This is a neighborhood Thai restaurant located right by the Marketplace on Park street. We came just as they opened and we had the place to ourselves for about 1/2 an hour. The decor gives a tropical vibe with lots of greenery and bistro lights. The food, which was amazing, came out quickly for the first 1/2 hour. Then as the place filled up, it took a while to get our dessert. So, if you're in a hurry, I suggest coming early. What we got: + Kids chicken wings - these are crispy wings and drums that have no sauce. The kids ate these up! + Angel wings - more chicken wings, but these are coated in chili sauce. + Curry puffs - these are fried pastry filled with curry potatoes. Kinda like a blend of samosa + empanada. + Phad ke Mao - flat noodles with veggies, chili sauce and basil. Optionally add protein. This was very delicious and one of my favorite dishes. + Broccoli stir-fry - you can optionally add protein. This was your typical broccoli beef (or other protein). + Yellow Curry (with chicken) - again protein is optional. This was really good. The curry was very flavorful with chunks of potatoes and sliced carrots. + Fried bananas and ice cream - the banana is deep fried with a light crispy coating. Was a nice way to end the meal. We enjoyed everything here, and best of all, the kids did too. A really nice family restaurant in a convenient location. read more

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Found this place because of Tik Tok! The inside of the restaurant is so cute and comfortable. I was so glad they have a parking lot behind the building because parking sucks in the area. The food here was also sooo good! My husband and I ordered a bunch of different things. Yellow curry - nice consistency and full of vegetables and chicken. Pad See Ew - noodles had a good chew and it wasn't overly salty. Angel wings - wings were coated in a nice sauce, but still had a good crunch. Salt & pepper fish with fried rice - the literal star of the show; the fish was so flaky and perfectly seasoned; the fried rice was perfectly cooked. The service here was just okay. We had 2 ladies serve us and they were both so nice, but they did forget items for our order a few times and they did forget our drinks. Plus, we had asked for the check and waited maybe 10-15 minutes for it to be brought out, even though we were the only table remaining. Other than that, no notes and we'll come back again. read more

Mekong Kitchen - Laotian Near Me - Alameda, California

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Quality/Quantity - Finally made it here. Today we got the following: Garlic Noodle - Combo was $3 more. Phad Si Ew - Pork, consistent with all their competitors. Hard to mess this up. Nam Kao - My daughter ordered this for my wife as we knew it would be her favorite and it was. A very healthy option. Overall the food was good, but nothing special. And each dish is only enough for 1 person and do keep in mind that ALL 3 of us are light eaters. So if you are an average or an above average eater, you will need to also order an appetizer, dessert, drink, etc. Ambiance - I think the 3rd or 4th Thai restaurant here, good luck. Small but a busy shared parking lot in the rear of the building. We were still able to get a space in the very back. Open 6 days a week, see websites or Yelp for specific hours. Closed Thursday. Service - Okay. Price - $51 + tip. $2 cash discount for our order; see picture. Slightly expensive for what we got. The waitress made a mistake when giving my change back, but once I brought it to her attention, it was an easy fix without hesitation. Owner Comment - Congrats on all your success since Jan of 2025. read more

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Stopped by for lunch with some friends. I remember there being another restaurant at this same location sometime in the past, but hopefully this place lasts a bit longer. Most of us ordered the lunch special, and I ordered the prad kee mao. This stuff was delicious! Saucy but not wet, and well flavored without being too strong in any given category. This is my go-to point of comparison for Thai restaurants and this did pretty well on that front. Staff were friendly and were on top of things at our table. The restaurant itself is very large but doesn't feel too spacious, and you can still have a private conversation with friends. It was a perfect space for us to catch up today! In short: solid place for Thai food in Alameda. I'd definitely come again if I were in the area! read more

Saw a clip on Instagram so I decided to venture forth. The restaurant was filled. Service was good and friendly. Ordered eggplant, curry, and Pad seeawe. Both delicious and priced fairly! read more

Mekong Kitchen - Laotian Near Me - Alameda, California

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This place has so much potential but their service was horrible on my last visit. The place was completely empty but our waitress said she wasn't allowed to give us another bowl so we can share the noodle soup. "We have to save our bowls for other guests in case we run out." My partner and I were the only table dining there during lunch. She then randomly brings us our check in the middle of our meal like she wanted us to leave. read more

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We had dinner at Mekong Kitchen and everything we ordered was absolutely delicious! The food was fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. We tried several different dishes and honestly enjoyed every single one. The service was great as well, and everyone was friendly and welcoming. Definitely a gem in Alameda. We'll absolutely be coming back and highly recommend giving this place a try! read more

