Amazing Lao restaurant - from the decor to the vibe to the delicious food! We were greeted as soon as we walked in, and given great suggestions. We ordered the fish sauce wings, jerkey with papaya salad and crispy rice nam khao. Everything was fresh and tasty. We also purchased some packages of beef jerkey for the road after noticing other customers coming in just for that. So good! read more

Cully Central - All the food 03. Sien Savanh & Thum Mak Hoong 07. Nam Khao and Wings - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

In Portland for a brief stopover, and found this little Lao place close to the airport! Great location in a residential area, and the ambiance inside was so cute! The service was amazing - all our food came out pretty quickly, and because it was Mother's Day, they gave my mom a free drink too! The food was also exceptional - we don't get a chance to eat Lao food very often, so this was an extra special treat. My parents got the Lao sampler platter, I had the khao poon, and my sister had nam khao. Everyone's food was flavorful and tasty, and we all had a great time. Highly recommend if you're in the area! read more

Cully Central - Khao Poon - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I ordered the Khao Piak sen on Uber Eats. In the notes I asked for chili oil and anything to give it spice and flavor. I also asked for spoon and chopsticks. I didn't get anything. Just the soup. Thankfully I had some chili oil and hoisin and sriracha. But it definitely needed the flavor, otherwise it just tastes like garlic. Which I love, but I need spice. I'm in the process of moving and I'm glad I didn't move all of my things out of my house yet and had some chopsticks and a spoon. I do love the noodle texture. Not sure what the ambiance is like in the restaurant, but it the food looked okay upon arrival, just very plain. I also got the mango and sticky rice with coconut milk dessert. The packaging for the mango dessert could have been put in a better container though. But It's pretty good. If I try again I will make sure to go in. read more

Cully Central - Mango Sticky Rice - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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So I ordered the Spicy Noodles and I'm 95% sure it was just Buldak packaged noodles tossed with some way-too-large veggies. I added beef too for $5 and it did not help the dish in the slightest. Not to mention the portion size for the beef was laughably small. I don't hate Buldak noodles but I was expecting something higher effort. I also got the Larb Gai and it was too dry and minty for my taste. The bigger offender was the sticky rice which was tough by the time I got to it but I took it to-go. I'm sure it's better fresher but if you plan on taking more than 20 minutes to start eating than I wouldn't recommend it. Overall I spent about $40 after tip for two dishes I'd rather not have again and I gotta say what a horrible feeling. I am dreading salvaging the leftovers in my fridge right now. The location itself has a cool vibe and I think they have community events but I really can't bring myself to order from here again and wouldn't in good faith recommend you do either. read more

Are you looking for FABULOUS food? Good drinks...(highly recommend the SPICY margarita!!!) And an atmosphere of being invited to dine as family? Then Cully is your spot. I had been 3 years ago for a YES event and this time we went on a double date with friends. For a costume contest. My boyfriend had been pushing me to dress as a Pharoah's queen to match his Pharoah costume. Since he's literally the BEST, And dressed up as Roy to my Keeley for Halloween, I agreed. We saw some great costumes that night and actually got 3rd place in the contest!! Jack and Sally came in 2nd and the DIVA GEISHA took first! (And it was WELL deserved!) The food...oh y'all. As a vegan, dating basically a caveman carnivore (he'd laugh at that it's all good!) the menu caters so well to us both. I got Nam Khao because they have it VEGAN!!! And it was DELICIOUS!!! And some peppered tofu to share. They know how to cook Tofu y'all. Crispy and perfectly baked but not greasy or dry or shriveled. The best part of the night was the live dj with the 90's music. Come on!!! We had SO much fun dancing and laughing. The owner was on the dancefloor and mingling all night making sure everyone was enjoying the food and atmosphere. She was dressed as a bag of hot Cheetos. It was NOT lost on me when she came out eating them later in the night and dancing with the bag. The only thing that wasn't great was everyone was having so much fun that it got really HOT in there. It was steamy and I felt like I got a bit of a dance workout in. What a super fun night with great people and food. Way to start off my November! read more

