Even on a Monday, this Laotian hot spot will pack in the crowds clamoring for vibrant, family-style dishes brimming with tart and spicy notes. So unless you’re stopping by during lunch for market bowls made with lemongrass chicken or ginger prawns or picking up a hen of the woods mushroom banh mi, good luck landing a table without a reservation. Sizeable appetizers like Berkshire pork spring rolls or spare ribs with long bean and papaya salad grace practically every table. The entrées only get bigger: Wide rice noodles with bits of slow-cooked pork swim in a cauldron of coconut yellow curry with herbs and bean sprouts, while chicken salad with herbs and toasted rice makes for a solid side.
Service is hurried, so don’t expect much handholding.