Small, family-owned Vietnamese restaurant with good food and service. Cash only and parking is limited.

Inhaled a banh mi and pho here- both great. It gets busy on weekends but the place is no frills super affordable. Cash only local spot. read more

Thai Lai Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Hawthorne, California

Authenticity at it's finest!! Their Bahn Beo is delicious along with the Banh Xeo. Love this place . What a hidden gem

I dropped by this place to try out their bun bo hue and banh beo. I thought the spicy noodle soup was decent. The soup tasted different than many many spicy noodle soups I have had. So, I'm not sure what that means. However, I ate all of it. I also ordered the steamed cake with diced dry shrimp. It tasted good. I have no complaints. It's the typical Vietnamese restaurant. You order and they serve, and then they disappear. If you need something, you have to look for this. Everybody. Overall, I enjoyed the food. Would I come back? Maybe to try other items. Do I recommend this place? I think so. Like I said, it's your average, typical Vietnamese joint. The ambiance is like any other Vietnamese restaurant. Nothing too exciting. Oh, and they only take cash. I had to go pull that money from the gas station next door. read more

My new favorite local vietnamese restaurant!! Family owned, with great service. My favorite item on the menu so far is the Bun rieu which is a traditional vietnamese noodle soup that is served with tomato broth and rice vermicelli with crab meatballs and fish cakes. The dish is packed full of flavor with its homemade broth and tones of quality ingredients. My wife always orders #53 pork chop ririce plate that comes with fried egg pork cake, pork skin, and fried pasted shrimp wrapped in bean curd on a bed of rice. The banh mi at $5.50 is also a good choice for someone looking for a cheap lunch with quality ingredients on a fresh baguette. Overall I love the service and the at home feel of the restaurant. I will definitely come back to try some more vietnamese dishes on the menu. read more

Thai Lai Restaurant - Bun rieu - Vietnamese Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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The food here is always perfect! So delicious! I can taste the love that is put into the food preparation. The service is fast and friendly! It feels like you are walking into a friends home when you come here. The restaurant is small but filled with a sense of heart and community. I love coming here . read more

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My favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the South Bay! Fast and friendly service. Great prices! Recommendations: ~ #53: Grilled Pork Chop Rice Plate ~ #41: Bun Rieu (vermicelli soup) ~ #11: Banh Uot Dac Biet (rice paper) ~ #6: Banh Beo Chen (rice cakes) ~ #3: Goi Cuon Nem Nuong (grilled pork spring rolls) ~ #4: Cha Gio (egg rolls) read more

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CASH ONLY. It's been years since I've been here and I really forgot how great this place is. No frills and for authentic Vietnamese food in the South Bay, this is one of the few places I highly recommend. The building looks a little sketch but once inside, you'll see other patrons who know this is the place to go to. The owner is super warm and friendly. Good thing, I had cash since I rarely carry any. My fave was the rice paper apps, so delicious. You really can't go wrong with any dish here based on my prevous review and photos. I will be back for sure! read more

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First thing first- it is cash only Second thing? delicious! I got the Pho Tai, egg rolls & Thai tea ! I was sent to this place by my nail tech Kenny! The place itself is small but while I was there? It filled up! & there were many to go orders. I've been there twice to dine in, and both times food was great & service was excellent by the woman who I assume is the owner & Latino man that brought my food out. If you love Vietnamese especially Pho? This is your spot. THE BROTH IS DELICIOUS. I'm picky about my Asian food. read more

Thai Lai Restaurant - Pho Tai, egg rolls & great Thai tea - Vietnamese Near Me - Hawthorne, California

One of my fave Vietnamese restaurants in the South Bay. Love all the food but my favorite is the Pho Ap Chao. I order the noodles separately so it stays crunchy. read more

Hands down the best and most legit Vietnamese food in the area. Food and prices are excellent and the service is friendly. I love supporting small mom and pop type establishments and this place does not disappoint. I will continue to come here to get my Viet food fix. Everything that I have tried so far has been delicious. read more

I come here once a week. The food is amazing. The service is quick and friendly. It's always a good time. Everyone is happy and enjoys their food. See you next week! read more

Thai Lai Restaurant - Pho with everything but green and white onions. So good! - Vietnamese Near Me - Hawthorne, California

Combining 2 reviews into 1 as I had tried their pho and Bun Rieu. Bun Rieu - 5/5 On par with the ones served in Garden Grove. Noodles cooked to perfect texture and temperature. Broth is piping hot and plenty of proteins all in one bowl. They don't have sea snail anymore I think based off menu. Pho special - 5/5 Noodles cooked perfectly! The broth isn't lacking in any areas. You do get tendon and tripe which most places around Gardena don't always have. Parking - located outback Restrooms are clean. Would definitely like to try their banh mi on my next visit. read more

Thai Lai Restaurant - Bun Rieu - Vietnamese Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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Ordered a pho and unfortunately it was quiet bland. The noodles had a weird taste to them and the broth lacked in flavor, wouldn't be back.