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Though we might not have ordered the restaurant's better offerings, the food we received was largely unimpressive. We went with the yum woon sen, which is supposed to have ground chicken but rather than grind the chicken and let it blend with the sauces the yum woon sen we were served was a glass noodle salad with a some large pieces of chicken tossed in. The mushroom larb was described as having a lime dressing, which we couldn't taste at all. The sticky rice that came with the dish was a hardened slab wrapped in plastic wrap. Chicken wings were adequate, though quite light on the fish sauce. Maybe we hit this place on an off night. read more

Lao restaurant was a cute little spot and excellent all-around! Food was great! Prices were reasonable for the portions with decent bar/beverage options. A (Ay --sp?) the co-owner was very friendly and informative. Would definitely return as it is a better option IMO than most local Vietnamese restaurants. read more

Cully cool. An extensive beer tap bar, large outdoor parking lot patio with random seating, pup friendly outside. Inside setup hints as a late night spot that pumps the music. Definitely locally unique. First impression of the food ~ intense flavors and heavily fish sauced. Wished there was more guidance from the server when asking about the dishes. A word of mouth discovery for authentic Lao food. read more

Cully Central - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Came here last week, and 2 weeks before that, and a month before that time. I think I'm addicted to Cully Central and their Laotian food. This place is super casual and a place where you grab your own hot sauce from a dinky foldout table at front. It's kind of weird that they play sports on the TV on the sides but ignoring that stale American sports bar vibe, their food is delicious and it is legit Laotian food! From the meat side, stand out items are their fish patties, fried chicken, and spiced chicken wrapped in banana leaf. And stand out items from vegetarian-friendly side are their nam khao (crispy fried rice salad), mushroom larb, and spicy noodles (similar to indomie instant noodles but far more delicious and probably nutritious). Everything my partner and I tried was delicious and had such amazing spice and fragrance. And I've been eying some new dishes on their menu like their fish wrapped in banana leaf dish, which I was warned should be shared between multiple people. I have yet to go through the rest of their menu but would gladly be back again! read more

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Oh man. The food here tastes soooo good. Everything is fresh. The service is super friendly. Can't wait to return. read more

Cully Central - Heavenly Laab - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We love this place. Get the platter and share. Good choice of what I like and my girlfriend. Service is self serve. It's okay Good place to go watch tv also. read more

So delicious and light, the food was filling and the flavor was light. The lady who served us catered to our needs with a friendly attitude! I felt good being there read more

Cully Central - Khao poon - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We have been eating her for several years now and the food has remained top notch. This is a self service pay at the counter and bus your own tables kind of place. We have tried most of the soups and they are all so good it makes it hard to decide. Even though prices have gone up everywhere lately including this place I feel the prices are still good and sometimes lower than expected. I can't say enough good things about the food, been bringing people here sometimes and they have always been impressed which is great since it makes my choices seem good. read more

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Authentic SE Asian food! I would highly recommend to people who want to try uncommon dishes that aren't common at typical Thai restaurants. I love getting the nam khao and the khao soy. read more

It's an interesting place - it's a restaurant, bar and kid friendly place. There are outdoor seatings. Menu is a bit limited. Everything on the menu is spicy. I thought the food was ok, but I'm not Lao. I was told this is a legit Lao restaurant. There is a small parking lot, otherwise street parking. read more

Cully Central - Dessert. Fried banana & mango sticky rice. - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Family's first time eating Lao foods. We ordered a sample plate, sausage plate, ground chicken plate, and a pork belly sandwich. The sample plate had sausage, meatball, pork rind, papaya salad, sweet jerky, and sticky rice. We loved everything on the plate except the papaya salad. The papaya salad was too salty. The jerky was tender. The sausage was so savory and not greasy. We loved the seasoning of the ground chicken. It was so good to eat it as a lettuce wrap. The fried pork belly sandwich was just ok. The pork belly was kind of bland. Our favorites were the chicken and sausage. My oldest daughter got a lychee moctail. It was very refreshing and tasty, There were indoor and outdoor sittings. Everything was self-serve. Employees were nice and helpful. We were glad we had an opportunity to try Lao foods. I am going to check if Houston had any Lao restaurants. read more

