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Royal King Elephant

4.3 (653 reviews)
ModerateLaotian, Thai

Royal King Elephant Laotian Restaurant Photos

Business Info

ROYAL KING ELEPHANT ATMOSPHERE

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

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Recommended Reviews - Royal King Elephant

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Reviews With Photos

Marko C.

Five stars for Royal King Elephant restaurant! I had this place bookmarked for years and now wish I had gone here ages ago. They have delicious food! The restaurant is a small little non-assuming restaurant located in a small strip mall. I walked into the restaurant and immediately was greeted by the owner Xay and her husband Dee. The place is clean and modernly decorated. There are a lot of great things on the menu, it was hard to choose. Gung Che Num Pa. Spicy Raw Shrimp. This dish was my absolute favorite dish I tried! Fresh raw shrimp served over a bed of cabbage, cucumber and tomatoes. Served with spicy chili sauce! This was like a Laotian ceviche. Grade: A! Spicy Basil Clams. Wow. Another delicious choice. A generous portion of fresh clams prepared in a spicy brown sauce. Served with red and green bell peppers and onions. Grade: A Intestines with a spicy sauce. Off menu item. Thick cut intestines served with a generous portion of assorted herbs. I've never had the dipping sauce before - it was a fermented tamarind flavored sauce. Fun to eat with fresh herbs and lettuce. They have all kinds of fun beverages here. Notable is the Lao beer, which is apparently difficult to find! Thank you Xay and Dee for a great and memorable dining experience. I'm a new fan of your restaurant.

Lao chicken noodle
Sokna S.

Food: 3/5 Ordered the Lao noodles chicken flavored soup and Lao sausages with Rice. Noodles soup was good with plenty of chicken. The taste reminds me of Asian season porridge honestly which is good! The sausage was a bit too salty for my taste. Service: 3/5 Service was ok, nothing to really rave about. Nice people. Ambiance: 4/5 overall ok decor, felt a little cluttered but love the overall theme.

Ran C.

Dinner with a friend. And a nice dinner it was. See pics of what we ordered. There were leftovers. Not much but keep in mind, it was only the two of us. To start - free and easy parking. Might have to walk a little bit but I'll say it again. Free. One of the things I like about places in Orange County compared to Los Angeles. Parking. Service was great. It appeared to be a one man operation. Probably wasn't, but I didn't look for others. The gentleman was a one man crew from what I saw. He handled the front of the house like a pro. Attentive. Friendly. Nice. All of the above. I don't know if he also did the cooking but whoever did, did an awesome job. I enjoyed the dishes in the following order: Crispy Fried Rice Papaya Salad Pad See Ew Fried Pork Rib Loved how the mix of ingredients all just hit the spot. The consistency, the flavors all just had me eating well past my limit - so thank God for adjustable rachet belts. I listed the pork ribs last, and though I ate most of it, I would have eaten all if they weren't so crispy. Not that it was well done and over cooked, it was as if they were double fried. I'll leave it at this - I'd have them again. They wouldn't be the first thing I'd order but I'd definitely eat them again. I enjoyed the food and this place is on my list of places to return to, to try more dishes.

Craig Y.

Located off Garden Grove Bl in Garden Grove. Parking is shared with the other businesses in the strip center. Place is not too large there are a good amount of tables. I had this place book marked for a long time since I do know the owner's daughters and wanted to try this place when they were working there but never did. My buddies have gone a few times and recommended to me as well since they also know the daughters. I got the crab fried rice and it was delicious very savory. The service was excellent as well. Overall a good experience here and I was glad to finally try this place.

SD G.

I really dislike leaving negative reviews, especially for small restaurants run by hardworking people like the older lady in the kitchen and the person at the front. However, I feel I need to share my experience. I ordered lunch here because I was craving Thai-style papaya salad. I also got the fried tofu Pad Thai. Unfortunately, both dishes were very disappointing. The Pad Thai was clumped into one large ball of noodles with no flavor at all, even after adding the lime wedge that came with it. As for the papaya salad--I honestly didn't know what to make of it. It had no taste, not even a hint of saltiness. It was just a mound of shredded green papaya with some red sauce, but no flavor. Sadly, this was the worst Thai food I've ever had. I really wanted to like it, but I can't recommend it based on this experience.

Spicy raw shrimp.
Bensada U.