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I've seen this spot when they participated in restaurant week, but did not get to come here. Recently tried it. Looking forward to stuff chicken wing, unfortunately, they did not have it. Ordered salt and pepper wings, had high hopes, however, tasted no spice, it was hot out the oil, the crunch was right. But taste was lacking. I also ordered pad see ew, which was good, I must have been starving... I inhaled it. I would return to try other items. Waiter was chill and helpful. Ambiance was good, because we got there a bit close to their closing read more

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Pad kee mao extremely mid, disappointment. Service is excellent so 5* for the sweet waitress but I won't be back. Too much amazing thai food in Alameda skip this place. read more

Mekong Kitchen - Beef pad kee mao, beef not good flavor, needed to be marinated much better! - Laotian Near Me - Alameda, California

Today was my third time at Mekong Kitchen and it confirmed I won't be coming back. I didn't write a review after my first two visits because I thought maybe the bad service was just a one-time thing, but after three visits now, it clearly isn't. The food is actually pretty good, but the service completely ruins the experience. Everything is extremely slow. The food takes forever and the service is just as slow and inattentive. There were only two people working the front, one waiter and one waitress. You ask for something and it either never comes or you have to ask multiple times. My green curry lunch special took almost 30 minutes, and I didn't order anything complicated. I asked for Thai chili with fish sauce and chopsticks and never got them until I flagged down the waiter. It wasn't just me either. The table next to me never got their rice because she forgot. By the time she came back, they were almost done eating. They asked for fish sauce too, but that never came either, so they just gave up and asked for a to-go box. Even getting the check took flagging someone down again. There was also a group of six nearby, looked like they were from PG&E, and they were clearly frustrated. No one came to take their order for a long time. They asked her for drinks and those didn't come out until much later. You could literally see the annoyance on everyone's faces. The service overall just felt unorganized and unprofessional. The waitress looked like she just rolled out of bed wearing sweats and a T-shirt and was very soft spoken, to the point it was hard to hear her. I overheard the waiter apologizing to another table saying she was new and that's why service was slow, but that's not true. I've been here months ago and she was already working here then, and the same issues were happening. It honestly feels like they're understaffed and not properly trained. Both the front and kitchen need help. This is especially frustrating during lunch when people don't have time to sit around waiting forever. This place has potential because the food is good, but the service is consistently one of the worst I've experienced. If they want to stay in business, they need to make some serious changes. I won't be coming back, and based on what I saw from other customers, I'm definitely not the only one. read more

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Another great visit to Mekong Kitchen! Dining area was comfy and clean as usual. Service was prompt and friendly. Most importantly the food we ordered was delicious and fresh tasting! Highly, highly recommend the Pad Thai. The very best on the island. read more

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Great place with exceptional food! Staff is very welcoming and knowledgeable about the cuisine. Beautiful restaurant and love that its family ran. read more

Mekong Kitchen - Laotian Near Me - Alameda, California

Just dropped in to get some take- away Yellow Curry. This is certainly my favorite restaurant. Thank you Liz, the very sweet waitress, took my order right away. And it was ready in 15 minutes or less. Thank you Michael. It's delicious. read more

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I tried Mekong Kitchen on a sunny Saturday evening at 5pm. I had the Seafood Noodle Soup and Grilled Chicken. Both dishes had very mild flavors, with very little seasoning. Which was okay. The Seafood Noodle Soup was loaded with shrimp, fish balls, and pieces of fish. A garnish of basil and bean sprouts were offered. Chili oil and soy sauce were available on the table. The very soft noodles were easy to eat. The scallions and bok choy added color to the soup. The warm broth had a mild taste, and not salty at all. Price: $21. The Grilled Chicken was a colorful presentation, but not what I expected. It was three pieces of grilled chicken on a bed of salad. Although the chicken had grill marks, it didn't taste like it came from a grill. It had little seasoning or flavor. I ended up taking it home. I ended my meal with a Thai Iced Coffee. The bold rich flavor was delightful, and was perfect for a warm day. Service was attentive and prompt. One young man served the entire dining room. The decor is creative, yet simple. There's bar seating and plenty of tables. The dining room has a high ceiling, with strings of lights. Why 4-stars? Depending on when you come, there is alot of traffic noise from Park Street. It's not the restaurant's fault, but I didn't have a 5-star "perfect" experience. read more

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I went to Mekong Kitchen for the first time because I saw an IG influencer, and I was right across the street from the restaurant at dinner time. I ordered their salt and pepper wings, egg rolls and crispy rice. The crispy rice was so good, the egg rolls were satisfying too. The chicken was just ok. But I will go back for the crispy rice! That was easily my favorite! read more

