I took two friends here to celebrate their birthdays. One of whom loves their stuffed chicken wings. I tried the lettuce wrap and it was delicious and there was enough food to bring home leftovers. We each ordered drinks and all were superb. Service was great and we will definitely return! read more

Great food. I love their soup and the portion sizes of their dishes are always appreciated read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

Everyone was so kind! Very nice ambiance as well. Great service and the food was delicious - would recommend!! read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Pinneaple 28. Mango Curry!! - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Authenticity is 10/10 here. Went here based on a secondary recommendation. I gobbled up my entire delicious papaya salad. I was with two other people, they were meh on their dishes. My friend actually did not like hers, she enjoys Thai food a lot. Quaint, no frills interior. Modest and authentic feel. It was an experience to see people order something and serve themselves out of the silver communal bowl. Oh and my sticky rice came in a little wicker basket tehehe They said they got a new system and could not offer separate checks. read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Papaya salad with fried tofu - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

The food is incredible and our server was great! This is one of my favorite spots in town.

I love their food! The first few times I went I always got the mango curry this time I got something different which was just as savory. They moved to a different location which seems more spacious and brighter. Their service was great. We went during a busy time but we got our food I a timely manner. Highly recommend! I'd definitely come back!!! They have vegetarian options! read more

See all

Stopped in a weeknight and it was pretty much empty besides another couple. Greeted and sat wherever. Didn't take long to put in our order of beef laab, thom som, and stuffed wings. Two of three dish came with sticky rice and also got one small regular rice. Beef laab ordered native spicy and it did not disappoint! Flavor and spicy level was all on par, could be more spicy. The sticky rice and lettuce wrap added the extra touch. Thom som was good and spicy. Wish it was definitely Lao style, missing the padek but understandable because it's an acquired taste and smell. Stuffed wings was kind of a two-in-one, got the stuffed wings on top of their 'peanut' sauce with a curry base. The broccoli was a nice presentation. The stuffed wing itself was fried so some of the chicken was dry but if you dipped in the sauce it help. Wish the wings were baked, that would've made it more juicer. Overall I'd go back and try other things but definitely would repeat this order anytime. read more

See all

This was our first dinner in Madison and it really set a high bar on what we expected for the rest of our meals during our visit. This Laotian cuisine was appealing and intriguing and seemingly draws influence from other Southeast Asian cuisines such as Thai and Vietnamese. Our group of 14 tried several items: Thai iced tea, vegetarian egg roll, chicken satay, pork tenderloin satay, drunken noodles with beef, Lao Laan-Xang fried rice with combination meat, three mushrooms with tofu, spicy peanut curry with mock duck, stuffed chicken wings, stuffed pork tenderloin, and sweet sticky rice with mango. We thoroughly enjoyed every item but there were a few that particularly stood out. The stuffed chicken wings had vermicelli and pork tenderloin had a blend of herbs and spices. Both were excellently executed and a must-try. Keep in mind that both of these require more time to prepare. We have four young children with minimal patience. Therefore I placed an order for both items while we browsed the rest of the menu. The drunken noodle was a huge hit for us. It is similar to the Thai version except I think this does not have the fish sauce and therefore not having that sour, tangy flavor. The sweet sticky rice with fresh mango was their only dessert for the evening and we ordered three bowls to share. My husband and I are generally not big fans of coconut however we made the exception for this. The coconut was not overwhelming and instead well complimented with the mango, sesame, and sticky rice. Not sure what kind of sticky rice they used but it is very different from the white ones that we usually have. Parking was a bit difficult and we had three cars. We had to circle around the blocks a few times. The staff was helpful and told us there is street parking across the street, parking behind the restaurant, and parking at United Way after 5 PM. read more

