Informal restaurant serving Lao & Thai specialties in a relaxed, bare-bones atmosphere.
Parking: Free parking. They’re located in a busy plaza, but I noticed people are always going in and out. So parking can somewhat be easy to find.
Ambiance/Environment: They have a small space with limited seating. We came in @17:30, and we just missed the dinner rush. It started getting busy closer to @18:00. You can either dine in or order take out.
Service: Everyone was courteous, but special shout out to our server Ethan! He took great care of us. I will say we did wait a while for our orders. We waited approximately 35 minutes for our food.
Food & drinks: They have a large menu filled with traditional Lao and Thai dishes.
1) Pho Lao - Lao original rice noodle soup with beef balls, sliced beef, green onion, cilantro, and bean sprouts. This was my first time trying Lao pho, and it did not disappoint! They only offer one size, and I’d consider it a large bowl. The broth was very delicious, generous amount of meat, and lots of noodles. I’d prefer less toppings of yellow onion, but I really enjoyed this dish. 4/5
2) Rad Na - Fried rice noodle, topped with beef gravy, made of Chinese vegetables and chicken. The chicken and Chinese broccoli were cooked well. Everything was drenched in the beef gravy. The beef gravy was too salty for me, but everything else was good. 3.5/5
3) Nam Kao Tod - Crispy fried rice. You can tell which pieces were fried on the outside and which were on the inside. The outside pieces of the rice were definitely crispy. Fair warning, you might get some pieces stuck to your teeth lol. I really enjoyed this basic rice dish. 4/5
4) Thai Tea - Really refreshing. You can see the layers of tea and creamer. I believe the ratio is 50% tea and 50% creamer. It wasn’t too sweet, but I’d prefer the tea flavor would be stronger. 4/5
5) Green Thai Tea - This was also refreshing. The green tea flavor definitely came through. It wasn’t too sweet either and perfect amount of creamer. 4/5
Pricing: Prices are $$$ which is basically the average price now. Our total came out to $68.19 (tip included). I’d say it’s worth it. We enjoyed our dishes and service was great.
Came here at 4am after partying in LA. I was surprised how packed it was and it definitely was full of only Vietnamese people (biggest green flag). We immediately were seated, waited on, and brought water. We literally got all of our food in under 4 minutes. To say we were impressed by the quality of the pho, eggrolls, and service is an understatement. This is definitely my go for drunk munchies now. Also it’s cash only!
I ordered a tray of pad Thai, which came with peanuts, a papaya salad, and a tray of crying tiger beef for a family party. Unfortunately, the beef was incredibly tough, and I was embarrassed when my cousin pointed out the overcooked, blackened peanuts. It is not worth what I have paid. This is my first time trying this place; I definitely won't be returning.
The restaurant was not busy at all, but we had to wait 15 minutes to check in. They take forever to make our food. The curry usually comes with rice at other restaurants, but you will have to order rice on the side here. The pad se ew was extra sweet. The noodles soup and green curry were salty.
I would say that this place is the best Thai food in this area. The wait is really long during the weekends, took me almost 1 and a half hour to get in. But the the food made the waiting worth it. Recommend dishes are pad thai, papaya salad jungle style (It’s a must try dish as it is really special that you can’t find elsewhere), tom yum with sea food, and crispy fried. These 4 dishes are for 4-6. If you are a parties of 5+ call large size tom yum with bowl of rice. Tom yum here is also the best!
Best Thai Food I’ve ever had! I’ve been coming here for more than 7 years and there is no place like it. Great food and friendly staff.
If you are in business of service food and beverages. Serve them. With a smile. Not with a hate or fake smile. This will be my last visit. I almost threw up as I was leaving there.
Delicious Thai food in great portions for the price. Fast and good service, will be sure to come here again in the future.
Tastey with good quality ingredients. I think I've found my favorite goto place. Pan Southeast Asian cuisine with a personal twist by the chef. Something for everyone. The beef and Lao pho both hit the right spot for us the first time. Customer service was personable as well. Interesting decor. You can't go wrong once you step inside.
The food was delicious! They people were friendly and attentive. Definitely recommend it!
