Champa Garden

Champa Garden is located on a residential corner in East Oakland’s Ivy Hill and is the spot for Lao, Thai, and Vietnamese specialties that are bright, flavorful, and just really damn good. The best move is coming here with people you like, and kicking off this casual lunch or dinner with the Champa Sampler (a name we’d get tattooed on our left rib). It’s served on a plate shaped like a boat, and shows off the restaurant’s greatest hits—Lao sausages, fried rice ball salad, crispy spring rolls, and lettuce wraps.

An Oakland favorite, Champa Garden prides itself on its mainstay dishes like its Laotian papaya salad, but they’ve also got your go-to noodle dishes like pad thai, pad see ew, and various types of pho. Our favorite is the Laos Noodle Soup – the broth is decadent and the noodles will be unlike anything you’ve ever tasted.

I first became really curious about Lao food nearly two years ago, after a tasty meal at Champa Garden, the somewhat venerable Lao restaurant on 8th Avenue east of Lake Merritt in San Antonio--one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the Bay Area, home to close-knit populations of African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians in almost equal proportions. I tried to draw distinctions between its dominant flavors and those most prevalent in the more familiar cuisines of its Southeast Asian neighbors. Like Thai, Lao thrives on interplay between sour and spicy, crunchy and soft, and both cooked and raw ingredients.

When the bowl of crispy fried rice, peanuts, preserved pork, green onions and lime juice arrives, I become temporarily obsessed. The other dishes on the table fade into the background as I focus all my affection and attention on you. After a couple of helpings of that oh-so-satisfying crispy, citrusy, salty concoction wrapped up in a Laotian lettuce taco with sprigs of mint and cilantro, I start to feel guilty.

Dinnertime usually promises a wait at Champa Garden, a long-time, local favorite that is hidden away in a residential neighborhood. With a Beerlao (Laotian beer, of course) in hand, though, the wait does not seem so painful. Before you know it, you will be seated at your table with a quick secession of delicious dishes making their way towards your table.

There’s a sizable Laotian population in the East Bay, and this restaurant should not be missed if you’re craving Laotian food. It’s located in a residential neighborhood, and you cannot miss it since there’s usually a line spilling out the front. Try the Champa sampler, which has Lao sausages, fried spring rolls, and nam khao (crispy rice salad).

Champa Garden: While primarily a Laotian restaurant, Champa Garden also offers a selection of Vietnamese dishes that are worth exploring. From pho to bun thit nuong (grilled pork vermicelli), their menu offers a delicious blend of flavors from Southeast Asia.

Or try Lao’s chicken noodle soup at Champa Garden near Lake Merritt. “When you eat in, there is an actual cake pan of toppings to choose from to add to your bowl,” one informant says.

Camber, the restaurant that preceded Lao Taé in Montclair Village, served some Indian, Thai, Lao, and Burmese dishes, plus some American bar food for good measure.