Since rediscovering this place two weeks ago, my wife and I have been here four times. We have tried different dishes every time and everything is excellent. We have tried all the other Thai restaurants in Nevada City and Grass Valley and none are remotely in the same league as this place. Granted, you won't see a lot of typical dishes you see at most Thai restaurants because this is Laos cuisine. It really fills the niche for something exotic which is not the strong suit in this area. All of the dishes come out looking beautiful and are clearly made with very fresh vegetables and other ingredients. The combinations of spices are wonderful. The dishes have fun names which make them even more enticing. The Drunken Noodles are especially awesome. The soups are amazing and will come in handy to keep us warm on these cold autumn and winter days. We love that shitake mushrooms are an option to include in any dish instead of meat or other veggies. The knock on this place by some is the service but we have had nothing short of perfect attention every time we've been here. The owner Panoy has an engaging, upbeat attitude which we really appreciate. We find ourselves craving this food on such a regular basis and feel really good about giving this place our business. read more

Definitely the best Asian food around, and, if you are looking for authentic Thai and Laos food, it doesn't get much more authentic than this without a plane ticket to southeast Asia! If they are busy, you might have a little bit more of a wait than a typical restaurant scenario, but it is well worth it! Their spring rolls are amazing, their soups are amazing (the Tom Yum is stellar if you're a hot-&-sour fan), the salad options on the Laotian cuisine menu are stellar, and they can whip up the best curry I've ever put into my mouth. You just don't get better than this. Period. Trust me. Atmosphere is much improved, without entirely losing it's status as a "dive", but it is clean; and the decor has much improved this last year! Granted, one waitress for the entire restaurant will give one a bit more time to look at your surroundings, but they always give you plenty of food when it comes. If you like spicy, they also will go above the basic no heat, medium, hot, or Thai hot. Order something with two, three, or four star heat and you will definitely keep warm, no matter how cold it is outside! Don't miss this gem of a Bistro in Grass Valley! read more

Put me on hold for ten minutes, hung up on me. I called back, they put me on hold again without speaking to me. I guess they don't want my business. read more

The food here is really really good. Prices might be a lil high for the area but it's truly worth it. Also be prepared to have a long dinner as there are few employees, family run. read more

First off, let me say that I find it mildly suspicious that there are only 4 reviews of this place and they are all 5 star reviews. How anyone could give this place 5 stars is beyond me. I've eaten here twice. If I ever ate here again (highly unlikely) it would only be takeout, as the service is so overwhelmingly bad that I left wondering if someone is trying to pull some kind of ponzi scheme where they get paid more money by causing the place to go under. Seriously, what's the deal? Both times I've eaten here the place was not busy. Both times I had to specifically ask for napkins and silverware, and the second time I had a 3 year old with me. I mean, generally the first thing that happens is you get some tableware and put in your drink order, but in this establishment, instead you sit there wondering if anyone cares that your there while they make small talk amongst themselves and try their best to scurry away from your table like mice without asking if everything is alright or if you need anything. Seriously, we had to actually go up to the counter for tableware and then set the table ourselves, because when the waiter ran off without a word we didn't know if they were coming back or not. Every other Thai restaurant I've ever been to has blown me away with there speedy service. It's almost uncanny. Not here. After waiting over 20 minutes for apps, I finally told them that spring rolls should not take that long to fry. Come on. So finally they came out. No spoon in the dipping sauce, or anywhere on the table for that matter. Which is just fine if you don't mind double dipping and sharing your germs with a 3 year old child with a developing immune system. I mean hell, who wouldn't? After a while, we got our soup as well. They bring out a fondu fountain looking thing which is unusual, but pretty cool. Then they leave the bowls stacked at the edge of the table with the spoons inside them, and the serving ladle tucked quietly away as well. We almost asked for another ladle, it was hidden so well. Now serve yo self foo! While eating the soup, one of the four entrees was served. Then no one visited our table again for 5 minutes. So much for etiquette. When the next two entrees came out the server was left with one in his hand asking, "what is this one?" Well gee numbnutz, I'm not quite sure. But I'm so freaking hungry from the hour wait that I'll take it. The food admittedly is delicious, but it's rare that I'm ever so compelled to tip poorly, and this was one of those places that I felt obligated to, just as a method of teaching them that they suck. The most effort that our waitress put in at our table was at the end of the meal when she went into an unprompted conversation about how she almost hit a deer on the highway. This, while other tables were getting their entrees and asking where their apps were. (The waiter actually walked away with their entrees! They had to call him back to say they want them while they're still hot!!!). Even one of our to go boxes had a rather large hole in it, but we got it anyway. A proper close to the evening. Simply unacceptable. If you want good food, order takeout and you'll be pleased. Don't come for dinner unless you've got 2+ hours to waste on feeling unwanted. 3 stars for takeout only. 1 star for dining service. read more

