We went to check out the new Padaek in Arlington after having been to the Falls Church location a few times. This one is nice, service is amazing, and the food is good. Buuuuuuttttt, it's different...I like my food spicy, and knew to order it "Lao spicy". When it arrived at the table, I could see that it just had a bunch of chilis added. This gives it a bit of spice, but is more like a level 3 out of 5. It was just lacking the heat as when ordering spicy at the other location. Obviously, they don't want to overwhelm their guests with spice, but if you're asking for that level of heat, you obviously want it. Oh well...it's good, and the flavors are tasty...but the other location feels more authentic.
Alicia M.
Great experience! Food was delicious, service was great and attentive and the interior is bright and transporting to Lao. Definitely make a reservation, as it was busy even early on a weeknight.
BILL YI
Classic sausages and barbecued pork ~ full of Southeast Asian
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Yaz R.
This place was incredible! So beautiful of an interior and definitely a large space. The service was also very attentive and it was still pretty busy on a weeknight. I love that so many of the dishes here are so unique and I definitely got to try some of their specials, but would come back to try other things for sure because it was all five stars! I tried the lemongrass catfish, which was cooked to perfection, and not fishy at all. This dish had a ton of flavor and was slightly spicy and not over powered by the lemongrass flavor! They also gave you a pretty hearty serving of catfish, and it was nice and flaky and it was fried very lightly so it wasn't overly greasy or heavy to eat. I also tried the pad Thai special, which had really large shrimp in it, and a very unique flavorful sauce that tasted a little bit more like a dark soy sauce. I really love this pad. Thai and the noodles were not dry at all like some places! Finally, I tried the crab noodles which were really good and a very interesting and unique flavor. These were definitely delicious. I also tried the spring rolls which were not my favorite, but they were still good.
Trang H.
Very friendly staff and quick services. I would recommend the porn sausage and grilled pork shoulder. The crab longevity noodle was too salty for me. It's $100 including taxes and tips for an appetizer, two main dishes, and two beers. A bit pricey but the portions were quite big.
Senya Spark
Great place! Food is truly delicious, which is rare for me to say. Servers are great, place is super clean and nice. Absolutely worth coming there every week.!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sharon L.
The new Padaek location is fabulous! As regulars of the OG location in Falls Church, we wanted to try out their new location and it's so much more spacious and decorated so well! The service was attentive, there's plenty of parking, and plenty of outdoor seating! Our usual orders are: - Naem Khao Thadaeu (this is a MUST ORDER. It's the crispy coconut rice salad and I love it with the sour pork sausage) - Siin Savanh (loved by Phil of Somebody Feeds Phil and now loved by my husband and I! A wonderfully flavored beef jerky) - laab (a classic southeast Asian dish. Theirs is tangy and delicious) - Khao Soi (maybe one of our favorite Khao soi dishes in NOVA--and tastes better than their the one at their OG location) - pad phed (almost reminded me of krapao--sooo good and flavorful) - gaeng phed puu (crab with coconut red curry--also sooo good) I'm so happy this new location opened. While the prices seem a little higher than they used to be a the OG location in Falls Church, this location seems a little more "upscale" and has some more and different menu items. It's honestly hard to miss with the dishes at Padaek and I will be returning here regularly.
Jay Garant
Excellent. I’m going back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Keshav Rangan
Wonderful experience. Very fast service. Very kind staff. Excellent food. What more could you want!? The Kao Soi and jaew bong in particular were phenomenal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Cinzano
Delicious food, wonderful atmosphere. They were not accommodating to our request for a larger table which I found off-putting. We ended up having our table crowded from all the dishes we ordered which is what I had feared would happen.
Chef specials were on the menu for tonight. The Laab was really good. As was the Southern Thai Yellow Curry. The plating of each dish was visually stunning.Service was attentive. In the early evening, before sunset, be careful of your searing since the sun can get in your eyes.Plenty of parking in the strip mall too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: White Rabbit, Laab
John Litvin
Delicious food. Great menu. Nice variety.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kathryn Parente
Incredible food, vibrant atmosphere, the smell of succulent grilled meats and curries and lemongrass just stimulate your senses, and the warm, caring hospitality of the servers make for a memorable dining experience! We can’t wait to go back on a regular basis!
Karen P.
We wanted Laotian food so tried this place. We ordered two appetizers (sausages and papaya salad). Both were tasty especially the papaya salad. We got two catfish dishes and both were tasty although not very meaty. One was in tamarind sauce and other with mint. Thai iced tea was perfect. Nicely decorated especially the room with all the paintings. Service was very good too.
Scott White
Solid tastes in a place that I’ve never realized was there. It’s in a strip mall area so not that noticeable. There’s free parking although it’s sometimes hard to find a spot. Staff are very friendly and the setting is nice and casual. The food is very good. We started with fried tofu as an appetizer, which my wife loved and I enjoyed as well (I’m not really a tofu guy so that says something). I had Khao soi (aromatic coconut curry, yellow noodles, grilled boneless chicken thigh) while my wife had gaeng hang lay (Northern Thai and Burmese inspired pork belly curry, ginger, onions, cherry tomatoes). Both were delicious.
