Lao Community Market

THE. BEST. PAPAYA SALAD. EVERRRR
I’ve done my share of traveling in Southeast Asia and hands down, believe this place has the best tasting papaya salad around. I LOVE sweet, salty, sour and spicy combined. HERE’S A NOTE: the sweet lady that makes it specifically asks you how spicy you like it. If you say VERY spicy and it’s TOO spicy, how does that warrant a bad rating if YOU are the issue? Anyone who is familiar with Laos cuisine knows spice levels are high. If you’re unfamiliar, ask. Educate yourself rather than blaming it on someone else. You can have her make it sweeter, saltier, etc.
It’s $ 6 for papaya salad and they «cater» too. The entry size sheet is $ 40 (and feeds a LOT of people.) Call about an hour ahead.
This isn’t exactly a restaurant — think of it more as a small, ma and pa location with some tables. Service can be slower than average but the food is worth it for the price.
Ps, yes, I’ve had Sang Dao’s papaya salad: it’s mediocre. Ordered it once to try it, ordered it a second time to confirm the first really wasn’t that good. Confirmed. I don’t go ANYWHERE else and drive from La Jolla just for this!

My mom calls herself the best Lao «chef» of all time. But I think all Lao moms think that way. As a matter of fact, I think all Lao people are a tad narcissistic when it comes to their cooking.
So, why are there so many local Lao people ordering from here? Lazy is a good first thought but really it’s because their kitchen is replicated here. AND it’s cheap!
Aside from Sang Dao, this is THE PLACE to go to if you are craving authentic home cooked Lao food.
The emphasis of our cuisine is lots and lots of spices and off the Scoville scale spiciness. You have been warned.
This is a simple ma and pa type place. Not a place to take your date cause she’d think you’re cheap. But if she’s cool like me she’d be impressed. It’s literally like driving to Laos!
Nobody in Laos cares about customer service. You get in order your food at the counter, sit down, your food arrives, you pay, and you leave. There are no «how is everything,» nor «can I get you anything,» not even a complimentary glass of tap water!
Dishes that American people love are papaya salad, chicken and beef larb, sticky rice, and for me personally, chicken noodle soup (kao piak kai).
Are you scratching your head?
Papaya salad is julienned papaya, pa dak (fermented fish), fish sauce, garlic, Thai chilies, cherry tomatoes, lime, msg (for taste), and sugar. All ingredients are placed in a mortar and flavored are smashed together with a pestle.
Larb is diced meat of your choice, fish sauce, lime juice, pa dak, sliced and diced shallots and lemongrass, Thai peppers, ground blackened rice, sugar, mint leaves, cilantro… this is too descriptive… just know that it’s delicious!
Chicken noodle soup is, well, chicken noodle soup. Only difference is that the noodles is fresh and homemade. Add some toasted garlic, lime juice, and hot oil and you are all set!

I love laos food so finding this place was great! The customer service is great. Super friendly and welcoming. The food is fantastic ! We ordered medium due to people saying spicy is way too spicy and even the medium had our tongue burning. I give it 4 stars only because their menu is really tiny. Only Larb salad and salad. They do finally have pork Larb with sticky rice and chicken wings. Will be back!

This is NOT a restaurant. They only have limited menus which are mainly salad. The papaya salad is awesome. But do not order spicy level unless you are Laotian or Thai.

I was in the mood for papaya salad and I wanted to try something different. Omg I am so happy this isn’t a well known place, ok not so happy as this place deserves a lot more customers… but papaya salad made fresh to order right in front of you? What’s not to like. I ordered the regular green papaya salad at the spicy level. That what sort of a mistake as it was very spicy, next time it’s a medium for me. It was still really good. If you don’t like fermented shrimp paste I would say stay away but I like it so this was right up my ally. Next time I want to try the mango salad.
Be aware though follow a fellow Unilocaler’s advice/​picture. The name of the place is not Lao Community Market, it’s Bane Phonkeo’s Food to Go.

Great food felt like I left san diego and landed in a foreign country. Fresh good and healthy.

Love how authentic this food at this place is! The interior is a bit small and not that appealing but as long as the food is good right? It looks like it’s just a small area with a kitchen a dining room with 3 tables. The employees make the food right in front of us which is a good thing.
We ordered beef larb and Lao style papaya salad and asked for it to be spicy. There’s no scale (1 – 10) for the spice level like other Lao/​Thai restaurants. It came out SUPER DUPER spicy. My friends cried because of the spice and they usually love spicy food. I advise you to tell the workers how many peppers you want in your food rather than just saying you want it spicy (which I always do but totally forgot to do that day haha). Both the larb and papaya salad was really good. I think this is my favorite place to get those dishes. Also, FYI the prices raised. Larb is now $ 10, papaya salad is $ 6 and sticky rice is $ 6.
Service is mediocre… they have their days. We just ordered two plates and it took 25 minutes to get our food. There were two ladies who made our food and were talking most of the time. They were nice and friendly but they took their sweet time making it. Customer service is the only downside. But other than that, this place is a great place for those who love spicy Lao food!

