WHY WE WENT HERE: - dinner date with the SO THE LOOK (FROM THE OUTSIDE): - located on 12th St in between Eggplant Alley and F St - street parking - from the outside looking in, it looks like a quaint place for a date night THE LOOK (FROM THE INSIDE): - intimate lighting - vibey - at the time/date we visited, old school and new school R&B was playing in the background - mid-century modern meets industrial decor THE MENU: - accessed via QR code - appetizer - soup - salads - curry - stir fried - noodle soup - noodle - fried rice - chef specials - dessert - beverage WHAT WE ORDERED: - chicken wings - pork ribs with sticky rice - Lao ribeye steak and seasonal vegetables - chicken fried rice THE TASTE: - HUGE portions, even for the appetizers (shareable) - chicken wings - great crisp outside and juicy inside but extremely plain (flavor from the chili dipping sauce accompanied with it) - pork ribs with sticky rice - not fried like prior Yelp photos I've seen; it was super tender but EXTREMELY salty - interestingly enough the Lao ribeye steak is not indicated on the online menu, and I requested it because that's what I've seen on Yelp photos from prior patrons; it was the VERY good and had great sauce/seasonings (sauce was on the salty/sweet side) - chicken fried rice - the SO felt this was one of the best fried rice dishes he's ever dad CUSTOMER SERVICE: - warm and welcoming - a bit slow to take our order and to get the check paid OVERALL: - great for the vibes and for dates or groups (for adults) - food can be hit or miss read more

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drunken noodles were bouncy and had the perfect amount of heat, and the thai tea came in a cute little carafe.

We visited Hiso on a whim one night after a quick google search. I was surprised to find the restaurant completely empty for such a highly rated place. The service was ok and the restaurant was quite trendy and very clean. Thai food is typically not my thing but I am open to trying anything. We did an assortment of starters and I must say they were nothing memorable. read more

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I've been wanting to try Hiso after hearing such great things from my friends and finally got the chance to try them out! I originally tried to make a reservation for two for a little birthday celebration, but they only take reservations for 5 or more. They did tell me that it should be fine though since it's a weekday and doesn't usually get busier until 7 and after. We showed up at 6 and it wasn't too busy yet and we're seated immediately. Right if the bat, the staff was extremely friendly. The waitress also caught on real quick when I told her we were here for a birthday. We ordered a Thai Green Tea for a drink. It's a big boy so don't worry about there not being enough! It is very different from your original Thai Tea. It is more floral and has a great aroma and would recommend you trying it out. For appetizers we got the Duck Larb and Lao's Papaya Salad (one pepper). It was my second time having duck larb and it was better than the first time I've had it! No dryness and extremely flavorful. The papaya salad brought the heat! It was refreshing while giving you a kick. Don't let the one pepper fool you. We got the Drunken Noodles (beef w/no spicy) and Crab Fried Rice (medium) for the main dishes. Our waitress mentioned to us that medium is the lowest and it wasn't too spicy. The Drunken Noodles came out hot and packed with flavor. It was seasoned really well. The noodles were soft enough but held up. The beef was not dry at all and the veggies were the perfect texture. This is a great noodle dish if you're not the biggest fan of having that sweet and sour taste from Pad Thai. Drunken noodles have a more savory taste and big flat noodles. The Crab Fried Rice was the star of the night! They use real snow crab and it's in every bite. There was a little kick, but not too spicy at all. The flavors went well perfectly! Since we were here for a bday celebration, we got a Thai Tea Ice Cream with Roti on the house. They were out of condensed milk, but the Thai Tea ice cream still added sweetness to the dish. The roti was flaky and light. Overall, a really great experience with the food and environment. I would highly recommend you trying Hiso out. I will be coming back and that crab fried rice will be ordered again. The staff here is so friendly and gave great service. It's a cute little intimate spot with great food! read more

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Delicious food! We order the drunken noodles, lao pho, red curry and the thai papaya. I do feel that things were on the sweeter end but we had a spice rack so we were able to add as we liked. The lao pho was garlicky and hit the spot. Service was great, the ambiance was very chill, felt like time slowed down. You could definitely dress up or dress down. We went a bit dressed up and felt like we were serviced like a michelin star restaurant. Definitely regret not getting our servers name. We spent about $68 on food but portions were great! looking forward to coming back. read more

