Food - I had the Drunken Noodles. Now I've had this food at several restaurants in my area but this was the best so far. The beef was tender and plentiful. They did not skimp. The flavors were spot on the mark. The heat level I ordered was their highest but it was more a medium. That's my only complaint. Service - they had a greeter and I was lead to my table. It wasn't even two minutes before my waitress was there with menus and to get my drink order. By the way, try their tea . Then she made a good recommendation but I went with the Drunken Noodles. She checked on me several times during the meal. Ambiance- pleasant. Tasteful. For a strip mall restaurant, I was impressed. Would I return again? YES read more

Lao Ocean - Kee Mao / Drunken Noodles - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

This is in a strip mall and it is a place where you walk up to a window to order and the. They deliver the food to your table. First up was an appetizer of steamed dumplings. They were ok. I've tasted better. My husband had the masaman yellow curry spice #3. He added sriracha sauce to it as he couldn't taste any spice. Maybe they forgot? I had the drunkin noodle spicy #3 and it was perfect heat for me. My drunken noodle was delicious but nothing special. This place had almost 5 star rating with 8 reviews which was what brought us here. Service was excellent and friendly. We were here around 1:30-2 and there were a few others seated eating. They have an extensive menu and we only tried one app, 2 main and 2 desserts so based on just that we give an average 3 stars for everything. We are staying on Okaloosa Island, Ft Walton Beach and have discovered several very good Thai restaurants around this area we have had the pleasure of eating at. read more

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I was pleased to see that they had Nam Khao and was excited to try it. I expected more from a place with decent reviews. The food was pretty bland, nothing special. The staff was friendly so i'll give them that. read more

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Lao food for my mom's birthday on the road! Such a good hole in the wall. Our waiter was extremely kind and helpful! The food came out fast and was very tasty. Our favorites were the green curry and mango sticky rice! They had pandan green rice and taro purple rice! Would recommend going here! It was a yummy Lao/thai fusion read more

Lao Ocean - Chicken wing - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

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Oh my gosh, the food was so good, I had to tell my husband to finish my food so I would stop eating it! We sat outside since we had dogs, but the staff were friendly and quick! Lao Ocean doesn't seem like much from peering in, but it's definitely worth a visit! read more

Amazing food and my go to in the Gulf Breeze area. Pineapple fried rice is truly incredible and not to be missed.

I love their sticky rice... the curry shrimp and beef was ok..the fried rice was good too read more

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Vacationing in Pensacola and excited to discover a Lao restaurant. Being Laotian myself, I love the name of the restaurant. It's even more fitting that the restaurant is close to the ocean! I didn't have high expectation since it doesn't seem like there's enough Laotians around for them to serve authentic Lao food. They proved me wrong. They have the option of Lao style (more pungent) or Thai style papaya salad. They even serve mee Katit, a traditional creamy rice noodle soup from Laos. I don't know of many Lao restaurants that would even serve this dish. Everything we tried was delicious. The restaurant was packed for lunch on a weekday with a mixture of crowds. I was excited to see so many people enjoying Lao food! read more

Lao Ocean - Fried pork belly, Lao style papaya salad and Mee Katit - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

I love their sticky rice, it's very similar to what I had in Laos. The green papaya salad was great. read more

We had the Panang Curry and Pad Thai. It was as good as I have had. Restaurant is very well layed out, comfortable, nice low background music. Food presentation was excellent- there's a talented there. read more

Tasty Thai Food in an unexpected place. Pick up times are not accurate, plan much longer.

So glad this place did not close. Their food is always great. Counter service and sit where you want, then enjoy! You won't be disappointed. read more

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Pandan mango sticky rice my fav dessert. Sooo freaking yummy my second time ordering it read more

Lao Ocean - Mango Sticky Rice - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

Order before you sit down - the person taking our order was very nice and patient with us when my husband didn't know what he wanted. Pho definitely tasted like Laos style - which I do like and it came with a lot of meat. However, there was barely any broth. The fried chicken wings were okay. I loveeeeee me some Pad kee Mao, but this was just okay. The noodles were not my favorite, I prefer fresh noodles - it tasted like the dry noodles (I don't mind them but not for my pad kee mao). I wish they would've used fresh pepper instead of powder chili pepper for spice. They have a take out area where you can grab your own to go boxes, which was pretty convenient. read more

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What a wonderful first time experiencing this hidden gem! Food was fresh and delicious! Looking forward to going back and working my way down the menu! read more

Lao Ocean - Mee Ka Tee - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

The people are amazing! We eat regularly at this restaurant and the food is always consistent and fantastic! I highly recommend!