We've been coming here since it opened. Love this place. Great food & entertainment. Nice place to go to feel like home. They do catering for events and also do parties at this location. Please feel free to contact Xay @ RKE. She is easy to work with to plan your special event.

This is NOT pandan sticky rice
Vikkeh J.

Overpriced and underwhelming! A lot of misrepresentation of their food! When I called in to order for takeout, I specifically ask if they had pandan mango sticky rice, the person on the phone confirmed it. Lo behold, just regular sticky rice. The plate of jerky is one of the worst ones that I have had in the area. It is dry and lackluster in flavor.

Papaya w/ crab salad
Christopher T.

Was craving for boat noodle soup and this is my to go for it, yrs ago. Great Lao/Thai foods. Still have the great quality of the broth. I ordered the lunch special of boat noodle soup and green papaya salad w/ crab (Lao style). The noodle is still fantastic, just less of meats but aok, the salad is abit puncheon for me but very tasty. Overall, still a "it" place.

Kimdres Y.

Food: the foods here were so overpriced. I usually don't write reviews but I guess I have to for this one.. I ordered 1 Khao Piak and 1 jungle papaya salad for over $43! the noddles were a bit too thick the broth was ok. The papaya salad was too spicy although I said mild... it was ok only not the best. I won't be returning. Service: was ok the lady has a loud voice when took my order.. haha

Non-cash extra charge
Rain A.

Horrible food. Dirty utensil. Prepare to have your cash ready!!. They charged u for non-cash!!!

Indoor Decor
Kristine A.

The food was delicious and flavorful and perfect amount of spice. The service was quick. We didn't wait too long after we ordered our food. This is a nice family owned business. They have pictures of elephants all over the walls and elephant pieces on the table. I love elephants! We wanted to try their chicken wings and beef jerky but they sold out. We'll be back!!!

Boat noodles
LINA M.

Amazing and authentic! Never thought I'd find an authentic Lao restaurant that serves actual Lao food, especially in OC. I came here based off Yelp and IG. Upon arriving there was a husband and wife duo owners having lunch at the back table. I originally went there for boat noodles but ended up ordering off the menu based on how delicious their posts looked on social media. My son ended up getting the boat noodles and I ordered 2 items on a secret menu lol. I tried his boat noodles while mixing it for him and it was delicious! It came with different cuts of protein, tripe, meatballs, and liver. I ended up getting their mee gatee to eat there and kua mee to-go. Not a lot of restaurants make mee gatee and can make it taste authentic, at that! My bowl was loaded with pork blood cubes, pork meat, and even had chicken feet! It's rare you get all that if you order a bowl down here in San Diego you'd be lucky if you get pork pieces let alone blood and chicken feet! Their kua mee also came with pork blood omg so good with some papaya salad! You'd never get that here in SD they'll only have noodles, no blood or it cost extra. Husband and wife were super nice and conversed with me during my lunch. Come to find out they're originally from Fresno no wonder their food is delicious! They also used to live in SD for a bit too in the V, he said lol. This is the place for AUTHENTIC! Will definitely be stopping by more often during my OC visits. Sister also hooked it up with extra kua mee for me too I wish I got their names but thank you euy I'll be seeing you guys more often!

La I.

Went on a Saturday evening after a long day this place hit the spot. The server was super fast and friendly. The food is always delicious.

BeerLao

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3 months ago

The best authentic somtum (papaya salad) in OC! All food is tasty. Asked for very spicy and got it exactly as I wanted!

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

Always a hit. This is authentic Lao/Thai food. Service is always friendly. I love the boat noodles!

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7 months ago

Great place. Good food and good vibe. Very authentic food with customer service. Definitely come back for more

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Ask the Community - Royal King Elephant

Can they accommodate for peanut allergy? We have serious peanut allergy so hard to find a restaurant that takes the allergy seriously.

Yes, they do take peanut allergy into consideration for guests who request not to have any sort of peanuts in their food.

