Wood Spoon- Brazilian Cafe Review

One of my other favorite restaurants in Downtown is a little Brazilian cafe called Wood Spoon, located on 9th Street, in the Fashion District near the Orpheum Theatre. The cafe's style is simplistic and a bit art deco, with paintings from local artists covering their walls. The cafe is hard to find if you are looking for a large sign with the restaurant's name because the only way to identify the cafe is from a drawing of a large wooden spoon above the cafe, though there is a small "Wood Spoon" sign posted on the window. the cafe is always filled with fresh flowers and bright sunflowers in the front window.





Wood Spoon is great at infusing their water with different flavors, served ICE cold and it's triple filtered! Extra bonus! This one particular trip, the water was infused with whole cinnamon sticks which gave the water a nice spice and kick- very different from the ordinary cucumber or lemon. Another visit, I had their rosemary water, which was quite delightful and aromatic.





A great way to start the meal and to have a small sample of their different appetizer flavors is with their mix plate, which comes with coxinha (Brazil’s most popular street food (made with chicken)(one of mine and Anthony's favorite out of the plate), potato croquette, Portuguese croquette (potato salted Cod), pastel Portuguese (dumpling stuffed with shrimp, coconut sauce)(we definitely liked this one as well) and kibe (bulgur wheat, mint & ground beef) (we would have preferred to have the coxinha or pastel in place of this one, jus because they are more flavorful). It all came with this a dipping sauce that had a bit of a kick to it and complemented the dish very well. Although most of it is fried, they were light and fluffy, not heavy at all- the breadcrumbs were extra fine so I think it helped it a lot!





You may want to try the fresh limeade or strawberry lemonade as well- very refreshing, and I love the tartness of the limes and lemons.





I had always wanted to stop by Wood Spoon, ever since I saw an episode on the Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate."- Chicken Pot Pie. I first came here with my friend, Sara and we both ordered the Brazilian chicken pot pie- it was DEEE-LICIOUS! A flaky and buttery crust, a creamy, but not too chunky filling. There was a good balanced mixture of chicken, peas, hearts of palm, olives and the one thing that I thought really made this pie stand out was the sweetness of the roasted corn. It is a definite must try when you come here, but if you go later in the day, beware, they make them fresh daily so they may be all sold out! Happened to me once and I was so disappointed because I was looking forward to it all day, but there are other great things to choose from!





If you like a twist on burgers, you may want to try the pork burger. It is moist and full of flavor, but it's not what you would expect from a beef burger. The pork burger is topped with roasted cabbage and onions, resting on toasted potato bread with a side of yam fries. The yam fries are addicting! The burger falls apart very easily and is a bit messy to eat, but well worth it.





Anthony, wanted to be slightly healthier one day, ordered the fish sandwich, which was a Tilapia fillet with avocado, tomato & cilantro on French roll. You have the choice of yam fries or a salad. The fish was fresh, well seasoned and definitely not as heavy as the chicken pot pie or pork burger.





Next time you are in LA and you are in the mood for some comfort Brazilian food, call us, we'll meet you at Wood Spoon!