The best Laotian food you've ever had! Don't ask for Lao hot unless you're prepared to sweat and pant and most likely not be able to finish your meal (and I like spice). The coriander curry is absolutely ridiculous! It's the most flavorful curry I've ever experienced. The basil stir fry is excellent. Order anything on the menu with medium heat and you can't go wrong. The servings are small but the flavors are huge. The servers name is Panoy. She's the only one. Don't be fooled by the looks of this place, it's worth it. read more

Bad service. Arrived 30 minutes before closing to order takeout and the server/hostess was really rude. Not just us, she was rude to the people behind us as well and told them to hurry up and give their order before she changed her mind because the kitchen was closing in 15 minutes. Not a good way to treat a first time customer. Sorry you had a bad day but don't take it out on customers. Never coming back, I don't care if some people say the food is good. read more

I don't write reviews, but this restaurant warranted one. The young lady that waited on us was cold, unhappy and unenthusiastic. Her service was a zero. I ordered the dragon curry and it was a little cup of soup size bowl of a really watery curry with some cheap tough beef in it.. I thought it would be a meal because it was the same price as a meal. But it was not.. I then ordered the fresh spring rolls. Again... tiny portion... zero taste. So for $26 plus tax and tip, I got a cup of soup and three Tiny spring rolls... the spring rolls were the worst I've ever had. It looks like they bought a bag of the iceberg lettuce mix from Costco, stuffed it in a rice wrap and so little pork that I couldn't tell that there was meat In them. The pictures of the restaurant were also misleading that are posted in this website.. it creates the illusion of a nice place to eat. When you get there it's dirty and run down looking. When we sat down, we couldn't touch the table as it was so sticky and just literally filthy feeling. I could tell that our table had been wiped down with a dirty sticky rag rather than just changing out the dirty rag and actually cleaning the table... when I picked up my paper napkin, half of it was stuck to the table and you couldn't get it off. I eat out a lot and have never felt so ripped off after leaving a restaurant. Is appears that they are on their last leg and trying to cut corners in the quality of the food that they serve. Zero... Zero... Zero... read more

I love their food! It's my favorite restaurant around although I think they are overpriced and the service is generally pretty poor. I feel for them though because I know it's a family run business. if their prices were a little cheaper and the service was a little better I'd there more often. It's still the best thing food around in my opinion. read more

Darn! I hoped we had found a restaurant we would dine at more than twice in Grass Valley! :-( When I was a child, I remember chewing on a rubber band, the experience of which was almost identical to my trying to chew (and ending up not swallowing) the mung bean glass noodles in my Crystal Noodles entre which consisted of crystal noodles, mung bean sprouts, ten postage-sized pieces of tofu, eight 2 inch pieces of bamboo shoots, and a few pieces of Napa/Chinese cabbage. 50 cents worth of ingredients for $16.00. And my wife's Buddha Delights Stir Fry had a paltry portion (about 50 cents worth) of non-varied veggies (mostly broccoli) for $14.00. All this and you order cafeteria-style and no wait-service once the food is brought to your table. Darn! P.S. About 3 years ago I gave this restaurant a 4-star review on maps.google, saying, "Does the word "delicious" tell you enough? Can I "wrap" up this review now? :-)" read more

