Lan Larb Soho

Pretty much as good as it gets. If you want something that’s fiery and super flavorful, while simultaneously satisfying that hankering for sweet/​sour/​spicy, Lan Larb Soho is your spot. I’ve had the papaya salad (surprisingly spicy so definitely as for a less spicy version than the usual), seafood noodle soup and some version of bbq pork. All good and all reasonably priced. They do also have lunch specials and all that means is that they’ll give you a tiny platter of larb salad (minced meat and veggies), but this is probably the best Thai place in the city. And given, it’s location sandwiched right in between Chinatown and Soho, it can often be overlooked and isn’t always crowded.

Strong Thai options, quiet yet good energy-​background music loud enough to pick up on while still being able to hear yourself talk/​think.
Sad to see the lunch menu go from a huge variety of dishes to a scaled down, mostly common dishes. That variety was part of what made me go here vs. other Thai spots.
Suggestion: many of the lunch specials are priced the same as their dinner options. Would love to see you serve smaller portions for less than $ 10. Smaller portion means more food for you to sell!
Staff are consistently ‘service with a smile’ and responsive with water refills, making it a true pleasure to dine here.

I’m typically a pretty boring pad thai, green curry, or eggplant and chili type of girl but at Lan Larb my favorite thing to get is the khao man gai, which is a flavorful poached chicken served over equally flavorful rice. If you’re a fan of Hainanese chicken rice you might enjoy it too. If you’re grossed out by chicken skin you may not enjoy it as much, but I personally love it and think it’s the most flavorful part of the whole dish! At just $ 10, it’s a delicious and filling meal and even comes with a little tiny hot soup on the side. They have a lunch special which includes soup, an app, and an entrée for $ 9 and they offer it on the weekends too — a great deal! It’s an affordable, low-​key place to stop in or call for pickup or delivery, and they’ll always have a special place in my heart thanks to their khao man gai!

OMG so good !! wanted to try local restaurant and saw this small place and tried and hands down great food ! Their soups and entrees good size. I would say can be shareable if you’re not too hungry. Best part it’s not pricy as other NYC restaurants.

Perfect food
We ordered:
grilled squid — very good
Fried calamari — AMAZING
veggi dumplings — as good as veggi dumplings can get
Shrimp green curry — very good, would’ve liked it to be slightly thicker sauce but that’s totally a foreign tourist request. I like my food spicy, if you don’t make sure to order it differently

I was unimpressed by Lan Larb Soho.
We came to dine here on a Saturday night, and someone in our group is severely allergic to shellfish. He ordered the tom yum soup, but when the dish arrived and he tried it, he felt something was off. He asked the waiter repeatedly if the soup has any shellfish, and the waiter denied it. My friend asked if he could order something else, but the waiter did not budge in returning the soup. So, we paid for the soup at the end. It bothers me that the waiter did not take his dish, and it bothers me that the waiter was not careful when helping my friend order food.
The restaurant is small, and the ambiance feels more like a fast food chain than a nice sit-​down restaurant. The food was fine, but nothing that makes me want to come back. Also, don’t come here if you’re on a diet. The dishes are tend to be oily or doused in sauce.

Quiet spot with friendly service and pretty decent pad see euw. I got the duck. It was a little over-​cooked but the portion was very nice.
It’s a small location that is best for small parties but not very romantic so I wouldn’t necessarily put this on the date list.

Found this gem on a Tuesday night wandering around soho. I can’t tell you how happy I was with the food at the price I paid. The food was spicy! But :) SPICY GOOD.
We got the Tom yum soup to start, and to my surprise it was different from the Tom yum (s) I had before. Maybe more lime in this one but it was fresh and tasty. My fiancé got himself the spicy larb beef (?). It came with ¼ of a cabbage and we laughed out loud at first, not knowing what to do with the cabbage. The beef was perfectly seasoned. The type of seasoning that is raw and earthy, it’ll bring you back to your childhood in south east Asia (even if you weren’t born there lol I’m jk!). My green curry looked plain at first glance. But as soon as I took the first taste, my first impression got upgraded instantly. The broth was somewhat sweeter than the normal green curry I’ve had before, but it was savory and creamy without feeling heavy. Honestly I could have just ordered the broth and still be happy.
Overall I give it a 4/​5, but I’ll def come back and check out other dishes!