Good fried rice but not alcohol , the service was tooooooo slow!unless you have a long time to eat do not come here

Date of Visit: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 My boyfriend recently had lunch at Lao Ocean in Pensacola, FL, while he was in town for work. He ordered the Pad Thai dish, which he mentioned tasted good. Unfortunately, his experience took a turn for the worse. After his meal, he boarded a connecting flight back home to Virginia. During the flight, he began feeling nauseous and attributed it to exhaustion from three consecutive weeks of travel. However, by the time I picked him up from the airport around midnight, he was experiencing severe stomach pain and frequent trips to the bathroom. It became apparent that he had food poisoning, as the meal from Lao Ocean was the only one he had that day. The symptoms persisted well over 48 hours, which is typical for food poisoning recovery. While he initially enjoyed the taste of the food, the subsequent health issues and discomfort were not worth it... Given this experience, we are quite disappointed and urge the restaurant to ensure better food safety practices to prevent future incidents. Thank you. read more

On a rainy December day I couldn't think of a better restaurant near the house than Lao Ocean. If you are looking for some soul warming food, think soup, and there are several here to try. If you haven't seen the off the menu soups let alone taste them, you are missing out. There is an Onion Soup that tastes just like Funyuns and it is actually sprinkled with them. Think East meets West. A light Asian version of French onion soup. No cheese or bread. Then there's the Shumai Soup. It is a lighter broth, maybe vegetable based, with shumai floating around in it with tender baby bok choy. Both are delicious! We have seen the Shumai Soup offered as a special of the day before, but today we called and they said they had it, even though it was not on the specials menu board. Then there is the Lao Beef Pho, the Pho Gai (chicken pho), Miso soup, Tom Yum, and Tom Ka. We haven't tried all of them yet. They're so good we discussed buying one of each of the soups and freezing them for the future. How wonderful would it be if you had a cold to warm up some of those soups? Other things we ordered were the egg roll which somehow are impossibly light feeling in your mouth, without that greasy coating so many egg rolls will give you. I'm not sure how they accomplish it but there might be rice vermicelli in them with the vegetables. I could eat like five orders of them. So good! We both ordered the fried rice. I ordered the Lao Fried Rice with shrimp as my added protein. Helen ordered Lao Seafood Fried Rice which was a special for the day. Both were fantastic! You know how you can never get the rice to be perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside at home? These guys can accomplish it no problem! It's perfectly cooked, and perfectly seasoned. Just a little bit of soy sauce to finish, and it's an explosion of flavor in your mouth! It was a ridiculous amount of food for two people, but we planned it that way. We wanted lots of leftovers to eat for the remainder of the dreary weekend. By Sunday afternoon everything was gone! If you haven't tried Lao Ocean do yourself a favor! Don't forget that they have sushi too! The Super Seaweed Salad is where it's at! read more

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Pretty neat spot. Nice to see a Lao restaurant while traveling. My parents are from Laos (Southeast Asia), so I was pretty excited to see this restaurant here. We had to check it out. You pretty much walk up to the counter to place your order. The drink machine is to the right of the counter and that's where you grab your cup and silverware. They bring your food out to you when it's ready. They were pretty quick with cooking their food. They have a variety of dishes on their menu. They have sushi, etc. it's not just Lao food. I decided to order the beef pho and drunken noodle. The drunken noodle was very good. I felt the noodles were cooked perfectly, the color looked great, and the seasoning was awesome. I got it on a spice level 2. The beef pho had A LOT of flavor. It tasted like a lot of MSG. It wasn't bad, though. I liked how it came with beef, meatballs, and the brisket. The brisket was very tender so I felt that they did a really good job on the brisket in it. Overall, we did not have a bad experience. The customer service was pretty good. We were greeted as soon as we walked in, and our server did a great job. read more

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This place is amazing! Location is in the Walmart/ Starbucks parking lot on the side facing Holiday Inn. Absolutely amazing staff. I found this by actually doing a door dash at lunch time and I HAD TO GO BACK! Authentic! Delicious!! JUST GO! read more

Lao Ocean - Pho Beef - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

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I've eaten sushi all over the world, but this role was phenomenal. When we pulled in the cars, grass overgrown was a little unsure, but inside the place was clean and very nice. Great service and the food was delicious. read more

Food and drinks are too sweet for my liking. Tried it twice. Dining area was packed when I went.

THIS PLACE!!! Get the drunken noodles with pork and pork shu mai. Pineapple fried rice is also amazing. They were actually supposed to close within the last couple of years and the community was outraged so they stayed open. This place is amazing! read more

My family loved Lao Ocean. Over the last 4-5 months we have noticed a change in quality of the food. The staff has changed as well. While friendly, I believe the former staff is being held hostage and the former way of doing things is under siege. We have moved on and sorry to see the "real"Lao Ocean go. If you like cafeteria style, fast food Chinese, you will like it. read more

My family went there for lunch during our vacation. The menu has a lot of options, almost overwhelming to choose what we wanted. We picked out 5 different dishes just to try them out even though there were only 3 of us. We saved leftovers for dinner. I was skeptical if the food was going to be good because there were so many options. However; the food was fresh and delicious. Service was quick and friendly. The restaurant was nice and clean. We would definitely go there again if we're ever in the area. read more

First time and won't be the last. Super good and quick. My fighting teens were quiet for 15 min and making yum sounds with each bite. They offer a military discount which is wonderful. Can't wait to come back. read more

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Food was amazing. Service was extremely friendly as well. Would definitely recommend. Forgot to take pictures of the food but ordered the chicken noodles with 1 spice and Philly roll, definitely recommend. read more