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Very nice place with delicious food. Strongly recommend the Salmon Drunken Noodle, yellow curry. Clean place and top grade service. read more

I ordered the drunken noodles with chicken for my take out order. I added medium spice, which was the perfect amount of spice for me. The noodle dish was very flavorful. The portion size is huge. On my next visit, I would dine in. I am excited to try the Lao sausage and the duck larb. read more

Hiso - Drunken noodle - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California

A hole in the wall place nearby capital of California. We took a detour from Railroad Museum, thankfully parking is relatively easier than where we came from. The restaurant is clearly under-staffed perhaps because of Memorial Holiday. When we were seated, a large group was about to finish. It was a weekday but on Holiday schedule so lunch special menu didn't apply but not an issue for us. Paying full price for regular portion is reasonable. We ordered eggplant with beef (like a stir fry) and oxtail soup (Tom kha) in Lao flavor. Both dishes were scrumptious we didn't leave traces of sauce or broth in the bowl. The service was extraordinary, we were asked for preferences on spiciness and dishes came out to where we can just still handle without holding on to toilet for the next 24 hours. I highly recommend visiting Hiso if you are in the area, a detour was worth it for me! read more

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The PANANG Salmon Curry is the BEST Thai curry i have ever had! Amazing spice level and flavor. Truly a great combination. The way the salmon was breaded and cooked is epic. A must try! read more

Hiso - Specials and the meal i ate. - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California

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i ordered the drunken noodle and it was cooked perfectly. service at this restaurant is always top notch.

My friend and I think this is actually our second time here, the first was during the beginning of covid. We finally got to sit inside and it's very cute with the modern plates, gold silverware, and dark forest green walls. Seating inside is limited, maybe 8 tables that seat 2-4 people. What we got: Crab fried rice Pork ribs w/ sticky rice Fried chicken Lao papaya salad Popcorn chicken Truffle fries Cranberry cider Some kind of yuzu bomb? (similar to sake bombs, but with yuzu flavor and light beer) - He also got a match green tea Given, I don't think the crab was fresh, but the crab fried rice was surprisingly good. Felt like it was possibly missing.... something, can't quite put my finger on it. Pork ribs weren't as tender as I'd hoped it to be. It had a little bite to it, luckily my friend actually likes his ribs like that so he thought it was good. There was no seasoning in it, but they provided a side of rub. I believed it was something fermented and diced lemon grass. The fried chicken! There was something about people mistaking it for panko covered something or another. It's just friend chicken. Meat was tender and it was perfectly crispy! Yum! Lao papaya salad. Okay, I LOVE my papaya salad and this... it made me sad. There was def something extra in it that tasted off. I asked my friend to taste it and he said the same thing. There's a weird after taste to it. He didn't touch it after that, but I was picking small strands of it the entire dinner. I was just trying to figure it out! I took it in a to-go box cause I didn't want to seem rude(and we paid for it so...) My Cambodian roommates in SJ where there is no good Lao or Thai food thought it was good. I do not recommend. Popcorn chicken was juicy, not the standard popcorn chicken to where it's basically dried out from over frying. Good job. Truffle fries were okay, basic truffle oil covered fries, no actual truffles. Love the little fryer basket it came in though, super cute! I hate beer, but cider isn't really beer according to all my beer drinking buddies, so that explains why I like it. It was refreshing! I hate sake bombs. I don't like sake and as I mentioned, I hate beer. HOWEVER, the yuzu (citrus) covered up the taste really well of the light beer it came with. It was almost like another cider. Surprisingly good. Def recommend. My friend also killed his matcha latte super fast. Safe to say, he thought it was delicious. Shout out to Chris, I believe was the server. I'm not great with names... Talking to him was casual and chill. read more

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Fantastic Lao/Hmong/Thai restaurant with great flavors coming through in each dish I ordered. Careful on the heat index: very traditional spice ratings--if you like spicy 3 out of five is plenty. I ordered pad ke mow with a 2 spice rating and it was spicy enough. Very flavorful dishes and would recommend to anyone looking for this type of cuisine. read more