I'm tempted to go lower on my 4 stars because of service issues, but the food was so yummy I just can't do it. Bottom line: if you want to have a glass of wine with your meal, you'll have to buy it Utah-style in the wine bar - and bring cash, 'cause he doesn't take plastic (even though the restaurant does). It took awhile to get the server to come and get our orders, but it also looked like they were WAY short-staffed. And the booth was horribly uncomfortable - no lumbar support whatsoever. However -Tom Yum soup was delicious, the curry we ordered, stir-fry style, was awesome (sorry, can't remember the name of it), and the noodle dish was fantastic (again, can't remember the name of it). Maybe it's not as useful to write a review without the names of the dishes, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it appears that pretty much everything is really good, so go for it, LOL. This restaurant has been operating in this area for many years under different ownership/management, and it was one of several Thai restaurants in the community. When its leadership changed, it also changed focus toward Laotian food instead. Based on our experience last night, I'd say it was a welcome course change. We will definitely return - probably for take-out. read more

As another reviewer stated, the prices are on the high side. I would recommend coming for lunch to try and keep the cost down. The menu has quite the variety, with food you probably won't find anywhere else. Portions are decent sized and service was friendly and average speed. The outside of the place looks horrible and I was quite hesitant to try it because of this. Inside though is a very clean and pleasant atmosphere. We have stopped here often wanting to try it because it was just about the only restaurant around that we hadn't eaten at, but it has always been closed when we stopped by. Finally I did stop by for lunch one day and it happened to be open. I was not disappointed. Had the dragon curry and prince of noodles both were very good. read more

Panoy Bistro - Prince of Noodles - Laotian Near Me - Grass Valley, California

See all

This place is a gem! The food is authentic, and owned by poc. It's a must! You should support and enjoy the amazing food, order it spicy! It's so good. Be understanding they are short staffed and almost always busy. Be patient! Myself and other locals I know eat here at least once a week. They followed all Covid protocols and the staff is fully vaccinated. read more

My wife and I had dinner here last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was very tasty and fresh. The dishes are of high quality but it can be a bit pricey. Good- Rice puff appetizer with tamarind sauce. Could eat several plates of just this. Lao Crispy Rolls w/ chicken. Phun w/ chicken. Fun hands on experience and tasty lime sauce. Drunken Noodles w/ beef. Great flavors and presentation. We had medium heat and there are 5 levels (or more) above that. Could get dangerous! OK-Tom Kah. I liked the soup but the wife and I both found it a little on the bland side. Tom Yum or Kao Poon next time. Odd- They don't serve beer on the restaurant side but you can get it in the bar side. They don't take cards which is fine but then they have a very limited beer selection with no BeerLao or even Singha. I would highly recommend. http://panoybistro.com/ read more

My wife is Asian from Bali, she is a "foodie", she loves Panoy Bistro. In a small town like Grass Valley, when I see many of my wife' Asian's friends (from GV and NC) frequenting Panoy Bistro, that would be a clue that this is an awesome place to eat. Yes, Panoy Bistro is a "Mom and Pop" run place, actually "Mom and Daughter" so be patient (this is not fast food) and enjoy the home cooking. read more

The food was delicious and lots of unique offerings on the menu. A variety of curries to discover

Some of the best Lao food I have ever had. Incredible array of flavors and never disappoints. The wait times are a bit long at times but good things are worth waiting for I suppose. Friendly staff and incredible food. What else could you ask for? read more

Simply love it. Everything is so fresh and made to order and just tastes so good. It's kinda dark outside at night but don't get scared, the food is so worth it! Best Asian in town in my opinion. read more

So after 5-6 times eating here I feel the need to say this: some of the best lao food I've had and some of the worst, rudest service I've ever encountered after 15+ years of personally working in the service industry. The waitress who is always there( I assume she is a family member) has consistently been very short and rude, turns her back on us while asking questions or speaking with her and gets visibly angry when asked about a menu item. This place has great food and would benefit from having a more cheerful and helpful wait staff! Order to go if you want to try here!!!! read more

Definitely not your normal Thai food, this is I really different type of Thai food and it is delicious. Service can be a bit slow but much better than it was in the old days read more

Visiting the area when friends suggested this place for dinner even though they had never been there. 1st thing...don't be scared off by the outside appearance. It looks sketchy and almost resulted in our leaving. Glad we took the chance. The staff were excellent and attentive. I'm a pretty conservative eater but decide to just go with it. I can not say enough about the food. Between the 4 of our group we each had a different dish....from a fish based dish, to a stir fry one, to a noodle based one, and my spicy beef dish. We loved them all. I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Yummy yummy yummy I've got love in my tummy for Panoy Bistro! Fantastically delicious food, a fun place for a family dinner outing, lovely service. Try the subtle but oh so yasty Serenity Soup. What a fantastic foodie spot in Grass Valley! read more

