Man, all of it is on point. The crispy chicken is sizzling. The noodles - perfect texture. Fresh veggies. That crab Rangoon hitting like today's special catch. Hell yeah.
Suha L.
This is just one of Laughing Monk's locations! This location is closer to Boston in the Allston area so it's much easier to get to with public transportation. Food: I got the Tom Yum soup and the Pork Belly skewers. The soup was so hearty, delicious, and warm. I loved the sourness of the soup. Unfortunately, the noodles were clumpy and were breaking apart. This is such a fixable mistake so that wasn't great. The pork had good seasoning and liked the fish sauce it was paired with. Ambiance: This is a smaller location than the Wellesley or Boston locations but allows for more casual dining. Price: It was about $18 for the soups. Not bad for Boston pricing but I wish there were more noodles in the soup and that the noodles had been loosened before. Overall, I would go again just to try other dishes and it offers Thai dishes that not every restaurant offers.
Twee V.
One of my favorite place for authentic Thai food. This place is clean. Their dishes are fresh. My favorite dishes are the papaya salad and Kua Gai chicken.
Xingyun Ye
Lovely place. The restaurant is small but it’s Allston, understand. Food is great!
Amazing authentic Thai food. The basil fried rice was perfectly spicy, and you can taste the love in the pad Thai. I'm not from the Boston area but I would definitely come back for this food again.
Ryan D.
The best Thai food I've had! Couldn't recommend more. The service is quick and the food never disappoints. The Larb is out favorite thing and we get it any chance we get!
Li Momo
The food is delicious, but the two dishes we ordered for 30 dollars didn't come with rice... We still ordered curry and Thai stir-fried pork. Imagine the curry doesn't come with rice, my family. Don’t order the Gang Pa curry! ! ! Don’t order! It’s a clear soup with no trace of curry at all! ! ! Please protect yourself from lightningFood was average…but have to be mindful if you are going to order that gang pa curry or ka prow dishes which they don't come with ANY rice. I ended up with lunches without rice and have to cook it myself with empty stomaches and what makes it more frustrating was that the girl who took our orders did not mention it at all…Additionally, I can’t imagine what we ordered was called “curry” and basically just clear soup with vegetables. Very disappointed experience
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Kerry M.
I've found my go to Thai place. Five years living in Thailand has left me very particular about the food that gets passed off as Thai--Americanized, mainstream fare. This place has it authentic, and a large Isan menu which few other places offer, with the exception of a couple of offerings like som tam. Here, you can get a dozen different types of som tam alone. Full disclosure, I've just been here one time, got the Thai som tam and gai yang, with some sticky rice. Both were excellent, and enough to make two meals out of. The flavors were definitely authentic, nothing watered down for the weak Western palate. I will be a regular, I think. FYI, seating is extremely limited, so take out is the best option.
Natrada
It's one of the best Thai restaurants in Boston, but sometimes the taste
Food: 5 stars Fig.1 and Fig.2 I will never get tired of the delicious Thai style sashimi shrimp forever. Laughing Monk Cafe surely knows how to bring more umami and fresh flavors to shrimp by adding the traditional Thai chili sauce with garlic and Perilla leaves. Fig.3 I really appreciate the good amount of spiciness in this red curry dish. In addition, the beef tendon has the next-level tenderness, which could almost melts in my mouth with a tiny bite. Service: 5 stars The servant is very welcoming. Once a time I asked for a box to pack up the unfinished fried rice to go. I was thinking having some red curry sauce on the top of fried rice could be perfect. However, the servant had already taken away the red curry dish. After she knew my intention to get some red curry sauce later, she felt so very sorry and wanted to bring a Thai milk tea to me for free. Of course I did not let her do that. My point is the servant really cares about customers' feelings. Atmospheres: 3.5 stars The place is a bit small which only has a few tables there. If you plan to come to the restaurant Friday or weekends, you'd better get yourselves prepared for a long waiting. Overall, I will still give the Laughing Monk Cafe a five star rating for their delicious foods as well as warming services. Good job!
