Having come from California and eaten plenty of amazing Lao food, I recently checked out this true mom and pop shop, and I've gotta say, it was pretty good! The flavors were unique and heartfelt, but I found some dishes a bit too sweet for my taste. The spiciness? Spot on! It really brought the heat, just like I hoped it would. The vibe of the place was fantastic--walking in felt like visiting a Lao home, surrounded by trinkets and Buddhas. The decor added a special touch that made the experience even more authentic. Just a heads up about parking: there are only about six spots available, so plan accordingly. We rolled in around 4 PM and were the only diners, which made for a relaxed atmosphere. And let me tell you, we drove all the way from Boston just to try this place, and it did not disappoint. If you're craving genuine Lao food, this spot is worth the journey! read more

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The food was fine, not much shrimp in the pad thai, but the chicken in the pad thai was acceptable, they don't deliver or use any kind of food delivery. I had to pick- up. The rolls were tasty but wish they were a little crispier. The portions were acceptable and appeared to used fresh ingredients. The atmosphere is a bit eclectic or should I say strangestrange read more

Zabb Elee delivers straight-up fire when it comes to Lao cuisine. The laab and tum pu (Lao papaya salad)-- absolutely showstoppers. Both dishes nailed that perfect balance of heat, and freshness that defines real Lao flavor -- bold, spicy, and not watered down for the masses. Respect. The laab was packed with herbs, lime, and just the right kick -- you could taste the authenticity in every bite. The tum pu came through with that fermented crab funk and chili heat that hits just right if you know what you're getting into. This is not your average Thai or Lao-style som tum -- this is the real deal. Sticky rice came in a solid portion, perfectly steamed and ready to scoop up all the flavor. Honestly, those three items alone make the trip worth it. Other items were on the sweeter side if you like sweet(er) flavors. That said, if you're craving legit Lao flavor, Zabb Elee is a must. read more

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The food was amazing. Ordered the crispy pork belly, sticky white rice, and chicken pad Thai. The service was fast, and the ambiance was good. read more

Zabb Elee - Chicken pad Thai. - Laotian Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

I was craving for some Lao food and this place popped up. They have onsite parking as well as street parking. I love places that have parking! Aside from that you'll walk in and it is small with temple decor. I was greeted and sat down. I had the Thai ice tea. It was perfectly sweetened the way I like it. I ordered mostly apps bc I was craving more Lao street food. I honestly did not wait long at all. I got the Lao egg rolls and you can never go wrong with egg rolls! I also got the Lao sausages. I'm sensitive when it comes to spicy and it was too spicy for me. It did have great flavor with the sticky rice but I was only able to taste one. I enjoyed the Lao chicken wings! It's flavorful and crispy! The Lao beef jerky was decent. I do like it on the sweeter side but if satisfied my cravings today. I would def come again it started to get busy once I finished my meal. I over heard other customers orders and they do all types of spicy levels. read more

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Odd place to dine in. Food was phenomenal though. Recommend only ordering takeout. Small portions but well made and tastes great.

I came here several times during past two yearsand never disappointed. Food is authentic Laotian food, service little slow but understanding because home-cooking style. Mostly, servers are able to satisfy my special requests which is great. read more

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Food is good most time we eat here. Service is pretty slow even if we order 45 mins ahead of time. Y'all just gotta have patients. The place is really small, there is about 4 tables only to dine in. read more

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Quick lunch in this eclectic tiny establishment. Absolutely delicious wings. And the yum seafood was perfectly tangy /savory / sweet and a tiny bit spicy. Next time I'll ask for more , but I'm sure they were just being careful for the white girl! read more

Zabb Elee - Yum seafood, wings, sticky rice. - Laotian Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

We were in town and looking for Authentic Laos food. We came across this Restaurant and I also follow the chef on FB. The food looks so delicious. So we decided to have lunch here. The food was great. It's like mom's home-cooked meal. I've noticed there's plenty of Take-out then dine in. We did not regret it at all. The food was excellent. Definitely recommend. read more