Been wanting to try this place since it became Mekong Kitchen and we had the opportunity after a movie night nearby. They close at 10 pm on Saturdays so we had enough time to dine there after the movie ended at 9 pm. We met our friends there after the movie and it is brightly lit compared to the former restaurant that occupied it previously. Friendly attentive service. We ordered eggplant, Pad See Ew and Woon Sen. The eggplant was tasty and had a little kick to it and hubby and I shared the woon sen which was delish. The menu is huge and there is something for everyone. I would go back to try the weekday lunch specials as parking is available in the back on Buena Vista and there are so many items still to try. Only thing is the lights at night made the dining area warm with no ventilation read more

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Food was incredibly tasty and fresh! Beautiful decor and atmosphere. Servers were nice and food came out quickly. Ordered a meal to go since the food was so good. Would definitely recommend to anyone who likes Thai food with the Laos twist. Yummy on all levels! read more

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Mekong Kitchen opened seamlessly into The Noodle Lover Club's space with little retrofitting. Seated quickly, courteously by associate who also was the "chef". Ordered. Food came quickly in 5ish minutes. Came for Tuesday's Lao Specials which are no longer offered. Offerings (Thai): lunch specials. Appetizers, curries, soups, grills, salads, noodles, rice entrees, desserts. Just 2 Lao entrees. Bites: Lao Sukiyaki (18) +glass noodle as free carb, fried wings as free appetizer. Came with salad. -small salad tasty with red cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce.. fresh it was. The usual dressing. -wings crunchy outer texture paired nicely with moist nonjuicy meat inside. Passed on dipping sauce. Sukiyaki came in an sterno fueled mini wok, keeping soup hot. -broth didn't have touted "homemade sesame peanut soup" taste. Plenty of glass noodles with a single bland shrimp, some calamari, a poached egg, fish balls, green onions, bean sprouts, bok Choy...contents of soup tastier than soup itself. 3.5 stars lunch specials, happy hour main attractions. read more

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New Lao restaurant in Alameda and everything was SO good! We came with empty stomachs, got everything the server recommended us, and cleared off all our plates. The angel wings were so flavorful and delicious I really recommend. Also must haves are the Nam Kao, Lao Sausage, Papaya Salad, and Phad Ke Mao. I wish this place the best business because their food is flavorful and delicious, their servers are super nice, and the location is great. Will definitely be returning!! read more

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I wanna give a 4 but I'll do a 3 for this particular visit due to some missed marks. Overall this is a great spot, but there were some question marks during my visit. Ambiance was great. Clean and modern. I liked the lights they had strung up. Service was slow. It seemed like there was only 1 waitress so she had to take all the orders and do everything, so it's understandable. What we ordered: 1) Fried Tilapia: 1/5 unfortunately this came undercooked and they offered to refry it, in which it just came out super dry. Still had that fishy taste too. They had partially comped the dish, so that was nice of them. 2) Nam Kao: 5/5 this was my favorite dish I had. Super fresh and crunchy. Wish they gave more lettuce though, but highly recommend! 3) Angel Wings: 3/5 they were a little TOO sticky and sweet. It was super fresh and hot which was great. 4) Oasis Hotpot: 5/5 I loved the broth! Super clean and delightful. Flavorful as well. Lots of veggies! 5) Pad Si Ew: 3/5 It was great, but sadly too sweet. I started noticing a lot of their dishes come pretty sweet. 5) Pad Ke Mao: 3/5 Same comments as well. 6) Thai Green Tea: 5/5 SUPER DELICIOUS! Highly recommend. Overall food was great but there was always one thing that missed the mark. I noticed all their dishes are pretty sweet so FYI! It would be great if they could use less sugar. Portion sizes are huge for the price. Great deal. This place has huge potential! I would come to try again! Food is actually really good, just too sweet. read more

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Didn't even try this place. Went on Friday & walked thru those doors & NOBODY helped us. Waited for 10 mins then went to talk to a server & she said they are understaff and can't even help us. & then customers were walking out bc they sat there for 2 hours & waited! Horrible customer service, never coming here. At least be considerate and write a goddamn sign because I drove to Alameda for no reason. Don't even plan on stopping here, you're going to waste your time and wait forever. I don't even know who the owner is, but they need to shut this place down, have a meeting & write down a game plan for busy day smh read more

Flavorful bold tasty.... salt and pepper fish, pork chop and nam kao. Airy space with beautiful decorations and nice touches. Food came fast, staff was friendly and discount if paying with cash. Also have a happy hour worth checking out! Can't wait to come back! read more