Mario Vicente
Love this place.Kid-friendliness: Great customer service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Nam Tok
Eliza A.
Best Thai in the area. Go back whenever I'm in Mission Hill. Pad Thai, pad see ew, and drunken noodles are favorites.
Haiwen Li
In terms of food this is my favorite restaurant in Boston. Every time I’m craving Thai food or just have no idea what to eat I’ll order delivery from them. They have so many dish options that you can’t find in most other Thai restaurants. I would recommend the pork short rib soup, any dishes with beef shank, kua gai (similar to pad see ew but not sweet). The portion is normally nice, and they pack the food pretty well.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Charlie F.
In this location, you'll find Northern Thai cuisine from the Isan region and even though the interior is small with a few tables for 2 people and a large table for a party of 4, you won't be disappointed by the dishes they offer. This was our second time and even though our first time there we thought the food was on the saltier side, this time around, it was truly delicious from what we got. We're weren't too famished but wanted Thai food. So we got the papaya salad with salted crab and shrimp, which should be mixed thoroughly to gain that all-around texture and flavor without the dish being salty. We lovingly recalled the chargrilled marinated pork jowl with sparkles in our eyes and had to order it twice because it was that good - sliced thinly, grilled perfectly, juicy, tender, just the perfect richness, and paired well with the dipping sauce! Let's not forget about the chargrilled bone-in chicken which was super tender and flavorful! Really wished I took some pictures before everything was devoured. Means I'll have to get more of these dishes next time! Service was quick and attentive and even though our server, who seemed to be the only one, except for another person from the kitchen helping out from time to time when it got busy, didn't give too much warmth during the experience, whenever we asked for her assistance, she didn't hesitate and was very polite. Here, you won't come here for an atmospheric experience but more along the lines of very good Northern Thai cuisine to be shared and enjoyed among friends, and then you're on your way. Note: Within the bathroom, the toilet can be flushed with a wave of your hand at a specific spot on the top of the tank! Super cool!
Great Food. Service was excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Dipping Sauce
Man, all of it is on point. The crispy chicken is sizzling. The noodles - perfect texture. Fresh veggies. That crab Rangoon hitting like today's special catch. Hell yeah.
This is just one of Laughing Monk's locations! This location is closer to Boston in the Allston area so it's much easier to get to with public transportation. Food: I got the Tom Yum soup and the Pork Belly skewers. The soup was so hearty, delicious, and warm. I loved the sourness of the soup. Unfortunately, the noodles were clumpy and were breaking apart. This is such a fixable mistake so that wasn't great. The pork had good seasoning and liked the fish sauce it was paired with. Ambiance: This is a smaller location than the Wellesley or Boston locations but allows for more casual dining. Price: It was about $18 for the soups. Not bad for Boston pricing but I wish there were more noodles in the soup and that the noodles had been loosened before. Overall, I would go again just to try other dishes and it offers Thai dishes that not every restaurant offers.
One of my favorite place for authentic Thai food. This place is clean. Their dishes are fresh. My favorite dishes are the papaya salad and Kua Gai chicken.
Lovely place. The restaurant is small but it’s Allston, understand. Food is great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ground Pork Vermicelli, Drunken Noodles
Amazing authentic Thai food. The basil fried rice was perfectly spicy, and you can taste the love in the pad Thai. I'm not from the Boston area but I would definitely come back for this food again.
The best Thai food I've had! Couldn't recommend more. The service is quick and the food never disappoints. The Larb is out favorite thing and we get it any chance we get!