See all

Some of my favorite Thai food in Madison! It's located in a cozy space in the heart of the Atwood neighborhood. A comfortable space with nice big windows. Parking can be challenging. There is no parking lot and limited parking options. I found street parking a few blocks away. We started off with the tofu spring rolls. So fresh and their peanut sauce is amazing! We then shared 2 entrees for 2 people, the pad thai with tofu and their peanut curry. The peanut curry is my favorite! Excellent flavor with fresh veggies and perfectly cooked tofu. The pad thai was great as well. They do only bring out a very small bowl of rice for the curry but they will refill it. Overall, great portions. The staff was friendly but the service was slow. This is a great place for take out so I'm sure especially on a Friday night there were many take out orders to manage on top of the service in the restaurant. A great spot if you're not in a rush. read more

See all

I dined in on a Saturday evening. The place was not full. I was able to find street parking close by without difficulty. Lao laan xang fried rice was my entree item. I went for Lao spicy level. I liked it at that spice level. It was a fried rice with a lot of stuff - chicken, beef, pineapple, cashew and shrimp mixed in. Crunchiness of the cashew as good. Pineapple gave a much needed sweetness. read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Lao laan xang fried rice - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I ordered the shrimp noodle salad. Unfortunately not a lot of flavor, needed a sauce or rub. Shrimp were good size and cooked properly read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Shrimp salad - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Never had Laotian but it was delicious. I picked something at random and really enjoyed it. Good service and fast kitchen on a weekday night. They have 4 levels of spiciness. I'm a boastful eater of spicy things, but, not knowing Laotian spicy-ness at all, I swallowed my pride and ordered the least spicy level - 'timid'. Which turned out to be plenty of heat for me. read more

I highly recommend Lao Laan-Xang. The mango curry with catfish here is my favorite meal in Madison. Absolutely phenomenal. Lao Laan-Xang is excellent for both takeout and dining in, as the restaurant has a nice cozy ambiance. I'm picky when it comes to Thai iced tea, but I love theirs. The crab Rangoon and mango sticky rice are also delicious! read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

My wife had been here for lunch a few months ago and wanted to return for dinner. We arrived at around 7pm on a summer Friday to find the dining room almost empty - maybe a quarter of the tables were occupied at best. The staff was prompt at greeting us and in taking our order. I got a Sinha beer which was delivered quickly as was the appetizer of fresh spring rolls which were indeed very fresh, large and tasty. After that quick service everything ground to a halt. Despite the small crowd and just a few take-out orders our main courses did not come out for almost 40 minutes. I know places are still short on help but really? We finally inquired what was going on. When our food did arrive it was OK. I got the red curry, a big serving with good spice but nothing special. My wife did like her drunken noodle dish. When we were paying the waitress delivered a complimentary sticky rice with mango dessert to make up for the long wait. The gesture was much appreciated. We decided that the dessert was better than either entree we had. I won't be rushing back... read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Lunch menu - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

Called and finished placing a to go order at 5:48PM yesterday. Was told it would be ready in 45 minutes. Showed up at 6:30. Restaurant was packed got to the front and was told our order would be ready until 7:30. I said I was told 45 minutes when I called. They said they'll start making it now and it would be ready shortly. Never once was a mistake admitted. No apology. I asked if one of our apps could be comped and I was looked at like I had issued an insult. Our food was not close to being ready when promised, a comped app should be the least that could have been done. Won't be back here for Thai food. Will find other spots around Madison solely based on the poor customer service. read more

Love this place! Great food and service. Lots of gluten free options! Always a fun place to eat!!

I love this place! The food is outstanding, the atmosphere is great. The crab rangoons are some of the best in Madison!!! So crispy and delicious. I really enjoyed the drunken noodles, however, they are better from the Willy St. location. These were still good, just not outstanding! I would definitely come back. Parking is limited in the neighborhood, but typically some street parking nearby. read more

See all

Personally, 6 out of 5. I'm japanese and this is a great asian selection. Nice small restaurant. I did take out and got chicken larp and tom yum soup. The soup was good, it had mushrooms and tofu. The larp was amazing! It was like Japanese lettuce wrap, it had minced chicken with spices and vegetables. I thought the cucumber was thinly sliced but they were big rounds. You can wrap the minced meat mix with lettuce and sticky rice. Sooooo delicious. read more

Lao Laan-Xang - Cash register - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

