Always delicious. Tried the Panang Curry with chicken, sticky rice and a Thai coffee. read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Panang Curry with Chicken - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

The first time I went to this restaurant was randomly, and I did not have a good experience, but me and my friends decided to give it another go and we did not regret it! Everyone enjoyed their food and all the orders came out right. My friends that aren't familiar with Thai food even enjoyed it! Their pad Thai was so delicious and flavorful. I had a few bites of my friends noodles that she ordered. I also had a few bites of my husbands curry, which was also yummy and my friends were taking bites even though she doesn't like curry. Also, I ordered papaya salad and it had to be one of the BEST ones I have ever had in Hawaii! I loved everything in it. The tomatoes were just right and the spice level was true! I ordered the Laos spice and man was it super spicy! My stomach hurt after (that's how I like it!). I also ordered drunken noodles with vegetable and ordered it extra extra spicy (Laos hot, I believe) and it was so delicious! I like my food to be spicy to where it hurts to eat it and I start sweating. Overall, the food was great and this will probably be a regular place to stop at when in Kapolei or going on the west side! Yum!!! read more

See all

I was feeling adventurous for dinner tonight, so I decided to try this Thai place, but keep in mind I've never eaten in a Thai restaurant lol Based on other reviews we tried the spring rolls, panang curry and the drunken noodles. Boy, my taste buds were not ready for the deliciousness that smacked me in the mouth! The drunken noodles are not your typical panda express chow fun type noodles. Everything was well flavored, including the broccoli! I would eat more broccoli if it came seasoned like this all the time. Beware of the spice though, it can creep up on you, it's a nice heat, not the kind where its hot for no reason. The curry and sticky rice was very good as well. The service was good and with a smile. The portions are a good size for 2-3 to share unless you plan to take some home. Can't wait to try Thai Lao again! read more

See all

If I lived in Kapolei this would be my go-to spot! Although I did carry-out, the restaurant was nice and servers friendly. My pad see ew had a great amount of flavor and wasn't too saucy. Could use a bit more broccoli but next time I'd just ask for extra when I order. The spring roll appetizer was delicious. Fried to perfection, lots of sauce included, and a nice amount of vermicelli too! Great food, extensive menu, will be back! read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Pad see ew - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

See all

Over 3 years ago I attended a UYE here at Thai Lao (TL) in Kapolei. There was this uber awesome Elite Yeep who would travel far from West Oahu to attend my UYE's in Chinatown. I wanted to offer him my support so I dined here. That night about 20 Yeeps attended this UYE where we ate like Royalty with quality and abundance. We ate until our heart's content and walked away with multiple doggie bags. When it was time to pay we were baffled as we were advised our meal was FREE. Yes, there was no tab to pay. If we wanted to we could leave tip for the wait staff. If it weren't for Yelp and this awesome Yeep, I probably wouldn't have even come across this restaurant. Some friends convinced me to attend this ice cream social a week ago in Kapolei and we agreed to have dinner on this side of the island. My initial choices were new restaurants of Cheesecake Factory and Kazoku Sushi but after consulting with friends we agreed upon TL. This restaurant has changed a bit since my initial visit as it was no longer bright. I found TL to be darker and perhaps downgraded as I noticed handwritten menu offerings, which wasn't there in my initial visit. It seemed gloomy and lacked the brightness that I remember. Our server was nice but she stumbled on my friend's question of how Laotian Pho differs from regular Pho. There was that awkward duration of silence with crickets chirping in the background. Eventually she blurted out "The broth is darker." Sorry but the servers need to know the menu. I pretty much knew I was having Pad Ki Mao (drunkard's noodles) with shrimp prepared at "Thai level" medium spicy. It didn't seem long before we got out food as we were catching up with each other after a couple of months. My dish was well seasoned (perhaps a bit too salty for my taste) with a real spice kick. I can eat spicy and this was spicier than your medium level. The Chinese broccoli had a nice crunch and my shrimp were plump. I noticed the finely chopped dried shrimp that was really tasty with the heavily seasoned thick chow funn noodles. My friends offered me to sample their dishes but declined as I was saving room from the ice cream social. They both liked their food and glad to report all of our plates were cleaned. Service was above par with our waters refilled repeatedly and our server checked up on us. I found the prices reasonable which is a good place to dine if you're on this side of the island. Overall a great meal with friends but a slight disappointment as I found TL to be a step behind from what I recall on my initial visit that was outstanding. read more

