Pho Thai Lao Kitchen — Restaurant in Maywood

Ordered a few items for takeout. I called when they opened and they said they already ran out of brown rice, so that was a little strange. This time, we tried the somtum lao (which comes with a side of sticky rice), pad khee mao, and some sort of crispy sticky rice. I liked these menu items much better. The somtum lao was a little salty so the sticky rice definitely helps. Pad khee mao was standard, but my favorite was the crispy sticky rice. It was kind of like a fried rice with crispy bits, and it had a nice lime flavor to it.

I still have yet to try their soups, so maybe that's what I'll get next time.

UPDATED FEB 2025

Came by on a cold Friday night at around 6:30 pm. There was only one other couple dining but there was a steady stream of people picking up orders. I think I’ve only tried Laotian food one other time, so I was excited to check this place out.

To start, we had the Lao crepe. It’s kind of like the Vietnamese banh xeo’s sister - shares some similarities but they have different personalities. The Lao crepe is fried and crispy on the outside but the inside is almost mochi-like. The inside is filled with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, and peanuts. It comes with two dipping sauces. I’m not sure what the reddish one was but the other one, which I assume is some fish sauce concoction was perfect. I loved it so much that I used it for the fried rice we ordered. It was the Esan sausage basil fried rice. I liked the sausage but wish there was more of it. and the soft shell crab with garlic sauce. It’s filled with veggies, so at least I felt a bit healthier. We also had the soft shell crab with garlic sauce (which also came with a ton of veggies), which wasn’t great. The crab was small and over fried, almost borderline burnt and overall, the dish was too salty. The white rice it came with helped though. For dessert, they were out of our first two choices, so we settled for the fried vanilla ice cream, which was just okay.

Overall, I really liked the Lao crepe but everything else was meh. Maybe we just didn’t order the right things. I would still be willing to come back and try the Lao style pho, especially since there aren’t many (if any) Laotian restaurants...

Our visit was a mixed bag of some highs and major lows. I'm not sure there was anything that wowed us to entice a return visit any time soon but if you find yourself here, I can at least recommend the massaman curry and pad woon sen noodles. The massaman curry here is insanely creamy and tasty, with a hearty helping of vegetables. We ordered it with tofu, which came in cubes of the soft, unfried variety. Paired with rice, this was a winning dish. The pad woon sen - a savory glass noodle dish - can also be ordered with one's choice of protein. We liked it well enough with the chicken, and found it to be well-seasoned. Our server brought us some hot chili sauce on the side, and the spice lover in me was only too happy to heap spoonfuls of it over everything.

Our interactions with servers were...interesting. One of our servers seemed rather terse and cold, while the other hovered a little more than I would've liked. When he saw me taking out my camera, he reached in to take my fork. He used it and his bare hands to rearrange our appetizers, seemingly for the pictures. It was a raised brow moment for us, as was finding that our coconut shrimp neither tasted remotely close to coconut and that it was still frozen in the middle. We pointed this out to our server, who apologized and took it back. But instead of bringing out a fresh plate, it turned out they'd just refried our original pieces, even the ones we'd half eaten. Much as I'd hate to raise alarms for such a small and homely business, we couldn't help but wonder about whether it was sanitary to recook eaten food in their deep fryer.

This restaurant has been described in lots of other reviews as a hole-in-the-wall, which feels true. While it's more spacious on the inside than it seems on the outside, there's a smallness and intimacy to the restaurant. The menu is also fairly short and streamlined to a few categories. There's no dedicated parking lot, but we were able to find free street parking without too...

Hands down the BEST Thai food I have ever had. I grew up in Hudson county and we have many different options over there. We are also close to NYC, and have tried many different places in the Tri state area. Pho Thai-Lao Kitchen has the most authentic Thai cuisine with the yummiest food. I have been going for years now. (This review is long overdue) Som Tom Lao papaya salad is my favorite, but I also LOVE Pad Khee Mao drunken noodles, Thai spring rolls, chive pancakes (although the portion is small) you may need 2 orders! The Thai iced, Thai green iced and Thai coffee are all solid and delicious, but not for you if sweet is not your thing. The sweetened condensed is a key ingredient which is milk and sugar made into a thick syrup. The green and red curry are also very big in my home. Every time my family comes up to Maywood to visit, we get food from here because they all agree it’s the best.

Last thing, if spicy is your thing, take a bottle of the homemade Lao sauce to go! Definitely worth it. Make sure you keep it in the refrigerator if your home is hot. I left one out over the summer and it was bubbling up and almost exploded. Lol

Hope this helps anyone thinking about trying this! Definitely won’t be disappointed on a Thai place that is a staple in Maywood!!! Dine in or take out will both be worth it!

Sending loving energy everyone’s way! Namaste.

I was NOT paid for this review. I just love them and this review was...