The pictures and menu really had us wanting to travel 30 miles to enjoy this restaurant. We had a hard time finding it because there was no address/signage at the location. Once we determined where it was, we were not impressed with the shabby exterior with the multicolored roofing. We were less impressed with the multi leveled flooring which was difficult to walk on or the strange irregular bathrooms. The Tom Kah soup was prepared with mushrooms that should have been put in yesterday's trash--they were grossly slimy. The lemon honey chicken, for $18, had three tiny pieces of chicken (less than 3 oz) -- not what is shown in the pictures. The pork lettuce wraps had four lettuce leaves and less than 1/4 cup meat. While everything, except the mushrooms, were nice and fresh, there was absolutely no value for the money spent AND after spending over $50, we were still hungry! read more

I have been coming here every Wednesday with a group of co-workers for 13 years. The food is great and very authenic.Jungle Prince and Drunken noodles are two of our favorites.Parisa is our favorite waitress anywhere in Grass Valley.Love this place !!! read more

Exquisitely seasoned and prepared food made from ingredients that seem a step above many restaurants in freshness and quality. Good options for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. Truly one of the very best restaurants in this region and not to me missed. read more

Great food, bad service. We ordered the spring rolls, and they delivered fried spring rolls, or egg rolls, to our table. Not that we were really complaining, but it wasn't exactly what we had expected to receive. Additionally, we had the Crying Tiger Noodles (with chicken) and Ginger Curry (with tofu). I would highly recommend the curry! It had excellent flavor. In regard to the service, our waitress was not friendly - she did not say hello, thank you, or goodbye. She constantly seemed like she was in a hurry and made us feel uncomfortable to rush out of the restaurant. Also - the parking is a bit tight - we had to drive around the building in order to find a spot. Overall, the quality of the food was enjoyable, but the atmosphere needs some work. read more

The food tasted pretty good, and the staff was very helpful and friendly, however, I got sick within a few hours after eating here. I ordered take-out during COVID, so I cannot speak to the cleanliness of the interior; I see other reviewers mentioning the restaurant wasn't very clean when they went inside. All I know is I started throwing up about 6 hours after I ate here, and still do not feel well 24 hours later. Maybe it's just a coincidence? read more

I love Thai. I eat at every Thai restaurant I can find. So I was excited to find one in Grass Valley. I usually judge a good Thai by my three favorite dishes: Tom Kha, panaeng, and pad Thai. I ordered the Tom Kha soup and it had no flavor. No lovely hint of lemongrass and onions. Totally bland. The panaeng was delicious. Shrimp cooked perfectly. Totally recommend. And instead of pad Thai, we had a rice paper roll appetizer that was also very tasty. The grilled pork with 3 sauces was also good. But I will never go to this place again. First of all, two lunch time entrees, soup for two and one appetizer (no drinks) should not cost $80. Really? But the real reason I will not go back is how filthy the place was. Floor filthy. Baseboards filthy. Carpet frayed and held down with 20 year old pieces of duck tape. Rugs that have obviously never been washed since they are also taped down and have been for years. Sorry chef. Your food was good but I cannot ever eat in that filth again. Only reason I gave 2 stars instead of one was the panaeng. read more

My son came up from Davis and I raved about this place (previously Panoy Thai) being a hole in the wall but with the best prices and Thai food -WRONG!! Since I hadn't been for a while, I didn't know they had redecorated or that the sweet lil' old man's daughter had taken it over and raised the prices. Still expecting quality food, we ordered. Although our waiter was very attentive, filling our water glasses many times, it took FOREVER - longer than the lil' ol' man did working by himself. The Tom Kar came and while we were eating it, my son thought he found a bug - which I dismissed as seasoning. When he found another, he squished the weavel-type bug, and showed our waiter, asking for the check. The waiter promptly said, "No charge" and we headed over for the Thai restaurant (Sopa Thai) in Nevada City where it's consistently wonderful but I thought pricier. I was mistaken because the prices were better on most things. Panoy Bistro has to step up their game to compete... read more