Giant portion for a good price
Food is alright. Lao sausage was a bit too salty and burnt
Came here at 4am after partying in LA. I was surprised how packed it was and it definitely was full of only Vietnamese people (biggest green flag). We immediately were seated, waited on, and brought water. We literally got all of our food in under 4 minutes. To say we were impressed by the quality of the pho, eggrolls, and service is an understatement. This is definitely my go for drunk munchies now. Also it’s cash only!
If you like Laos foods..this is the place to go. Authentic foods
Need faster service at rush hours
I ordered a tray of pad Thai, which came with peanuts, a papaya salad, and a tray of crying tiger beef for a family party. Unfortunately, the beef was incredibly tough, and I was embarrassed when my cousin pointed out the overcooked, blackened peanuts. It is not worth what I have paid. This is my first time trying this place; I definitely won't be returning.
Also try the Thai crepes!! They were incredible!
I miss this place. I moved and I can no longer come to this place. There are others in my area but unfortunately, it just doesn’t compare. Maybe if I can find the name of their spicy red sauce, it will work. Does anybody know the name of that red sauce? It’s somewhat salty and sweet at the same time.
I’m so glad I found this place! I just happened to be in the area and wanted some authentic Thai food and they did not disappoint! I can tell the food is cooked to order and well worth the small wait. I ordered the ginger chicken with a small white rice, delicious! 5pm on a Thursday and it wasn’t very busy. This place is a gem. Nice portions, friendly service and good prices 👍🏾 I will be returning when I’m back in the area.
Parking: Free parking. They’re located in a busy plaza, but I noticed people are always going in and out. So parking can somewhat be easy to find.
Ambiance/Environment: They have a small space with limited seating. We came in @17:30, and we just missed the dinner rush. It started getting busy closer to @18:00. You can either dine in or order take out.
Service: Everyone was courteous, but special shout out to our server Ethan! He took great care of us. I will say we did wait a while for our orders. We waited approximately 35 minutes for our food.
Food & drinks: They have a large menu filled with traditional Lao and Thai dishes.
1) Pho Lao - Lao original rice noodle soup with beef balls, sliced beef, green onion, cilantro, and bean sprouts. This was my first time trying Lao pho, and it did not disappoint! They only offer one size, and I’d consider it a large bowl. The broth was very delicious, generous amount of meat, and lots of noodles. I’d prefer less toppings of yellow onion, but I really enjoyed this dish. 4/5
2) Rad Na - Fried rice noodle, topped with beef gravy, made of Chinese vegetables and chicken. The chicken and Chinese broccoli were cooked well. Everything was drenched in the beef gravy. The beef gravy was too salty for me, but everything else was good. 3.5/5
3) Nam Kao Tod - Crispy fried rice. You can tell which pieces were fried on the outside and which were on the inside. The outside pieces of the rice were definitely crispy. Fair warning, you might get some pieces stuck to your teeth lol. I really enjoyed this basic rice dish. 4/5
4) Thai Tea - Really refreshing. You can see the layers of tea and creamer. I believe the ratio is 50% tea and 50% creamer. It wasn’t too sweet, but I’d prefer the tea flavor would be stronger. 4/5
5) Green Thai Tea - This was also refreshing. The green tea flavor definitely came through. It wasn’t too sweet either and perfect amount of creamer. 4/5
Pricing: Prices are $$$ which is basically the average price now. Our total came out to $68.19 (tip included). I’d say it’s worth it. We enjoyed our dishes and service was great.
Amazing food
Great service
Great prices!
Amazing for eating family style
The food here is good and simply authentic. Definitely recommend the crispy fried rice and the pad see ew.
Definitely get the Satay and the Pho Lao. Their catfish curry is also amazing!
The restaurant was not busy at all, but we had to wait 15 minutes to check in. They take forever to make our food. The curry usually comes with rice at other restaurants, but you will have to order rice on the side here. The pad se ew was extra sweet. The noodles soup and green curry were salty.
