Laotian Restaurants in San Diego, CA

“Very delicious food, and good service.

Food: We had the duck curry noodles and charred pork fried rice. The duck curry was by far the best as it had much more interesting flavors. The second dish was okay, though flavor profile wise it wasn’t as exciting—if I’d recommend one over the other I’d say go for the duck! But both are good. We also had fried wings as appetizers, that was also amazing and the sauce was great.

Service: A bit slow. They were really accommodating about us changing our reservation time to move it up earlier in the night. This we appreciated. But it looked like there was only 1 server and two bussers(?) servicing the whole place. Even though it was a weeknight, it still felt understaffed. Even though the service provided by our server was amazing when we had him, unfortunately he was busy half the time. And food took 30-40 minutes to come out, so I suspect the kitchen had the same issue. If this is a common occurrence then I believe the business owner should have more people on staff if they want to improve the service. I don’t blame our waiter, moreso whoever’s managing the schedules.“

“Ok for real, I am a Thai snob. Out of 10 places I try I may get 1 I think is decent. Holy crap best drunken noodles I’ve ever had. I will be dreaming of that dish until I come back! For reals get the drunken noodles and you’ll be hooked! Service was great and friendly too!?“

“This place is really good! Loved the fat little spicy sausages, the Lao salad, the crying tiger beef, the Mok fish and the heavenly jerky. So flavorful, warmly spicy but with lots of lemongrass and herbal flavors. Not a fancy place, but you can definitely feel the love.“

“By far the Best Thai food in San Diego !! don't miss out.“

“I went there to eat with a coworker for lunch earlier today. It was my very first time having been there. I was recommended by a couple of my friends. The restaurant was pretty spacious and the staff were very friendly. I ordered the laab seen (ລາບຊີ້ນ) a Lao minced beef salad and the tom khueng nai (ຕົ້ມເຄື່ອງໃນ) a Lao beef innards soup with some sticky rice. Lunch was delicious. I will definitely be going back there again. I will be bringing my mom. She was actually the person that had brought up this place to me before as well. See you again in the near future.“

“We discovered this spot a while back and recently visited San Diego again and had another chance to stop by. By far this sweet little spot makes Lao Cuisine closest to homemade. All the flavors were there in the mix salad which I loved because a lot of Lao Cuisine don’t make it this way. And the fried chicken and sausage was a great pair with the salad. We also had a side of sticky rice. The set up was changed and may have different ownership? But we felt like it still hit the spot.

Many complain about the cost, unless you know how much time and effort goes into Lao Cuisine, it shouldn’t be any less than any other cuisine. Otherwise, it may be best to make it yourself at home than complain about the cost of what things should be.

We thought it was all reasonable and generous amount of food in this economy. My husband and I still didn’t finish it all.

We visit San Diego often so we will be back!“

“Everything at so saap is good! Papaya salad, laap was awesome! I visited twice in a week as I live in another state. I will be back one day.“

“Everything at so saap is good! Papaya salad, laap was awesome! I visited twice in a week as I live in another state. I will be back one day.“

“White Elephant Asian Kitchen was such a great spot for lunch! My boyfriend got the chicken pad Thai, and I had the shrimp lemongrass salad—both were super fresh, with great portions and amazing flavor. The atmosphere was really nice too, perfect for a casual meal. We’ll definitely be back to try the spring rolls!“