Some of the best Thai food in Manhattan– especially when you’re looking for a little less expensive than Uncle Boons, Kiin Thai, etc. and less wait. Very casual.
The duck larb is amazing. The fried pork app is perfect. The classics are exactly what you’re craving.

One of my favorite places for Thai food in the Chinatown area. This place used to be SoHo Thai before they renovated and rebranded. The food’s still awesome and service remains to be A+.
Can’t go wrong with the fried calamari or the papaya salad as a starter.

Came here for their 4 star ratings. Very reasonable $ 9 lunch combos: veggie soup, appetizers, and select noodle/​curry dishes. Not sure if they were having an off day since their ratings are good. My water had a black speck in it. Maybe it was pepper. Then my appetizer had a small piece of hair in it. It happebs. When my curry came out, I think the curry paste proportion was overdone. It was extremely intense (and I love every kind of curry and tried it around the world) — very salty and spicy. I think they put too much curry paste in proportion to water. Considering the reasonable price, not bad, but it was disappointing.

Decent Thai food. Nothing too remarkable. Had this for lunch and the lunch deal is pretty nice — you can get an entrée and an appetizer and side. I got the fried rice with soup and edamame. Food tastes like your typical go-​to, slightly-​greasy, late-​night Thai food.

After a very long day of exploring nyc, my Family and i went here for a quick Dinner. The service was ok and the food came quick and was very good. I orderd a vegetable wok dish with Tofu.
If you need an easy lunch or dinner and dont want something fancy, this is the spot for you when you’re in the neighbourhood.

Food: excellent
Service: excellent
Ambience: good
Thank you fellow Unilocalers for the guiding me to this place. Was in Soho with the family felt like Thai food looked this place on Unilocal.
Small little family run place the lady who owns it makes all the sauces herself and her son serves and runs this place.
The food in this place has amazing food. The papaya salad with dried shrimp, pad kee maw, minced chicken over rice, the beef marinated in Siracha and the chicken with hot peppers and basil all amazing.
The green curry and the chicken wings were just ok.
Coming back again next week for another dinner.
One of the best Thai good experience I have ever had

Among the top Thai restaurants in NYC can usually be found this little Soho gem doling out pretty spicy and quite solid Isaan Thai cuisine.
While maybe not the hands down best Thai in NYC, for the price this place is absolutely awesome. I had the Som Tum Thai and the Larb Kai. They offer 1 – 5 spiciness and I went with 4, which definitely had a good amount of heat.
The Som Tum here was really bright and fresh and tasty, while the Larb Kai was just excellent with the balance of fish sauce, lime, and heat. While Somtum Der and Uncle Boons might be more my style in terms of presentation and taste, if you want really big awesome portions of authentic Thai at a good price this is definitely superior. By the way, definitely go with the Isaan dishes like the larbs and somtums rather than the American-​style Thai dishes like Pad Se Ew etc.
I recommend getting food here to go, but the service is good if you want to stay. This is a solid Thai restaurant and one I can see myself stopping by again when I don’t want to spend the $$ on Uncle Boons or walk the distance to Somtum.