We went to check out the new Padaek in Arlington after having been to the Falls Church location a few times. This one is nice, service is amazing, and the food is good. Buuuuuuttttt, it's different...I like my food spicy, and knew to order it "Lao spicy". When it arrived at the table, I could see that it just had a bunch of chilis added. This gives it a bit of spice, but is more like a level 3 out of 5. It was just lacking the heat as when ordering spicy at the other location. Obviously, they don't want to overwhelm their guests with spice, but if you're asking for that level of heat, you obviously want it. Oh well...it's good, and the flavors are tasty...but the other location feels more authentic.
Great experience! Food was delicious, service was great and attentive and the interior is bright and transporting to Lao. Definitely make a reservation, as it was busy even early on a weeknight.
Classic sausages and barbecued pork ~ full of Southeast Asian
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
This place was incredible! So beautiful of an interior and definitely a large space. The service was also very attentive and it was still pretty busy on a weeknight. I love that so many of the dishes here are so unique and I definitely got to try some of their specials, but would come back to try other things for sure because it was all five stars! I tried the lemongrass catfish, which was cooked to perfection, and not fishy at all. This dish had a ton of flavor and was slightly spicy and not over powered by the lemongrass flavor! They also gave you a pretty hearty serving of catfish, and it was nice and flaky and it was fried very lightly so it wasn't overly greasy or heavy to eat. I also tried the pad Thai special, which had really large shrimp in it, and a very unique flavorful sauce that tasted a little bit more like a dark soy sauce. I really love this pad. Thai and the noodles were not dry at all like some places! Finally, I tried the crab noodles which were really good and a very interesting and unique flavor. These were definitely delicious. I also tried the spring rolls which were not my favorite, but they were still good.
Very friendly staff and quick services. I would recommend the porn sausage and grilled pork shoulder. The crab longevity noodle was too salty for me. It's $100 including taxes and tips for an appetizer, two main dishes, and two beers. A bit pricey but the portions were quite big.
Great place! Food is truly delicious, which is rare for me to say. Servers are great, place is super clean and nice. Absolutely worth coming there every week.!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The new Padaek location is fabulous! As regulars of the OG location in Falls Church, we wanted to try out their new location and it's so much more spacious and decorated so well! The service was attentive, there's plenty of parking, and plenty of outdoor seating! Our usual orders are: - Naem Khao Thadaeu (this is a MUST ORDER. It's the crispy coconut rice salad and I love it with the sour pork sausage) - Siin Savanh (loved by Phil of Somebody Feeds Phil and now loved by my husband and I! A wonderfully flavored beef jerky) - laab (a classic southeast Asian dish. Theirs is tangy and delicious) - Khao Soi (maybe one of our favorite Khao soi dishes in NOVA--and tastes better than their the one at their OG location) - pad phed (almost reminded me of krapao--sooo good and flavorful) - gaeng phed puu (crab with coconut red curry--also sooo good) I'm so happy this new location opened. While the prices seem a little higher than they used to be a the OG location in Falls Church, this location seems a little more "upscale" and has some more and different menu items. It's honestly hard to miss with the dishes at Padaek and I will be returning here regularly.
Excellent. I’m going back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful experience. Very fast service. Very kind staff. Excellent food. What more could you want!? The Kao Soi and jaew bong in particular were phenomenal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food, wonderful atmosphere. They were not accommodating to our request for a larger table which I found off-putting. We ended up having our table crowded from all the dishes we ordered which is what I had feared would happen.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
Chef specials were on the menu for tonight. The Laab was really good. As was the Southern Thai Yellow Curry. The plating of each dish was visually stunning.Service was attentive. In the early evening, before sunset, be careful of your searing since the sun can get in your eyes.Plenty of parking in the strip mall too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: White Rabbit, Laab
Delicious food. Great menu. Nice variety.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible food, vibrant atmosphere, the smell of succulent grilled meats and curries and lemongrass just stimulate your senses, and the warm, caring hospitality of the servers make for a memorable dining experience! We can’t wait to go back on a regular basis!
We wanted Laotian food so tried this place. We ordered two appetizers (sausages and papaya salad). Both were tasty especially the papaya salad. We got two catfish dishes and both were tasty although not very meaty. One was in tamarind sauce and other with mint. Thai iced tea was perfect. Nicely decorated especially the room with all the paintings. Service was very good too.
Solid tastes in a place that I’ve never realized was there. It’s in a strip mall area so not that noticeable. There’s free parking although it’s sometimes hard to find a spot. Staff are very friendly and the setting is nice and casual. The food is very good. We started with fried tofu as an appetizer, which my wife loved and I enjoyed as well (I’m not really a tofu guy so that says something). I had Khao soi (aromatic coconut curry, yellow noodles, grilled boneless chicken thigh) while my wife had gaeng hang lay (Northern Thai and Burmese inspired pork belly curry, ginger, onions, cherry tomatoes). Both were delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5