Banh Somtum — Restaurant in Jersey Village

Do you ever have that conversation with your friends after church wondering where to eat for lunch? Yeah I get this conversation with my friends on a weekly basis.

Here's how the conversation goes:

Friend 1: HEY GUISEEE!! Let's get something to eat after church! Friend 2: oooooo where? Friend 3: ya where Me: let's try something new. I don't wanna eat at our regular spot. Friend 4: I'm hungry Me: Y'ALL I GOTCHUUUU

checks yelp .... filters distance .... filters category

DING DING

Me: "Let's check out this place! Banh Somtum! It's close to church!"

and there you have it. regular after church convos on where to eat for lunch. weekly.

We like to order lots of food and just eat family style. And this time around we were feeling adventurous. We usually eat at some pho place but I just wasn't feelin it.

We arrived at the place at a perfect time cause within 15 minutes people were trickling in and the small restaurant was filled. Although there was one LARGE family that took up half the entire restaurant.

The food. Where do I begin. My friends and I have been to many Thai places, but this place had some Laotian dishes that we've never had. I think my favorite out of all the dishes we ordered was the Tom Yum Noodle Soup! It was so good! Be careful on spice level cause we had the green curry fried rice on medium and my freaking mouth was on fire.

Here are the things we ordered. Boat Noodle (dark broth) Tom Yum Noodle Green Curry Fried Rice Pad Kee Mao

It was definitely enough to feed a group of 5.

Also, the art work on the walls are pretty cool to look at. Like. Really cool.

10/10 new lunch spot...

I would give this place a 3.5/5! I came in on a Saturday night around 7:00 and it was pretty empty at first but later around 7:30, there were people waiting to be seated. This is the list of things I ordered: Thai Ice Tea Definitely on the sweeter side compared to most of the thai teas that I’ve had at other restaurants

Lao Sausage I’m usually super picky with anything pork but the seasonings and spices were fantastic! And with the sauce and sticky rice, this is definitely an appetizer worth getting

Tum Poo Khem (papaya salad with salted crab) If you’re getting this dish, make sure you really enjoy fishy flavors because I had a hard time finishing my serving. The salted crab was yummy but the sauce they used for the salad was too strong for me.

Thai Boat Noodles I love how this gives you an option to choose either light/dark soup and thin/thick noodles. My bf got the dark and thick noodles. The soup was good, the meat was okay, but the noodles were meh

Tom Yum Noodles The soup is definitely on the sweeter side which I enjoy but again, it’s personal preference bc my bf favors the broth to be more sour. The chicken and shrimp were good and the noodles were standard.

Mango Sticky Rice This was unfortunately a let down. The mango was not ripe and it was on the hard side. The sticky rice’s flavoring was good but the texture was just okay.

Overall, there were some hits/misses but I would love to go back and try their...

Came here twice this week. Once on Thursday and again today, Sunday (Easter). Don't be fooled by the outside, inside is a cozy, very clean, genuine Lao/Thai restaurant (I wish I found this place sooner). On the Thursday I came, it was quite and I had the pad see ewe. Everything was fresh and delicious. I had it medium spicy and it had a good level of heat that I enjoyed. What I loved is they did the proper flat noodles which made it more enjoyable. Service was good and it was enjoyable lunch.

I came again today, Sunday, but this time with the family. The food is still really good, however this time it was really really crowded (which makes me happy since it's good, genuine Laotian food). There was lots of takeout and lots of people dining in. I think they probably could have added one more person since it was so busy the service was lacking - drink never got refilled, which is okay since we all ordered water. The food took longer to come out but it was well worth the wait. I definitely probably won't come here during the weekends since it just very busy and the restaurant is very small.

Overall, so far, I think this is the best Laotian food I have had here in Houston. The menu is small but what they have is very good. Once the summer gets warmer, I will probably try their salads. Definitely will recommend this restaurant if you are looking for...