Food was very unique here and I enjoyed everything that was recommended. On Wednesday nights they make a burger which is about 20 bucks (maybe a little expensive at first glance) however it is very unique and cooked with a Lao twist that makes a flavor profile you're not gonna find anywhere else. Highly recommend. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Very kind staff and chill vibe.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Would come back again. read more

Wanted to try some SE Asian grub after a day at the Zoo, and Soul Lao popped up. Menu was simple snd to point. Lots of classics but with their twist. Kitchen and cashier were extremely friendly and hospitable. Ordered - Crispy Pork Belly (4.5/5). Probably my favorite dish. It can stand on its own, was very favorable, crunchy and had a good meat to fat ratio leaving you wanting more - Duck Noodles (4/5). Flavor profile was a good balance of sweet and salty. Good but nothing memorable - OG Wings (4.5/5). Always fun to see other places try this dish. Last few years the rise of fish sauce coated wings has been a hit which is awesome since my mom's been doing it for decades. Packed a 1,2 punch. A bit salty so make sure you chase it with rice Food was by in large great and if you're expecting fusion then this is what you will find. Price is a bit steep ($25 roughly per dish) so you be checking your Apple location to figure out why you're paying NYC prices in MN ha :) read more

Soul Lao - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

10/10. Cannot praise this food enough. Went last night as a friend and I have been meaning to go for some time, and this place surpassed expectations. Counter service was speedy, but super friendly and helpful just the same with explaining the different sauces and breakdowns of their cookery per each item asked about! Turnaround on the food took a second, but it was worth every minute! We ordered the fried chicken sandwich and the pork belly, and the chicken sandwich in particular blew me away. Cooked to absolute perfection, internally and externally seasoned masterfully, juicy and tender, crispy and crunchy, and served on a potato roll with kewpie and excellent pickled veg. Bar none, the best chicken sandwich I have ever had. The pork belly was excellent as well. Well seasoned, juicy, and with a satisfying crunch to the skin, it was served with the very best heirloom tomato habanero sauce. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Obviously, the place was a lunch counter small kitchen operation, so you cant hold the ambience against them.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Being next to Wandering Leaf Brewing easily countered this, and gave us a welcoming cozy space to enjoy our food from next door (not to mention a sticky rice lager to wash it down perfectly). read more

Our Friday evening experience at Soul Lao did not disappoint! Had always wanted to try their food truck and was determined to get there now that they have a brick and mortar spot! We were graciously greeted upon entering and offered complimentary shrimp chips as soon as we seated ourselves. We ordered the egg rolls, OG wings, crispy rice salad, and grilled short ribs! We enjoyed it all! especially enjoyed the egg rolls and accompanying sauce, the crispy rice was full of herbs and Lao sausage and the OG wings are crispy, well done and come off the bone easily! (might be considered a bit salty for others due to fish sauce) but not for me! The short ribs were also good - just wished they had more grilled/craggy texture since they said "charcoal grilled" but they were very tender! The sticky rice and tomato jeow that came with the ribs was also very good if you can handle the spice of the jeow The lager was given "on the house" and is super light and complimented our meal perfectly. The standout here was definitely the service and hospitality! This is a family owned restaurant and it was obvious they take tremendous pride in serving you their modern take on traditional Lao dishes! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant is small and informal but all around pleasant and delicious![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Will be back! read more

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Amazing wings. Good customer service. Easy to get the food at the brewery next door. I need more characters.

The wings were great!! The burgers were very good too! Unique flavor, it sort of tasted like Frosted Flakes?! lol Service was awesome! Very nice and quick. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I ate at the wondering leaf brewery, which is always a fun vibe!! Especially on the weekend![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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Looking for the best wings in the Twin Cities? They're at Soul Lao. They OG Wings are crispy, garlicky, and so so savory. There's nothing better. The Sen Mae Yai is also a gem if you are intrigued by a pancake sized noodle! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The space inside for eating is pretty small, but you can order your food to go and take it to Wandering Leaf Brewery next door.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The staff are so friendly and do a great job explaining the various dishes and offering recommendations for sauce pairings. They even brought us some shrimp chips to snack on while we waited for our order. read more

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So delicious! [[HIGHLIGHT]]The inside was small but comfortable.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] My husband and I split 3 items (2 starters, 1 wok item) which ended up being the perfect portion to share. I loved the crispy rice appetizer with the lettuce wraps, it was really good. The fish sauce that came with the spring rolls had a great flavor. Service was nice and fast. Will definitely be back! read more

Soul Lao - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

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[[HIGHLIGHT]]Great spot next to Wandering Leaf.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We had the crispy pork belly with rice and the OG chicken wings. Some of the best wings of my life. Full moppo style wings with a sweet fish sauce. Will certainly have again! read more