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Heard alot of great things so decided to try some takeout. The papaya salad was a big disappointment, overwhelmed with fish sauce, no acid, the papaya was soggy and there were hardly any peanuts and no cilantro. The Tom Yum was better, good flavor, mushrooms. Can't comnent on service or atmosphere. I would go in person and try something else but pass on the salad. read more

Love their food. Best I've had so far in Portland and I do love the atmosphere. Authentic.

The brother at Khao Niew told us to check out his sister's restaurant here- and here we are for dinner. Lemme tell y'all... This was my favorite restaurant we ate while we were in Portland for a week!!! The food is AMAZING, it's as authentic as it can get. The spice level, the flavor, the portion - just done right!!! The nam khao 5/5 - the crispiness with the nam was perfect- the portion was so big I couldn't finish it but omg, this was one of the best nam khao I've had. The khao piak 5/5 - my all time fav comfort food. The broth is amazing, the noodle makes the broth thicken up, put a little bit of chili oil to give it that "umph" ; just writing this review makes me crave for it again lol. The Lao Sample Platter for 2 consists of : papaya salad, sien savanh (heavenly lao jerky), lao sausage, soft boil egg, pork rinds, rice noodles and sticky rice.. we weren't going to order this but my fiance wanted to try everything and see if it meets up with his expectations.... And it sure did!!!! The papaya salad is spicy, that good spice that makes you want more- tip, put the vermicelli noodles in the papaya salad, trust me. The beef jerky was so crispy yet so tender, hard to explain but it was just done right. I love the fried meatballs, simple yet so good when you're eating it with sticky rice and papaya salad. The Lao sausage was my fiancé's favorite, he said it was just like home. The service was quick. You order at the counter first. They have a nice patio section too. They also sold beef jerky - the kind in the bags. We bought two of it lol All in all, amazing experience. We'll be back when we're visiting again!!! read more

Cully Central - Lao Sample Platter for 2 - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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The atmosphere and the food is amazing. 11/10 would come back! If you plan to come here, I would get the #7 and #11! read more

Cully Central - The #7 and #11 - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Hidden restaurant well worth finding! Large outdoor seating area in addition to indoor space. Recommend the Nam Khao - lettuce wrap crispy rice. Spicy 3/10, until you add in some chili oil. Friendly service, food was ready quickly but freshly made, and flavor was great! read more

Cully Central - #07. Nam Khao - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Well for starters, the restaurant was freezing inside. There was one space heater in the dining room which one couple had put next to their table. The restroom was even colder, like outdoors. We ordered Larb Gai, Crispy Rolls and a Papaya Salad. The Salad and Larb Gai we asked for light spicy. The Larb Gai was dry crumbled chicken with some herbs and citrus. No spice at all and no sort of savory fish sauce or anything to put on it. It was dry and not appetizing to us. The lettuce leaves served with it to use as wraps were from the very center of the Romain head and so tiny impossible to use at all. (See photo ) what's that about? Never ever been given such at any other restaurant. The Papaya Salad which when asked we requested to be light spicy and unlike the Larb Gai which had nothing spice wise was inedibly lip burning spicy. The crispy rolls were good. Will not return as it wasn't our cup of tea. read more

Cully Central - These are the size of the lettuce leaves served with the Larb Gai. How is one supposed to make wraps with this? - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

OMG! This place is amazing. This place serves the most authentic food from the land lock country of Laos. Great place for good food and sports. read more

Cully Central - We put in an order for all this authentic food. - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Shared a meal at Cully Central with my SIL for lunch. We shared some Nam krao (#7) and some Lao sausage with sticky rice and Lao salsa sauce (#11). For dessert, we got some sticky coconut rice with mango. I also got myself a Thai iced coffee, it was strong but good. Everything was very tasty and remind me to my mom's food. We will be back! read more