See all

Only thing I've had so far is the tom yum. Flavorful, big chucks of chicken and veggies and decent sized container. The guy ordered 2, one mild and one medium. Like a dummy I thought his was spicy so I assumed the first package I opened with an "m" on it was mine for mild... it wasn't. I'm a wimp so I coughed my lungs out and discovered the other container actually spelled out "mild". Why one labeled "m" instead of "med" at the very least? I also was pretty upset when he drove all the way over and didn't get me sticky rice. Not sure if he was asked if he wanted to order any, but would've been nice to have something to eat soup with... Not sure if I'll actually venture out this way to try more items since its a bit out of the way for Thai. read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Chicken Tom yum, great when feeling under the weather! - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Best Thai food on the westside, amazing green papaya salad and pad thai. If you're gonna dine in bring a sweater cuz they crank that AC to another level. read more

We had the summer rolls and pananag with chicken. Both were amazing. Loved the sauce on pananag . The sticky rice was real sticky rice and probably the best I've ever had. read more

Have you ever had that one restaurant that you really wanted to love? Good location? Check. Easy parking? Check. Good selection of items on the menu? Check. Reasonably priced? Well... The portions are smaller than what you would expect from your typical Thai restaurant, while the prices are a little higher. Honestly, I can overlook this as a minor annoyance, if the food is awesome. So, yeah, three stars. Let's face it, Thai food is awesome. But, there is a distinct difference between a cook that is following a recipe they read right before they prepared your meal and a master chef that has been delighting the masses with culinary skills for years. Whoever was in the kitchen was probably somewhere in between. The food was okay, but not great or even really good. When I am asked a higher than normal price for a smaller than normal portion, I want FLAVOR. Unfortunately, it wasn't there. Will I go back? Yes, I will. I'll give them some time to marinate though. Maybe that will enhance their food. read more

Food has been really good in the past year, but perhaps this was an off day. The meal was bland and seemed the oil or an ingredient was old, or stale. Wasn't happy, couldn't finish meal. read more

No one answered the phone so went there and ordered. The menu was hard to read in a plastic cover taped to the shield. Tiny print and glared in the lighting. Ordered carry out but there were a few tables. My kid ordered pineapple fried rice -bland. Penang curry was good but flavor profile was mild, missing a kick. Spicy beef salad was ok. Took 20 mins so we left to go shopping at Long's and came back. It was 8:20 pm so not many options in the area for Asian food at that time. Overall just ok. Will not return probably. Better options in town. read more

3 words make this place stand out: Evil Jungle Curry This dish has that kick of spices with the perfect mix of coconut milk and basil. It is so good, I'd probably drink this curry up beast style. Anyhow, besides the delicious curry it is worth 5 stars for other reasons. Customer Service has always been consistent. They refill the waters, they check on each table and the food comes out quick. Cleanliness is pretty good. They have cute bamboo pipes and weaved coconut leaf rice bowls for decor. You enjoy your meal with Thai music playing in the background. The setting makes for a grear date spot and family-friendly dinner. Food. I haven't had anything bad yet. Wait...What am I talking about!?!? All I ever want is their evil jungle curry!! I dream about it!! YUM!! Ok so in between eating the curry, the satay, pad thai and fried chicken have been pretty tasty. My family always enjoys the food here than any other Thai restaurant. Overall, I stand by my word. The only thing you need to know is about the Evil jungle curry. Everything else is just sides. read more

This is not the first time we've been to Thai Lao, we discovered it years ago on television, and went to the Pearl city restaurant. In the last six years we have gone to this one located in Kapolei. Every time we've been there the food has been extraordinary the flavor full of good flavor and reasonably priced. Service has always been attentive and power here in Hawaii for 10 days. I am sure we will be back before we leave. read more