Outstanding food and service. The duck noodles, rice salad and pork belly were BEYOND flavorful. Fresh, fresh, fresh. Someone put some real thought and effort into these flavors and the timing of making perfect pork belly. A massive gem for MN. Can't wait to return to try more dishes!!! read more

Some of the BEST wings and spring rolls in MN. Small family owned spot next to a great brewery. Show some love, grab a bite and a few drinks. You will not be disappointed. read more

Was on the hunt for some Lao food while visiting MSP. After reading the reviews, we made our way here. Upon arrival, they were out of Lao sausages, which I was so excited to try. Decided to order the pork belly, and it was also out. They recommend trying their Lao-style short ribs so we went with that and also ordered their Naem Khao dish. They were friendly and helpful here and more of a cute takeout place than a sit down spot. The Lao-style short ribs were good. The fish sauce flavor was coming through, but not strongly, just enough to heighten the umami level a few notches. I would recommend this for anyone to order if the Lao sausage and Pork Belly menu items are out. I was a little undecided if I liked their version of Naem Khao or not. Could be just preference on my end, however, it seemed to be missing cilantro and peanuts in the actual rice mix. Yes, there was cilantro as a garnish, but none in the mix. I wouldn't have been mad if they added mint also. My guess would be that they are probably trying to be more in line, flavor wise, with the demographic of the city. It was still good, but missing a few flavor profiles that go hand in hand with this dish. Still would recommend if you're here. read more

Soul Lao - Naem Khao - crispy rice salad - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Seriously, so good! We grabbed food to go while we were hanging out at Wandering Leaf Brewery and were very impressed. The wings were crispy to perfection and so flavorful--even the cucumbers that come with the wings were delicious. You can't go wrong with the egg rolls; they were very good as well. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant was small, but they do have a few tables if you want to eat there.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The customer service was amazing, and we'll definitely be back to try more food. read more

Soul Lao - Egg Rolls - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

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[[HIGHLIGHT]]Fantastic service and cute little space and plenty of parking.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] My partner got the KMG sandwich and I got the egg rolls and the khao mun ghai tod. The chicken in the sand which and the rice dish were a little too salty for my liking, so I had to tone them down a little with the rice and some of the sauce to balance it out. The rice was really well flavored and the egg rolls were delicious. I would give it another go to see how the other dishes on the menu are. read more

Soul Lao - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

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[[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambience was small yet eclectic.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Service was quick and accommodating. And the food. The food was fun to explore. I went with a friend. And I was impressed especially by the O.G. Wings, Egg Rolls, and the Lao Smash Burger. The Crispy Rice wasn't a particular favorite of mine yet I found I'm not a fan of crispy rice, yet the flavors were there in every dish and the sauces that came with them. read more

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This restaurant is a new gem of Saint Paul! If anyone asks me what my favorite wings are in the Twin Cities I will say Soul Lao! I would recommend everything we ate, including the the egg rolls, duck fried rice, and Sen Mae Yai "Big Mama Noodle". read more

Great takeout Asian food right next to Wandering Leaf Brewery. Highly recommend ordering food from here and bring next door for cold beer! The soul Lao smashburger and KFC chicken sandwich were both 10/10. read more

Soul Lao - Smashburger and wings. Awesome!! - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Heard about this place from numerous posts via Instagram and Facebook, so I had to try! It was definitely worth the hype! First off, plenty of parking as it's located in a strip mall, so you'll be all good there. Upon my arrival, I was greeted quickly, kindly, and told my food would take 15-20 mins to complete. I was told the brewery next door would allow me to bring my food in and to have a beer as I waited. I thought that was a great addition to the experience! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Side note, the Wandering Leaf Brewing Company was fantastic and beautiful inside![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] My food was completed on time and it was delicious! I ordered some crispy rice w/pork, egg rolls, and my gf got their wings, and mango sticky rice. Everything tasted completely fresh, flavorful, and even the foods appearance looked great! Overall, food came out timely, fresh tasting, delicious aroma, and very nice staff inside. - Anthony read more

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Had garlic fried chicken w/rice and garlic noodles. Fried chicken was good. Garlic noodles were fine, but it was just spaghetti with oyster sauce. $18 and tiny tiny portion. For something super cheap to make. Would give it another go, hear ok things about burger, wings and pork bell; but for their prices and what you got, less confident about the hype. The good: looks like they don't ask for tips so they're trying to justify their prices and just be fair right from the get-go. The bad: even with prices being high the value is just not there. read more

Greeted right away, cashier was very friendly and helpful with their food items. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Small location but still some seating and I heard lots of people grab food to go and sit next door at the brewery which is a great idea.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Ordered several items photoed below. All the food was very flavorful, rich with umami! Favorites were the OG Wings and Lao Style Ribs. The only miss was the Moo Pin pork belly. It was not served hot and the skin was not as crispy. Good flavor but had higher expectations. Definitely would try the rest of their menu! read more

