Wow! Really impressed! Delicious food, great atmosphere, wonderful staff! A little expensive. Come on a Wednesday if you want to try the Duck porridge! Absolutely phenomenal. So flavorful. Great portion! Highly recommend getting it with some chili oil. Honestly any dish you get, GET THE CHILI OIL. The place is in a dope location, really cool interior. Plenty of parking if you don’t get a spot on the street behind the building.

Great food! Be prepared for the spice LOL It was amazing. Good atmosphere. Local owned. Family owned/operated. I have the sticky rice, papaya salad, fried chicken in the coconut soup for dessert. Everything was fabulous. The papaya salad was nice and spicy. Fried chicken was cooking perfection.

First of all, the location is so pretty. We sat outside and it was a perfect evening. From the drinks to the authenticity of the food. We practically ordered everything on the menu but I was so hungry I only remembered to take some photos. The papaya salad is my fav. Def authentic Lao style. I was surprised to see it paired with noodles & pork rinds… just pure perfection! We also had their jeow bong and it was soooo delish. Nam khao was seriously heaven sent. The taste took me back to when I first ate it. So so so good. If you don’t eat anything here, Atleast try the nam khao. We spent about $100 here. Def worth it. 10/10 would come back!

10/10! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! We had the papaya salad, crispy rice salad, laab Gai, sticky rice, Lao sausage and both chili dips! Everything was amazing and had such great flavor. The cocktails were delicious too! Can’t wait to go back and try more.

We arrived at 4:30 pm and were seated right away. We arrived 30 mins before the Evening Dinner Special could be served so we ordered off the main menu. For starters: We had Crispy Rice Salad to Pair with Lao Sausage & Fried Chicken. Absolutely everything was amazing - fresh and full of flavor! It's definitely one of the TOP spots in all of OKC.

We really enjoyed our first visit to Ma Der Lao. It’s great having an authentic Laotian restaurant like this in OKC. The staff was so friendly and explained all of the food and drink offerings. The food was very delicious but prepare for some serious spice! We loved it! It was such a great experience coming here and we’ll definitely be back!

Authentic? Sure, but award winning? Kind of a head scratcher. I feel that I have a bit of qualifications giving this review because these are the food I ate growing up. First of all, the environment is very hip and chill with old school 90s hip hop playing in the background. The food is definitely authentic, but I feel that it is catered towards westerners which I totally get because this place would not get the buzz that it is now if it were any other way. We ordered some of the typical items one would get at a Lao restaurant. Papaya salad with pork rind and noodles, Lao sausage, laab, steamed catfish, naam vaan, nam khao, jerky, and sticky rice. The papaya salad was very basic and did not wow anyone at the table. I can see someone trying it for the first time would probably like it. The Lao sausage was pricy for what you get, but considering the part of town this restaurant is in, it makes sense. I feel that the sausage did not have enough fat, but was still good. The laab is made of chicken and they also offer a vegan variant. Honestly, it can be made with any kind of protein, but I know for sure this is not catered to folks like me because traditionally, it's made with beef and can be had raw. The laab was not wowing either as the ingredient I felt was also basic. The steamed catfish is usually a favorite if mine, but this variant was the most disappointing because well..... I'm not sure if it's catfish. You be the judge. The 4 dollar sticky rice is enough for 1 serving only so be aware of that. The naam vaan was also very basic and at a price tag of 4 dollars, I feel that I didn't get what I paid for compared to a non-Western focused restaurant. Again, I'm not surprised because of location. The best part has got to be the jerky and nam khao. These items are as good as other places I've tried and would recommend it. Overall, cool vibe, okay food, but James beard award?

Delicious. We went around noon on a Friday and we're seated right away, then shortly after there was a lunch rush. Food was delivered promptly and was delicious. Our server was friendly and attentive and gave good guidance on the menu. We tried the crispy rice, fried chicken and sticky rice and loved it. And tried the papaya salad and it was not for us - it was quite funky/strongly fishy, which our server gave us the heads up on but we wanted to try it. I got the non alcoholic rose which was tasty and the green cowboy mocktail which sorta had a banana taste, was also good. There was also a nice outdoor patio.

Ma Der was delicious! Everything tasted fresh and came out pretty quickly despite it being the lunch rush. Everything on the menu sounds amazing and it was difficult for us to decide what to get! I will warn you if you order the papaya salad, the spiciest level is not for beginners. It is a spice builder so the more you eat the spicer it gets. I loved every bite of it and the spice it brought! The only bad thing I could say is that they say they provide family style food, but I feel the portion sizes were a little small. Maybe shareable for two people, but overall I feel each dish my friends and I got was enough for one person to finish easily unless you just don't eat much. Overall though, everyone left here was satisfied and full. Would absolutely recommend trying Ma Der. I will be coming back to try out the rest of the menu!

My family enjoyed all of the flavors and dishes. The fried chicken was hands down our favorite dish of the evening. Super impressed with the friendly staff and quick service. Highly recommend this place if you are visiting the Plaza District.

I give this place a 3.5 (not a 3 like the stars says). This is because there is some really good food here and some that is okay. They call themselves a “family style restaurant”, where everyone can try all of the food. But as seen below some of it is definitely not family style as well as the sausage which they give you only one and two small beef skewers that I wish I would’ve taken a picture of. So is this really “family-style” because with some small portions how can everyone try everything, that’s just a joke? Let’s talk about the price. Its expensive but considering the area not shocking. But when service doesn’t compete with the level of pricing I find this resteraunt to be waaaaay overpriced. $4 for sticky rice, $11 for two small skewers and $8 for a small custard pictured below which is only for one person ?? The service was okay but when the price is expensive it should be exceptional. So taste wise the fried chicken was very good, meat skewers had good flavor but too chewy so it was ok, crispy rice salad my fav, papaya salad good, and the custard was a bit too sweet yet it was very good with the extra rice puff and saltiness it brought and gave a contrast to the sweetness. Ma Der Lao needs to reconsider what they call, “family-style meal” and changing their portions.

This place is a vibe. The flavors are bold and melt in your mouth. The staff are very kind and knowledgeable about the dishes. Don't wait go try something new today!

Absolutely delicious! I personally love the family style dining, and I enjoy being able to try a bunch of dishes. You know it's a good meal when the table is SILENT except for the occasional groan of deliciousness and clink of silverware hitting the plate or table, and let me tell you, nary a word was spoken for at least 15 minutes that wasn't "sauce? MMMMM". The chicken wings were phenomenal, crispy with the right amount of tang, herbal, and spice qualities that I expect from Southeast Asian cuisine. The beef was incredibly flavorful and tender, and paired very well with the crispy rice salad.

Only way to describe this restaurant is that this is the kind of Laos food that is like “Tex Mex”. The atmosphere is pretty hip. The food though, it was… ehh. Like… The beef jerky was pretty good! The kaopiak had no flavor and soup was lukewarm. They charge a ridiculous amount for the sticky rice… $4 for ONE baggie 😩. 17 entrees and a few side dishes for over $300.

Very authentic Lao restaurant unexpectedly found in OKC of all places. Service was fast and the ambience was really cool. For two big eaters we got the sticky rice, crispy rice salad, fried spare ribs, papaya salad, chicken laab, and house made sausage. Definitely worth a try!

This place is small. We had to wait for our table. Glad we did. The food is out of the world. If you love spicy food, you come to the right place. There is non spicy food as well that my kids can eat. Can’t wait to come back to try other menu!