled by the real thing in Thailand, I feel this place is just average. There are better places that serve some really good authentic Thai in the LA area. This place has all its dishes watered down to please the bland American palate. The restauraunt itslef is really nice. I would only reccomend it to someone who is into the superficial ambience and less interested in the food.

Posted 10/19/06

This place has got the best Thai food in LA. Hands down. I love the food. I've tried three dishes-curry beef (panang), beef & string bean, and papaya salad. Yum! Very flavorful. Service were friendly and decent. It's a joy to come here. Great for a big group!

Pros: Delicious food

Cons: None

Posted 10/17/06

I am a fan of Natalie Thai. The food is very good (try some of the spicy dishes) and the prices are extremely reasonable. Portionas are good sized and I often cannot finish my whole meal. I have been there several times and have always been impressed with the service, that staff is very friendly. I am not that big of a fan of the interior on the Venice location as it is very big and spacious and the noise carries quite a bit. However, this is not a problem if you choose to sit outside on the patio. I'll be back.

Posted 09/21/06

This is Thai food for people who eat McDonalds. It's got all the Thai ingredients and the food is fresh, but it lacks taste. The clientele is strictly LA wanna-be.

Pros: fresh ingredients

Cons: bland food, wannabe clientele

Posted 08/24/06

This used to be my favorite Thai restaurant in L.A. before I moved out of town four years ago but upon returning to the restaurant last night, it's now the worst.

One, the hostess rolled her eyes when I asked to be seated at another table (that was empty) next to the one that she was going to seat us at. Very snotty.

Then when one of the servers brought out our food, he handed me the plate of food instead of placing it on the table. Uh, what am I supposed to do with a hot plate of food??

And now the food...everything that we ordered tasted like Chinese food! The pad thai, peanut chicken etc.. And the noodles were mushy and the was not what I expect from a restaurant but rather a bad Chinese take-out place.

You'll have better luck at just going to a random Thai place in a strip mall than Natalee Thai. And it's a shame because this place used to have the best Thai food in town in my opinion.

Pros: The decor of the restaurant

Cons: The hostess, the service and the FOOD

Posted 07/19/06

I first discovered Thai food in 1986. In twenty years, the food at Natalee Thai Cuisine is the tastiest Thai food I have eaten! Pad Thai, Thai iced tea, the appetizer sampler plate with selections the names of which I cannot recall, Thai barbecued chicken, sushi (Japanese? Thai?), all were excellent. This was my first time, a birthday celebration, and even though I live in Texas, I will return to Natalee Thai Cuisine the very next time i visit Los Angeles!

Pros: Tasty food, value for $, service

Posted 07/11/06

dont wait in the lines - i couldnt believe the rush at 7:30 on a monday night. go 2 blocks away to east wind or tuk tuk on pico or melanees. I really like natalee's food and eat take out from there about once a wek or two but i will not battle the lines.

Pros: great laarb, cute interior, quick take out

Cons: line, wait, silly menu names

Posted 04/30/06

The food is consistently great, but the service could use some speeding up. If you only have an hour for lunch, forget going here for lunch.

Pros: Pad Thai, Inexpensive

Cons: Crowded, Slow service

Posted 04/06/06

I called to pick up. After 30 mins, Foods weren't ready. I waited more than 40 mins f/ the time they said they were going to be ready. Rude attitude. Disorganized. terrible customer service.

Posted 03/22/06

What's special about Natalee Thai is the ambience--the building and design are very modern and attractive. Unfortunately, it's also very open, and so tends to be very loud when it's crowded, which it usually is. The food is quite good, and the price is reasonable, but they do annoying things like charge you for rice. However, there is a lot of variety. Not as many vegetarian options as some other thai restaurants.

Pros: food, ambience, parking

Cons: pay for rice, too crowded, too small

Posted 02/26/06