5/5 restaurant for asian food by madison standards! my friends and i came here as a group of 4 on a friday night and there was no wait at all. the interior was cute and nicely decorated. service was prompt and we got everything we needed quickly. for food, i ordered the khua mee and my friend got the papaya salad. i'm not sure if this was a laotian specific papaya salad but it tasted very similar to the thai version. i enjoyed the khua mee but it wasn't as satisfying with the tofu imo. i probably should've gotten the chicken. it reminded me a lot of how a pad thai would taste. another thing to note is that the level 4 spice isn't that crazy so i would go higher on the spice level if you're able to. overall pretty yummy spot for laotian/thai food (and is better than other asian restaurants I've had in madison thus far)! read more

Lao Laan-Xang - a plate of noodles and a bowl of rice - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

I discovered this place when I drove by it to get a haircut nearby and decided to try it the next night. I was really curious about Laotian cuisine because I am a big fan of Thai food. Although they are different cuisines, they basically share a lot of the same style dishes but with different interpretations and sometimes slightly different ingredients. It was my first time trying Laotian cuisine and I was definitely impressed. The chicken satay was absolutely amazing and honestly the best one I have had here in the Madison-area. My go-tos at this restaurant are the pineapple curry and the spicy peanut curry. They also have pretty good mixed drinks with a Laotian twist. Highly recommend this place! read more

Lao Laan-Xang - # 4A Grilled Chicken Satay - Thai Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

See all

This time I was kind of upset. The service was great although the curry was tasteless and watery. On a decent note they re made it and it tasted better. The spring rolls are always great as well as the egg rolls. There Portion size dropped tremendously with the price going up. The place was nice and clean I always love the elephant decor. It seems the cook is not the same cook as before. Maybe they need someone with a bit more experience! Overall the meal was fixed I was ok with that. It was just very expensive. $98.00 for 2 people. read more

Great food and service! I've had dinner at the restaurant, nice atmosphere, and takeout. Both great experiences with very good food. Love the spicy dishes! read more

Khao phuun is a savory rice noodle dish with a wonderfully rich curry. The mint and cilantro give it a freshness that prevents it from being too earthy. Squash curry is a big hitter - not overly sweet, but you'll still want to bathe in that coconut milk curry. The atmosphere is pretty cool, and it's good for an impromptu date night when a storm knocks out your power for 24 hours. read more

I'm a big believer in family-style and Lao Laan-Xang is the perfect place for that! I came with a group of 4 and we ordered a variety of dishes ranging from vegetarian to chicken to noodles, and of course dessert! On a Friday night dinner, street parking was scarce and the place was crowded, but the waiters worked hard to turn tables quickly, so we were seated after about 15 minutes or so. All the entrees has plenty of veggies and they were big pieces high I loved! Lighter in flavor but that's probably better for my sodium intake. More deets: Squash curry -- solid choice, lots of squash chunks! The curry was creamy, on the lighter side, and not salty. I liked having larger chunks of veggies and tofu as well. Cashew Chicken -- Similar to the curry, there are large chunks of veggies - squash, tomatoes, onions, snap peas, etc. The sauce resembles more of a thinner sweet and sour which was the surprise for me. Flat noodles (veggie) - they seemed to be pan fried a little which gave it a nice texture! Lots veggies, yum. Chicken Laab - not my favorite laab in town but the herbs were there! It was a little too citrusy for me, but I appreciated it was served traditionally with sticky rice! Last, but not least -- Mango sticky rice dessert - so delicious!!! The mango is a little more on the tart side which balances out the sticky rice perfectly. The rice is ooey, sweet, and warm when served. Delicious is every bite. We were all a huge fan of this dish! For drinks -- they tend to make on the very sweet and stronger side. I liked the mulled wine someone in my group got. Mine tasted too close to a very spiked mountain dew. read more

We had pretty good service during our visit, they were attentive to our big party and food came out quick BUT The food left us very unimpressed. The som tum smelled soooo good but lacked flavor, the drunken noodles had barely any noodles and lacked flavor despite being doused in sauce (probably the biggest disappointment, if you're a SE Asian restaurant, it should be a staple dish), and everything else was mediocre. I don't think I'll ever come back. read more