One of my favorite Kapolei weekday lunch spots to visit with friends. Our small group of friends includes someone who doesn't eat meat, so we order veggies and tofu with the dishes and the dishes are still super tasty and satisfying. We often order the pad siew, though I prefer the drunken noodles, since they also include basil, chilis, and garlic, and full of flavor. I love how the noodles are fat, wide, and look hand cut. We also enjoy the green curry, which includes lots of sauce to take home and enjoy over rice. The curry is so good with the sticky rice when eating it at the restaurant! The parking can be problematic, just make sure you're parking near the restaurant, and not closer to the gas station. My friend's car was towed away when she was eating here and parked in the wrong stall. Definitely a place you want to check out when you're in Kapolei! read more

See all

The best Thai food in Kapolei!! The service is amazing, but the food is defiantly the star of the show!! I can't say enough good things. This establishment is just all around GOOD!!! read more

Thai Lao was just marginally okay. Had the following: Pad See Ew-Good Pad Thai-Didn't quite have the normal pad thai flavor plus they used ramen noodles-not so good Pineapple Fried Rice-okay Tom Kung Yum Fried Rice - not so good. Limited options in Kapolei so this place was just okay. Can't recommend. Not as authentic thai flavoring that I've had before in LA. read more

Hmmm...maybe an off day? The older lady was rude and we felt rushed. Ordered calamari which was overly "breaded," not lightly battered like. It was hard and the calamari was tough/chewy. The other dishes were fine. Just the bad service kinda ruined the meal. Like a local person, I still left a good tip but prob will not return anytime soon. read more

I've heard many great things about this place. Yes. It's all true! Located in Kapolei near the Texaco and Starbucks! Thai food has always been my favorite form of comfort food. Being that I've tried almost every place on the west side this was my last stop. Visited on a Friday night just right before the dinner rush. Walking into the establishment you are blasted by the cold AC. Server who greeted us was very kind and told us to sit wherever we like. After we sat, waters were filled on the spot and menus dropped off. The menu is simple. Offering a variety of Thai cuisine dishes. As always though we had to try the Pad Thai, fried Chicken and Yellow Curry. Wait for the food was maybe around 20 minutes but it was worth the wait. The portions are decent and 3 plates is well over enough to satisfy 2 people. At $45 it wasn't bad at all. Pad Thai was a bit sweet but I love that they accommodate the extra peanut request. Yellow curry needed a bit more of a kick but it was alright. Fried chicken was nice and crispy! Unfortunately the last piece we had was undercooked in the middle. Being that we already finished 3/4's of the meal it wasn't something I was gonna bring up. Over all. The Thai food here is great. Not the best but it 100% hit the spot. Only downfall is the parking, but the staff is quick to refill waters and get you anything you need. Will be back if I'm ever in the Kapolei area and craving Thai food! read more

See all

Every single week I order take out from Thai Lao & get the same thing every...single...time. (Don't judge me) I'm so thankful that there is a good Thai restaurant in Kapolei (I'm convinced that I'd die if there wasn't, I love Thai food) Alright, let's talk about it. Dining in: on the rare occasions that we do dine in, the service has been okay, i have no complaints. But if the times I've dined in, it's always been before the lunch rush so I guess you can say we had their undivided attention, but dinner gets pretty busy & the one time we dined in, it wasn't so bad. Staff was quick with bringing us water & taking our order. Food came out in a timely manner. Appetizers: Spring rolls: they're teeny little guys, very crunchy and comes with a side of lettuce & fixins, (if you didn't know you wrap the little rolls in the lettuce, dip the sauce & viola!) the sauce is a bit sour & sweet, vinegar chili sauce type concoction. LARB: good lawdddd this is my absolute favorite. I usually prefer the beef larb but I know many like chicken. It's beef that they cook & chop up (or maybe it's ground beef) and seasoned perfectly with spices & lime. It's served with a side of cabbage but I always request long beans, yum! Tom yum soup: a delicious hot & sour soup with mushrooms, onions& your choice of protein (I love shrimp or seafood) it's always a must have in our house. Chicken Panang curry: my husband's absolute favorite curry in the world, it's a type of red curry that's thick & salty & sweet with a yummy nutty flavor. Must try! Beef pad Thai/ chicken drunken noodles: you can't go to a Thai restaurant and not have pad Thai, that's just a crime. So have some! We recently ventured into the drunken noodle section & fell in love with the chicken drunken noodle, it's exactly the type of noodle dish I can eat over & over again, garlicky with thick noodles & veggies. Dessert: mango with sticky rice, even better when in season, not insanely sweet. Must have THAI TEA. Just do it. My husband who isn't a fan of Thai tea loves the one from Thai Lao. Ok go eat now, bye! read more

