I met a tough old bird at The Taste Kitchen in Culver City. Unfortunately, it was in my curry. We had ventured to The Taste Kitchen after seeing the high ratings on Yelp. From the outside, it looked like a total hole in the wall, leaving me a bit leery to enter. I didn’t even take a picture of the exterior because I wasn’t sure that we would be eating there. After stepping inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. The interior of the restaurant was cute and clean.

The Taste Kitchen is a Thai restaurant, which also features several Chinese dishes. They have lunch specials ($7.95-$9.90) Monday through Friday that comes with salad, rice and an egg roll.

Sadly, we were there on a weekend, so no lunch specials. Most of the entrees were about $9.95, but did not include rice. After perusing their extensive menu, I finally settled on the green curry with bamboo shoots, bell peppers, eggplant, basil, and coconut milk. What a mistake. It was the blandest curry I’ve ever had in my life, which was strange given that the menu indicated it as being spicy. Not even the heap of chili flakes could help it. If I was a different kind of person, I would have sent it back, especially after encountering those tough pieces of chicken.

My husband’s pineapple curry – red curry with pineapple, bell peppers, tomato and coconut milk – was much better, spicy and flavorful. I resorted to using his sauce to enhance my dish.

My daughter’s pad see ew (flat rice noodles stir-fried  with Chinese broccoli and fried egg) was a little greasy, but she didn’t mind and ate it all (except for those pesky vegetables, which I ate).

The service was very friendly, so I feel bad saying anything negative about the food. I’ll be nice and say that maybe I just ordered the wrong dish or maybe the chef forgot to add an ingredient (or two). If you go there, you may want to order vegetarian just to be safe. In the meantime, we’re still on the lookout for a Thai restaurant to add to our rotation. If you’ve got any favorites, please let me know.

Location –  3970 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230
Website – http://www.thetastekitchenca.com
Kid-Friendly – Yes
Kid’s Menu – No
Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly – Yes
Gluten-Free Options – Yes