I ended up here upon my friends recommendation. I got the feeling from their review that this place is mistaken for Thai cuisine where actually this is Laotian. Inside it is quiet an ambience, reflects the traditional vibe in most senses. The dine in area is not very spacious, at a first glance it looks but crowded. They have a bar too with limited seating. From the menu it looks like they've got variety within he alcohol section. I went there little late after noon for lunch and It seemed to be busy even then. I've order shrimp spring rolls and chicken satay for appetizers. I liked the spring roll although I hardly could tase any shrimp in it. Chicken satay is good too, not too much turmeric just the right amount as how I like it. For entree I had Khua Pet Kee Nu and my friends got house special fried rice and mock duck curry. I really enjoyed the taste of Khua Pet, the sauce especially. It's made with 4 different kinds of mushroom and mushroom tasted tender and flavorful. I didn't like the house specials fried rice, for some reason it didn't really Stan dour as special. I did enjoy the mock duck curry as well. It's a good protein option for vegetarians. I'd give a a decent four star for food but one thing I didn't like is how they serve the customers. I understand during the rush hours you'd be busy running around but the lady who served our plates literally threw them in front of us and just left. She was not the one who took our order but for some reason she served our plates. Not so good experience with the service will always make me double think to go back even when the food is good. read more

See all

I've never had Laotian food, at least not to my knowledge. I really enjoyed my meal here. I ordered a Thai Iced Tea, of course. It's hard to go wrong with that. It was only $2.50. We started with the Fresh Spring Roll with Lao sausage. I liked the spring rolls. They seemed pretty standard. I'm not sure how to describe the sausage. It was good though. For my entree, I got the Phra Lam Durn Don with beef. It's a stir-fry kind of dish with a sweet peanut sauce on top. I got the "Careful" spicy level. I really liked the peanut sauce. I think it did get a bit watery at the bottom of the dish though - probably from cooking the zucchini and mushrooms. I did think maybe they got a little lazy with cutting the zucchini because I had a few giant pieces. I'm curious to see what the other location is like. This one was quite busy on a Thursday night! read more

Got the squash curry and stuffed chicken wings. The stuffed chicken wings are amazing!

What a great experience. Food was very good and very flavorful. Restaurant was very clean and pleasant. Wait staff was very attentive. Very special, memorable experience. read more

I'm surprised with the low rating. We have eaten here for years and it's great. I always get the squash curry and it's delish. Check it out! We'll be ordering it for tonight's dinner! read more

One of my favorite restaurants in Madison for Lao food! Good pricing $5 - $17 and portions are hefty; 2 people can share a dish (for me). Love the spice level options (always do 4 and its spicy). There are two locations. They generally take 40 mins on my orders -- plan for it accordingly. read more

Wow, this place was so good! I've been living in and out of Madison for 9 years now, but I've only recently eaten here and don't know how I've missed out. I thought we received pretty good service during prime dinnertime, and would recommend eating family style here so you can get a taste of all their different dishes. My favorite had to be their mixed vegetable curry made with tofu -- loved all the butternut squash in it -- and second would have to be their chicken larp. We also had their khua sa eiu and honey chicken with cashews. The chicken was unexpected since we thought stir-fried meant it would be coated and crispy. Instead it was a dish with a broth-like sauce, but it was still tasty. For the drinks, we each got a house cocktail. My friend really enjoyed her ginger rum hot toddy, but our other drinks could have used more ingredients to cut through the strong alcohol. We finished alllll that food plus dessert. For dessert, you have to have the mango sticky rice! It's made perfectly! read more

Got take out. Food was alright nothing that'll tickle your fancy and was missing part of our order.