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Amazing food, super friendly staff - a must try! I ordered the O.G. wings, Naem Khao (Crispy Coconut Rice), Noakeo's Eggrolls, and Garlic noodles. My favorites were the wings and noodles. Both had a perfect balance of sweet and savory and even a little bit of spice. The rice was good, but crispy rice isn't my favorite thing. Delicious flavor and generous servings. We ate next door at wandering leaf which had lots of seating and I highly recommend digging in there. On Wednesdays, they have a deal where you can get 3 pieces of chicken wings instead of 5 and $2 off a beer for a reduced price. It was a little pricey, but I'd give it a try at least once. read more

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I've visited them once a while back when they had the food truck. I finally made it to their actual restaurant. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's really cute, next to the Wandering Brewery.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The guy was very helpful with the menu. I wanted to eat the pork belly and checked to see if anymore was available, he confirm there are. So we added an order of the sausages. both came with a small container of sticky rice and jeow tomato. Spicy tomato sauce for dipping. Once I picked up my order, they were out of the pork belly. He refunded the amount charged and gave me an order of chicken wings to accommodate. They were delicious. Sausage was really good too, full of herbs and flavors. read more

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This is primarily a takeout place parking is pretty good since it is in a strip mall with a large parking lot. The ambiance for pick up was very good. The place is nicely decorated making it feel homey and clean. There were 2 tables so limited seating, but you can go next-door to the brewery if you want to sit and eat. Service was very good - online ordering was very easy and it was ready when I got there by the time and the food was still hot by the time I got home! The food: Egg rolls - a must get. Perfectly small compact portions that pack a nice flavorful bite. Chicken skewers - this was the best thing of all things that we tried. The chicken was perfectly spiced and was juicy and felt like a good deal for $14 Crispy pork belly - this was very yummy and the green sauce was a little spicy, overall I did not feel like this was worth $23. Pork belly is very rich and fatty and really you should only have a few pieces. It was good and I'm not sure where else you would get this so it's worth a try. It comes with white sticky rice, which was also good but if you just have a bite with spicy sauce, one piece of pork belly and the rice, it feels a little bit dry and bland and spicy! Chicken noodle dish - oh man this was life-changing and if you're going to get an entrée get this great portioning for $20. I've never tasted anything quite like this. The flavors were very bold. Only complaint a little greasy but really amazing and would get this again. There is also a side of sticky rice pictured for $5 and I thought that it would go with the chicken skewers but overall I think you can just skip this. read more

Soul Lao - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Wow, just wow. This place is incredible. There IS seating inside. I was extremely confused beforehand whether this was a takeout only spot or not. The food here is familiar, but different. We've had sausage, but not like this. It has so much flavor and seasoning, and spice too. We've had fried rice, but not like this. It has a crunchy texture, but not an undercooked rice... a truly fried rice. The wings were also incredible. They were very crunchy. I think I read that they deep fry them twice? Sounds amazing. This surpassed all my expectations. Not to mention that I drove 35m, and eventually ate most the dishes cold. I can only imagine if they were fresh and hot, lol. read more

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Go there! Amazing food, really something else!! A true hidden gem. Pretty much take out, but you can grab a beer or a drink at the Wandering Leaf Brewery and sit down and eat. We were headed for the brewery for trivia night and looking for some good, different local food close by. Yelp delivered :) This place is so cool and the food is really thoughtfully designed. It's different and much more flavorful than any other Thai or Lao food I've ever had. Also, the vibe of the staff is friendly and very accommodating. We had the OG wings, the Naem Khao Crispy Coconut Rice, and the Laab Seen - Charcoal Beef Salad. All were absolute winners. The Laab Seen was very spicy, even though we ordered it at the 'medium' spice level. Very tasty. I'd recommend ordering family style so you can share plates and all of the wonderful tastes. I'll definitely be back. Soon. read more

Delicious food! Love the flavor and heat. Great customer service, so friendly. Also able to order online. We will be back!

