Famous Lao Papaya

Drove out of the way to just come here since our city back home doesn’t have any Lao food. Everything was so good! Definitely recommend.

Phuong Tran

Truly love the food here and how friendly and kindly of the service here. I will 100% come back to try other dishes.

B Thao

Whoa. I mean whoa! I felt like I was eating food at my house. Food tasted so authentic and rich of all the right flavors. The balance in the food ingredients is spot on as to what I would expect. Others may have different opinions but this IS my review. The Laos papaya was great with portions enough for two people. The laab is awesome too but I'm pretty sure it comes only as chicken laab. They used to be a good truck now they are here. If you're in the San Jose area, looking for authentic Laotian food, this is your spot. GO!!!

Cece hom

Went there for lunch with my sister I thought the food taste good and the guy that serve us food was nice and polite I enjoyed their noodles soup and their fish and steak stick

Ninra Anne

Okay, well. This place is a Laos restaurant. They don't have much for you to order, but all the menu they have is great! Especially for Khao piek, the soup is tasty. It's spicy and... I don't know what to explain. 😆 The thing that I like here is there are side dishes for you. As you can see from my photos, there is a small plastic bowl on the paper plates. It's a spicy papaya salad, but it is not spicy enough for me. So, if you like spicy, please go for Laos style papaya salad. You will not be disappointed 👍

Ngan Vo

Famous Lao Papaya is fantastic! My boyfriend and I tried the Papaya Platter and Nam Khao. They really nailed every dish in flavor, texture, and freshness. The sausages were incredibly flavorful and juicy. Papaya salad really hit the spot, the flavors were authentic and spot-on and definitely my favorite. Chicken wings were cooked perfectly also. I would highly recommend the platter to get a bit of everything they have to offer. The Nam Khao was also a winner for me - it had a great texture and touch of citrus and herb-y freshness that made it super addictive to eat. There was so much food leftover for two people. I left with a very happy belly! This place is definitely optimized for to-go/delivery since everything is served in compostable containers, but there are plenty of seats for eating-in and the restaurant is really well-maintained, clean, and newly renovated. When ordering, they were incredibly helpful and helped us pick a spiciness level that worked for us - if spiciness is a concern (or a must-have lol), let them know and they can go as mild or as hot as you want. The menu is short (they're confident in what they do and they do it well) and very clearly labeled with photos, ingredients, and name which feels super accessible to anyone new to Laotian food. They also offer add-on options which is great if you wanna add a sausage or two in your dish. They also sell frozen sausages and other goods you can buy and prepare at home. They accept cash and credit and the ordering process is really streamlined. Parking in this plaza can get hectic on weekends, but there's always street parking on the outer perimeter of the plaza. Come to this place (or order take-out)! You will not be disappointed.

E G

I'm so happy my friend introduced me to this place- I've been here twice this week alone! The nam khao is legit and it tastes SO good. Price is perfect. The sausage is tasty and I'm happy it's an option as an add-on. I personally like the spicy sausage more than the mild- but I love spicy food so it's good they have both levels. The papaya salad is bomb, too. I can't wait to try more dishes!

Sasha Tran

Delicious papaya salad, perfectly balanced and spicy! The lao sausage was super meaty and fragrant, probably one of the best lao sausages I've had, and the fried chicken was fresh and juicy, ít really hot the spot. Can't wait to come back!

Kitty Thao

Authentic Laotian food. Just what we wanted!!! Kaopoon was delish!!! The restaurant is kind of hidden amongst all the other Asian restaurants in the plaza, so you really have to look for it. We went on a busy weekend and it was so hard to find parking. We parked far away and walked there. Water is self served. You order and pay at the register.. they'll bring your food out to your table in a tray. Nice staffs. Small cafe type restaurant. Everything was served on paper/plastics.

Marcel Thanasack

I miss Lao food so much and I had been wanting to try this place. It did not disappoint! The sticky rice, sausage and chicken wings with the papaya salad on the side exceeded my expectations. And they have goods to buy and take home including Jeow Bong

Shiv M

I ordered the Laab Gai. It was so spicy and flavorful. I loved it. I didn't think it would be filling but it was a really good portion. They have a small menu here but I think that's a good thing.

Alicia Carrillo Rassavong

Drove out of the way to just come here since our city back home doesn’t have any Lao food. Everything was so good! Definitely recommend.

Absolutely loved this place. We ordred the stuffed chicken wings, sour fish soup and beef sticks. It was juicy and had great lemongrass tastes to it. Very authentic and highly recommended!

Delicious food, and great service. Recommend the Mango Sticky Rice , Beef Stick, and fried rice.

My first time eating Laotian food and it was delicious. Very satisfying! Chicken was very delicious, the sausage had new flavors for me and also very good. The papaya was wonderful! I had mine spicy, and it was so good and light on my stomach. If you haven't tried Laotian food I would start here.

Rare to find a Cambodian and Laos cuisine here, so I'm glad this restaurant is located near where I live. We had a curry noodle soup and a sour soup. Hy taste great. Will come again to try other dishes.