This place stands up to all the hype. Just some of the best Laotian + Thai food, all the flavors are peak umami. Try the fried fish dishes, the Tom ka gai (just the right amount of sweetness), and the amazingly fresh and perfectly seasoned morning glory if they have it (you might have to go earlier in the day, we only got some on our second visit). The laab is also perfection. Go go!
Vietnamese, English, Spanish. Chào các bạn. Hãy nếm thử nhà hàng này. Các món đều ngon theo người Lào nấu, như là gỏi đu đủ xanh, súc xích lào, phở sào lào (Phat Si ỉu) và gỏi sì tết. I have eaten here numerous times with family and friends. The food is the best in the area. NOT fast food like some others. Obligatory dishes: papaya salad, Lao sausage, the pad thai lao style, sweet rice, nam toc salad (with streak). Buenos compas. Aqui se sierve la mejor comida de Lao. Es lo mas autentico que he encontrado. Comi aqui unas 5 veces y es mejor que otros lugares. Se lo recomendio mucho. Ya puse unos platillos para que los prueban. Aprovecho!
Very good place for authentic food of South Asia ! So miamy , so delicious plates ! We really loved all things ! Good! Good! Good ! :) :) .... Oh my godness !....
My favorite place to eat when I am in town. Authentic Laotian and Southeast Asian cuisine
I would say that this place is the best Thai food in this area. The wait is really long during the weekends, took me almost 1 and a half hour to get in. But the the food made the waiting worth it. Recommend dishes are pad thai, papaya salad jungle style (It’s a must try dish as it is really special that you can’t find elsewhere), tom yum with sea food, and crispy fried. These 4 dishes are for 4-6. If you are a parties of 5+ call large size tom yum with bowl of rice. Tom yum here is also the best!
Looks Interesting
We normally do take out here due to the proximity of the location for our family. We wished we could eat in but we have to mostly grab-n-go. I will say, it is hands down one of the best Lao-Thai restaurants we've eaten at in LA-ish settings (Yes, I know. This is OC). It is our go to spot for raw laarb, if you're into laarb and if you're into it being raw. Spicy with a little bit of bitter? Yes, please! The kids usually get the Lao sausages which are also very flavorful especially when paired with their sweet (sticky) rice. The lemon grass is strong in the sausages but that's how we like it.
The wait staff are usually nice, even if maybe a little slow sometimes. The ambiance is that of any typical Asian family-owned restaurant; nothing to write home about but also not dumpy to the point where you wonder what extra ingredients they're adding to the food to make it taste so good.
Stopped by for dinner. Had a short wait but was seated promptly. Ordered the boat noodles and Thai iced tea. Noodles had a kick that was slightly above my tolerance lol but was delicious nevertheless. Not quite what I remembered when I visited Bangkok but good enough. Plenty of parking.
Solid enough for Lao and Thai food, but before they used to have quite the reputation as one of the top places. I'm not sure but they didn't seem quite to that level of reputation for me.
This place has definitely changed. It's actually still really good but man I must those old ladies that keep it OG. My favorite dish in this place is the Larb but it's not the way it was years ago. It's still sliced beef but they're more like bits instead of thinly sliced deliciousspicyness. Still better than alot of places. Top 3 in Socal. It's so crazy that other Thai places make their food super sweet. Their style and region is top notch
The lao sausage was delicious with different layers of flavors and I'm going back for that. The larb beef salad was solid. The crispy fried rice was chewy, which was strange, although the flavor was great.
Everything was wonderful!!! Best Lao/Thai restaurant in the area!! I’m Hmong and visiting from MN and it definitely tasted like home!! Definitely will be back!!!
I ordered many different menu items. I 10 out of 10 recommend this place to anyone looking for good cuisine. The service was also amazing. The waiters constantly cleared the table and brought out the food very quickly. They were so friendly and welcoming. Definitely will come back.
Khua Mee Lao was good. Sai Oua (Lao sausage) is a must try. Coconuts were very fresh, and once you're done drinking it they chop them up so you can eat the insides too.
This place never fails, my go to is always the pad see ew beef 10/10
Amazingly bright flavors in the lao curry and the papaya salad. A perfect balance of acidity, freshness, and umami. The stir fry noodles (I think it was the rad na) were good by itself but when the other two dishes came out, this one seemed dull in comparison.