Went on a Wednesday and ran into their Wednesday Wing special, so I got some OG wings and papaya medium spicy/spicy, and it came with HEAT Service was great, the person in the front helped walked me through the menu downside, their most popular are usually sold out so fast read more

Food: 3.5/5 stars Service: 5 stars [[HIGHLIGHT]]Ambiance: 4/5 stars[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Friendly service was greeted right away at the door. Cashier asked if I had any questions about the menu to ask. Which everything on the menu was self explanatory except for the crab Rangoon where I didn't know that it was a dip. But nonetheless was delicious. read more

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The eggroll was delicious and cook well. It wasnt dry and it was well seasoned. the chicken wings were big and the sauce on it was good, just need more sauce after a bite into the wing it . I really enjoy the chicken with fried egg. That meal was delicious the egg was crispy and the yolk burst really well. The chicken had flavor, not really dry. The drink we have was alright. Not my kind of drink to get. But definitely something to try! It's very different! The service was good. Just a slow day for them. The ambiance was oka, it's a small place so there isnt much to say about it. read more

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The Best Restaurant in St Paul award And they have a rotisserie belly plate . Is very delicious read more

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Staff is friendly . We got food to bring to the brewery next door. We had the chicken sandwich, larb and crab Rangoon dip but all of us thought the food was just " fair". We may go again and try different items e.g. the wings. read more

I followed Soul Lao when they were a food truck- stopping by at Black Stack or other random spots, so I was pleased to find out that they had a brick and mortar store now, next to another great brewery! I'm a huge fan of the naem khao, OG Oyster Sauce Wings , pork belly (perfect amount of fattiness with crispy skin) and the lao sausage is so fragrant and lemongrassy. I haven't had anything that I didn't like from Soul Lao. Right now, you can order at the counter, online, or from a QR code inside Wandering Leaf. It's mostly take out but if you choose to eat in, there are a couple small tables (but i preferred to take it next door and pair with a beer). Overall, i love that I can find Soul Lao anytime I want now! read more

Soul Lao - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Here I am visiting from CA, and I'm always looking for a good Asian restaurant. What caught my eyes was a picture of the rotisserie pork belly. The skin was so crispy and the pork was so tender. It was a heavenly bite. We also picked up the OG chicken wings, the Naem Khao, Khao Min Gai Tod, and Noakeo's Eggrolls. Be aware that some dishes or sauces may have a little kick, which is also listed in the descriptions. The restaurant space is small, with only a few tables, but we were opting for takeout. Definitely the standouts for me were the rotisserie pork belly and the OG wings. The OG wings had that umami flavor, I'm still dreaming about it. Maybe I'll make another visit during this trip, but it's definitely worth having any time I return to the Twin Cities! read more

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Great burgers, fast service and [[HIGHLIGHT]]good eats to visit patio at Wandering Leaf Brewery next door[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]

Holy cow! The coconut fried rice is AMAZING. We also ordered the short rib. Going to be back for certain.

Ever since I heard that Soul Lao does catering for weddings, I've told my boyfriend that I refuse to have any other food at our future wedding. We used to go to the food truck and sit in line for this food. I was so happy and proud when I found out they were opening a restaurant ! The food is beyond good. The Naem Khao is SO GOOD!!!!! If you get one thing, I recommend getting this. It has crispy little rice pieces, it's a great balance of spice, sour, savory and is a pretty big portion! The wings are a 9/10. Honestly I would stick with the Naem Khao but these are still definitely worth a try. I also love that it's right next to a brewery and that you can order food from Soul Lao while getting a beer ! The owners are super nice and I really love supporting them. Not much space to sit in their restaurant but like I said, there is more than enough seating in the brewery right next door. Please come here and try this for yourself. If they were closer to me, I would get it literally every week. read more

Soul Lao - Naem Khao - Laotian Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

Wow! If you want to try a different tasting burger have the Lao Smash Burger. The spicy all beef sai oua patty is unlike anything I've ever had. That being said my palette wasn't ready for it. The price was $23 for that and a bag of chips. Seemed too expensive for the size. read more

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Holy crap! How have I not discovered this place earlier with all those 5-star reviews! I drive by this place all the time and it's kind of hidden between the Aldi and the brewery in the W. 7th strip mall. We initially came here to support the owners, who are parents of the same school that my kid goes to. We were blown away. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's takeout, but there are two small bartops where you can eat.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The roasted, slow cooked pork belly was out of this world. The coconut fried rice / lettuce wrap was also amazing. Will definitely be back. read more

Food was absolutely delicious. An order of eggrolls is two XL eggrolls. The main dish was absolutely heaping: enough for two people. This is more of a take out place than dine in, the seating isn't particularly comfortable, but that is the only negative thing I could say. Staff was upbeat and friendly. Absolutely recommend. read more

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This was my first time here with my fiance and her sister. When you walk in there's a door on the left and the right. The door on the left is the restaurant and the door on the right is the brewery. It's more or less a place to order food for takeout however they do have a few tables to dine in if you choose to do so and the tables aren't taken. I ordered the chicken skewers and the shrimp spring rolls since I wasn't famished. The food was good portions, however it was a bit expensive for the area. Also I appreciate they had a bathroom for customers however it was so small the customers sitting and waiting for their food had to stand up every time I needed to go to the bathroom. But all in all it was a good experience, the staff was very polite, kind and seem to care for their customers. read more

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