Cully Central - #07. Nam Khao + #11. Lao Sausage and Sticky Rice - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

5 stars for the food. I got the Khao Poon and my dinner companion got the Sukiyaki. We also got the firecracker shrimp and mango sticky rice. All of it was excellent and really hit the spot. Minus one star because of the all sports tvs playing on walls. I guess I missed it when I looked at the Yelp that this was also a sports bar? I guess that's a thing some people want? Loatian food and sports? Not really my thing nor what I expected. If I go back I'll just get food to go. read more

Cully Central is an interesting place, consisting of a central building that houses a dining room, a bar with a small "bar food" menu, and a Laotian restaurant with a smallish menu (one orders at the bar). There are also several food carts, and outdoor dining. The Laotian restaurant at Cully Central also sells a selection of prepackaged fried chicken skins with different seasonings, chili sauces, and various animal jerky varieties (very pricey, but good). The food was overall very good, and HOT. Everything tasted extremely fresh. Portion sizes are on the big side. If you like spicy food, you've found your place. Don't like it quite so spicy? No problem, they've got that covered, too because you can order all items with your preferred spice level. I wanted to try the brisket, but they were out. The same was true for the next two items I wanted. We finally settled on larb gai and a sampler platter. Next time, I'll order the larb without cilantro. The larb was delicious nonetheless. The sausage had large chunks of various animal parts, including fat, which, to my palate, was texturally displeasing. If you like such things, though, you'll probably love theirs. The sticky rice was just fantastic, as was the green papaya salad. Oddly, even if not ordering drinks (and are only ordering food), the bartender keeps your credit card and starts a tab. This led to the unfortunate experience with my credit card accidentally not being returned to me when I ordered a mango coconut rice dessert to go, and closed out my tab at the same time. Not being accustomed to having a tab when just ordering food, I'd completely forgotten that they had my card, and I now have to make another trip to pick it up. read more

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This was absolutely killer Laotian food. High quality ingredients, spicy and savory. In my experience Laotian food is similar to Vietnamese cuisine but leans a bit more into the savory than sweet and they like sticky rice and more curries. If you like Thai or Vietnamese def try this. Was the perfect palate cleanser after a heavy day of holiday eating and drinking read more

Honestly, everything here is delicious. Really wish they still had the steak and sticky rice dish from long ago. Tom yum soup is delicious here. read more

Cully Central is a locally-owned, community gem in a diverse NE Portland neighborhood. Tasty food is freshly prepared with options of eating inside or outside. They have an extensive selection of adult beverages on tap. I had the Tom Yum soup today and it's just what I needed for this cold afternoon. We have never had a bad meal or experience here. Service is friendly and there's ample parking on their lot. read more

I have a certain nostalgia for Lao food and this place. We first came here not long after they opened but we live about a hour away so we don't get here as often as we would like. Part of my growing up years (1965 to 1973) was spent on Laos (an interesting time to be there, lost some acquaintances and had a lot of interesting times) and in 1999 or so I took my wife and two kids (seven and ten) to Laos. They loved it and understand better why I love it. To be honest I was a bit nervous, even in the 1990s parts of Laos were very remote, health care outside of Vientiane and a few other places was pretty much nonexistent. But traveling with kids that age turned out to be great. The Lao love kids and the kids and their parents had a great time. So come here, enjoy the food and then visit Laos! This really reminds me of Laos. The food is great, the service is good and the staff is friendly, competent and do not mind questions. read more

Cully Central - Wings and Eggrolls. - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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We found ourselves in the Cully neighborhood on a Saturday at lunchtime and randomly chose this place after a quick search. UM STOP THE PRESSES. It's not close to our house but we came back the following weekend because we couldn't stop thinking about the amazing crispy rice salad. And we'll come back again and again! Truly do yourself a favor and order this dish. Honestly still obsessed with it two months later. read more

Super delicious!! Highly recommend for best Laotian food, excellent selection of draft beers and relaxing atmosphere. The fried rice with lettuce wraps always steal the show. Theres also an outdoor patio area which will be nice to hang out when the weather warms up. We'll be back for sure! read more