Let me begin that we really wanted to like this place. My husband had lunch here in the past and liked what he had, so a few weeks ago we decided to try it for dinner. We were pleasantly surprised that we we arrived there was only a short wait given that the dining room was full; however, our pleasant surprise and our wait got much much longer. We were given menus when we sat down, but it took a bit to get our orders in. There was a large table next to us, but I'm not sure that was the hold-up. Once we ordered Chicken Satay as an appetizer, as well as Cashew Chicken and Ginger Chicken for our main courses. And then the wait began. Our Chicken Satay came out after about 20 minutes or so. It was a bit longer than we thought we'd have to wait for an appetizer, though, in this case the wait was worth it. The chicken was grilled and hot and tasty. The accompanying Satay sauce was fine, though nothing special. That is to say, it was very bland and a tich oily. But as I say above, the chicken was very good. And then we waited more. Our server came to check on us maybe twice. Once to say our dinners would be coming up (and they did not) and then another time to say she didn't know what happened to them. I think we waited at least an hour to get our dinners. An hour. Others around us were served--except the table next to us. They were a largish party of three or four adults and two children. God bless those parents that kept those kids well occupied. When food finally did arrive, we only got one dish at first--the Cashew Chicken. It was not super hot in terms of temperature, and again it was very bland. To be fair, I did order it as "mild"; however, one can still have spice without having heat. About five or ten minutes later my husband got his Ginger Chicken, but sans the chicken. He sent it back and he did get the dish with chicken more quickly than he imagined. Still, it was also rather bland. I can't really say more about the dishes as we ate what was in front of us because we were starved, but when we had enough, we both left a good bit on our plates as it just wasn't very good. Our server did take a percentage off so that the appetizer was essentially free and maybe half off of one of the main courses. We appreciated that given the long wait and forgetting the chicken. Still the kitchen needs to work on a lot before we'll return again. read more

Fantastic spot! We often get delivery from here, but the in person experience is even better. My go to is the pineapple curry, and it was excellent as usual. Our server Colin refilled our water frequently and with finesse. The vibes were immaculate and the bathroom was nice and clean. They tried to bring us crab rangoon which we didn't order but it was funny so all good! Me and my companions found the meal to be (in their words) suberb, stellar, and mind-blowingly good. One of the premier restaurant destinations in the Madison area! read more

We love Lao Laan-Xang at their Williamson Street location, so I was excited to try their Atwood location. I'm happy to report the food was just as good! I'm not sure if there were differences in the menus themselves, but they seemed quite similar. Everything we ate was fresh with lots of complimentary flavors and textures. We enjoyed the pork egg-rolls and spicy sausage. The beef salad was spicy and amazing. The larp was outstanding. Like most southeast Asian food, the flavors were a mix of sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and everything was fresh. For either location, the food at Lao Laan-Xang seems to be spot-on. The main difference was in the atmosphere and the service. While the Williamson location has a quirky, I'm eating at my Lao neighbor's house feel, the Atwood location has a professional restaurant feel. It also has a more complete bar w/specialty cocktails. It's more formal and a place you would feel comfortable taking business associates while the Williamson Street location I would save for friends and family. The service also varies in that at the Williamson Location we have been served by both a waitress and the cook. It feels more informal. At the Atwood location the wait staff felt more experienced and more of a typical restaurant visit rather than visiting someone at their home. Either way, Lao Laan-Xang is a winner in my book an definitely worth visiting. read more

This place is A-OK. We waited a few minutes for a table and they got us in as quickly as they could. 4 of us ordered different entrees and all tried each other's. Everything was good but nothing exceptional. The Thai food scene is fierce and competitive in Madison, and I feel like Lao Laan-Xang falls in the middle of them. It was good and I would go back but was nothing special. read more

Great, authentic Laotian food. Pleasing atmosphere. Friendly service.

The thai iced tea here is amazing, and their squash curry is my go-to, delicious every single time Love going here for a special date night read more

I always get the squash curry because I love squash and it's not easy to find at restaurants. This has consistently been my favorite Asian restaurant in Madison all the years we have lived here. We hosted a Thai exchange student a few years ago and took her to all the Thai, Laotian and any other southeast Asian restaurants that were in Madison during the 10 months she was here. This was by far her favorite restaurant as well. She really missed the traditional spicy salad she would eat in Thailand and really liked their version of this dish. Their crab rangoon is THE BEST you will eat anywhere. Hands down. Yes, I know that rangs did not originate in Asia (I've heard they were originally introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair), but I love Lao's version of them. read more