Vientiane Grocery — Attraction in Seattle

It's time I reviewed this place because I've been eating here a lot. This is one of my favorite places to eat in Seattle. It's a Lao grocery store that also has a full menu of Thai and Lao food. They have some Thai dishes that you'll no doubt be familiar with, and some Lao dishes that you may not be, but it's all fantastic, fresh, big portions, and a good value. And the people who run this store are wonderful and very nice.

You can get Pad Thai here and you'll be very happy with it, and the portion. But also try the Pad Lao, and some of the other Lao specialties. The Lao sausages with sticky rice are phenomenal- Lao sausage has such a great rich, complex flavor, great texture, and the sticky rice is perfect. Try the Nam Khao- a great Lao salad made of fried sticky rice balls with peanuts and bunch of great fresh ingredients, it's got lime and shallots and herbs, and fresh lettuce. Very refreshing.

My personal favorite is the mee kati, Lao-style, a curry noodle soup that is hard to find around here (some places have the northern Thai dish by that name, but it's much different). If you like curry noodle soups this is an all-time great one.

They're so nice, if you live near here, you're lucky. Check it out. Also, if you ask for spicy, they will make it spicy,...

Great local spot for Asian groceries and food made to order at the mini restaurant. I recommend grabbing a jar of the chili crisp if you’re a spice fiend - it’s probably one of the spiciest chili crisps I’ve had. The grocery store always has some cool snacks and staple ingredients.

I’ve tried a few dishes (off the top of my head, the pad lao and another rice dish). The flavor profile is good but the dish may be slightly too mellow for me. It could also just be my palate and first exposure to Laotian cuisine as well. The Thai green iced tea is pretty good. Service is so friendly, and they’re happy to explain dishes to you if you’re not familiar with Laotian cuisine, like me.

They also have some rotating ready-made desserts at the cashier, my favorite being khao nom kok, mini rice flour and coconut...

My partner loves to eat the balut from this grocery store, and often times we end up sitting down (3-4 tables) to order more from their menu. My favorites are the pork noodle bowl, papaya salad with pickled crab, and beef jerky with sticky rice. From the fridge we get pre packed larb (unless you can read Lao, check with the staff which meat it is), and from the freezer Esan sausage. Yum! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. They take catering/party tray orders too, as long as you order several days ahead, and pick up on time. Note: PAPAYA SALAD IS VERY SPICY!!! 1 star spicy here is equivalent to maybe a 3 star spicy out of 5 in other SE Asian restaurants. You can politely ask them to keep the chili on the side if you want to...