Absolutely loved the aesthetics of this place. It's simple yet so pretty! We ordered the following as vegetarians : Tom Yum with tofu - 4/5. Really enjoyed this soup. It was a little tart, but we didn't mind that. Fried Rice with Veggies - 3/5. This one was very average. Didn't stand out. The rice seemed colder compared to the veggies. Mango Sticky rice - 5/5: This has been by far the bestest we have ever had. We didn't order the iced tea. But did seem very popular as we saw one on almost all tables. read more

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Some friends and I were looking to try some new Thai restaurants in town and we came across Hiso... OMG and we're so glad we did! His was a great dining experience with a fusion of Thai and Lao dishes. The flavors were on point and we pretty much wanted to try every single item on the menu... and pretty much almost did! Our little party started off with four appetizers - the potstickers, truffle fries, butter mushrooms, and the spring rolls. Each of them were delicious and flavorful. We particularly enjoyed the truffle fries. They came in a basket with delicious cheese sprinkled on top. Each app was full of flavor and incredible! I love pad thai so that's what I ordered. I was not disappointed. The flavors of the pad thai were exactly as I wanted. Nothing was overpowering, but there was a mix of savory, sweet, fresh, and tangy. This is already one of my favorite pad thais in a all of Sacramento. A friend of mine ordered the drunken noodles and they were maybe the best I've ever had. No kidding! I also had the opportunity to try the spicy eggplant dish. It's more of a stir fry and if you enjoy a fresher, less sauced up entree, then this one is for you. It felt very clean to eat. I would not hesitate to recommend Hiso to anyone looking for a delicious meal. I'm itching to return and finish off that menu! read more

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I've seen photos of Hiso on Instagram and it reminded me of a more modern restaurant, leaning on upscale, like Rao or Kin Thai. We were in the area and realized we were a couple blocks away so we stopped in for a quick afternoon bite. Since we didn't want to eat too much, my husband and I split the pineapple fried rice. It came out in less than 10 mins! It was fragrant and had huge pineapple chunks and the beef was tender. It was a smaller portion in my opinion, not quite family style like some Thai restaurants, but it was perfect for my husband and I to share comfortably. We also tried the Thai green tea and Thai coffee. The Thai coffee was delicious and had the right balance of bitter and sweet. The Thai green tea on the other hand wasn't my favorite. I normally love Thai green tea so I'm not sure what it was, I couldn't pinpoint it but there was something floral in the aftertaste that I couldn't get used to, so unfortunately I didn't finish my drink. Service was great, nothing to complain about there! The decor is very calming and definitely a great spot for an intimate dinner or special occasion, but not too fancy to enjoy casual a lunch here either. It's on the smaller side so I can imagine it may get busy on a weekend night but I overheard someone say they take reservations for parties of 6 or more. I worry about the location being a bit too far away from the heart of downtown though but I hope that they will survive and manage to bring in a lot of customers despite little foot traffic. read more

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UNDERRATED!! As someone who's from NYC this was actually one of the best thai food i've ever had in a while. Not only does everything taste great their portions are great. I'm still thinking about this place and wish there was in NYC. I recommend you check this spot out!!! read more

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Absolutely delicious. Do not miss this spot. Food is scrumptious. Wish I lived closer!!!

the mushroom laab was fresh and spicy with that funky lime kick, the sticky rice was warm and chewy. nice spot for a casual dinner

A hidden Lao/Thai spot off 12th street downtown Sac Wonder how this restaurant never appeared in my searches before looking for Thai food? Luckily the good reviews lured us down for a gander. Service was good except the new waitress making a small mistake taking my order...More on it later so keep reading..... When I say it's hidden is because it is... There r no other eateries nearby and the parking area is a little sketchy tonight. Go on a Friday night, you'll see/know what I'm talking about! Now the menu offering were good as they have 6-7 appetizer dishes: The Shiitake mushroom which could have been offered under veggies under the main dishes: Excellent flavor Deep Calamari: Crunchy/Tasty Ordered: Thai Papaya salad but was served with Lao's style: big flavor difference if you had Thai style before: That was the waitress mishap mentioned above! Main dishes: Lao's Pho: a bit salty as they didn't have Hoisin "Tuong an Pho" sauce to dip the beef like the traditional Pho restaurants that I love: highly recommend the owner consider adding it to their condiments! Spicy Chicken eggplants with bell peppers, onions were delicious Beef pork ribs Soup: Nice tamarind sour taste, a good compliment over Rice Dessert: Sticky rice & mango with added Coconut sauce served with a scoop of coconut ice cream: Delicious & did the Job with our food Palates : Overall the dining experience, decor, and service were great except for the mistake of my papaya salad order. I did bring that up to another waitress but she didn't seem to worry or concerned or offered to make the correct order from what I reported. Now that I thought about it, I should have grabbed the attention of a Manager or Owner. My Bad I guess but then again it's not good service to ignore an important Customer like myself!!!!!! I would still come back because all 95% of the rest our experience was Excellent! read more