Little shack-like mom-and-pop, cash only, recommended by friend who grew up here. #6 Banh Beo Chen: Bright red rice cakes, big texture, bigger flavor from sweet pork and crumbly dried shrimp. #45 Bun Dac Biet: Grilled shrimp, sweet grilled pork, crispy eggrolls, and a fried pasted shrimp thing over a bed of vermicelli. Be liberal with the fish sauce and thoroughly mix. #76 Banh mi: Got this one with pork, but lots of fillings to pick from. Not a bad bite for $5. #36 Bun Bo Hue: It's hard to find a good one. This one is great and tastes very homemade. Lots of depth and plenty of pork. Thai Lai is everything I love about Lawndale. Everything about it feels so genuine, just a good group of people cooking what they know. It's a business I'll always be happy to support. read more

I love their spring rolls and vermicelli noodles. This is my summer Viet restaurant. For pho I go down the street to pho daisy.

The food was excellent. It was busy during lunchtime on a Sunday. The service was fantastic! Friendly and attentive staff. While it was busy, the food came out rather quickly. It is busy, small, and homey. You can sense the love and care they put into the restaurant and the food. I ordered number 47, which was beef pho and a Vietnamese iced coffee--10 out of 10 for the iced coffee! It was probably one of the best Vietnamese iced coffees I've had! The rest of my party ordered Thai iced tea, which they also loved. Something to keep in mind is that this establishment is cash only. read more

Đồ ăn rất ngon, bạn nào thích vị miền tây nên ghé đây nhé, chuẩn vị miền tây, cô chủ cực dễ thương read more

Thai Lai Restaurant - Bánh ướt - Vietnamese Near Me - Hawthorne, California

Great food great service and fair prices. A small family owned restaurant and pretty authentic. My go to for Pho and Vietnamese food.

Friendly service and authentic taste. I would recommend to any first timers trying Vietnamese food.

After watching what @richardhaynesrealestate ordered on his IG, we had to go check it out. Here's what we ordered. Banh Xeo Grilled Pork w/Shrimp and Vermicelli Banh Khot 2 Ice Coffee(rocket fuel) I'm always looking for a good banh xeo without having to drive to the OC. These were super crunchy with good flavor like the banh khot. They didn't skip on the basil, mint, and lettuce wraps. Their fish sauce dip had good flavor too. The other place we go to only makes banh xeo on the weekends. Wendy said her grilled pork/shrimp had great flavor. A great mom and pop type joint. The staff was really nice and helpful. We'll definitely be back. https://yelp.to/s0eUckOsz5 read more

Bun Reiu - Good crab flavor soup with a variety of meats: pork, blood cubes, tofu, meatballs served with a side of vegetables. Meats are ok, not something to remember, It's the pork blood that is unique for these dishes. The soup flavoring is delicious (try it during lunch 1st). I find the soup tasted better during lunch than dinner. The side of veggies is served with Vietnamese Coriander (Rau Răm), shredded napa, and bean sprouts. Spring Rolls - pork or shrimp is decent, the citrus fish sauce dip is good/not watered down. They also serve it with peanut sauce, but I dont like it from any restaurant, so I replaced it with citrus fish sauce. The pork roll has a crunch to it. Very accomodating and flexible on ordering and adjusting as needed. Friendly, honest, and nice owners. Small Restaurant with 10 stalls of parking. Opens 9-6pm. CASH ONLY, prices are reasonable for decent meals with lots of variety that is good tasting for South Bay area (outside of westminster). read more

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I love Thai Lai, always a good experience when ordering food. Food is delicious and the price is average. I always order the combo fried rice and has been consistent since the first time I've order it. read more

Love this place. Family run, smallish space, always clean. Authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Great pho, tasty cha gio egg rolls. I've been coming here for years, the owner knows my order before I even sit down. read more

**Cash only** This is a local hole in the wall restaurant - family owned! One thing that I really appreciated was having a picture menu alongside the regular menu. This is great especially for those who don't feel like reading all the words on a plain menu. We got the pho bowl (#68), pork banh mi, and the three bean dessert. The portion sizes and prices are very reasonable - the pho was literally bigger than my head. The food was delicious and the staff was so friendly. I'll be back for more!! read more

Thai Lai Restaurant - Three bean dessert - Vietnamese Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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It's the most authentic and delicious Vietnamese food in the area! Our favorite place when craving Vietnamese food.