See all

The restaurant wasn't all that big but cozy. Everything we ordered off the menu was delicious and will certainly return when we are back in Hawaii. Best Thai restaurant in the islands. read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

After being disappointed from our take out order from last night, we called the restaurant and spoke to management of our concerns. They invited us back to the restaurant and we decided to dine in this time round m and was amazed with all the food that we ordered. We had 2 different types of soup, calamari, and spring rolls and was very satisfied with the taste and excellent service. We were very happy and we will definitely be back MJ & YUMI read more

So comforting. Family run, polite, freshly cooked. Food is good, sauces clean, spice levels as requested. Fir that once month no cook need some bling food, (no fries) this will work read more

Loved it! Service and spice level was great. They were super accommodating to my child's request for a special rice dish.

Decent food. Just not 100% Thai. Still good and they have Vegan options! The employees are nice and there is a bathroom for customers in the back of the restaurant. Be careful where you park though. You may get towed!!! read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Vegan spring rolls-yummy! - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Soooo yummy! Make sure you come hungry, because they do NOT short-change you on portion size. Good food and lots of it! Ordered carry out in-store and it took just under 20 minutes - not bad at all! read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Beef fried rice - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

A popular Thai food restaurant that we had to check out. It was busy and we managed to get a table before it was filled up. I ordered the Pad Kee Mao Shrimp, papaya salad. My Wife ordered the Pad Thai Chicken. The lady asked the spice level and I said medium for both. This is a key point. The Pad Kee Mao was spicy. The papaya salad had zero spice. The papaya salad I would say was very underwhelming. 10 dollars for sliced papaya should have some taste to it. Not something I would order again. This version of Pad Kee Mao was VERY heavy and thick in sauce. Overall, I would say the sauce just overpowered everything and was too spicy for even my Thai blood. If I had to order it again, I would not. The Pad Thai Chicken was prepared different here. The fried egg was absent in this variation and was replaced by tofu, which didn't work well when I sampled it. Again, it was okay. Tofu in Thai food is not my thing. I can hear my Thai Mom screaming from above right now. I found the service okay. It was busy, and I understand when things are busy. However, we were still there when most of the tables were clear, and no one attended us. So...I went to the cashier/pickup desk to pay. If you pay there when you finish, then that's cool, but I would have never had known that since we never got a follow up to our meal. Overall, this is a popular place and I'm glad they are doing well, but I'll pass next time. read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Very heavily sauced Pad Kee Mao Shrimp - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

See all

Ill start with saying that Im mad at myself for not taking photos. The food smelled so good and tasted so good, it was too late by the time I thought of a photograph. My company ordered our lunches from Thai Lao and asked me to pick up the food. In 20 minutes they had 15 orders done, hot, packed nicely and credit card paid by phone so no worries there. Im not dining in anywhere but once its safe to do so Id like to eat here. Its clean and pretty on the inside. There were five bags of food and one of the staff came and helped me take the orders to my car. Super friendly, wished us a good afternoon and to take care. I liked how nice and professional they are. I ordered a beef salad, my usual at Thai Restaurants, and I can easily say this was the best Ive ever had. Lots of veggies with mint, cucumbers, thin matchstick carrots, onion, tender steak....and the lime dressing...I could drink it! I liked this salad so much that I decided to order dinner from there and take home to the family. I ordered spring rolls, summer rolls, panang curry chicken and Evil Jungle Prince seafood...and another beef salad. The Panang was smooth and spicy with large pieces of chicken. The Evil Jungle Prince had lots of bamboo shoots with fish, mussels, shrimp and calamari. To die for! The Summer rolls are huge - soft and fresh. The Spring rolls were slightly overcooked but just barely. Again the staff were as nice as they could be and again...Im mad at myself for not taking photos. The food is packed and presented so nicely that you'll want to order from there as well. Support local businesses, especially ones like this one. Great Service, great prices, Great food! read more