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Service, food, drinks and atmosphere is 6/5! This was my second time visiting and every time I get something different but I'm never let down! Their traditional Lao papaya salad is BOMB, but beware their spices aren't meant for the weak. I got the drunken noodle this time with chicken and I licked the plate clean. They also have fun Soju and sake bombs or if you'd like a glass of wine or beer. I can't do too much fried food, but their fried chicken skin was so delicious and not too oily that we got 2 orders! Then finish off your dinner with a delicious mango sticky rice, you know it's a good spot when they also include icecream with the mango sticky rice and you have 2 options read more

Hiso - Drunken noodle & fried chicken skin with sake bombs and wine - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California

Hiso is a welcome addition to Sacramento featuring delicious Southeast Asian food (Lao and Thai) The interior is very cute with a modern decor and the service is friendly (it is small so there can often be a wait). The food is excellent and flavorful. A medium spicy level for each dish is quite spicy which represents the authenticness of the food I feel. Items we had included the vegetable rolls which were very fresh, the drunken noodles which were delicious, and the crab fried rice which is also delicious. The Thai iced teas were also refreshing and tasty. Overall a great addition in the northwest part of downtown. read more

Hiso - Drunken noodles - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California

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I've always had Thai food, but never Laos! This spot had been bookmarked on my "Sac" food list for the longest and I'm so happy I finally came through. Our waiter was great!!! We ordered the salmon, fried calamari, and the Lao sausage. Salmon had cucumber bottom and layered with small green onions(?), jalapeño, and the sauce was amazing. It had a nice spice to it. Calamari tasted great with my salmon sauce. Lao sausage was very unique and it's a special recipe the cooks have. The interior is very clean and bougie. I recommend trying this place at least once if you visit Sacramento. Will be coming back when I'm in NorCal again. read more

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Saw this new place and wanted to take my wife to it. I had called ahead to make sure it was open because of many places closing down because of COVID again. They said they were open and they would have tables available and didn't need a reservation. They do take them over the phone. We arrived and I was able to park right in front of the place. When we got into the place we were the only people there and got seated right away. I like the look of the place. Trying to look a little classy. It was kind of cute looking. Chairs and beach seat along the wall. My wife and I sat along the wall together. I had already looked at the menu before we arrived so I knew what we wanted to try. We ordered the vegetarian eggrolls, duck larb, crab fried rice and the pork ribs with sticky rice. Oh I forgot the chicken wings. I really like the eggrolls, light and good flavor. It had a lot of noodles in it, maybe a bit more veggies. I was totally disappointed with the duck larb. It was really dry. the duck that is I would not order that again. I loved the crab fried rice. It was moist and good flavor. Oh and the chicken wings were really good to nice flavor and moist. The pork ribs were ok but the sticky rice fell short. It was really hard, It was wrapped in saran wrap and at these prices that should of been removed. Not a bad place and it has potential but they are trying to make it classy and the food doesn't match it and the prices are high for the quality and what you get. I think they need some growing to do and fixes. It could be a really nice place in the future if they really work at it. read more

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My girlfriend and I got the worst case of food poisoning of our lives :(. Haven't had food poisoning in a very long time but omg did it rock our worlds lol. read more