Really Fast Food, I mean it was ready in about 7 min. I ordered the 1) Papaya Salad and the 2) Pork Basil. The Papaya Salad was fresh, came with a slice of lime, and a few pieces of cabbage on a piece of lettuce for $8.00. The Pork Basil was ground much like a chicken larb, and had great flavor. It tasted fresh as well. I went around 6 PM and they were fairly busy, I wanted to order a Boba tea as well, but the lady at the counter said I could NOT because they were too busy to make it. So I ordered a coke. I saw many orders of Boba tea after my request from Online orders and a couple that were from other customers in the dine in that area. This was ok, I understand being busy. Before I left, she did offer that I could make one, but I had to leave soon so I didn't. I will still go back and try to get boba tea, but this is why I give 4 stars and not 5. Maybe, better luck next time. If you want Boba tea, order online, to get it for certain!!! read more

Lao Ocean - Pork Basil is quite good $11.00 comes with side of rice. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

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We came here while on our spring break vacation. We are originally from Texas and the Lao food there is delicious. So when we decided to try this place out, we were kind of curious to taste the difference. When we walked in the place, it looked very calm and clean. The lady at the register was very nice and sweet when taking our order. Our food was delivered in a timely manner, and it was fresh. Let me tell you their flavor in the Nam Khao was perfect. The chicken wings were hot and crispy. And the papaya salad was pretty tasty on the spice level we chose. They clearly did not disappointed. Definitely recommend this place, whether your vacationing or a local. read more

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This isn't my go to style of food but we had a birthday grandpa that had seniority over the decision but we were all very happy when we walked out with full belly's. Exceeded all my expectations and then some! The noodles were good to perfection. The sauce was awesome. The staff were so patient and kind (we had 8 in our group). The restaurant lacked a cool vibe but the temperature inside was perfect and the food made up for no decorations! Will be back when we are in town again! read more

Lao Ocean - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

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Best Thai food in town! The me ka tee soup, a flavorful coconut soup, is my favorite soup. We also love their crab rangoons, pad Thai, drunken noodles, and garlic stir fry. We only wish they were open on Sundays! read more

First time eating over 3mile bridge off P'cola area. Theres this small asian cuisine but I think the owner came from Laos, hence, they are called Lao Ocean! Place looks clean and spacious. The servers are friendly and kind. The atmosphere overall is great! Now down to business, the place is quite pricey for asian cuisine. We ordered shrimp pad thai, volcano roll and tuna roll along with beef pho. Our rolls came with very mushy rice, looks overcooked, the taste is not quite tasty- it taste different compare to other Sushi places like sushi masa, ichiban or other sushi joint. Its quite expensive $18 for the volcano and $11 for spicy tuna. Shrimp pad thai- taste great. For $18, theres enough shrimp so actually feel you you ate worth that price. Its just right, the spice mixed together with 3max spicy , its not that bad. I recommend this pad thai. The beef pho taste like not any other pho around the area. It has a different taste compare to Viet beef pho where you can taste how long they cook their beef. This place offers a diff taste. Its hard to explain without eating it again. Try it! In the end, we end up paying $$$$$ $64 for a lunch date. read more

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Their curry is the best in the area. I enjoy exploring the unique flavors and spices, and funky food combinations... and I haven't been disappointed yet. Definitely try the Mango Sticky Rice for desert, perfect for 2. Everything is always fresh and better priced than similar options in fancier places. I've met several of service providers and all were very accommodating, kind and helpful. The atmosphere is simple like you would see at a hamburger joint and seating is limited, considering their potential to get very popular quickly. I go once a week at least! read more

Traveling with two toddlers are not easy, especially when finding a restaurant to eat. This place made our life easier! The stuff are nice, also understands the kids could be a little crazy. Oh, did I mention the beef Pho was on point?! read more

The most authentic Laotian/Thai food in the area. Was pleasantly surprised to see Nam Khao on the menu! Everything we tried was SO good!

Lao Ocean had an amazingly diverse menu. The location was very clean and the staff were extremely welcoming and friendly. read more

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I'm a big fan of the wings here. They are amazing when they are fresh. I ask for the garlic sauce and chili oil to drizzle over them. The fried rice is really good as well. They have an app that these little crispy fried beef that's similar to jerky that I enjoy as well. Great neighborhood spot that always satisfies. Double check the hours because they do close between lunch and dinners read more

Lao Ocean - Lao fried rice - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

What a welcome surprise to find vegan food we could eat nearby where we were staying on Pensacola Beach. The menu is a blend of Laotian, Thai and Japanese. You order at the counter and they bring the food to you. We tried two different curries and enjoyed them both. Judging by how busy they were for lunch I'd say the locals were enjoying and supporting them as well as tourists. read more

Lao Ocean - Panang curry and red curry - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida

This place has some amazing food! The staff is super friendly and helpful. Definitely worth the stop. I recommend the thom khem(caramelized pork). However, you can't go wrong with anything here. There are many, many tasty dishes to try! read more

Lao Ocean - Thom khem (caramelized pork) and rice - Sushi Bars Near Me - Gulf Breeze, Florida