The Thai food here is good. It's authentic and one of my go to spots for Thai curry, which I love. I can't decide if the panang or the green curry is my favorite. Thai Lao also offers pineapple curry which is excellent. Not too many places have pineapple curry. This was my first time at this location. The one at McCully Shopping Center is closer to home. The service was excellent. They kept refilling the water glasses and coming around to see if things were ok. We ordered the Stuffed Chicken Wings, Mild Pineapple Curry with Chicken, Seafood Pad Thai, two orders of Sticky Rice, and the Mango Sticky Rice dessert. The Stuffed Chicken Wings were excellent. It was super crunchy and was stuffed to the max with ground chicken. It's served with the Thai sweet chili sauce. The wings were bigger than the ones at other restaurants. The Pineapple Curry was yummy. It wasn't tart or acidic, with a slight pineapple aroma. The Pad Thai had a nice flavor to it. The noodles were a bit undercooked. I took a bite and noticed right away that it was harder than normal. I always like their Mango Sticky Rice dessert. However, today it wasn't as good. The sticky rice was drenched in sweet coconut milk, which was a plus. The mango wasn't ripe. As soon as I tasted it, it was sour. I guess we can't always have ripe mango. Buyers beware, if you're ordering this dish you're taking your chances. read more

See all

**update*** - Cockroach served in our food. This is sad - I actually am the one that submitted them to Urbanspoon about 5 years ago, right after they opened. The first time we are here (immediately after they opened) we ended up coming back 3 times that week! I ate dinner here with my family pretty regularly 2 - 4 times a month, and bring in business associates for lunch probably 5-6 times a year. Sadly I think I am about done with this place. My initial review was great - we have been loyal regulars for about 5 years. We have watched the owners kids grow up here. The last three or four times we have come, the service has been terrible. From not being checked on, to quite literally the last two times we came they completely forgot dishes. My daughters food finally came after everyone else was done eating. The service started slipping when they opened their second location... The food is good when you can get it, but still not quite as good as it was 5 years ago. The new older woman who is the "manager" actually tried to lie by saying that the reason that the Phō was taking so long was because they accidentally packaged it to go... It will only be a couple of minutes more... It ended up taking a full 15 extra minutes. Also some of the newer clientele allow their children to run around and scream - making this place way louder than it should be. It's not uncommon to see the big center table with a large group where the small children outnumber the adults 2 to 1! So no longer a good place for a quiet evening - think McDonalds Playland. In fairness I will have to try their new location over in Waipahu, I understand the owners are over there now... Update - we returned recently. My daughters' Pho had a large cockroach in it. We notified the manager, who was apologetic but ultimately did nothing. I was horrified to watch them continue to serve the Pho to other diners after we had found the roach (it all comes from the same pot). I left a message for the manager / owner to call me so I could tell him what happened - otherwise I would report him to Sanitation Department. He never called. I reported incident to State. The inspector served them a warning and called me to confirm that there were problems in the kitchen. Needless to say, we won't be back. read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Chaos. - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

Not authentic whatsoever! Horrible "Thai" food. If you're visiting from L.A., definitely skip this and try Zippy's instead! Husband ordered drunken noodles with beef, the beef was extremely chewy, noodles were soggy and falls apart upon consuming. I ordered beef salad -medium spicy (noted for extra dressing on the side, but was provided none) the salad was SO spicy for medium and I can handle spicy pretty well. It was not enjoyable at all and the beef was also chewy. We also ordered the larb -chicken, another disappointment. It was bland and not spicy when I noted "medium" spicy. Needless to say, it was $60 down the drain, we ordered Zippy's right after and we were kicking ourselves for giving this place a shot in the first place. Download the Bite Squad food delivery app. There's more selections than other delivery apps in Hawaii. read more

I absolutely love this place! I do not care what I order everything taste delicious! I am definitely gonna have to say that this is one of my top tens in Hawaii read more