EAT HERE!!! This place is great! I would have given it 5 stars, but the exterior could use a little help. I lived in Southeast Asia for many years, first I was pleasantly surprised to see this place wasn't Thai, but actually Laotian, these flavors are distinctly different and Panoy nails it! The food is fresh and well prepared, the small family staff is friendly, one reviewer found the staff to be slow, please remember in their culture, food is very important and takes time to prepare and eat! This place reminded me of living in Cambodia!! And while they don't have a bar, I was thrilled to find that I could bring in my own bottle of wine for a modest($4!) corkage fee I was given 4 glasses! I love this!! Not pretentious!! The parking lot was full when we left!! Please support this new place God knows we need all the good food we can get in this town!!! read more

Excellent! Food was great tasting and fresh. Lots of menu choices (maybe too much). Spring roll were a tint but too heavy on the dough side. Wonderful ambiance! read more

What happened to all of the old reviews for Panoy Thai? I guess that when they changed the name to Panoy Bistro, everyone must have assumed that the old place went out of business and the old reviews were erased. Not so. Panoy Bistro is a blend of the old and new. The new menu emphasizes Laotian food, but if you hunt around you will find most of your old favorites from the old Panoy Thai still on the menu. There is NO alcohol served here.. There is a small bar "next door" where you can can get beer or wine and bring it back to your table, but this is a separate business. Not sure if you can bring your own, but I don't know why not. The place is still a dive from outside, but they have done a great job cleaning up the interior and exterior of the building to make it look respectable. Even the old broken down van that was in the parking lot for years is gone. The food is just as yummy as before they changed the name, Same cook, same waitress, same everything. Just a new name and a revamped menu. AND they finally take credit cards after many years of cash only. Only thing is they have a $15 minimum on plastic. My favorite Thai, oops, Laotian food in Northern California. read more

I want to like this place, and some of the dishes are tasty, but I had a very upset belly after eating take out there last night. Got a golden curry and a peanut tofu dish, neither of which should have totaled $40, but did. I won't be back. A quick look at the overall cleanliness of the kitchen, floors and tables confirmed what I have learned the hard way. I would say more, but I must run to the bathroom again... read more

Two stars for the food being pretty tasty. Service was poor but the server can't help it if the kitchen sends out four dishes to one table each spaced three to five minutes apart. I was half finished with my dinner before hubby got his and I waited a while to even begin eating! The only reason I did was because hubby insisted I eat before the food got cold (and it would have fast -it was maybe sixty degrees in the dining room). I am unlikely to return. read more

The food was quite delicious, pricey yes, but very tasty. The service was just awful, rude waitress who acted annoyed with everything we asked for. Not personable or friendly in the least. I really don't think she cares though- we enjoyed the food but not the experience, only waitress there so be warned. read more

The food is delicious with a lot more flavor than many other Asian restaurants in the area. The prices are reasonable and take out is available and fast. As a vegetarian, I often have concern about fish sauce and animal ingredients in Asian food, but Panoy reassured us that she too is vegetarian and would be serving us vegetarian food (though meat options are, of course, available). I will definitely return! read more

The food here is excellent. However, the interior of the restaurant is not clean. It is clearly a fairly old building but there should be a standard of cleanliness that is adhered to. It does make you wonder if the food is prepared with the required health concerns. read more

We finally tried Panoy Bistro! After driving by Panoy Thai for a few years and never dropping in, I read that they had converted to Lao cuisine. Since we ordered take out we did not have any service issues. I can understand why patience would be needed during busy times: there are only two people working there. If we dine in we would choose an "off time". We ordered their version of larb (similar to Thai larb), drunk noodles (different from Thai) and a coriander curry. All very good! If you're not looking for fast food, you will be rewarded. read more

Amazing food! A hidden wonder! This is my favorite restaurant! Fresh and authentic! And the sauces!

I was browsing the net looking for Lao restaurant in Northern CA area and came across the only Lao restaurant in the region, Panoy Bistro. I would definitely be visiting this unique restaurant in the near future. I am very impressed with their menu, totally authentic food from Laos. read more