Lao Laan Xang Restaurant
| Address: | 2098 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI 53704, USA |
| Phone: | +1 608-819-0140 |
| Site: | laan-xang.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 14
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Christine C.
I had the chicken satay appetizer and the squash curry entree. Everything was absolutely delicious. The satay was 4 skewers of tender and flavorful grilled chicken. The sauce was peanutty, without tasting like peanut butter, and was a touch sweet, a little spicy and full of flavor. It also came with freshly chopped cucumber, which was unexpected and a good compliment to the chicken. This all by itself would make for a good light lunch or is plenty for 2 - 4 people to share. The curry portion was huge. One entree could easily be split by two people, especially when you share an appetizer. I like that they have an easy way to address how spicy you want things: timid, careful, adventurous and native lao. I went with the "careful" level of spiciness. The level of heat did not overwhelm the complex flavors for me, but next time Ill go for "timid" since it did start to get intense toward the end. The leftovers re-heated well, but I think it was spicier than the meal was initially. Something to keep in mind if youre sensitive to spice and expect to bring some home for later. Our server was friendly and chatty. We werent familiar with the type of noodles that came with a dish, so she brought out both rice and noodles. And at the end, she offered us more rice and noodles to take with our leftovers.
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Alan Leddon
I went in for lunch with my wife on 5/20/13. I ordered the ginger garlic tofu and asked for it "timid," my wife asked for her meal "medium." We both found the Laotian iced coffee delightful, the cucumber salad and the egg roll were wonderful...but then the entrees came. My wifes meal was spiced to perfection. Mine was so spicy as to be inedible; after a single bite of it, even the white rice was painful to taste or swallow. Looking in the mirror in the bathroom, I found white blisters on my tongue that had not been there before, and the pain in my tongue had not been there before tasting this overly spicy food. I reported this to my absentee waitress (having to get up and find her), asking for more white rice and telling her that I was unable to eat the entree because it was way over-spiced, and no attempt to fix the problem was offered or made. I asked another employee to speak to the manager, and this one ducked into the kitchen in a seeming panic, and did not re-emerge. Frustrated, I took the food home and gave it to my wife today (5/21). She added rice, yogurt, and other foods to dilute the spice, and finally declared it "edible, but just barely." This ends my first and last experience with this restaurant.
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Ed Thöne
Great Lao restaurant. If you like really authentic Thai food (well, you have to know what authentic Thai food is first, I suppose) then you will LOVE Lao food, its even better! Having lived in Southeast Asia for six years Lao Laan Xang is awesome. the Atwood st location has the same great food, but the wait staff tend to be young snobby white kids who think they are cool because they work in an Asian restaurant. I had to just go back to the kitchen and talk to the cook myself, the wait staff were a bit dense. The Williamson st location is small and old, but much friendlier. But AWESOME food, and get the spicy dishes spicy.
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Jon Stackpole
The debate will always be what location is better. I like this one because there usually isnt a wait. Expect to take home leftovers from a dinner entree. The pineapple curry is quite tasty and they do tofu really well. Plan to come after the show starts at the neighboring Barrymore to skip the crowds. Parking is the biggest issue, theres a few spots in the alley behind the restaurant bit your best bet is to park on the street in the neighborhoods. You might have a 2-3 block walk, but its a safe place and the homes have lots of character.
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David Albino
The food here is great, if you can be sat. On several occasions I have stood in the restaurant for over ten minutes and no one sat my friend and I. The few times I have actually been sat, I had a great server and delicious food. Other times, not one empty table was cleaned inside the restaurant and a server just looked at my friend and I and didnt bother to seat us or call someone else over. I am not sure why the inconsistency, but definitely poor management and customer service on occasions.
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Rachel David
The food is wonderful, but its so hard to get it: theres one waiter there who has never--in all our time frequenting Lao Laan--gotten our order correct. The last time we dined in, he almost started my hat on fire with the Khang Gai warmer! We ended up having to bus our own table, and we had to get up and ask for rice for meals that always get rice. There are many decent Thai restaurants in Madison; I suggest trying anywhere else.
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A Private User
This place is Great! Ive been there twice for lunch, once to dine in and once for take out. The same woman was working both times and she was fantastic, very friendly even when it was super busy. The squash curry is delicious and such a great deal for lunch, $7.95 and it comes with your choice of salad, eggroll or soup (I think, I always get the eggroll).
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A Private User
This is one of my top restaurants in Madison. A wide-ranging menu with lots of vegetarian, seafood and meat options. Great curries from tame to scorching. Forget greasy, Americanized Chinese food, Laotian/Thai/Vietnamese is where its at. One of the first places I take Madison visitors to eat. Service can be a little pokey but is generally pleasant.
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A Private User
Fantastic. Having been to South-East Asia, including Laos and Thailand, this restaurant is by far the most authentic -- and most delicious -- place Ive found in Madison. Great flavor combinations are made even better by the good service and atmosphere. I just wish I lived closer so I could frequent this restaurant more often!
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A Private User
The only thing you want to know when you walk in is if the Mother or Daughter is in the kitchen. If it the Mother, look out because she likes to make everything more spicy. Not to say you cant eat it but they will always ask how spicy you want your meals and depending on who is working it can make a difference.
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Luna Lynn Frey
On two different occasions I ordered a soup vegetarian and they brought the wrong soup and it had shrimp in it. I work at a store just a block away and I called the second they opened and it took 2 hours to receive my order it was totally wrong and they gave me a ton of attitude when I wanted a refund
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Lauren Duerst
I am not sure how this place has a 4.4 star rating. The food and the service were both very bad. You could find a better (and more affordable) meal at the Panda Express or the frozen food aisle. We would have let the waiter know our food was terrible...but he never actually checked in with us.
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Josh Killcrop
The only place in town to go for Som Tum. Only losses a star because thier spiciness is a little inconsistent. I can make the exact same order two nights in a row (2 star spiciness) and one night it is a perfectly spicy but manageable dish, another night there is no spice at all.
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Browen Dosch
The experience of picking up takeout was fine (good atmosphere, friendly, quick service), however the food was lackluster. It was disappointing. (We got the curry squash, spicy tofu peanut, chicken satay and crab Rangoon, out of it all, the chicken satay had the most flavor)