Food: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Atmosphere: 5/10
Value: 7/10
Small mom and pop restaurant serving authentic Thai food. Definitely a recommendation!
Love it. One and half drive to get here. Still worthwhile.
I ordered the Lao Papaya Salad and it was not Lao style at all!! Lao papaya salad is suppose to be more sweet and sour not fishy.
Instead, I seem to have got a fishy, mildly sweet and sour papaya salad which is more Cambodian style (im half Cambodian and dont like Cambodian papaya salad).
I was really disappointed by the “lao papaya salad”.
I also ordered chicken pineapple fried rice and that was not really good either.
Im sure other days might be better but somehow my order was not good at all.
I noticed they aren't very consistent with the food they put out. Previous experience was just okay, and last night's food was superb! They also stop accepting customers before posted closing time, which is okay, but there should be some sort of notice posted. If you're not there by 7:30pm, you might not make it on the wait list.
Just a solid Lao food spot.
One of the best Thai/Laos places in all of Orange County! My go to place especially for the drunken noodles! Love this place!
Super authentic food. Filled with love and soul.
Good service
Great flavorful boat noodles
This is my favorite restaurant. Period
Food is always incredible and worth the wait. My stepdad and I always find an excuse to visit. Laotian is absolutely delicious and deserves to be talked about! Favorite dishes include Laotian Sausage, Laotian beef jerky, crispy fried rice, and catfish curry. Plus, even when they get busy, the hostess/server handled the craziness very well.
We were in Santa Ana/Westminster shopping/preparing for Chinese New Year and got hungry!!! Hadn’t eaten…wanted a quick bite that was not Chinese/Vietnamese and we accidentally came across this restaurant!! We were skeptical at first. Place was quiet and small not our usual loud Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant!!! I have to say Hospitality was excellent, warm and welcoming!!! Food was fresh and prepared in a timely manner. Taste was DELICIOUS and portions were great!! LOVE MY STICKY RICE!!! Not your normal skimpy sandwich sized 3 finger flattened rice!!! They were ABSOLUTELY GENEROUS!!! I LOVE IT! Thai BBQ Chicken falls if the bone, juicy and tender, papaya salad was not over barring with fermented fish sauce. YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!!!!
Tasty food made with love 😍
If you like lao food I recommend getting the "Nam Khao" Best fried you will ever have!
Got pad Thai, pad kee mao, thai sausages, and chicken skewers. Everything was delicious, although the chicken skewers were small portion. The noodles were plentiful, so they evened out. I have been coming to here for years and will keep coming back for that thai food fix!
Nice place
It's very good, but every dish is off the chart with spicy spices! If you're sensitive to spiciness this is probably not the restaurant for you. Seriously, the Tom Kha didn't taste exceptionally spicy, but burned my lips and made them swell. I looked like I had bad plastic surgery for about an hour, and the only thing that relieved them was a cold soda can! Food is very tasty but is pretty oily, especially soups and curries.
best authentic Lao and Thai food family owned family friendly ! 💯 try their home made Lao sausage juicy yet crisp at every Bite 😋 and their papaya salad Lao style Ooooweee too fire baby !
Ordered takeout per the menu that I found online. When time to checkout the prices were 30% higher. I get inflation but this feels more like bait and switch. The crying tiger beef ($13.99 though the menu online was
7.99) had good flavor but very chewy low grade meat. The menu stated crab or shrimp papaya salad so I chose shrimp and they charged me an additional $1.04 on top of $10.99 even though the price online was $7.99. It was too pungent and not enough papaya. Why. The nam Khao was $7.99 online but I was charged $10.99. It was so bland. Served with ham not the traditional fermented pork sausage...so awful I took a few bites and that was enough.
I mentioned the price difference to the cashier but she seemed too confused and I was too hungry. But that is over $11 overcharge. And she wanted a tip too!
Owners please update your website/menu online you are violating pricing laws.
Good food!
My favorite place to eat Thai food.
I always come here for the Nam and Lao sausage and the kids love the Khao Piak. Chicken skin Pepper chips is a must.