Cindy Dam

Rare to find a Cambodian and Laos cuisine here, so I'm glad this restaurant is located near where I live. We had a curry noodle soup and a sour soup. Hy taste great. Will come again to try other dishes.

Chillyisland 1

Delicious food, and great service. Recommend the Mango Sticky Rice , Beef Stick, and fried rice.

Ryan

Absolutely loved this place. We ordred the stuffed chicken wings, sour fish soup and beef sticks. It was juicy and had great lemongrass tastes to it. Very authentic and highly recommended!

Otis Walker

My first time eating Laotian food and it was delicious. Very satisfying! Chicken was very delicious, the sausage had new flavors for me and also very good. The papaya was wonderful! I had mine spicy, and it was so good and light on my stomach. If you haven't tried Laotian food I would start here.

I've been wanting to stop by this place for awhile now. Finally I decided to visit this Famous Lao Papaya for the first time. I've always been a huge fan of Thai/Cambodian Papaya Salad. I have eaten and made lots of Papaya Salad before in my life so I pretty much can tell a good Papaya Salad after I tasted one. Having to always eat mostly American food at home, it is definitely a nice changed when I get to go out and enjoy Asian foods. Papaya Salad is one of my favorite! The Papaya Salad here is good but I prefer it to be more Spicy and deffinatly alot more Papaya! I ordered the rice plate which comes with three sausages. I rather they give me less rice, less Sausages (maybe two is good enough), and way more of the Papaya for that price. Other then that I wouldn't mind coming back to order something else and only if I get to have Spicier and alot bigger portion of the Papaya!😅

Its was cold rainy Monday, I just flew into SJ for work and wanted some hot soup decided to get some Kao Piek Sen for lunch, It was a good call on my part. Chicken broth had good flavors. Extra spicy chilli oil made it even better.

Food is decent. Wish the menu has a bigger selection. Really like the flavor of the chicken wing. Sausage is great too.

Thia Le

I've been wanting to stop by this place for awhile now. Finally I decided to visit this Famous Lao Papaya for the first time. I've always been a huge fan of Thai/Cambodian Papaya Salad. I have eaten and made lots of Papaya Salad before in my life so I pretty much can tell a good Papaya Salad after I tasted one. Having to always eat mostly American food at home, it is definitely a nice changed when I get to go out and enjoy Asian foods. Papaya Salad is one of my favorite! The Papaya Salad here is good but I prefer it to be more Spicy and deffinatly alot more Papaya! I ordered the rice plate which comes with three sausages. I rather they give me less rice, less Sausages (maybe two is good enough), and way more of the Papaya for that price. Other then that I wouldn't mind coming back to order something else and only if I get to have Spicier and alot bigger portion of the Papaya!😅

Sanhti “Air” Ounnarath

Its was cold rainy Monday, I just flew into SJ for work and wanted some hot soup decided to get some Kao Piek Sen for lunch, It was a good call on my part. Chicken broth had good flavors. Extra spicy chilli oil made it even better.

JL 408

Food is decent. Wish the menu has a bigger selection. Really like the flavor of the chicken wing. Sausage is great too.

My first time try Lao food and it was very delicious! I got the Kao Poon and a sausage. The Kao Poon, perfectly flavored noodle soup, i paired with the spicy Lao sausge, very flavorful. Great combination! Very friendly staff! Looking forward to go try more of the menu.

Julia Homalon

My first time try Lao food and it was very delicious! I got the Kao Poon and a sausage. The Kao Poon, perfectly flavored noodle soup, i paired with the spicy Lao sausge, very flavorful. Great combination! Very friendly staff! Looking forward to go try more of the menu.

The food was okay, but there were a couple things that were disappointing. First, the dish we wanted to order wasn’t available. Then we ordered something that the staff said would take around 15 minutes which I was totally fine with waiting for, but it ended up being more than 30 minutes. The food didn’t amaze me so I don’t think it was worth waiting for and I wish they would have been more honest about how long it would take. Edit response: 1. The main issue is the difference between the expected wait time of 15 minutes and the actual >30 minutes wait time. 2. I believe there were two other groups when we ordered and there were also tables open, so it was not crowded at all especially for a restaurant during dinner time. 3. I feel that the response I received from this review indicates that the owner is not open to hearing feedback and taking constructive criticism. I probably won’t come here again since it seems there won’t be any improvements put into place.

Eileen Chih

The food was okay, but there were a couple things that were disappointing. First, the dish we wanted to order wasn’t available. Then we ordered something that the staff said would take around 15 minutes which I was totally fine with waiting for, but it ended up being more than 30 minutes. The food didn’t amaze me so I don’t think it was worth waiting for and I wish they would have been more honest about how long it would take. Edit response: 1. The main issue is the difference between the expected wait time of 15 minutes and the actual >30 minutes wait time. 2. I believe there were two other groups when we ordered and there were also tables open, so it was not crowded at all especially for a restaurant during dinner time. 3. I feel that the response I received from this review indicates that the owner is not open to hearing feedback and taking constructive criticism. I probably won’t come here again since it seems there won’t be any improvements put into place.