Woodspoon

"It’s been a long month of hiring and firing, and the HR team needs some place to decompress, drink wine, and eat a bunch of comfort food. Make it Brazilian, and go to Wood Spoon. The Downtown neighborhood spot has fantastic food across-the-board (including the best chicken pot pie we’ve ever eaten) and a colorful space that looks like the Parisian flat everybody dreams about during recruiting meetings." - brant cox, brett keating

"Back in the day when not a whole lot of new restaurants were opening in DTLA (2006), Wood Spoon arrived to give the neighborhood a casual Brazilian spot. Fast forward to now: 9th and Main is in the center of the action, and Wood Spoon is as reliable as ever. It’s not a big place, so reservations are a good idea, but you won’t find many better low-key date spots than this place. Order the pot pie." - jess basser sanders, brant cox

"Natalia Pereira, the Brazilian-born chef-owner of Downtown’s Wood Spoon, will close her restaurant temporarily at the end of the month to recover from an accident last year. Pereira has been struggling with a brain injury from a scooter collision and needs time to heal away from the restaurant's daily demands. Despite the temporary closure, Pereira hopes to return after a six-month break and continue her culinary journey through private dinners and Sunday meals. Wood Spoon, opened in 2007, has been a staple in Downtown LA, offering Brazilian cuisine and drawing a loyal customer base. The area’s parking issues and other changes have also impacted the restaurant's operation." - Mona Holmes

"Wood Spoon is the kind of place where you walk in and immediately feel at ease. The DTLA spot is filled with mismatched chairs and old framed photos, and couldn’t be further away from one of those cold, exaggerated restaurants that make you become hyper-aware of the fact that, until last week, you thought a 401(k) literally meant saving $401,000. The menu is filled with flavor-packed Brazilian dishes that hover around the $20-$30 mark, like seafood soup in coconut sauce, deep-fried shrimp dumplings, and the de facto best chicken pot pie we’ve ever had." - brant cox, kat hong, brett keating

"With vaulted ceilings, mismatched chairs, and old framed photos hanging on the walls, Wood Spoon looks a lot like that Parisian flat we fantasize about while stuck in traffic on the 405. The Brazilian menu, made up of traditional Mineiro dishes like seafood stew in a coconut sauce and our favorite chicken pot pie in the entire world, feels like true home cooking. At some point during the meal, you and your friend-date will probably forget you’re even at a restaurant altogether." - brant cox