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I've past this place a million times and finally went in and it was an amazing decision! The menu had a wide variety of great options, the food was fantastic and great quality. The servers were super friendly, and it had a cute vibe inside. Definitely a place to come and try and try again! read more

Mekong Kitchen - Sticky Rice With Mango - Laotian Near Me - Alameda, California

I feel so bad because this experience would've been better had this restaurant staffed better. One person working with multiple parties coming in. By time we sat down there was multiple big parties waiting. I ordered angel wings and the birds nest combo. My friend ordered pork belly stir fry. All the food that did come was good and flavorful. Unfortunately my birds nest never arrived even after I was told it was being cooked. The help finally arrived but by time that happened we were ready to leave. Tik Tok made this place popular. STAFF ACCORDINGLY!!! read more

I love Lao Style Papaya Salad. I am obsessed with it. So you know I was super excited when I found Mekong Kitchen in Alameda. We went for lunch and ordered the Lao Style Papaya Salad, Nam Kao and Mussuman Chicken. The Papaya Salad was delicious. Savory, sweet and spicy with a little umami. It was our first time trying the Nam Kao. I loved the textures of this simple yet tasty dish. I wish they gave more lettuce tho. The Mussuman Chicken was alright. My husband loves Mussuman, but I much prefer Panang Curry. All in all a solid lao/thai meal. Customer service was good too. read more

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Nam Kao was very tasty. The rice had good mix of flavor and texture. One of the best I've had from the various Thai restaurants. So definitely will get Nam Kao again next time. Angel wings which to them should be chicken wings since it is not what angel wings should be compared to other Thai restaurants where it would be chicken thigh stuffed with glass noodles etc. but it has good flavor and was delicious. The Phad Kee Mao was so so. Lacking the overall flavor of what it should taste like and I prefer fried noodles to have some smoky taste to it when it is cooked at high heat. Param sauce was flavorful, and the steamed vegetables had a good variety to it. The downside of it was that the meat (pork) was on the not so tender side and a little overcooked. read more

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An unassuming neighborhood restaurant. Parking can be a bit tricky. This restaurant is a more of a homestyle cooking. The food is simple yet very tasty. The service can be a bit of a challenge as it is very slow and difficult to get the server's attention. Unfortunately, we consistently experience the same issue each visit. But despite that, the food is what kept us coming back to this place. read more

Great service, even with the poor waitress being the only one covering the front door and entire restaurant. Pleasant atmosphere and great flavors. Very distinct and unique tastes, and very quick turnaround. Only open a year. Small parking lot in back nice spicy but not overly spicy read more

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First time visiting. Service is slow and they forgot our items in the to go order. Check your takeout. Also no one picks up the phone. Pretty bad service. Learn from the last 2 thai shops that closed in this same location. read more

Mekong Kitchen specializes in the flavors of Southeast Asian cuisine with menu selections from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and beyond! We started with the fiery, funky Lao Papaya Salad, a mixture of shredded green papaya, chilies, tomatoes, crab paste, shrimp paste, and a fermented anchovy sauce, served with rice noodles and cabbage, which tamed the strong flavors. The Chicken Larb was another delightfully spicy mixture of ground chicken seasoned with fish sauce, lime juice, rice powder, red onions, cilantro, and mint. From the selection of noodle soups, the Khao Poun was a light coconut curry broth with rice noodles, tender bone-in chicken, and pork blood cubes, garnished with scallions, bean sprouts, and shredded green & red cabbage. The Pun Pa chef special was a whole scored and fried pampano fish served with rice noodles, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and romaine lettuce leaves for making your own wraps! The platter also came with three different sauces including a sweet sauce topped with peanuts, Thai chili sauce, and my favorite, an herbaceous, umami Cambodian seafood sauce, which you could mix and match to customize flavors. But my favorite dish of all was the Nam Kao, or rice ball salad, made with crispy broken balls of rice mixed with ground pork, fermented pork sausage, coconut, cilantro, scallions, peanuts, and lime dressing. The mixture contained perfectly crispy bits of rice and featured a delicious combination of flavors--savory, spicy, tangy, and herbaceous in each and every bite! Overall, the food at this locally-run restaurant was on point, and the owner was super friendly too! read more