Home style Lao food, everything was deeply satisfying - spicy, citrusy, and herbaceous. The place is decorated with a lot of home decor which creates a nice homey atmosphere but it's different than what a lot of people would expect from a restaurant. I happened to love it, I felt like we were traveling abroad. The Lao sausage is an explosion of flavor, just thinking about it makes me drool. Seriously, so delicious with the dill flavor coming through. We also got the chicken soup with homemade noodles which was really simple but really nice and flavorful. The chicken bits included pieces of skin which added to the richness of the broth and the balance of herbs was tasty and comforting. I'd love to have this soup sometime when I'm sick with a cold, it seems like just the thing to get you back on your feet. We also got the Thum Lao, which was nice and crunchy. The salad was a nice balance of acid and heat from the papaya, tomato, and chili. They were pretty heavy handed with the fish sauce, which I enjoyed but my boyfriend found a tiny bit too much. We also ordered a side of sticky rice to eat with the Thum Lao which, of course, is essential. Everything was extremely fresh, and obviously cooked to order, and was made with a lot of care. We plan on going back with more people and to order the Nam Khao. The menu is good sized and There were a lot of dishes we still want to try, including the chicken wings! read more

Authentic Laotian food made right. Great flavors and fresh ingredients. If you're looking for freshly prepared raw beef larb "Larb Dip" with spice and roasted rice powder. This is one of the spots to go for the authentic flavor. Papaya Salad - spicy (I asked for 15-20 peppers) and I was not disappointed on the spice level! Add some more fish sauce and fermented fish paste and it will Be golden! They have the infamous cow organ stew typically served with traditional Laotian food. The soup has it all and many more. Organs , tripe , intestines - if you are looking for traditional Laotian this is the spot. read more

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Very delicious and authentic, especially "Duck larb". Worth driving 3 hrs from Albany read more

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I love this little place. Food is always good and the staff is always friendly! I always get beef larb!

Their Laos sausage is not homemade. Brought from Laos or Thailand frozen and cooked. Very misleading when they say Homemade Laos Sausage. Taste like the store bought ones. read more

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We have tried every Laotian restaurant in Northern California and this restaurant beat them all. Every dish was authentic (wife is Laotian) and delicious - we had the Lao sausage, special fried rice, Kao poon noodle soup, Kia pork noodle soup, beef larb, Nam lao, and ban gun. Dishes run spicy even if requesting mild. read more

Definitely one of the better restaurants in the area. The food here is super flavorful and well balanced. The prices are reasonable while the portion sizes are My favorite things to order here are the spicy lab chicken,papaya salad and sticky rice! If you're ever in the mood for some very food, zeeb elee is the way go! It will be sure to satisfy your taste buds and make your tummy happy :) read more

Zabb Elee - Laotian Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

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Small place but very decorative. A bit chilly though in there. The workers there are nice. We were the only one there but somehow they didn't bring us any water until we were ready to order. I would think the first thing after seating you, you bring them water. We ordered 3 dishes, they were just ok. The raw beef salad has a bitter taste I wasn't familiar with. The nam kao was quite salty and didn't come with cilantro and leafy lettuce like expected. Lastly the spicy noodle salad, which was also salty and too watery. The only think that came out just right, was their overpriced sticky rice. read more

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Best thum ka poon . (Vermicelli with papaya salad) Instead of papaya, it uses vermicelli pretty much. They are good but the price is kind of expensive just like everywhere else. I usually order here once a month read more

I've never dine in. I've only ordered take out and I love the raw bee larb extra spicy and bitter!