Isan Thai is no longer a stranger to New York City, but as a fan of the spicy-​sweet-​acidic flavor profiles that the cuisine encompasses, I certainly can’t complain about the increasing number of restaurants specializing in it. Lan Larb Soho is one of the newer additions to the scene, a modest venue just north of Chinatown with Ratchanee Sumpatboon (from Chao Thai and Poodam in Queens) behind the kitchen. It had recieved a fair bit of love from a few of New York’s ardent eaters of late, so I was excited to visit, especially given the Laotian and Siamese influences sprinkled across the menu.
Less adventurous eaters will be pleased to find some southern Thai staples on the menu, such as a handful of curries, Pad Thai, and Pad Kee Mao dishes. My group did wind up ordering the latter two dishes (as more than one of us had overestimated his respective spice tolerance), but their presence on an Isan Thai-​focused menu shouldn’t be downplayed. The Pad Thai was satisfying, a generously portioned dish of stir-​fried rice noodles, egg, scallions, and your choice of protein in a balanced mixture of tamarind, soy, and a hint of fish sauce. The Pad Kee Mao was even more addictive, the chewy flat rice noodles an ideal foil for the red peppers and long beans, with a punch of heat at the end.
The more memorable dishes are definitely the ones of Isan origin, however. There’s a dizzying array of Larb dishes available, the traditional ground meat «salads» offered with various proteins and accompaniments. We went with the Larb Moo, which pairs ground pork with crunchy shallots and roasted rice, against the aromatic mint, red onions, scallions, and cilantro, plus the spicy-​acidic addition of lime juice and chili powder. Each bite offers a punch of flavor that covers the entire spectrum of tastes, and it’s certainly not a dish for trepidatious eaters. I can’t skip over the Tom Zabb either, an aggressively seasoned soup with the presence of lemongrass, basil, galangal, and chilies. There’s a handful of spare ribs throughout to qualm the carnivores, and long bean and cabbage for additional texture and chew; I prefer eating it by the spoonful with a healthy serving of rice mixed in.
If there’s still room, the Pad Kra Prow is worth an order as well. The dish is a basil-​heavy stir fry, which takes a protein of your choice in a savory mixture of oyster, fish, and soy sauce. There’s various green and red peppers for crunch; basil, garlic, and chili to round out the aromatics; and don’t forget a side of white rice to pair it with. Although we’d requested the crispy pork as our protein, our waitress mistakenly put in regular pork instead. It was nonetheless delicious, but I’m sure the extra bite and crispness on the exterior of the meat would have made for a satisfying dish.
Lan Larb also offers guests the option to customize the spice levels of each dish on a scale of 1 – 5. While I can’t speak to the amount of heat in a 5 (certain sacrifices must be made when dining with others…), the 4 should leave a lingering burn for most tongues, but in the most pleasant way possible. My advice? Come with a group of friends who are as equally adventurous in their dining choices — your stomach capacity is best saved for the Isan Thai dishes.

Lots of good grub here that is spiced better than other thai joints. More delicious in my opinion.
They are from northeast thailand and the palate in that origin tends to shy away from the sweet taste thus reflecting a more savory cuisine de thai in their dishes. Even the pumpkin custard has some saltiness which complements the sweetness in a satisfying pumpkin entanglement.
I tend to gravitate towards all the soups, pad see eww, and of course the ice tea but THE SAI KROG ISSAN is my favorite item to get here!
If you like meat or bbq style meats or like sturdy type foods then you will likey and are so welcome in advance! I dont see this on other thai menus and they state it is made in house which is exactly the type of food I love to order! This is my fave since it could be a small meal in itself but WTF happened to that side of juicy fresh ginger it comes with?
I thought it was a blooper last time but they said they took it off the dish. Please dont do that! And then you have the gall to tell me theres non in your asian restaurant thats basically located very closely next door to the produce mecca of nyc?! I aint fallin for that bs.
The cabbage/​lettuce replacement mixture is retarded and I miss the ginger. Its just not the same! This app is all about the individual details and the fresh ginger compliments the fat chunked links in a perfect unison as well as the red onion.
This is almost like a decuntstructed dumpling wit out the dough wrapper. Shout out to low carb dishes!
Just pleeeeeaaase go back to the ginger or else take it off your menu description cuz leavin it there is cruel and taunting. Just kidding Im not that krazy! I mean really just go back to it please. On a positive, its cute how its 3 adorable baby links insteada one slice up biggie.

Whenever I see Isan Thai cuisine, I just smile. This food of Northern Thailand specialties just rocks. Came here around noon with my gf on a Friday we had off. thanks to my hairstylist of all people. The place is small but we easily grabbed a table and took advantage of the ridiculously cheap lunch special. $ 10 for an entrée of your choice, an appetizer, and the vegetarian clear soup. WOW.
We skipped the «normal» thai food like the curries, noodles, and basil fried rice of sorts and went straight for things called Moo and Kaoh. Unfortunately I don’t remember the exact Thai name for my dish but it was the fried chicken cutlet (like katsu) with Thai chili sweet sauce, over ginger/​chicken rice. Light but flavorful and just the right portioning. My friend had the «Over Rice» dish that features crispy pork fat, with Chinese sausage and another type of pork. very porky, and very plentiful.
Both of us had the Larb Gai for the appetizer, and their larb was deliciously flavorful– well soaked and coated with fish sauce, yum, yum.
I’d definitely come back if in the area and looking for good Thai food. Service was quick and the Thai iced tea looked banging.