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Absolutely delicious! I came here with my family for dinner and loved every single item that we ordered. We ordered the; Pad Thai - You can't go wrong with pad Thai. Sweet, hints of sour plus the crunch and freshness from the soybean sprouts made this noodle dish an all encompassing meal that really opened up my appetite. Chicken Larb - I loved this dish! The chicken was well made and cooked. Using the lettuce to make a wrap and with nothing but meat and veggies is the ultimate healthy macro friendly food! Nam Kao - This place makes this dish well! The crispy rice was excellent and added a lot of texture to this dish. Accompanied with the pork and sausage bits made this oh so delightful. Every bit packed a ton of flavor! I will definitely be coming here again! Everything was solid! read more

Right across from Alameda Marketplace, this was the first time we tried this family-run restaurant and had a very good meal. A pleasingly wide array of dishes, including the usual Thai restaurant fare (the tom yum was too sweet and bland for our tastes, which probably means we'll stay away from the curries, too). The Lao sausage was tasty but not as spicy as we like it. Good grill on it tho. Excellent sticky rice. The little girl running around to ask us if we needed anything every few minutes was a cute touch. Very new and clean. read more

Just a heads up if you're thinking of checking out MK for lunch. My friends, her 7-year-old, and I grabbed a bite there today. The place was practically empty (maybe 10% full), and the food was super underwhelming and really salty. Worse though was the vibe. If you want to hang around and chat after eating, they will definitely frown on it. Our server kept coming over to grab dishes, which I thought was great service at first. But then she took our water glasses without asking, never offered refills, and straight-up asked if we were done while we were in the middle of talking (mind you, it was only 2:00 PM and they weren't closing and again, it was practically empty). The second we stood up, she bolted to the table to do a final clean. No "thank you," no "have a nice day," nothing. Definitely won't be "rushing" back--the service needs a major upgrade. read more

Mok Pa 5/5 1st time having it and exceeded my expectations! Khao Poun 5/5 make sure you squeeze a little bit of lime for that extra zing! Beef Larb 4/5 the tripe added a nice texture! Green Tea Iced Tea 5/5 i need to know what other ingredients they put in it! Nom Yen 4/5 unique Ambiance 5/5 Service 5/5 read more

Excellent and will be back to try more things. Came for the Nam Khao and quieter setting - wasn't disappointed. Great lunch prices and portions. Good service. We'll be back read more

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We tried a variety of dishes including the pork shop and nam kao-both of which were well-seasoned. Service was friendly. Portions were a bit on the smaller side with average pricing. read more

@Macmadame review (Christy Mac) sent me to this place. We had the whole fried tilapia, basil fried rice and popcorn chicken combo, grilled chicken, egg rolls, chinese broccoli, lao sausage, chicken wings, yellow curry with chicken, salt and pepper fish and two other dishes. The star of the show for me was a tie between the chicken yellow curry and the popcorn chicken and basil fried rice. The curry tastes authentic (thick and creamy) with it's fresh and tender (perfectly not overcooked) ginger, carrots and potatoes. And the flavorful basil fried rice is best I've had in a long time. Next time we'll try the beef sticks and garlic noodles. read more

Small family business. The young lady who was running the front end of the of the shop taking orders, delivering orders, making drinks, running food back and forth & busing tables start of the show. She needed tip for just coming to work working too hard. Obviously,she that restaurant come from another restaurant that's local I'm not super knowledgeable about the other restaurants they owned but I know that this location, this building has been the home of three different restaurants @minimum sense I even step into the door initially years ago. So this the home of this establishment probably is fairly new. This is my second time eating there the first time I did take out and didn't enjoy that much which was about 3-4 months ago but this time not knowing it was the same place because it was just looked on Yelp we walked in and I ended up ordering the exact same thing however eating it in house is much better which is true for some Cuisine so comparatively this is definitely a step up from my last experience and they do mimosas and glasses of wine like I can get with that. I had the string beans shrimp that should situation it was jalapenos and veggies all the things I like the sauce was a little sweet but that's okay I think I'm going to try the whole fish fry with the red sauce next time. But it's kind of like traditional Vietnamese / Asian fusion dishes Curry's soups vermicelli bowls noodle bowls Etc. read more

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Under new ownership, the business is fairly similar to the one before. They have happy hour deals that are unbeatable and is available for take out. My husband and I ordered the Nam Kao and Beef Skewer appetizer for take out and it was delicious. Although the box seemed small for the Nam Kao, you can't beat the price for a happy hour deal. It was jammed packed and around $11.00. The ambiance is dark but clean. The tables were neat and the atmosphere was quiet for a Friday night. I would come back again on the weekend with my family. read more

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Came for the fried fish, it was good but for the prices here it seemed a little steep for what I got and nothing wowed me. They were also understaffed but I understood and just waited, they were friendly and prompt even tho short staffed. Place is clean and a nice vibe. The food was just okay, not sure if I'll be back. read more