There are a lot of South-east Asian restaurants in Lowell, but very few specialize in Laotian cuisine - and I mean REALLY specialize. Formerly Phien's Kitchen (also Laotian cuisine), Zabb Elee has pretty much retained all of the interior atmosphere. The drink menus are the same, but you'll notice the menu has changed drastically. All of the menu items now have pictures above the names! Not only that, but every photo looks delicious and you can literally order what looks most appealing to you and not be disappointed. You have to be careful on some of the soups - they are actually "family style" and meant to be shared. Another big change you'll notice is the portion size, and I mean something in the range of 30% more food for the same price. The spiciness of some of the dishes has also been toned down, but not so much that it takes away from the flavor. Service is a little slow, and food might take a little longer if you have a party of four or more - but you can rest assured that it will be quality. My favorite dish here is the "Kadna Mu Krob", which if I had to translate poorly would be: "Chinese-Broccoli-with-something-something-Roast-Pork". The sauce compliments the veggies very well, and the pork has tender side with a crispy skin. It's slightly less spicy than it's predecessor, but the portion size makes it worth every penny. Be sure to try out this hole-in-the-wall hidden in a residential area. It really is a nice change of pace from Khmer cuisine. Did I mention you can request certain dishes to be cooked Khmer-style? read more

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We're here for a Thursday night dinner. Decided on this place solely based on Yelp search and reviews. Chicken satay appetizer: five big and tasty long pieces of chicken on sticks. Mild flavored marinade. A few pieces of pickled veggies. Spicy string beans main dish: beans were fresh and gently stir fried. They were nice and crispy not overlooked. Spiced with garlic and chopped hot peppers in a brown sauce. Kra pao Kai-kai dao combination platter: chicken chunks with stir fried basil, hot peppers, onions, and green peppers. Spicy enough for my wife, but I dosed mine with the Srirachi sauce. Big pile of rice to accompany. Had a fried egg atop. Quite good. Wife and I ate our fill and there was plenty of good food for our student son's meal when his night class gets out. Friendly waitstaff. Interesting decor in the small dining area. Very fair prices for the servings. Reading prior reviews there was a remark about slow service - ours was quick, accurate and just right. We liked it and will probably return. We recommend. read more

Zabb Elee - Golden Ganesh - Laotian Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

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I was craving the Basil pork belly and we went back for dinner. It wasn't the same as I had before. THe picture clearly showed a red sauce in their menu and the owner and chef told me that it was a dry chili sauceless dish. Umm.. can you explain the picture in the menu and my other yelp review? The food wasn't as great as my previous experience. The beef jerky was REALLY hard, they made the pork belly in the wrong sauce , the meatballs didn't have any flavor excitement and the wide rice noodles lacked sauce and flavor. read more

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Excellent homemade style Lao food. The owner and staff members are always friendly and caring. I've been many times and I will go again. Beef laap is my favorite. Khop jai read more

For starters, we came a couple hours before they closed. They had just finished up with a party as we were told. When we went inside we were greeted with awkward stares and silence. I couldn't tell who was staff and who was left over guests. They told us to sit anywhere and haven't even cleaned the table. A drunk lady asked us if we liked chicken fried rice. We just nodded and ignored her.1 A waitress quietly gave us our menus but did not offer us drinks. The whole room was awkward and rude. The menu was pricey. The cost of everything that was on there can be found much cheaper at plenty of other restaurants. 13$ for pad Thai? I can find one for 8$ and much more delicious. I can tell by the looks of my S/O that we needed to go and we did. They didn't even tell us to have a nice day. read more

Went here today. The menu has expanded quite a bit since the Phien's Kitchen days, but they simply have photos rather than descriptions of the dishes. However, the photos look great, and everything looks delicious. Lao sausage: so tasty, and very similar to the recipe Devon's mom used. Papaya salad w/salty crabs: Amazing, but I didn't quite know what to do with the crabs, though. Super hot, as we requested. Fried Sticky rice: good, a nice textural difference from the standard fried rice. Beef Larb: Really good, with lots of fresh herbs, a nice acidic bite from the lime, smokey grilled beef and bits of tripe for chewy texture. Crispy pork w/ holy basil: Again, really good, with meaty pieces of pork belly, and a great tasting sauce. Not what I'd call "cheap eats", but good value for the price, and everything was intensely flavorful. I would say that, given the higher number of menu options and value, I like this place even more than I liked Phien's. read more

