Khe-Yo

Made a reservation, but didnt seem like it was required. There were many empty seats.

We ordered the crunchy rice was was unique. The pork belly was a little too overcooked, was hard to chew. The fish was good. Food overall was good but nothing extraordinary.

Service was good. Waiters came every so often to ask if we needed anything and made sure our water was filled.

First time here, becuase we were searching for laotion food

Service: 3/5
first it was fine, but when we start to order, waitress was standing infront of our table and her eyes were straight up dead staring at us, perhabs training then do not dead stzring any customers like "hurry and order"
for some what a fancy type of restaurant like this which i don't expact someone would act weird with eye contact.

Food:
sticky rice 5/5
hard to go wrong with this

sausage 5/5
not bad at all

Crispy Chili Chicken 2/5
for 35, i expact crispy outside and tender inside, however it was very dry, i had better in chinatown restaurants for 12-15
perhabs just paid for the environment instead

Soup 1/5
at first i thought it was like some kind of tomyum laotion style but not it.

Chicken leap 4/5 was not bad

over all i believe this is like a night hangout drink focus spot ? "full bar"

Overall had a great experience. We made a reservation for 4 people which is definitely the move for a Friday night. When we first got there the place was half full but was packed by the time we got our apps. It's definitely a great spot for dinner with friends or a date.

This was our first time having Laotian food and we all agreed it was amazing. The chicken lap appetizer is a must get - it's tangy and the perfect hint of lime. I wish they would have served it with rice.

The salmon was probably the best dish we tried. Would definitely recommend, it does have a little bit of heat to it.

The only thing that I'd comment on is the stairs going to the bathroom has mats on each stair that aren't properly bolted down and is a significant fall hazard. I'm surprised they haven't fixed that yet.

This place has been on my list for a while and I finally made it over to tribeca to check it out!

Really interesting flavors and dishes you may not have tried before. Everything we had was fantastic!

Get the coconut rice balls, Berkshire pork and the Asian style ceviche!! Sooo good and portions are great!

I had never had Laos food until tonight and it was delicious. A great combination of sweet and spicy flavors plus really satisfying textures.

The one odd thing is that they were really pushing us to order the water in a coconut before we even got fully seater. We saw one table get pressured into this and while it could maybe be fun for a photo op it also didn't seem neccessary. Glad we passed on it.

Always curious to try whenever there's a Laotian place since there aren't many so checked out Khe-Yo. Overall, I wouldn't say it's authentic or legit in the full sense of the word but it's pretty good for a Laotian-inspired place. More 3.8 vs 4.0 but let's be generous. Ordered a bunch of stuff to share and servings were pretty generous:

1. Crispy rice balls: pretty good as a refreshing starter. Always love a crispy rice moment
2. Pork curry noodles: meh- not as good as expected. Skippable. Kinda lacked the zingy acidity and balance that a good khao poon typically has
3. Sweet chili chicken: this was pretty damn good but hey it's fried chicken with a sweet spicy sauce. Good for shading since it came with 8 pcs? Nom
4. Whole branzino: fried fish with the accompaniments. Nothing special but it's done well. Definitely wrap the fish and load it up with the accompaniments. Pretty good.
5. Chicken leap: meh. Could be better. It was alright just alright. Needs more punch.

Come with a group as servings are decently sized. Would I come back? Eh, I wouldn't mind if someone wanted to but wouldn't say I'd come back on my own. If you wanna check out something Laotian-esque with a lot more universal Asian influence, check it out. If you want the real thing, skip - it's lacking the punchy, zingy, umami punch of flavor that one would expect from legit Laotian food.

Food was ok, nothing stood out: Brussel sprouts "skins" had too much fish sauce on it. Jerky was really dry. We ate everything and the mains were flavorful enough but it didn't blow me away. The staff were also just ok. What I can't understand is how I spent $48 on a salmon entree???? Like I get inflation and recession and all that but $50 bucks for a piece of salmon and some broccoli with a bowl of rice (that was overcooked btw). What world are we living in??!! and that's before tax and tip. Oh and the cherry on the top??? 3.5% extra on all checks if you don't pay cash. I'm sorry, but this is extortionate and I won't be back.

I was starving and had not had lunch. I found this little hidden gem and sat at the bar. I ordered the chicken Bahn mei and OMG!! The baguette was fresh, soft, crispy and had a crunch. The chicken was cooked perfectly and had a nice light breading exterior. The sauces weee wonderful with the perfect balance of flavor. I love heat so I would crank it up a notch next time. It was so so good and I'll be back! It went perfectly with a glass of rose. The bartender was great and let me eat in peace but made sure I had water.

Laotian food, and if you like spicy, this will be good for you.

Dark shop, and a guy was constantly adjusting either music, lights or temperature at a panel behind us - not sure. The seating we had was tall chairs for three, and a round booth. If you weren't tall enough, though, legs dangled and it wasn't comfortable that way. Stairs down to the bathrooms below were covered with a rubbery material that wasn't secured - watch your step.

The food:
- Bamboo Ginger Quail was excellent, small so get one for every two people, roughly. Savory, a little spicy. Definitely will try this again.
- Lemongrass Chicken Sausage - I'm not a fan, other people liked this. Came with the spicy sauce.
- Crispy Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps - very rich, fatty pork belly, crisp and heavy. I had one slice and that was enough. Also with the same spicy fish oil kind of sauce
- Sticky Rice & Sauces - pick up with fingers or fork, this came in a cute little basket and covered, sauces were an eggplant which was somewhat spicy, and a spicy bang-bang sauce. Good to balance the rest of the meal
- Berkshire pork ribs were sticky, saucy, and hard to eat even when picked up by hand... a lot of fat and gristle, I'd skip next time. A papaya salad was served, this was excellent, actually. Ate a lot of this.
- Big fried fish. Very cool display, a little tougher to eat without chopsticks, but flaky and savory. Good with the spicy sauce.

Overall, everything came with that spicy oil (bang-bang sauce?) and would be good for people who liked more spicy food. I'm ok with spicy, but didn't find much balance even with stuffing rice on. Still, interesting dishes and I'll have to try the pho next time and the banh mi for lunch.

Been a few years, but I returned for dinner with a friend and tried:

+ Lao Lao sour
+ Crunchy Coconut Rice Balls
+ Berkshire Pork Spring Rolls
+ Berkshire spare ribs
+ Papaya salad
+ Crispy Brussels Sprout Leaves

Everything was tasty, with the brussels being the highlight, but everything came WAY too fast and we were rushing to finish everything before it got cold. The cocktail that I tried was also only okay, not worth the price. Prob won't be back.