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    Laughing Monk Cafe

    4.4 (485 reviews)
    ModerateSushi Bars, Thai
    Open 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

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    Laughing Monk Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    LAUGHING MONK CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Laughing Monk Cafe

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    Pad Thai
    Thomas S.

    Solid Sushi and Thai food spot in Boston. I was visiting with my family and this hit the spot for all of us. I've even recommended to friends as well.

    Drunken Noodle
    Coco G.

    Our first day in Boston for the Mother's Day weekend, we went to this delicious Thai restaurant. It was only a 15 minute wait to seat 4 at about 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The place is much bigger on the inside. Staff are very friendly and attentive. We ordered the drunken noodles, tom yum fried rice, vegetable garlic low mein, and yellow curry. Every dish was delicious to the last bite! And the spiciness level was perfect. We also ordered Thai ice coffee and Thai ice tea, which were very sweet due to the generous portion of condensed milk. If I lived in Boston I would be sure to come bacj to try other dishes! Highly recommend

    outside
    Hanay W.

    We popped into laughing monk cafe on a saturday night after a day of moving. The restaurant is small so I would highly recommend a reservation and getting there on time to the reservation because they almost gave up our table when we arrived 2 minutes after. It is a dimly lit, casual restaurant with quick and kind service. I started with the miso soup which was good and ordered the fire dragon roll along with the chicken drunken noodles to share. I loved the fire dragon roll and this was my favorite part of my meal that night. It was a great size and the fish tasted fresh. The drunken noodles were a little mushy but had good flavor. I don't think I would order it again but it was worth the try. Their pricing is fair and service is quick. If I am ever back in Boston and needed a quick casual but cute lunch or dinner, I would definitely come back.

    Rainbow
    Anna S.

    My first time trying the laughing monk cafe and it was very good! We had a big party and decide to do family style. We ordered a variety of entrees from sushi to their Thai food. Everything came quick and hot. I would recommend this place!

    Negihama roll
    Eva A.

    Very casual cute spot, fitting for a date night or a casual meal. We only tried the basic California and negihama rolls but would certainly return to explore other menu options. I appreciate the menu featuring photos of the sushi, wish they added them for every meal!

    Pad Thai
    Shaun L.

    I haven't been to laughing monk in a while and wifey was craving Pad Thai so we decided to give their Thai food a try. Usually we go there for their omakase which is absolutely delicious. Anyway, we ordered on Uber eats and got it pretty quick. It was piping hot because we were a few blocks away. The packaging was interesting, you get pad Thai in an ice cream container. It works and it's better than plastic! The pad Thai was mild, not too sweet or sour. We appreciated it wasn't filled with bean sprouts and was made up entirely of noodles, egg and chicken. It's a great starter pad Thai for people who haven't had it before.

    Top: Fire Dragon Roll Bottom: Tuna Maki
    Angie P.

    Small, cozy interior. Went for dinner because I was craving sushi. Service was quick and staff were friendly. Fire Dragon roll: delicious flavors, fresh, plated beautifully. So good that I ordered a second serving

    Front counter
    John Y.

    I ate at the Gigantic Wonton place next door and grabbed some crispy chicken pad thai for my kid at home. This was in the bag for at least 30-45 minutes before taking the picture. The crispy chicken was still kinda crispy! The pad thai noodles had great flavor. My daughter enjoyed the food. The restaurant looks clean, and ordering the take out was easy. Price is about what is expected. The crispy chicken was an additional $4. Note: - Street parking only, in a very busy area! - Seating appears limited here, so call ahead if you have a large party for dining in.

    Pad Thai, Indonesian fried rice, crispy pork belly. There was also Moo Ping (4).We over ordered and everything was excellent!!
    Peaches G.

    Consistently the best Thai food around! Small space so you have to go early. Very delicious food, quickly prepared, and friendly staff. Popular with many local students and professionals.

    Adam R.

    Great experience at Laughing Monk. Went for the Omakase, which was 14 courses for $175. While nontraditional each dish course was high quality, with large cuts of fish, and good flavor. There were sauces on everything, but they complimented the fish and for the most part never drowned the taste out. I was very pleasantly surprised how much I liked this. The staff is also super friendly and attentive. For ambiance, the restaurant is on the casual side, and not very intimate, so it really doesn't fit the vibe of typical Omakase. But for regular nights the ambiance is fine . I highly recommend giving Laughing Monk a shot, especially the Omakase! Worth the money

    Pad Thai.
    Shirley E.

    Wow... my new favorite. The pad Thai and the presentation. Look at these ingredients, it's as good as it looks

    Veggie Tempura Roll

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    5 months ago

    Food amaZZZIng! Food even better Wiyada was an amazing host!! We felt very comfortable and had such a great dining experience!

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    6 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Love the takeaway, quick and easy online ordering and pleasant service. Good for Thai and Sushi.

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    4 months ago

    Rude staff who were unkind and not accommodating. Would not recommend especially for dine in.

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    9 months ago

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    9 months ago

    Really yummy and reasonably priced foods. Good vegetarian and some vegan options. Efficient service.

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    Page 1 of 13

    Laughing Monk Cafe Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Laughing Monk Cafe

    How many courses are in the omakase?

    12 courses (includes 1 dessert course)

    Is there a la carte on Wednesday night?

    We serve Thai menus all day and more sushi choice on dinner (night) time

    What's the price range for omakase and how many courses in each please?

    This month we offer only 10 course Omakase at $100, we also would like to ask anyone reserve seat at Resy.com under omakase course

    Does this restaurant automatically add 20% service fee to your bill? Three of us just dine in here and the bill automatically includes 20% tip.

    Might be new, but I've never seen this before at this restaurant.

    Do they do the lunch special on Saturdays too?

    sorry, we don't serve lunch specials on weekend.