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Had the sausage and sticky rice.......was sick for days. The sausages were deep fried and exploded in the fryer. They tasted like burnt deep fryer oil. The sticky rice came in a plastic bag, what the hell. Tried the meatballs on a stick.....right from the Sysco box and barely edible. Never again read more

I was visiting Portland (third time), and my friend took me here. Ambience: It was very family friendly with kids meeting each other and parents relaxing to the 80s music. There was plenty of parking, since it was Saturday and the weather wasn't great for sitting outside. Is the weather ever great for sitting outside? Anyway it was January so cold and rainy. There was not a bustle of food trucks, as predicted by the article, but there was a menu. Food: This was my first time at a Laotian restaurant. A lot of the items looked like ones I'd tried at other Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese places, though: egg rolls, soup bowls, sticky rice, papaya salad. The food was good and very affordable. My friend will definitely be back. They also have a lot of local brews on taps, and Portlandians really do love their brews! Service: Great service. Every bartender seemed like an owner, given their interest, friendliness, patience, and attention. read more

Cully Central - Front of restaurant - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I'm in town on business, and my colleagues were raving about Cully Central. So we stopped at Cully Central for lunch. I loved the restaurant's decor. I especially loved the R&B playlist they were playing. The food was good. Our group ordered a lot of food. We ordered the deep-fried pork potstickers, firecracker shrimp, and a papaya salad for the table. The deep-fried pork potstickers and firecracker shrimp were amazing. We ate all of them. For my entree, I ordered the larb gai. It was flavorful and spicy. One of my colleagues ordered the pork belly sandwich. She said it was not good. My other colleague ordered the khao piek san. She said that was amazing. Overall, I recommend getting the larb gai if you visit Cully Central. read more

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I don't want to be the negative guy here. But frankly we had mixed emotions with respect to cully. Great outdoor seating area and we almost ran through complete menu as we were a group of 10. My thoughts below:- 1) chicken Wings- fish sauce wings. Felt sauce to be bit too strong. I still have our legacy pok pok wings in my head whenever we order a fish sauce wings. Those were the best and miss them badly. This one was just okay. 2) Lao sausage- this one is fantastic and must try 3) Naam Khao- crispy Rice with cured pork and other ingredients. It's good. Expected bit more pork in there. But that wasn't the case. 4) Beef Jerky- lovely crispy sweet jerkies. Try this out ( recommend getting a platter instead trying this as a entree) 5) papaya salad- turned out to be spicy and bit mushy. Couple of our friends like it. It was just okay to me. 6) khao Piek Sen- Did disappoint. Nothing extraordinary to talk about. Ramen/soup in a large bowl 7) spicy noodle's- This one hit the spot. Hot and spicy as mentioned. Good option to lean on. Good portion sizes. One entree could feed probably 2. Nice butterfly picture spot outside. read more

A very welcoming place with a killer outdoor area that can heat your cold night. The Laotian food was excellent and reminded me of eastern Asian living days. I had the rice noodles with quail eggs and then a ground beef salad type dish with red onion and sticky rice, so delicious. I came here as part of a Yelp Elite event and glad I did. We all wore our ugly Christmas sweaters! I recommend trying their beer. It's very unique as they have a mango sticky rice lager and a guava cider, what the heck? The food is great and the prices match what you get. Parking is a bit odd as their parking space in back is limited but adjacent to where you enter their lot you can park of that dude street by the stop sign. read more

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I was so excited to try this place but unfortunately I found out that they usually run out of most of their items almost 2 hours before closing! We came around 6pm on Sunday. The girl at the counter was very apologetic but I was very hungry and so sad. They only had a few salad options and appetizers and that's not why I came here. Sigh, I love a good Larb salad though so I tried that. And honestly it was really really good. Great spice, I loved the sticky rice & portion. It made me even MORE sad because I'm sure the other menu items are even better! Skip the cocktails here and order a beer or cider. I ordered what was supposed to be a pineapple juice & vodka cocktail but I swear it tasted 100% like lime juice and that's it. However I really liked the vibe, the service, and the food I did get to try. Not sure if I'll return soon since I live a ways away, but definitely give them a chance. Get there early ;) read more

