Ma Der Lao Kitchen

My friend and I had dinner pans for a different spot on the southside, but they fell through as the restaurant was closed. I said "how about we do Ma Der?" - and to my surprise she's NEVER been!!! What a treat for the both of us. The perfect excuse to order all of my menu favorites

Ma Der is five star everything. Flavor. Consistency. It's one of my favorite places to introduce my friends to in this city and eat at in general. When I came to give this review I had to read some of the one stars and wanted to touch on some of the critiques...

Is this place loud? A bit. Everyone is having the time of their lives so of course there's lots of conversations and laughter going on. If you want something more intimate try a ticketed chefs dinner.

Will you have to wait outside? Maybe. You can always walk the plaza and see what else is around including some of the unique locally owned retail options or art gallery. Bottom line it's worth the wait.

Is food over salted or flavors bland? No. I've never had that experience here at all and find this laughable. This place is curated by a 2x James Beard chef finalist with an amazing staff to support and execute his ideas. He IS Laotian. He is a first generation American. His sister is also one of the best bartenders in OKC and they have all the right chemistry in this one tiny space - which is what makes it so special. I saw a review that compared Ma Der to Goro...which is another one of the Chefs genius creations.

Now - on to my usual order - Krispy rice, sticky rice, ALL OF THE SAUCES THEY OFFER (on the side), fried chicken, pork sausage, any cocktail (pictured is Ms. Jasmine NA). I love this place time and time again. It's one of the few things that make me proud of this city.

If you want a unique dining experience where the food takes the main stage, this place is absolutely for you. This is a hill I am willing to die on.

PS the parking is ridiculous but park in the neighborhood and walk a few blocks if you don't want to pay. Again, worth it!

they left my gyatt rizzing up skibidi toilet in ohio. also rizzed up baby gronk and livvy dunne while i was there. very sigma meal, but i with they had skibidi slicers the service is good too the waiters are the alpha pack leader.

I was so excited to go here I forgot to take pictures. And that excitement was well deserved. The food was "chefs kiss ‍, crispy rice, jerky, and sausage. Sausage was good according to my dinner partner but too spicy for me. For the spicy I couldn't handle they gave a little dish of their house made coconut milk which was AMAZING!

The vibe was vibin but we waited well over an hr even though we were told 20-30mins but not mad abt it. Be ready the place is small and they pack it. Even a table of 4 is super tight.

This place does not disappoint

My wife and I were excited to eat here. We heard alot of hype and couldn't wait to get some.

We showed up on a Tuesday for lunch. Being just the two of us they sat us at a mini table. I tried letting the waitress know we need a bigger table because I was going to order the whole menu plus drinks. I was denied.

We are originally from California and my wife is from Hawaii. There is no fooling us on any Asian cuisine. One of my all time favorite dishes across the board is Laab. Chicken, beef or tofu Laab will get smashed quickly. The Laab here had no flavor and seemed like it was made by a rookie line cook experimenting with his Oklahoman interpretation of what Laab should taste like. This was a huge L. This set the tone for the rest of the meal. The nahm khao was flavorless and that goes the same for the papaya salad. The Lao sausage was mid and the ribs were dried out teeth breaking gristle snaps. The grilled beef and fried chicken tasted like my 11 year old put the stove on low and threw some meat in the cold ass oil with the hope it comes out tender and tasty. The sticky rice was ok and unfortunately the best part of the meal. The mixed drinks we ordered tasted like cough syrup and rubbing alcohol and would have been better if I threw it on the floor. The total meal cost us $150 and I left hungry and angry. This place was hyped up and all it did was let me down. I still think about this lackluster meal and how mad it made me, every time I do I punch the air in anger. I'm sure I caught them on an off day but if I'm keeping it real it doesn't matter. They messed up and damn near ruined my month. My wife is also traumatized and I cannot look her in her eyes without feeling defeated when it comes to this meal. My scars are all healing but my heart never will. Step your game up, turn up the lights and stop with the hipster restaurant vibes.

Honestly 4.5/5 STARS.

Very authentic! I enjoyed seeing the small silver spoons and decorated plates. It really brings me back into my culture.

The place itself is in a popular area where parking may be difficult. The actual restaurant is pretty intimate and has a low light setting.
Our server was so sweet. She went over and beyond by explaining the dishes and offering recommendations. We were convinced and ordered almost the whole menu!

Wings 7/10 no wow factor and basic
Steamed Catfish 7/10 authentic but my mom makes it better lol
Lao sausage 10/10 fragrance was there and taste!!!
Sticky Rice 10/10 because we do the same when we have our family gatherings (packed in plastic)
Jaew 10/10 gave extra flavor
Beef Jerky 8/10 crispy and crunchy thinly sliced
Crispy Rice Salad 9.5/10 delicious af highly recommend
Spicy Mushroom Soup 7/10 a little too fragrant and would get super thick the longer it was on our table
Fried Pork Spare Ribs 8/10 cut a little too small and fried too long tbh

Honestly I would def come back if I'm craving for this and if I'm too lazy to cook myself lol!! This is the kind of food I grew up with! Tasted like home cooked meals and is very authentic. My only issue was the portions... why so little?!

