SAAP — Restaurant in Cary

Great addition to restaurants in Cary. Located in the heart of downtown adjacent to the new town park, SAAP brings new flavors to Car’e restaurant scene. The restaurant isn’t spacious, so since its new AND good, plan ahead and make a reservation. I’ve dined here twice for dinner and just made another reservation for later this month. The cocktail menu includes classics with a twist and also features specialty drinks. Had “nights in Vientiane” which was tequila based with caramelized pineapple ginger shrub, fresh pineapple, lime, and agave. Refreshing blend of flavors, perfectly balanced. Also had “Mekong River Rush”, with habanero infused mezcal, Hibiscus/orange infused syrup with lime and orange. Not too spicy with a sweet smoke flavor. I didn’t try it but someone in my party did and throughly enjoyed “The Mantra” which is vodka based with elderberry, lemongrass, lemon, and lychee. Mocktails are also available. Shrimp crisps/ chips (not sure if thats what they are actually called) were brought to the table for munching when looking over the menu. Watch out….those things are addictive! Crunchy but light, not oily or greasy and dont leave any aftertaste like others Ive had at other restaurants. A number of small plates are available. Both times I’ve dined there we order a few to share. The portions are good for “small” plates. The crispy spring rolls were a favorite. Other items include salads, chicken satay, BBQ pork skewers, soup, and sausage. One of my favorite menu items is on the small plate menu, the crispy coconut rice lettuce wraps. So good! I had them one time as an appetizer and liked them so much I ordered them for my main course the second time I dined there. I did not add the optional cured pork roll. There’s no need. The dish is amazing as is with crispy crunchy goodness in every bite. Tghe flavor us outstanding. Comes with lettuce leaves to use as wraps. On the main menu are dishes that include curry, fish, steak, stir fry, and fried rice. For dessert the server brought us sweet potato croquettes since we were there for a special occasion. I didn’t see them listed on the dessert menu. OMG! Ive never had anything like them. So good we placed another order for more once we ate the first. Delicious! Ask for them. Not sure best how to describe them … warm thin crispy round hollowed out shell (think of a munchkin donut hole empty with a light, crunchy exterior) filled with cool citrus custard/pudding/cream. Not overly sweet and very flavorful. Im already looking forward to going back and getting them again. Our server (both times) was Noel. She’s excellent. Knowledgeable about the menu, friendly, fun, personable, attentive, and professional. She goes out of her way to make sure customers have the best possible experience while dining at...

Visited about a month after their opening on a Friday night. Didn't have a reservation and waited about an hour for two spots at the bar.

The drinks were great. Fresh and flavorful, though a bit pricey, but that was expected. The Chai was the best I've ever had, but I was a bit disappointed at how small the pour was for being non-alcoholic. It was essentially the size of a small martini for $6. The Ube Colada was much sweeter and more watery than expected, but it was still delicious. The Pandan Old Fashioned was excellent.

The food... wow. We ordered the crispy coconut rice lettuce wraps and chicken satay for an app and both were absolutely delicious. Some of the best satay we've had and the peanut sauce was out of this world. For entrees, we got the Larb, which was excellent. The only complaint my boyfriend had was the Thai pepper was so potent that it was difficult to really adjust how much spice he wanted on the Larb. A little goes a loooong way, and accidentally adding an extra 1/8th of a teaspoon will land you on the toilet the rest of the day. Lol. I ordered the coconut curry. It was fantastic, and so filling. If you're not into spice at all, you will want to pass on both meals.

We skipped on dessert because we were super full and nothing jumped out at us.

Spent about $165 with the tip, which included 4 drinks, 2 apps, and 2 entrees.

The night would have been a 10/10 if it hasn't been for a super uncomfortable interaction with one of the bartenders. He made a sarcastic joke that I could barely hear over the loud volume of the restaurant. The joke also went over my boyfriend's head. My boyfriend explained that he doesn't understand sarcasm because he's autistic, and I said I totally misunderstood the joke and couldn't hear much of what he said. The bartender proceeded to imply that we were racist for not understanding the joke, as we are white and the joke had to do with understanding nuances of Asian cultures, in front of a bunch of other people at the busy bar. When I gave the bartender a confused look because this came completely out of nowhere, he laughed, then seemingly realized how completely inappropriate and uncalled for what he said was, and repeatedly apologized and admitted he shouldn't have said it. I totally get that we all say dumb things sometimes, but it made both of us incredibly uncomfortable and it was really disappointing.

Tl;Dr: make a reservation. You can't go wrong with any of the food and drinks. Order the coconut lettuce wraps and chicken satay for apps, and the Larb and coconut curry for entrees. Know that whatever you order is going to be Thai spicy, and not Popeyes...

Was excited to try out this new Laotian spot, which looked awesome in pictures. Note, parking is a bit of a pain since you have to park in the parking deck and walk over, and there’s not a direct or easy path to get to the restaurant other than walking down the ramp and avoid oncoming traffic. Inside the restaurant, it’s quite nice and modern/chic looking. However, the waiting area is very small and you basically have to wait outside during busy hours. The atmosphere is one common to a downtown bar. It is extremely loud and you’ll find yourself having to basically yell just to have a conversation. If you don’t like noisy places, this is not the spot for you. I liked that they give you some puff snacks to snack on while you wait for your food. I got the oxtail Laotian pho, which I am a big fan of oxtail and pho. This bowl of pho was however very bad flavor wise. It was basically a salty bowl of soup with strips of oxtail meat and no oxtail bone (which is what I expect from oxtail pho). The pho looked like it would still be good, but it was lacking the richness of a meaty broth that makes pho good. It generally lacked the quality I am used to and I can see now why Laotians put sugar in their pho, maybe it’s to balance out the saltiness. The rice noodles they used were very basic and they provided the common generic pho veggies (lime, basil, bean sprouts). Nothing impressive with the pho. Overall, I was disappointed because this was an expensive bowl of pho compared to other restaurants and it just wasn’t tasty to me. My wife had the vegetarian lettuce wrap as it was one of the few vegetarian options and it wasn’t that good either. It had some really hard burnt rice bits that were too hard to chew, almost rock like. I tried it and several pieces were too hard to swallow, so I had to remove them out of my mouth. I had Thai tea as well and it didn’t have any tea flavor but was basically a super sweet drink. Overall, I like the look of the restaurant, but was very disappointed with the quality of the food for the price point that it’s at. Probably a great place to hangout and drink, but food is a bit of an afterthought...