View All 4 Questions

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1. The crispy rice was delicious, and I love the sauce that came with it! The beef jerky was also…read morewell-made! 2. The spot has chill casual vibes! The interior is cozy! 3. The staff was friendly and timely with my order! It was ready after 15 mins! 4. There is only indoor seatings! There are good number of tables! 5. Parking lot has a good number of spots! Street parking is also available! Note: There is a 4% additional fee for card transactions! Photo: Beef Jerky and Crispy Rice

I have been coming here for years and it's still one of my favorite Thai food restaurants. I would…read morego here more often but they close so early in the day so I have to make sure I time it right. Service is always excellent I have no problems I always get what I need and my orders always right. It's a no frills hole in the wall establishment. I have perfected my order and it is always the same - beef pad se ew: delicious, piping hot, garlicky flavorful, beef is a little chewy but it's fine the noodles shine with the Chinese veggies -crispy fried rice: legit in this name crispy, chewy, refreshing paired with salad and ask for some chili fish sauce drizzle it on top delicious bites! -pork jerky: chewy, salty, flavorful but I don't care for the sauce it comes in sells out often get it while you can! It's a lot of food often I have to take a little bit togo but the portion size isn't always consistent so keep that in mind if you are with a larger party. Honorable mentions: Papaya salad is good they have 2 styles get the one that has a crab o watch out though get medium or mild it can be very spicy if you can't handle it. Recently tried the boat noodles and it was interesting very large and filling lots of noodles and toppings. Loved the fried shallots taste and texture it added you smell tom yum but it doesn't taste like it at all very unique taste I don't know what to compare it to. Try it if you want to try something fun and new.

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A small family owned restaurant located in Garden Grove. We order 4 dishes and most are greatly…read moreenjoyed. Pad Cha: This dish comes with a good portion of seafood, but lacks of the flavor. It is not greatly seasoned, it may taste kind of plain to some. I noticed some of the seafood was not cooked fully. I do mot recommend this. Pad Thai:This is a must try! The noodle is chewy and it is not the typical noodle used for Pad Thai. The dish is flavorful and the bean sprouts adds a great crunch. If you love peanuts, then there are some on side. Definitely recommend this. Papaya Salad: Absolutely love it. The salad is well flavored and marinated. Definitely recommend this if you're new to Thai food. I saw people ordering large party tray for papaya salad. Tom Yum Soup with seafood: Great soup option especially in the winter. The portion is seafood is great. The taste of sour and spicy balanced well together. The restaurant seems to be under-staffed. We waited for a while to be seated because the only person working in the front was helping in the back. And our Pad Thai was left out when we did make the order. Luckily the front staff was friendly and the food really made it up. This restaurant happens to be located in the same plaza as OC & Lau, so you might have to park a bit further. I definitely believe this restaurant should be more recognized. It got a great selection and the food tastes great. Of course, they should improve their staffing issues.

Thai Avenue in Garden Grove is your typical run-of-the-mill Thai restaurant, nothing too fancy,…read morejust a solid spot for some classic Thai food. I came here with three friends, and even though they technically open at 11:30 AM, we showed up around 12 PM, so they were a bit late in getting things going. We ordered the wet pad Thai, the crying tiger steak, and the Thai sausage. The pad Thai was flavorful and had just the right amount of sauce, wet, but not soggy. The crying tiger steak was cooked well despite being on the thinner side, surprisingly tender, soft, and flavorful. The Thai sausage was also great, not totally sure what meat was inside, but it was delicious enough to not care. It seemed like it was pan-fried, because the outside had a crispy, bubbly texture, while the inside stayed piping hot. The interior is simple and nothing out of the ordinary, similar to most Thai spots. It's located in a strip mall, so while there's a dedicated parking lot, it's a shared space with other restaurants, which means it can fill up depending on when you go, but overall, not too bad.

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Food - authentic and delightful tasting food. The deep fried pork belly was enhanced by spicy…read morecurry that just tickled your taste buds. The Khao soi was much of the same goodness. Loved the crunch of the fried noodles juxtaposed to the noodles in the soup which have soaked up the rich flavors of the soup. Before I forget, the papaya salad was a greet start. Refreshing and a lemony goodness on the tip of my tongue. Will be going back sooner than later. Cleanliness- respectable and presentable Service- attentive, but not overbearing. Negative- 90 minute limit on the window - they will politely let you know as well. Reservation is a must or go early. Parking- street parking wasnt too hard to park. Additional thoughts - the ingredients was a step above standard fair that I have had at many other restaurants. It made the food just that much more enjoyable. I can see why they have the Michilin ratings.

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Royal King Elephant - laotian - Updated May 2026

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