It's always a pleasure to dine here. I've had a chance to try many of the dishes here and the authenticity and quality of the Lao/Thai cuisine is excellent. The waitresses are always friendly and helpful even during busy days and this place is PACKED by lunch hour. Meal portions are typically larger than average as I've found a single dish can sometimes feed two.
One thing to be aware of is food prep time can be a while as all orders are made fresh, but is well worth the wait 👌 take-out orders available in person and by phone
Khao Piak and Khao Pon is extremely amazing. Always go on dates there.
Foods are always fresh and delicious 😋
a bit of a wait
large portions
good price
proper thai spices
Fantastic place, can't go wrong with anything on the menu.
The food was very delicious and they gave our food very quickly! The service was also very speedy and efficient.
Fresh and spicy
This unpretentious small strip mall is just that. I didn't realize this is known to serve up the best authentic Lao and Thai food in the orange county area. The food is fresh, full of flavor and the wait is not long for service. We shared the fish cakes, spicy Lao style papaya salad, rad nah w/chicken, steak salad (nam tok), and a bowl of kapoon noodles with fish & intestine (my least favorite).
I even bought a fried Ted pepper snack with sesame seeds. It's crunchy goodness.
Stop by because it's good stuff!
Our family has eaten here and ordered to go many times. Excellent service and authentic Lao food. If you have only tried Vietnamese and Thai food, Lao food is more flavorful and intense. We have tried Beef Jerky, Lao Sausage, Larb Minced Beef Salad, Lao Papaya Salad, Crying Tiger and Crispy Fried Rice. I highly recommend Crispy Fried Rice which includes nem (cured pork with sour taste) fried chili, crispy fried rice eaten with lettuces, Beef Jerky with chili sauce or Crying Tiger with hot and sour sauce, and Lao Papaya Salad (imo better than Thai Papaya) which includes sweet small blue crab to balance out the salty sour flavors. The Lao Sausage was alright. The only dish we couldn't eat was Larb Minced Beef because it was very salty. I think only native Lao people can eat this dish. Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant.
Had high hopes for this place based off other reviews but it was just okay. The Green Curry was way too salty, which Ive never encountered before with a curry elsewhere. The Papaya Salad was pretty good but extremely overpriced. Ran out of Lao Sausage. Other Lao/Thai places in the area are better.
Best sea food ever
Most do!!! Visit this place
I will be back to try other yummy dishes. My belly was in heavenly bliss.
Here is what I ordered:
Papaya salad jungle style (strong shrimp paste flavor)
Lao sausages
Pad see ew
Lemon fish (trout)
Stirred fried watercress
Thai crepes with condensed milk
They were all delicious but the Thai crepes stood out. I originally wanted the mango with sticky rice, but they ran out. So I had the Thai crepes. Heavenly. I haven't had a dessert like this in ages. If that was my last bite, I could die happy.
Absolutely delicious food here with great service. The team made sure we were well looked after and were very knowledgeable on the ingredients for each dish, also offering different levels of spice to choose from for the dishes with spice. Super impressed - top notch, authentic food! Highly recommend the laab (raw beef salad) and the boat noodles 🤤
My place to go for my favorite Lao food...just like home....staff are so wonderful and welcoming every time.
The food and service get 5 stars. Gentleman on the register was so friendly and courteous.
When they ask you how bitter you want your Larp, you know you’re in for a good authentic treat. We ordered Khaopoon, Beef Larp, Jungle Papaya Salad, and Crispy fried rice. All dishes tasted great and none disappointed. It is a small restaurant with only 6 tables and gets pretty busy. Not an ideal place for a large group but doable. Parking gets pretty packed as well because it’s located inside a business complex. Is you aren’t lucky enough to get a a table, order it to go. You won’t be disappointed and I’ll be going back.
Food was excellent!
The smell of each dish smelled fresh and delicious. The pineapple fried rice was very flavorful. The quantity was very big. Could be eaten for two people. The minus side of this dish is the lack of other ingredients. I had 3 shrimps, 2 pieces of pineapples and 2 cashews and maybe two raisins. The other dish was fresh.