Laotian cuisine by a James Beard nominated chef, in Oklahoma of all places. My husband and I have spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, and were thrilled to find what seemed like an authentic gem. The menu includes Lao specialties like Nam Khao and Sai Oua, along with familiar Thai/Lao dishes like Laab and papaya salad. They have a full bar.

We walked in for lunch on a weekday, and the place was busy! We were seated at the only available table. The dining room is clean and modern, if a bit dark. They have bar seating as well. Service was attentive and friendly.

My Pineapple Old Fashioned tasted like straight bourbon and simple syrup. Barely any pineapple came through the liquor, let alone any smoke. It was strong, but the execution was lacking. Fortunately, they have Beerlao, which is one of the best beers in the world. Think Budweiser, but maltier.

The papaya in the Original Papaya Salad (Thum Muk Hoong) tasted old. I imagine it is not easy to get green papayas in Oklahoma, but still. The Crispy Rice Salad was okay, albeit wildly over salted. I was thrilled to see a Vegan Laab on the menu, but the dish was essentially just a finely chopped vegetable stir fry. I've had incredible laabs made with tofu, impossible meat, etc...this felt low effort.

The worst dish of all was their Khao Soi, which was a special that day. Khao Soi is a richly flavored noodle soup, which in Laos is often served with beef, in a tomato based broth. Here, it was a flavorless broth with low quality noodles, and rubbery meat. This is one of my husband's favorite dishes, and he could not even bring himself to eat it.

We wanted to love Ma Der Lao, but the food was not authentic or tasty, and quite expensive at $100 for two people.

Delicious food in a relaxing setting make this place an excellent choice. Waitress was very helpful in describing the food and what to order. We had the special Kahn Poon soup to start and beef w sticky rice and fried chicken.
We had both chilli sauces which were excellent. Can't wait to try some more!

Ma Der was at the top of our list to try in OKC for the longest time but we couldn't find the right time to go until now.

This little restaurant is cozy and inviting, the staff is very welcoming and friendly. This restaurant does not take reservations. There's always a wait especially on the weekend, but Just put your name on the waitlist and you can wander around the plaza district to grab a drink at one of the nearby bars while you wait. Ma Der is worth the wait for sure.

We were there with a group of 7 so we got to try almost everything on the menu that night , sharing everything family style. Every single dish was delicious, you truly can't go wrong here. Some of the favorites were the papaya salad, the chicken salad (Laab gai) , the grilled beef, and the fried chicken.

The cocktails at Ma Der are equally fabulous. I started with the Big Bird made of mezcal, jackfruit, pineapple and lime. Very original, tropical flavors and well balanced drink. We also tried the island gurl, a tiki drink with orange and passion fruit flavors made of dark rum. Both drinks are better than drinks I have had many cocktails bars in town.

Ma Der is definitely going to be a must go every time we visit OKC!

Just wanted to add a lunch review to Ma Der Lao - and a revelation in that when you combine the mushroom stew with vermicelli noodles and add some of the chili, you create a bomb dish! Also got the rice balls with the sausage, their pork skewers which were a special on Friday, and their fried peaches plus coconut soup were incredible as always. An excellent lunch that I will be back for!

This place is sort of hidden in Plaza district. As with any other place in the area, finding parking is always an adventure.

The service was very friendly and attentive. Our waitress visited our table multiple times to check up on us and to refill our water glasses.

The food was delicious. Favorite dish of the meal was the Crispy Rice Salad. We would definitely order it again.

Ordered the island girl drink it was very tasty, tropical, and just a tad too sweet.

The papaya salad was also good. The sauce has seafood notes that weren't expected. It was ok just wasn't in the mood for seafood.

The Grilled Beef was great. Very tender and well seasoned.

Overall would come back to try other menu items.

This restaurant was a first class experience. It's in a great spot in the Plaza district. Our waitress was extremely helpful in describing everything to us. I started with the charred pineapple old fashioned (light on the pineapple to cut the sweet a bit). It was a great drink!

The restaurant is family style, which allowed us to try several things. We had the papaya salad, the aromatic chicken salad, crispy rice salad, steamed catfish and the Lao sausage. We loved the chicken salad, the crispy rice salad and the sausage. The papaya salad tasted too fishy for me and the catfish was not a fan favorite the table; it looked very unappetizing, so I didn't try it. Please don't take any of this as a fault of the restaurant. I believe it was a matter of taste.

The experience was great and the food very good. We will make a point to go here again when we are in Oklahoma City.

It had a casual ambiance and was a bit noisy inside but we thoroughly enjoyed the patio. If you're in OKC, you need to try this gem!