    Does Laughing Monk offer omakase?

    Yes, we are now serving Omakase by reservation only

    View All 8 Questions

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    Thaitation

    3.8(404 reviews)
    0.7 miFenway
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    We stopped into Thaitation for lunch between visits to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the…read moreMuseum of Fine Arts; it was the perfect spot, since it only took us about 5 minutes out of the way. The restaurant was casual, but nice, and had several other tables of diners at that time. The staff was very friendly, as well. The menu had some really interesting dishes that I had not seen elsewhere, but I was lame and ordered my usual - Chicken Pad See Ew. I found the poultry to be very tender, and the included broccoli was fresh and crisp. I should note that the broccoli used was the popular Calabrese kind, while Chinese broccoli cost $1 more. In fact, there were several upcharges scattered around the menu, which was a bit much. Anyway, back to the dish...In addition to the broccoli, carrots were also included, which was not typical for Pad See Ew, but I was fine with it! The sweet soy sauce was a bit thick, like a light gravy, so that was a bit unusual, but the flavor was terrific! I heard reasonably positive things about their Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles as well. Thaitation would be a place I would frequent if I lived in the area.

    Unassuming restaurant. Not very large, but plenty of open seats on a Friday night. Service was very…read morequick. Noise levels were low for most of the meal, but at one point turned up to blast a rendition of "happy birthday" for another guest - after that, music stayed a bit too loud, which seemed to clash with the otherwise calm ambiance. They didn't ask for our preferred spice levels for the main dishes, and I would've liked everything a little bit spicier. We originally wanted the salmon spring rolls but they were out. We got Tod Mun (fried fish cakes) instead, and they were really tasty. They were smaller but greater in quantity than what I've seen elsewhere, and the sauce was good. I'm not a huge fan of the side salads, though this one surprised me with the spiciness in the dressing. We ordered the mango curry (which comes with chicken, and we added steamed tofu for no charge) and tofu drunken noodles. The noodles were really good, plus looked more appetizing than the similarly-popular pad thai. I was hoping the mango in the curry would be large, beautiful pieces of sweet mango on top, so I was a little disappointed that the small chunks weren't quite as flavorful as I was hoping for. However, I was still quite happy with the dish overall. It also comes with a (pretty small) bowl of rice on the side. The food by itself would be 4 stars for me, except that at the very end of my meal, as I was polishing off the curry, I found a long hair stuck to the bottom of my plate. It didn't match ours, so I know for sure it came from the staff. I know it happens, but the ick factor is hard to get over. Knocked off a star for the unfortunate hair.

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    Thaitation - Coconut Mousse, fresh mango, mango sauce, and raspberry sauce.

    Coconut Mousse, fresh mango, mango sauce, and raspberry sauce.

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    Mahaniyom - Soft shell crab

    Mahaniyom

    4.5(404 reviews)
    0.7 miBrookline Village
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    Delicious! Highly recommend the beef massaman or beef panang - they are kind of similar though so…read morewould recommend only ordering one of the two. The pad thai is also tasty- a lot more moist than normal pad thai. I liked the fried chive cakes; they taste similar to Korean chive pancakes. Salt and pepper pork has a slight kick to it. I liked it but was more excited by the other dishes. All in all great experience!

    Came here yesterday with 3 others for a 7:30pm reservation that I booked a month in advance…read more Otherwise, you're looking at a 4pm or 10pm reservation. Found street parking easily on surrounding streets. The restaurant is small, with low tables, high tables, and bar seating. The other reviewers are accurate in saying that the table next to you is only a few inches away. For 4 of us, we ordered 2 Thai iced teas, khao tang na tung (rice crackers), jor puu, kai tod had yai (fried chicken), beef massaman, classic pad thai, and crab fried rice. I was not a huge fan of the rice crackers as they tasted a bit bland. Standouts were the crab fried rice and the beef massaman. Jor puu was good, the fried chicken was good, although it seemed less fried and more grilled. Pad thai was average to me as were the Thai iced teas. Overall, was a good meal and we left satisfied and full. But I don't think it was exceptional enough to warrant a month-long waitlist for a normal dinner time, although I'm sure much of this is due to making Bib Gourmand recently. Glad I got to try it once but there are other Thai places I'd be more willing to go back to.

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    Nud Pob Thai Cuisine - Pad See You

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    3.9(408 reviews)
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    WOW. This place is my all-time favorite Thai restaurant in the Boston area. I've had a few…read moredifferent things here that hit it out of the park every time, but the biggest reason to keep coming back here is that they have a dish I've never seen at any other Thai places: Ba Mee Song Kruang. I had never heard of this dish before but it quickly became a favorite in my household and we always order at least one order of it. Basically, it is described as "thin egg noodles with Thai style roast pork, fish balls, chinese broccoli, bean sprouts, and topped with crispy wonton." It is AMAZING. On top of what's listed, it comes with ground pork in the noodles and a sweet and savory sauce that perfectly coats the egg noodles. There are 3 different kinds of fish balls - a shrimp one, a whitefish one, and a fried one, as well as peanuts, deliciously juicy roast pork (char sew), and the crispy wontons add that perfect extra texture and crunch. Man, if I could eat this every week I would. Easily a 5/5 - this is the only place I've seen this dish and it is out of this world. The rest of the menu is also great, but you absolutely have to try the Ba Mee Song Kruang if you come here.

    Very awesome and authentic Thai cuisine located in the BU neighborhood, they have great curries and…read morealso nice beverages like Thai iced teas and lychee sodas. Service is prompt and they call your number and the interior is fantastic. Was in BU for a WIPIP conference and got lunch with my Professor friend Dustin. Recommended!

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    Laughing Monk Cafe - sushi - Updated May 2026

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