Um, did I just spend $ 17 on lunch that was all vegetarian? Geez, I must be paying their rent…
I work in Chinatown and after eating from the rice noodle cart almost every day when I don’t bring my lunch, I needed a change of pace today.
I have been wanting to try out Lan Larb Soho, so today for lunch, I took a quick stroll out of my office and headed here.
The space is nice and can easy fit 10 tables for dining in. I walk up to the counter and immediately I was presented with 2 menus. They do have lunch specials here (around $ 10 – 12) and I would recommend getting something off the lunch menu. I regretted not doing this after the fact. I was in the mood for tom yum soup and the woman said that I could not substitute the soup that comes with the lunch special for a tom yum soup. So being overly stubborn, I ordered the tofu tom yum soup ($ 6) and also larb tofu ($ 10). Service was fast and within 10 minutes, they had my order ready.
And although pricey, I would have have to say that the soup was tasty and the larb tofu was excellent. I did not finish all of the larb tofu for lunch, so I am now eating the rest of it for dinner.
I will definitely be back for more lunch, but next time, I am going to stick to the lunch menu. My piggy bank would greatly appreciate that.

My favorite Thai place downtown. You can trust I have done my diligence on this.
I’ve tried a variety of things here and keep going back to the som tum which is always outstandingly fresh and well-​seasoned. The more unusual Isan items are interesting but so far most weren’t worthy of a repeat order. The whole fish, pad kee mao, pad see ew I would recommend highly and trusted sources tell me the duck soup is top notch. After eating great meals in the restaurant, tonight I tried picking up a tum kung sod and was surprised to open up my order at home and see the small takeout container only half full. The food was still great, but how disappointing to receive less than half of the amount I’m normally served in the restaurant for the same price.
Some, perhaps too many, thoughts on the menu so far:
— Tum Kung Sod ($ 12) green papaya, shrimp, tomatoes, long beans and peanuts in spicy lime dressing. DELICIOUS EVERY TIME. And usually a portion large enough to share as an appetizer at the table.
— Yum Woonsen ($ 12) good vermicelli & seafood salad but where are the fish balls?
— Larb Pla Dook ($ 12) not a fan of larb but my friend really enjoyed every bite of this version with catfish.
— Pad See Ew ($ 10) packs tremendous seasoning into the black bean sauce, it’s punchy and the noodles are cooked perfectly — no blocks of sad stuck-​together overcooked noodles in this one.
— Pad Kee Mao ($ 10) another crowd pleaser also well executed here. Spicy means spicy, you have been warned.
— Pla Krapong Rard Prik ($ 21) crispy whole fish with generous heap of cilantro in a slightly spicy/​kind of sweet garlic sauce, good size for 2 people to share as a dinner or 3+ to sample with other dishes. Worth ordering for sure when you’re feeling festive but I would try the Larb Pla Krapong next time which might be less sweet.
— Green curry ($ 10) is pretty good, tastes fresher and more homemade than other places but to me it feels like a cop-​out to order this here with more exciting options.
— Pad ped ($ 10) is listed as a ‘sidewalk wok’ of vegetables sauteed with ginger and a curry paste with a side of rice. Not overwhelmingly spicy but the curry paste overpowered the other flavors in the dish with an ok-​but-​not-​my-​favorite dry flavor and I would not reorder.
— Kaoh nar ped ($ 12) crispy duck and pickled ginger with a gravy over rice was similar to cantonese bbq in presentation, this came with a hearty portion of sliced, fried duck but relatively forgettable. The ‘over rice’ dishes definitely give you the most protein for your $ here.
This place totally deserves the praise they are getting from food blogs and I will certainly be returning for more fantastic Isan offerings. 4 stars instead of 5 because I’m reluctant to order pickup or delivery after feeling a tad ripped off by today’s experience which was $ 14 incl. tax for a small appetizer.