I've never really had authentic LAOS food so I was really excited for this spot to open up. They also serve Thai food, but currently for their soft opening the menu is limited and majority of the items are LAOS. I came during soft opening last week and the interior is so cute! Service was great, a little slow but I mean which new business isn't? So please be mindful and nice to the server!! We ordered the chicken fried wings, butter mushrooms, salmon bite, crab fried rice, mee Kati, TomZap Pork Ribs, Duck Larb. For drinks we got the green Thai milk tea & hibiscus Thai tea. They even let us try the KAOPIEK which isn't on the menu yet. Of all the items, my favorite was the duck larb & crab fried rice. The duck larb was so so flavorful, it tasted amazing paired with the veggies. You can also order a side of sticky rice to eat with it. For the crab fried rice, I was amazed at how much crab was in there!! They use actual chunks of crab meat vs imitation crab. I really enjoyed the green Thai milk tea also. It wasn't overly sweet or too overpowering w the tea. I really wish we got to try the dessert too but I was way too full LOL so next time. Oh yeah the salmon bite is a good one too! It's like salmon carpaccio but they're not cheap w the pieces The pricing is more on the "high end" but the portions are great and they are in downtown sac so totally understandable. I can't wait to come back!! read more

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i've ordered twice here before, one in person and one online-- my experience in person was subpar but reasonable as we did come in a little late. The seating i got was quite uncomfortable and inconvenient, squeezed in a tight corner in front of the entrance on one end and balloons on the other end. getting in our seats was so complicated we had to adjust the table to even get in (view figure to see how it was). but thankfully they've changed the layout i'm still bitter about how much an inconvenience and poor experience i've had twice in a row. food was okay, although as a lao person myself or could've been better. i'm not sure if the salmon bites were supposed to have hot-warm ish dressing on raw fish. yes i did think it was gross because why is my raw fish warm. but anyways!! what made me really want to write this was because i had ordered pad si ew, super hungry i just woke up i could not care but damn. Damn. DAMN!!!!! the only options online for spice level was "lao hot" (please i was SO HUNGRY i did not think of it..) they did not play. they meant LAO hot fr fr.. they dumped the entire thing of peppers in there. kudos, another star for being genuine w the spice (i did wanna bawl my eyes out the moment i took a bite, like a poetic moment where u realize you cannot enjoy ur meal and have spent ur bfs parents money to waste, and the memories of accidentally eating the papaya salad with 15 peppers as a toddler) but please update the doordash or uber eats thing to actually adjust the spice level other than just one selection. i just wanted to enjoy my food this morning without pain but they have good drinks! read more

Hiso - past seating, quite uncomfy... - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California

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The vibes here are immaculate. The restaurant is bright and open, super clean and sleek modern style. All of the food matches this aesthetic, styled to a tee. And it's flavors live up to the expectation. The potsticker filling had great flavor but I think I would have prepared them fried over steamed. The egg rolls were super crunchy and flavorful. I got the steamed salmon dish and the presentation was so cute. The fish was super tender and flavorful and the rice was so sticky and delicious. My friend ordered the pad see ew and it was super good. The portion sizes were really generous. The prices are a little high, but equivalent to your normal thai cuisine. We loved the mix of Thai and Laos culture and I think everything was executed really well. Our waiter was extremely personable and friendly and overall really made the whole experience that much better. I highly recommend the Thai iced green tea that they serve in a mini carafe. It's picture worthy and so delicious. read more

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Good food with cute decor; super comfortable chairs. Friendly staff with good service. Avocado curry sauce could have been thicker but had good flavor. The pork ribs were nice and crispy but not over cooked. As an entree, it needed some kind of side veggie. Had to get a some fresh spring rolls to get some greens. Try to park down F street if you can. read more

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Needed some Asian love while exploring Sacramento's restaurant. This place was a nice little cute casual date spot. The service was excellent and waiter was sincere. The steak was perfecto medium rare, and although a bit pricey, it actually comes with a huge portion. The eggplant was also fantastic - not spicy at all. We complimented with some casual Josh wine , however, look into their $3 beer specials too! read more