See all

We called for take out- the first few calls we hit the voicemail and then we got a person. If you're still considering this place, please hit the back arrow and find another Thai spot so you're not disappointed. Ordered pad Thai, pad kee mao, pad see ew and a green curry. Note- green curry did not come with rice.... Maybe I was supposed to order that separately but they didn't say anything on the phone The noodle dishes- the pad Thai had a funky taste- not like any other pad Thai I've had- perhaps too much of some sauce? The other noodle dishes had undercooked noodles- you cut cut them with a knife. I guess I should have read the reviews to note the chance of inconsistency... oh well. Worst Thai food we've had in a long while.... read more

I love the food here at Thai Lao. Some of my favorites are the tom kha soup, fried chicken, pork satay skewers, cucumber salad and their yellow curry. I have tried other items on their menu and have not been disappointed. As for customer service, it can be better. I had an incident where our party was about to sit down at a table, but got moved to one right by the kitchen because another customer wanted our table. It upset us a little since they didn't ask us if we could move. But, we all were looking forward to eating Thai food. This place is fairly small and parking is sometimes hard to get since there are a lot of stores around them (Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Dominos). read more

See all

RED CURRY WITH TOFU AND VEGETABLE! yum yum yum.. That is forever my go to dish. It's creamy and very good. I've had it mild and spicy. Mild it has the curry taste but also sweet. There is a lot of ingredients in the dish, they don't skimp on the dish. Spicy dish has a little kick to it. I usually get my curry with vegetable and tofu because the flavor sticks to the tofu and its way more creamy. When I get with chicken.. most times it comes out hard and dry so I totally recommend trying this dish. You will love it, trust me! The stuffed chicken wings are pretty good. The inside is stuffed with a mix of chicken and noodles. The sauce is what gave it the ooooo effect. Their summer roll are good, the skin doesn't fall apart easily and isnt over stuffed. The sauce is creamy it not to thick and rich. This location is in Kapolei next to My café, starbucks and around chevron gas station in the mini area. This is the very first Thai Lao before they branched out into the other parts. Service here is wonderful. Parking can be a little tight but I'm usually lucky.. read more

See all

Great authentic Thai food but way too salty. Needs to cut down by 30%. Whole fish did not have much meat and was $55!

Some of the best Thai food I've had on the island!! Definitely super tasty, and it has so many vegan options too! I was able to try lots of different foods and make substitutions so that they're vegan friendly. Super great, and there's many locations so it's easy to find! read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Tofu summer rolls - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

See all

Never disappoints, the food is always spot on! The pad see ew is so delicious, Red curry is amazing for when you're sick or just need a little spice in your life, and the green curry shrimp fried rice is so tasty!!! read more

Thai Lao Restaurant - Pad Se-Ew Noodle & green curry fried rice - Thai Near Me - Kapolei, Hawaii

When we're craving for some Thai food...it's our go to spot. Located near Chevron & in the same building as Starbucks Kapolei, it's like a whole in the wall gem. Parking can be quite tricky, being that if you park closer to Burger King, you're taking a chance that your car will be towed. We were seated right away & placed our orders for drinks and appetizers. Depends how many people are in your party, sometimes you'll be seated with other patrons. We always start off with some spring rolls & this time we ordered some chicken satay, which both were very tasty. We always order pork panama & shrimp pad thai. We sometimes order Pad woon sen and fried chicken as well. Their Tom Yum soup is another family favorite. read more

This is our favorite Thai restaurant on Oahu! The curry is always perfect with the right amount of flavor and spice. Always piping hot!

I hate rating a lot place so low, but the food was down right terrible. We ordered a tamarind soup which did not taste like tamarind at all, was too salty/too sweet at the same time, and barely had any fish in it. We also ordered the lemongrass stir fry which had no lemongrass whatsoever and they added tons of curry powder which tasted raw. If you're going to use curry powder it has to be fried/cooked, this tasted like they added the curry powder at the end. The chicken in the stir fry was in large chunks and was super low quality. To top it off, it was overpriced. Do yourself a favor and drive 20 minutes west to Spicy House in Waianae -- wayyyy better authentic/quality Thai Lao food. read more