Cully Central - Pineapple & vodka cocktail (wayyyy too much lime juice added) - Beer Gardens Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Nice out door seating but like a food cart kind of set up. Make sure you order everything in a shot so you can avoid multiple trips to counter. we went there as a large groups like 10 people and tried most of the dishes from the menu, Spicy noodle and the Lao Sausage was great and a must try, really liked them, After reading many good reviews on chicken wings, we tried that and it was not that great as the fish sauce ( or oyster sauce ) taste was prominent and could not enjoy much. Papaya Salad and the fried crispy friend rice was just ok-ok kinda. read more

Wholy nomdiggity goodness Batman!!! You've gotta chill at this lil' spot. And I don't know about you, but it's been a looooong time since I've had some good Laotian food. Could I find some when I was living in the Bay Area? No. Could I find something hidden in Garden Grove of the OC? Maybe, but I don't recall. Yeah, it's been that long. OK, enough of my Cali snobbiness! Here's my take on this joint: + P A R K I N G + They've got a tiny lot, but we arrived around 4:19pm and easily found a spot. Only about five spaces really. Soon enough, they plan to fill up the lot with other food trucks to put Cully Central on the map! So future parking will likely be street parking only. ++ A T M O S P H E R E ++ Inside dining is open and well spaced out. They've got a few big monitors to catch a game or two. Plus, you'll place your order at the bar. They've got specialty drinks and local beers on tap. Clean! The bar was clean as were the tables. Fancy outside patio picnic tables with some sweet lighting. But wait, I'm suppose to talk about "atmoshphere"... CHILL!!! Folks around me seemed neighborly and polite. The area is old school 'near the airport' sketch, but I was told this neighborhood has greatly improved. Regardless, the patrons around me were happy, probably because of they're grubbin' on dang good food and drinks. Now onto that!!! +++ WE BE G R U B B I N ' +++ Hmm, where do I start? Ugh, where's my phone? OK ~ The cool cat at the counter gave the "what they're known for" answer, and that was #7!!! ~ Nam Khao ($11) - Oh man, crispy salty and spicy (mild) rice that just hit the spot. Mmm, mmm, mmm! Cilantro, chopped green onion, with chopped up cured pork pieces. The lettuce leaf cuts were crunchy, and man, combine it together and this was simply intoxicating but in a food sense! ~ #11 Tha Lao Sausage & Sticky Rice ($12) - Now this dish had three pork sausages. Nice and juicy with every bite. Add that red sauce, and the flavors just explode! Perfect with that sticky rice too! Or use a lettuce leaf. ~ #20 Butterfly Coconut Shrimp ($7) - They use real coconut too! A decent appetizer, but not my favorite. ~ #6 Thum Mak Hoong ($5 sm) aka Papaya Salad - Man'oh'man was this refreshing! It's gotta be the fish sauce or little chillies that brought out the savoriness with these stringy papaya strands. ~ Fishsauce Wings ($7) - So they do other flavors of wings. Typical buffalo, barbecue, but I didn't want that. I means, this place is also a bar so I understand. But I wanted more of that Laotian salty crispy flavor, and these wings fit the bill. ~ Banana Chips ($5 bag) - Umm, I haven't opened the bag yet. I'll update my review once I try them. ++++ O V E R A L L +++++ Great place to kick it! Great tasting food and drinks, and excellent service to go with it! I did meet Nong (family member/manager/owner) and he shared a bit about the place and the community. Great guy! So honestly I'll admit, this is more of a 4-star kind of joint, but the whole set up and satisfying food just gave it that extra edge. However, they do need to update their changing menu board as my receipt prices didn't match the prices on the board. But not a deal breaker for me. I'll still be back! Give them a try, support your locals! read more

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