My family and I came to Neighborly, it being recommended to me and close by in the area. I know…read morethat they're known for their array of options and a wide variety of food to choose from. I was nervous, though, going into this, because it reminded me of the nearby Topanga Social with a similar concept. After less than a year, the Topanga Social is closing due to one of the reasons being that a ghost kitchen doesn't cater, and therefore, have the expertise, to one certain food type or style. Unfortunately, that's exactly what this ended up being.
When we entered, it was an untraditional restaurant experience as you go to a tablet/ screen area and choose from one of the six or so "restaurants" that they have to choose from. In theory, this is super cool! However, certain foods are good because a lot of the times, the people making them worked on perfecting that dish for you and others. Additionally, when you don't have a hostess and/ or server, there's an extra level of relationship building with the customer that you now don't get. People can manage, but it's the customer service that sometimes can make or break a business.
This restaurant used to be Social Monk, until they decided to add the five or so other, now essentially, ghost kitchens that all operate under that same old Social Monk roof. Once we paid and finished ordering on the screen, we sat down and waited for our food. The seating area was a bit cramped inside, but expanded to outside which was nice. Inside, they had little tubs of candy around the store for purchase. There's also a fountain and a gelato store nearby, which is great for families looking to make more of their day.
The positives? The area is nice. The literal neighbors, like the gelato place next door, are great! The speed in which we got our food was good, too, as well as the variety of options of food that they have available. My food came as a bigger portion size than what I was expecting, so I could hypothetically get maybe two meals out of it.
The negatives? The prices aren't the prettiest, like mine coming at $18 (but keep in mind the portioning.) Additionally, when we got our food, it truly was not good. My chicken and chow mein came together on a big plate, however the chicken was cooollllddddd. The noodles were okay and warm, actually, although the chicken had been cold. Bland. Not great. My sister got chicken tenders and fries in which were also incredibly bland and not worth eating even half of. I brought my food back to the counter area where they had registers not in use and asked a worker if I could get a refund. They got a manager, who asked if I wanted them to heat it up, but at that point, I felt so defeated and annoyed, especially for almost $20 worth of food and the last thing I wanted was for it to be heated up in a microwave.
Maybe this wasn't their day? Westlake doesn't have much variety, so having options like this is nice and I can see why so many people find them appealing - it's just not good food. A lot of the older people who look like they love eating saltines and rice cakes come here and it's easy to see why. Unfortunately, my sister and I did not like their food due to it being cold, bland, and unseasoned, and we most likely won't be coming back.
