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Sao Lao Thai Café
Sao Lao Thai Café: Fresh Thai & Lao flavors served with warm neighborhood hospitality.
4.6
Thai
$$
Sao Lao Thai Café: Fresh Thai & Lao flavors served with warm neighborhood hospitality.
Sao Lao Thai Café is a neighborhood Thai and Lao restaurant in Houston that offers a warm, cozy, family-run dining experience. Reviews highlight fresh, balanced dishes like red curry, Lao sausage, Lao jerky, tom yum, and nam khao, plus wings, boat noodles, and drunken noodles. The owner is friendly, and ample parking makes it easy for families and friends to enjoy a casual, satisfying meal together.
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Classic Thai favorites like red curry, drunken noodles, and tom yum soup made with fresh ingredients.
Traditional Lao dishes including Lao jerky, nam khao, and Lao sausage for a unique culinary experience.
Hearty options like boat noodle soup and Lao pho, served with aromatic broths and quality proteins.
Crispy chicken wings and other starters perfect for sharing or complementing your meal.
Cozy, relaxed atmosphere ideal for groups, families, or casual outings with attentive service.
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Overall rating
Matilda
Perfect food for the neighborhood it serves. Warm, cozy, and friendly service. The owner is genuine and passionate about what she's does and her origin story is just as amazing. The Loa Pho is so good and I will return to eat the curry.
Alex Y
What a gem in the neighborhood. Everything was excellent. We got the Lao jerky, nam khao, red curry, tom yum and lao sausage. The red curry was some of the best i've had in houston. The sausage was unbelievably good, I've had it in many other places and its usually on the drier side or the beef is overly processed and very dense. This sausage was beyond expectation. The owner was also incredibly friendly and nice. We will most definitely be coming back again to try other dishes. highly recommend!
Branko B
Vibe: Warm, cozy, family-run atmosphere. Very welcoming and relaxed. Service: Friendly, attentive, and genuinely kind staff. Food: Fresh, flavorful, and well balanced Thai dishes. Location & Parking: Easy to find off Shepherd just north of 610. Plenty of parking. Overall: Great spot for families, friends, or coworkers. Definitely worth coming back.
Allison Kojima
My friend and I visited on a Saturday night around 6 PM. At first, we were a little worried about parking and a long wait time (especially considering the fact that there isn’t a ton of space for seating) but luckily there weren't too many people in the restaurant. As for parking, there is plenty of space in the lot so there were no issues at all. My friend and I ordered the following: Chicken Wing Drunken Noodle Boat Noodle Soup All the dishes came out within 10 minutes so we were really pleased with the service here. The chicken wings were crispy and juicy. I won’t say they’re the best wings I’ve had but they’re decent! I also enjoyed the sauce that came with it. As for the boat noodles, the broth was aromatic, savory, and delicious but temperature-wise, I wish it was hotter. It was better than lukewarm but soup/noodles dishes like this are best when the soup is piping hot (in my opinion). The noodles and ribeye steak were good but unfortunately we never got the pork balls. While ordering, we asked for the pork balls to be on the side since I’m picky but they just never showed up. As for the Drunken Noodes, there’s a good number of components that go into this dish (i.e. mushrooms, protein, kale, chillies, etc.) Some of the noodles in the dish were undercooked so the texture was a little harder than it should’ve been but the flavors are on point! Overall, I’d give this spot a 3.7/5. It's definitely on the pricier side which I’m more than happy to pay for (especially when it’s a local mom and pop shop) but I can’t say this spot blew my mind.
Gary D J
Probably one of the best red Thai curry I have had. I know next time I come back I'll be getting the chicken wings. The place is a little small but it's definitely worth the wait. The portions are big. I left full and satisfied.