Love the food there!!! The menu has pictures of different dishes, they all look so good that u want to order everything off the menu... It was so hard to decide which one to pick... So, I finally picked # 5, 8 & pho Lao for my son and an order of sticky rice... I'm still craving # 8 right now! read more

Ordered the crispy pork and this is what I got! I paid 11.99 plus tax for this. There's literally like 10-12 pieces of thinly sliced pork. It doesn't even look like the picture on their menu! So disappointed! read more

Zabb Elee - Cant believe they would serve this!!!! - Laotian Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Menu selection and food is very good. Service was quick and friendly. Food is authentic. The downside is the prices. A very small side dish of white rice was $10. WTF? White rice doesn't come with any of the meals, so if you want rice, white or sticky rice, it's $10 for a small cup on the side. read more

I mainly come here for the kao piek! It is so darn good! It's just fresh and homemade every time. The staff is always super friendly and the atmosphere is super casual. Be warned it's a tiny restaurant with limited parking in the front. Luckily, each time I've come here it hasn't been busy. I've tried other foods here but the kao piek noodles really overpower my mind so I can't remember what else I ate. I know it's good as well! Thai iced coffee = bomb read more

I really like eating here. They're fast and very nice. The food taste great too. It's on the smaller side but it's nice there.

Please don't go here unless you like getting ripped off. We made that mistake yesterday and learned our lessons the hard way. We ordered crispy pork dish $14+ and it was the smallest plate we've ever seen, the pork prolly contains no more than 6 little pieces. Don't believe me? Scroll down and look at the pictures of other reviewers. read more

Good authentic lao food..the raw beef larb is most people favorite fresh with aromatic herbs you can have it spicy mild or however you prefer the service is fast it is small resturant but clean looking read more

Automentic Laos food. Best place for Larb and Laos salad

Great authentic food, pleasant service, portion size was huge for my chicken larb and couldn't finish it. A bit pricey, but worth it! Hidden gem and a nice change from the other Asian cuisines in the area. read more

This place's a hidden gem one of the best authentic Laos cuisine I've ever had, but it's very pricey and portion size is not worth the money spent therefore -2 stars! It was formerly known as "Phiens Kitchen" under different owners, their price was affordable and you get what you pay for! read more

I got the beef Jerky which was $7.99 when I came to pick it up the weight of the plate threw me off right away . Evidently when I checked I saw that it only contained about a dozen straw length shaped pieces of beef with a couple of lemongrass thrown here in there. That's $10.69 that I'll never get back but now I know not to bother with this place. Not like the picture at all read more

This place has completely changed from Phien's Kitchen and it is a down fall. My girlfriend and I wanted to get some papaya salad today so we chose this place. We ordered papaya salad, beef on the stick and rice with beef dish. The papaya salad was super sweet and it did not taste like anything we got from Phien's kitchen and beef on the stick was super hard but the sauce was good. Rice with beef dish was nothing special. We both did not finish our foods and barely touch the papaya salad. It was a disappointing visit. The place is nice and clean with a few flies in the dinning area. Not going to visit again unless they change the owner or something. read more

First and last time here. Food was flavorless. Service was okay, place looks really nice, but the food... trash. Whoever said it was flavorful has no working taste buds I swear. I could've easily made the dishes at home honestly. Never again. read more

We went after reading the reviews for Phien's Kitchen only to find it has was replaced almost a year ago by Zabb Elee. Nice, small restaurant in a residential area of Westford Street. Portions were very big, food was spicy and tasty. There was only one other table, and yet the food came out rather slowly. Might not be the place to go if you are in a hurry for lunch. The server was friendly and helpful though clearly reading his e-mail on his smartphone. Zabb Elee does take credit cards, unlike it predecessor. I will definitely be back, though I will split the spring rolls 4 ways instead of 2, they were huge. read more