Hiso - Eggplant - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California

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Came here for my 43rd birthday last week and I must say their attention to detail is pretty refreshing to have the utmost care for the service that's given. Drinks and bread came very quickly management made sure that glasses were pulled and menus off the table keeping everything clean. Meats come around very quickly you're never waiting. Everything was seasoned properly and temperature was on point. I also feel you get more options far as selection wise versus other Brazilian steakhouses in the area. Salad bar has some really nice options. Your big guy and you like to eat a lot of meat this place will not disappoint quality was second to none so not a cheap bill but you get a lot of value for the money that you do spend. I came away so stuffed and definitely ate my share of lamb. Highly recommend and will be back again one of the best restaurants in the area hands down. read more

Hiso - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California

Coming back from a weekend trip at Tahoe, we were estimated to drive past Sacramento at around 9 and were feeling Thai food. And wanted to find something with vegetarian options. This looked promising so we made the stop here. The ambiance looked modern, with trendy music and nice seating. When we started to order, I asked whether the curries were vegetarian as generally a lot of places truly aren't (might have shrimp paste or fish sauce). They said yes, but then I specifically asked whether the base was and they said they would check. I was glad I did because they came back saying that the only vegetarian curry was the yellow curry. They also mentioned that the noodles had chicken by-products, so our only options were that curry and the stir fries for the entree. We were a little disappointed but proceeded to order because we still had a few options. The vegetarian eggrolls were pretty good. The quality was great, and it was paired with a nice sweet and sour sauce. We got scared that we saw a piece of meat in one so we asked, but they mentioned it was taro. We also got the spicy eggplant stir fry, which was good and well cooked, but I wish it was spiced more and saucier. The yellow curry with vegetables was clearly the best out of them all. It looks watery but it is packed with flavor, and better than a lot of places I have been to before. Oh yea and we got them all spicy, which added a nice kick. But I feel like we could have gone with lao spicy, which is their spiciest version that they were warning us about. The Thai tea looked so aesthetic and tasted great. They used half and half, and I felt that it was a tad watered down due to the ice but not enough to actually taste bad. The mango sticky rice with coconut ice cream was great too, it wasn't overly sweet at all and the quality of the ingredients were great. This place has the potential for a great Thai option in Sacramento, though I just wished more of their options could be made vegetarian if requested. But out of the ones we got to try, it was really tasty. The staff were extremely nice and accommodating, so this is a place that I would definitely come back to visit! read more

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We came in when it was supposedly happy hour time, but they made no mention of it. We ordered things that weren't on the happy hour menu anyways. As appetizers, we had the tum khaopoon and salmon bite. When we ordered the tum khaopoon, we thought it was a noodle soup dish. It's actually a spicy vermicelli salad, and "tum" means pounded. It ended up being my favorite dish. It's similar to the papaya salad that I enjoy, spicy and fishy. One pepper was enough without it being too spicy. The sauce in the salmon was sweet. Mee kati was recommended by our waitress. It's a coconut noodle with pork. The presentation was nice. The broth with ground pork came separately. You pour it over the noodles and vegetables. The meat pieces needed to be scooped out though. I liked the dish, but the noodles were clumped together. We were full at this point, but we also ordered the khao piak- a Lao chicken noodle soup. It was basic, but comforting. The service was friendly, but not well organized. We were still enjoying our appetizers when our entrees came out. I was confused when they gave us an eggplant dish. They accidentally gave us the food from the neighboring table. The waitress took it back and returned it back to the kitchen. Then I saw them give it to the table next to us a few minutes later. The spoon and fork was a little awkward for me to use for some of the dishes. Chopsticks would've worked better. Maybe I should've asked if they had any. Overall, it was nice to try out new dishes I haven't heard of before (tum khaopoon and mee kati). read more

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We are passing through looking for a bite to eat. Saw the great reviews thought we would give it a try. We ordered 5 items, one of it being that we have nuts allergy, we asked twice to be sure there's no nuts added to my son's pineapple fried rice, lawd behold there's cashew nuts all over. Good thing he didn't eat it, now we have to find him something else he would eat. I had to change my rating from a 1 star bcz the food is very delicious. Bad service for not being sensitive to people with allergies. I also did not get the two steam rice I paid for. I would recommend checking your order before leaving. I have to say as I stepped inside, the dinner smells like an old library, not very appetizing. And to my surprise the bathroom is very florally fresh and clean. read more

Hiso - Cashews nuts not supposed to be in it - Laotian Near Me - Sacramento, California