Spoon & Pork

Spoon & Pork
Map
Interactive map of Spoon & Pork
Restaurant information
Established2017
ClosedOctober 27, 2025; 7 months ago (2025-10-27)
Owner(s)Ray Yaptinchay, Jay Tugas
Food typeFilipino
Dress codeCasual
Location3131 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, 90026, United States
Coordinates34°5′7.32″N 118°16′28.55″W / 34.0853667°N 118.2745972°W / 34.0853667; -118.2745972
Websitewww.spoonandpork.com

Spoon & Pork was a restaurant specializing in Filipino cuisine. First opened as a food truck in 2017, its main location was located at 3131 Sunset Boulevard in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

History

Spoon & Pork was opened in April 2017 by Ray Yaptinchay and Jay Tugas, childhood friends from the Philippines who both later moved to the United States.[1] Initially launching as a food truck, neither Yaptinchay nor Tugas had any experience in the restaurant industry when they first opened.[1]

In late 2018, after developing a loyal following and looking to expand, the restaurant announced that would open a permanent location in Silver Lake, which would largely serve the same menu as the food truck.[2] Initially scheduled to open in February 2019,[2] the permanent location opened in July of that year,[1] and a second branch of Spoon & Pork opened on 2121 Sawtelle Boulevard in the Sawtelle neighborhood in October 2021.[3]

Despite its success, by 2025 Spoon & Pork was struggling to stay open due to high prices amidst a cost-of-living crisis that had led to several other restaurants in Los Angeles closing.[4] Both locations closed shortly thereafter, with the Sawtelle location closing in August 2025, and the Silver Lake location closing in October with Yaptinchay and Tugas repurposing the property to set up a new taco restaurant, Onda.[5]

Location and concept

A Spoon & Pork chori burger

Spoon & Pork's main Silver Lake branch occupied a 1,300-square-foot (120 m2) space along Sunset Boulevard which also includes a modestly-sized minimalist dining room,[6] modern in design with tropical-themed walls, and an outdoor patio space slightly detached from the rest of the street.[7] In addition to its in-house operation, the restaurant is also a fixture at Smorgasburg's Los Angeles iteration.[8]

The restaurant's space was in a building that is shared with Diablo Tacos,[7] a prominent Silver Lake taco restaurant.[9] The building, owned by nightclub owner Steve Edelson, also previously hosted long-time Mexican restaurant La Parrilla,[7] which closed in October 2011.[10]

Spoon & Pork's menu, with both Yaptinchay and Tugas equally sharing cooking duties at the restaurant,[6] had been described as being "modern Filipino comfort food",[8] informed by the owners' love of cooking at home despite their lack of formal culinary training.[6] Pork cooked in various ways dominated the restaurant's offerings, which included takes on lechon kawali (served as an appetizer) and the chori burger.[7] Its signature dish, the patita, was the restaurant's take on crispy pata and was large enough for up to three people, served with a sweet chili and garlic sauce.[7] Braised for up to 15 hours and subsequently air-dried for an additional 24 hours before being put in the fryer,[11] and originally served with a popsicle stick as a means of eating the dish,[8] the patita had been described as being rich and flavorful, and had been instrumental in building its following.[6]

Although it primarily served pork, Spoon & Pork also served other meats,[7] as well as vegan dishes, which included a jackfruit dish that was named by The New York Times as one of its top ten dishes in Los Angeles for 2019.[12]

Awards and accolades

Spoon & Pork had been identified by the Los Angeles Times as part of a growing number of Los Angeles-based modern Filipino restaurants,[13] helping raise the profile of Filipino cuisine both in the city and nationally.[14] A few months after opening in 2017, LA Weekly readers named it the best food truck in Los Angeles,[15] When they opened in 2019 they received a glowing review in the Los Angeles Times stating that the Patita might be the best pork dish in the city. The New York Times and Los Angeles Times named the Coco Jack and Patita as one of its top 10 dishes in Los Angeles. In 2020, the Los Angeles Times named it as one of the city's 101 best restaurants for that year.[16] Also on that year they were named the Chefs to Watch by Plate Magazine. In 2021 it was listed for the first time in the California edition of the Michelin Guide, the only Filipino restaurant listed in Southern California.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Meet Raymond Yaptinchay and Jay Tugas of Spoon & Pork in Silver Lake". VoyageLA. August 10, 2020. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Chaplin, Cathy (December 10, 2018). "Popular Filipino Food Truck Moves Into a Permanent Silver Lake Storefront". Eater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Holmes, Mona (October 4, 2021). "Silver Lake's Filipino Star Spoon and Pork Expanding to Sawtelle Japantown". Eater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Jonathan (July 3, 2025). "Popular Filipino restaurant in Silver Lake and Sawtelle fears closure due to high costs". KNBC-TV. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  5. ^ Breijo, Stephanie (December 31, 2025). "Here are over 100 L.A. restaurant closures in 2025. Many just couldn't 'make this work anymore'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d Escárcega, Patricia (November 6, 2019). "Review: Our critic's favorite pork dish? The patita at this Filipino restaurant in Silver Lake". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Saperstein, Pat (October 31, 2019). "Diners Are Tickled Pink at Spoon and Pork". Los Feliz Ledger. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Kleinman, Evan (January 3, 2020). "Spoon & Pork revels in the vivid flavors of Filipino cuisine". Good Food (Podcast). KCRW. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Paulas, Paul (July 8, 2013). "What Is L.A.'s Iconic Food?". KCET. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  10. ^ "Storefront Report: Nightclub owner expands Silver Lake presence". The Eastsider. November 21, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Holmes, Mona (November 8, 2019). "Critic Praises the Pork Dishes at Silver Lake's Hot New Filipino Restaurant". Eater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  12. ^ Rao, Tejal (December 9, 2019). "The 10 Best Los Angeles Dishes of 2019". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  13. ^ Snyder, Garrett (August 28, 2020). "Ma'am Sir, Charles Olalia's Filipino restaurant in Silver Lake, has closed for good". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  14. ^ Addison, Bill (February 3, 2021). "Kuya Lord's Filipino feast is food of power, finesse and delight". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  15. ^ "Best of L.A. 2017: LA Weekly Readers Poll Winners" (PDF). LA Weekly. October 6–12, 2017. p. 32. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  16. ^ Addison, Bill; Escárcega, Patricia I. (December 7, 2020). "101 Best L.A. Restaurants of 2020". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  17. ^ Golangco, Lauren (February 14, 2022). "A Taste of Home: Chef Raymond Yaptinchay On His Favourite Nostalgia-Inducing Restaurants". Tatler Philippines. Retrieved April 6, 2026.

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