One of the long standing Vietnamese restaurant in Torrance, and still going strong with great foods and reasonable price!

I moved away and I come here every time I'm in LA because it's the best Vietnamese food! Always perfect. I love the mi hoanh Thanh and banh uout Dac biet but they have tons of amazing options. Staff are so kind it's like eating at grandma's read more

First dining in after Covid re-opening and noticed 2 positive changes - colorful new menu and new A/C, making the small dining room feel more airy and welcoming than before. The food is amazing as before and the tasty broth is to die for. Still the best Vietnamese restaurant in the South Bay. Uniquely here - for the noodle dishes, you can choose among 3 different types of noodle - pho, chinese egg noodle, or chow fun rice noodle. read more

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Solid place but not our cup of tea. +small parking lot available +small mom and pop shop with great relationship with their longtime customers. The owner literally chatted with every diner and asked how their kids were doing or how they haven't seen them in so long, etc. +great broth for pho, bun rieu, and bun bo hue. Out of the 3 dishes, we liked bun rieu the most. Can't wait to go back and have my own bowl +bun ho hue had various meats and all of them were great -banh beo was great! Not the best I've had but still solid -cash only -spring rolls had too much vermicelli and not enough shrimp (shrimp was on the smaller end) -broth was solid but they were all on the sweeter side so if you don't like sweet broth like we do, then you might want to try somewhere else read more

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Pho was great one of the best I've had. Friendly service. Plenty of parking. I will be back thank you

I forgot to take a picture of my bun rieu but I want to assure you it was beautiful and delicious. This hole-in-the-wall restaurant is cash only. The menu offers quite an extensive variety of noodle soups but unfortunately not all were actually available to be ordered. Food came quickly which I was grateful for as I was quite famished. I also really appreciate the restaurant having a separate menu page dedicated to showing you how their top dishes look like for reference. I ordered a bun rieu and what a joy to my taste buds it was. The slightly spicy, tomato-y acidic soup rejuvenated my body and soul. I asked to exclude pork blood from my noodles but all the other toppings were so delicious! It came out piping hot, with a side of bean sprouts, water spinach and a lemon wedge. This large bowl was 11 bucks only! I finished everything, not a drop of soup remained. I will definitely be back to try out the other noodle soups on the menu when I visit socal again. read more

Thai lai has been one of my to go spots around here They have great selection and portions .The only thing would be parking during the lunch hrs but you could always park on street too read more

Very affordable menu and kind staff. Banh Mi was delicious!!! I got the pork banh mi, it was very fresh, spicy, and sweet. 100% recommend!

This place is sooo good! It was recommended by nail lady. I was going to this other place but she told me to go here. I'm Vietnamese and my mom is a cook for over 20 years and their pho ga has to be the best one I ever had here in Los Angeles. It's super flavorful without any additional seasoning needed. This is as authentic as it gets. It's cheaper and more delicious than most places. They also give you this fish/ginger sauce that is so good with the Pho Ga. A bowl of pho usually is like $16-17 now a days but here it's 11ish bucks. I live 15 mins away but will be driving to eat here now. read more

I love it here. I go at least once a week. It is so delicious so authentic its like You're having a home-cooked meal. It's delicious and the prices are not that expensive. read more

Honestly, this is my favorite restaurant in the LA area. The food and hospitality at Thai Lai are top notch. I absolutely love their banh xeo and banh khot. Their grilled meats are also very flavorful and well executed. I can't wait to explore their menu more over time. My only desire is that they move away from plastic bags and styrofoam for more recyclable or backyard compostable take-out containers and paper bags, but I'm aware that these are much more expensive choices. Note - cash only, but it's always worth the trip to an atm, bank, or grocery store. I wish I lived closer, but I always look forward to coming back when I can. read more

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My family and I have been coming here for years and the owner recognizes us and she's so nice! I always get pho with steak. And it's always so good and consistent every time. AND THEY USE REAL BROTH! I have yet to find another pho restaurant that still uses real beef broth (I check by bringing home the broth to see if it gelatinizes in the fridge). Highly, highly, highly recommend. read more

I have been buying food and eating at this restaurant for 10 years. The owner and staff are very friendly. Their food are good and the prices are reasonable. The service is good and they always get the orders correct and have them ready on time. I recommend this restaurant. read more

First time eating here today. The food is really good and the owner is really friendly. The cook messed up on our food but her friendliness made up for it so I didn't care. Prices are so cheap!! I would definitely come back here. read more