The food is delicious, but the two dishes we ordered for 30 dollars didn't come with rice... We still ordered curry and Thai stir-fried pork. Imagine the curry doesn't come with rice, my family. Don’t order the Gang Pa curry! ! ! Don’t order! It’s a clear soup with no trace of curry at all! ! ! Please protect yourself from lightningFood was average…but have to be mindful if you are going to order that gang pa curry or ka prow dishes which they don't come with ANY rice. I ended up with lunches without rice and have to cook it myself with empty stomaches and what makes it more frustrating was that the girl who took our orders did not mention it at all…Additionally, I can’t imagine what we ordered was called “curry” and basically just clear soup with vegetables. Very disappointed experience
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
I've found my go to Thai place. Five years living in Thailand has left me very particular about the food that gets passed off as Thai--Americanized, mainstream fare. This place has it authentic, and a large Isan menu which few other places offer, with the exception of a couple of offerings like som tam. Here, you can get a dozen different types of som tam alone. Full disclosure, I've just been here one time, got the Thai som tam and gai yang, with some sticky rice. Both were excellent, and enough to make two meals out of. The flavors were definitely authentic, nothing watered down for the weak Western palate. I will be a regular, I think. FYI, seating is extremely limited, so take out is the best option.
It's one of the best Thai restaurants in Boston, but sometimes the taste
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Food: 5 stars Fig.1 and Fig.2 I will never get tired of the delicious Thai style sashimi shrimp forever. Laughing Monk Cafe surely knows how to bring more umami and fresh flavors to shrimp by adding the traditional Thai chili sauce with garlic and Perilla leaves. Fig.3 I really appreciate the good amount of spiciness in this red curry dish. In addition, the beef tendon has the next-level tenderness, which could almost melts in my mouth with a tiny bite. Service: 5 stars The servant is very welcoming. Once a time I asked for a box to pack up the unfinished fried rice to go. I was thinking having some red curry sauce on the top of fried rice could be perfect. However, the servant had already taken away the red curry dish. After she knew my intention to get some red curry sauce later, she felt so very sorry and wanted to bring a Thai milk tea to me for free. Of course I did not let her do that. My point is the servant really cares about customers' feelings. Atmospheres: 3.5 stars The place is a bit small which only has a few tables there. If you plan to come to the restaurant Friday or weekends, you'd better get yourselves prepared for a long waiting. Overall, I will still give the Laughing Monk Cafe a five star rating for their delicious foods as well as warming services. Good job!
Love this place.Kid-friendliness: Great customer service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Nam Tok
Best Thai in the area. Go back whenever I'm in Mission Hill. Pad Thai, pad see ew, and drunken noodles are favorites.
In terms of food this is my favorite restaurant in Boston. Every time I’m craving Thai food or just have no idea what to eat I’ll order delivery from them. They have so many dish options that you can’t find in most other Thai restaurants. I would recommend the pork short rib soup, any dishes with beef shank, kua gai (similar to pad see ew but not sweet). The portion is normally nice, and they pack the food pretty well.
Food: 5
Service: 5
In this location, you'll find Northern Thai cuisine from the Isan region and even though the interior is small with a few tables for 2 people and a large table for a party of 4, you won't be disappointed by the dishes they offer. This was our second time and even though our first time there we thought the food was on the saltier side, this time around, it was truly delicious from what we got. We're weren't too famished but wanted Thai food. So we got the papaya salad with salted crab and shrimp, which should be mixed thoroughly to gain that all-around texture and flavor without the dish being salty. We lovingly recalled the chargrilled marinated pork jowl with sparkles in our eyes and had to order it twice because it was that good - sliced thinly, grilled perfectly, juicy, tender, just the perfect richness, and paired well with the dipping sauce! Let's not forget about the chargrilled bone-in chicken which was super tender and flavorful! Really wished I took some pictures before everything was devoured. Means I'll have to get more of these dishes next time! Service was quick and attentive and even though our server, who seemed to be the only one, except for another person from the kitchen helping out from time to time when it got busy, didn't give too much warmth during the experience, whenever we asked for her assistance, she didn't hesitate and was very polite. Here, you won't come here for an atmospheric experience but more along the lines of very good Northern Thai cuisine to be shared and enjoyed among friends, and then you're on your way. Note: Within the bathroom, the toilet can be flushed with a wave of your hand at a specific spot on the top of the tank! Super cool!