The food was good. Large portion of sticky rice was a plus. Good to see a lao store near Disneyland
Super friendly staff!!!
Service was quick and the food is consistently scrumptious. They do the lao chicken noodle soup amazingly well and their lao sausage was on point. Papaya salad can be lao or thai style and it seems every table ordered that. As I was leaving I watched a lady clean house on their banana chips and chicken skins. Must be addicting!
Decided to try out their frog dishes.It was pretty spicy but enjoyable. The kids ordered fried rice with no veggie and 3 meat combination. They loved it. We also ordered the Tom yum Kai (it was just okay, I think I like Tom kha Kai better personally), crying tiger and sticky rice.
Love their Papaya salad"jungle style" 😍
Not too crazy about it
Very good and AUTHENTIC Lao food. Tasted good and was flavorful. My only complaint was the laab pa thong was more eggplant than fish. They didn't have fried chicken wings, but had bbq thighs that was a little dry. Would definitely go again and try some of the other dishes next time I'm in Cali!
Nice and fast. Good service
It’s good, but I wouldn’t make it my go to place because it’s too far away. The crispy fried rice was delicious!
Good Somtum for Lao style
Very enthusi astic food
Authentic so SAP SAP real lao food 😋 not your typical lao thai restaurant its made with love the food
Best crispy rice around
Great food.
Crispy rice salad
Really good lao sausage! The cat fish mok PA was a little bland. The sticky rice was perfectly cooked and chicken satay with the curry sauce was really good.
I love this place ❤️👍👍
Delicious Lao papaya salad. I always over stuff myself here
The best food
Everytime I'm in Westminster I make sure I stop here...
The food was absolutely amazing!!! Came back to vist and had to satisfy my craving!!!
Really close to Mom's cooking. Haven't had Lao food in so long so finding this place has been a treat. Ordered Lao sausage, Papaya Salad, and Nam Kao. Really good flavors and anyone who misses mom's coming won't be disappointed. Definitely coming back whenever I get cravings.
Honestly one of the best places. Found this when we were living in Costa Mesa and has been our go to no matter where we move. Get the sausage, crying tiger, pad see ew, pad thai, and anything else on the menu and you will not be disappointed.
My first visit I got the Crispy fried rice with sour pork, Beef Jerky, and the wifey got Laotian Curry noodle soup.
The Crispy fried rice with sour pork wasn't a flavor for me. I will have to try their pineapple fried rice next time.
I did enjoy the Beef jerky tho.
Service was good and food authentic.
Good food
- 15 photos
- 200 reviews
- 4.5 Health Rating
- Contact: +1 714-530-7523
- Website: https://vientianelaothai.com/
- Location: 10262 Westminster Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92843, United States
- Map: 33.7588588, -117.94996239999999
- Laotian restaurant
- Family restaurant
- Mexican restaurant
- Thai restaurant
- Monday: 11 AM–7:30 PM
- Tuesday: 11 AM–7:30 PM
- Wednesday: Closed
- Thursday: 11 AM–7:30 PM
- Friday: 11 AM–7:30 PM
- Saturday: 11 AM–7:30 PM
- Sunday: 11 AM–7:30 PM
- Takeaway: Available
- Dine-in: Available
- Fast service: Available
- Lunch: Available
- Dinner: Available
- Solo dining: Available
- Wheelchair-accessible car park: Available
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance: Available
- Wheelchair-accessible seating: Available
- Wheelchair-accessible toilet: Available
- Alcohol: Available
- Beer: Available
- Coffee: Available
- Comfort food: Available
- Healthy options: Available
- Quick bite: Available
- Small plates: Available
- Lunch: Available
- Dinner: Available
- Catering: Available
- Dessert: Available
- Seating: Available
- Toilet: Available
- Casual: Available
- Cosy: Available
- Groups: Available
- Tourists: Available
- University students: Available
- Accepts reservations: Available
- Credit cards: Available
- NFC mobile payments: Available
- Good for kids: Available
- High chairs: Available
- Free of charge street parking: Available
- Free parking lot: Available
- Parking: Available