Authentic Laotian food! Wouldn’t have known of this spot if a friend didn’t tell us.
We ordered papaya salad ($ 6), beef larb ($ 10), sticky rice ($ 6), and two bottles of water ($ 2, they don’t have water cups). The ladies behind the counter were nice and all, but it took over 25 minutes for our order to be ready. And there was no one else in there but us. And it was only 2 dishes. We constantly looked over and saw them talking so much to each other and barely making the order… So after this long wait we finally get our food, but first, let me give out this warning.
WARNING! If you can’t handle spicy, this is NOT the place for you. I thought I was pretty good at handling spicy food… man this place proved me so wrong.
One bite of the papaya salad and I was done. From the sweat on my head, you would’ve thought I just ran a freaking half marathon. No joke, my eyes were watery and my tongue was burning. Should NOT have started out with that one. I would tell you how it taste if I was able to taste it, but unfortunately I couldn’t. The beef larb was also very very spicy, but I was able to tolerate it and force myself to eat it, just cause I was hungry and didn’t want to waste money. It comes with green onions, cilantro, chilli powder, galangal (?), rice powder, fish sauce, lime leaves, mint, and the beef. Eating it with the sticky rice made the spiciness a little more tolerable, so I ended up stuffing myself with the sticky rice everytime I took a small bite of the larb… Again, I really wish I could tell you how it taste besides it being spicy, but alas, I cannot.
So after this experience, I don’t think I would be coming back here anytime in the near future. Not because the food tastes bad, but because I couldn’t taste it at all. And maybe because of the bad service we saw today. But if you’re up for it, and want to try Laotian food, try it!

Everything is fresh and yummy! love the papaya salad, larb, kao piak sen. And everything I order from there lol.

I ordered fish larb. Forgot to tell them to cook it, so they served it raw to me. It was very good, actually, Bc I don’t eat raw larb. Excellent seasoning so I couldn’t even tell that it was raw! $ 10…pricey, but good. Small 3 inch sausages were really good too! Full of flavor for a $ 1 each! Papaya salad with vermicelli was AMAZING! We got it medium, so it had just the right pinch of spice!!! Will definitely go there again for their papaya salad!

Best tam maak hoong (Lao green papaya salad) ever! I love that you can taste it as it’s being made to add more lime or fish sauce. Sausages sell fast so come early. This is the spot for original authentic Lao food at a reasonable price. The only down side and reason for the 3 stars is that it took over 25mins for my chicken wings and rice to come out. They had said it was was because they just opened but that’s why you have an opening time right? Don’t expect to be in and out at this place. People come, sit and eat for a few hours. They move slow, everything is done slow… just wish I was told that.

No frills. Hidden gem. The food is made fresh to order. You see the lovely ladies with pestle and mortar making the papaya salad which is the best I’ve ever had! We also had fried chicken wings, beef jerky and sticky rice. Everything was so delicious and on point. I’m Cambodian and my Vietnamese friend both agreed this place is the most legit south East Asian restaurant in town. :) also the ladies are super nice!

Ive come to this place a few time and this place has never let me down. The last time I was there I got cucumber salad and it was absolute delishous, just the way I like it and no other place can make it better. Today I went there again this I got the kah peak sen which is also a delishious dish. I think it’s safe to say when it comes to lao food this place has stolen my heart.

Okay… I gave this place two tries and never coming back! Worst customer service ever! The girl that work behind the counter literally just stares at you as you walk in. She was talking to another lady for a couple minutes before asking me want I wanted. She was very rude and just not friendly at all. If you want good service and good food I suggest you go to Sang Dao.

I like coming here for a fast pick up. Their papaya salad is so good! Also, their larb. It’s a very small place but don’t let this place fool you. The food is the spot for Lao food!
Their phone number that is not listed on here is actually (619)263−0476.

I’ve been coming here since my high school days. I used to ditch school just to get my papaya salad fix. The food is authentic, fantastic and cheap! The ladies who make the food are Laotian and so are their customers, all signs of a legit joint! The laab here is also great and plentiful! This place is def a gem and only real locals know of it… But now I’m leaking the secret!!!
Go there!!! Now!!!

This is da spot for papaya salad and BBQ meats.
If you can withstand the heat, get the salad «spicy»

The workers here do not speak English, but who cares. Say «papaya salad»
And they will get right on it. She will ask you to sample your salad to see if you want more spicy or whatnot.
They also make chicken noodle soup that’s not on the menu. The chicken noodle soup has blood squares. They are not chocolate!!!
I will definitely be back for more.

Best papaya salad in San Diego. Definitely one of the best papaya salads I’ve ever had.
We also had beef larb, sticky rice, and a bowl of noodle soup. It was the first time I’ve eaten Laotian larb (I had beef). I much prefer the Laotian version to the Thai version.
The noodle soup was good as well, and the chef told me she made the noodles herself. I could definitely taste the difference.
I recommend giving them a try in the afternoon or getting take out. Super delicious.
Note that the phone number that Unilocal gives is wrong. See one of the tips for the correct number.

Excellent papaya salad made fresh to order. Be careful what spice level you ask for as they make it very hot! If you are not used to this type of food I recommend starting with mild.