Spoon & Pork was opened in April 2017 by Ray Yaptinchay, Jay Tugas, and Josemari Macasaquit. 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]
Spoon & Pork's main Silver Lake branch currently occupies a 1,300-square-foot (120 m2) space along Sunset Boulevard which also includes a modestly-sized minimalist dining room,[4] modern in design with tropical-themed walls, and an outdoor patio space slightly detached from the rest of the street.[5] In addition to its in-house operation, the restaurant is also a fixture at Smorgasburg's Los Angeles iteration.[6]
The restaurant's space is in a building that is shared with Diablo Tacos,[5] a prominent Silver Lake taco restaurant.[7] The building, owned by nightclub owner Steve Edelson, also previously hosted long-time Mexican restaurant La Parrilla,[5] which closed in October 2011.[8]
Spoon & Pork's menu, with both Yaptinchay and Tugas equally sharing cooking duties at the restaurant,[4] has been described as being "modern Filipino comfort food",[6] informed by the owners' love of cooking at home despite their lack of formal culinary training.[4]Pork cooked in various ways dominates the restaurant's offerings, which include takes on lechon kawali (served as an appetizer) and the chori burger.[5] Its signature dish, the patita, is the restaurant's take on crispy pata and is large enough for up to three people, served with a sweet chili and garlic sauce.[5] Braised for up to 15 hours and subsequently air-dried for an additional 24 hours before being put in the fryer,[9] and originally served with a popsicle stick as a means of eating the dish,[6] the patita has been described as being rich and flavorful, and has been instrumental in building its following.[4]
Although it primarily serves pork, Spoon & Pork also serves other meats,[5] as well as vegan dishes, which include a jackfruit dish that was named by The New York Times as one of its top ten dishes in Los Angeles for 2019.[10]
Spoon & Pork has been identified by the Los Angeles Times as part of a growing number of Los Angeles-based modern Filipino restaurants,[11] helping raise the profile of Filipino cuisine both in the city and nationally.[12] A few months after opening in 2017, LA Weekly readers named it the best food truck in Los Angeles,[13] and in 2020, the Los Angeles Times named it as one of the city's 101 best restaurants for that year.[14]