Laab Somphit
Bib Gourmand 2026

🔄 Last checked 2 Jul 2026 · details and hours can change — check the venue before you go

Ask anyone from Korat which laab shop has been part of the old town the longest, and "Laab Somphit" in Trok Chan is one of the first names that comes up. This restaurant has been open for more than 50 years, named after Somphit, its owner from Yasothon who moved to settle in Korat back in 1972 and never left. What earns real respect is that she still prepares the ingredients herself every day, rather than handing that over to staff and just collecting the money. That kind of consistency is exactly why MICHELIN has awarded it a Bib Gourmand year after year, and it's still in the 2026 guide — this award doesn't go to fancy restaurants, it goes to places serving genuinely great food at prices anyone can afford, and Laab Somphit is the definition of that with no interpretation needed, since dishes start at only around THB 40.

The heart of the restaurant is laab, koi, and nam tok made to an authentic Yasothon recipe that Somphit carried with her from her hometown — bold northeastern Isan flavour, fragrant with roasted rice powder, spicy with real nuance rather than brute-force heat. On the grilled side, order the grilled beef tongue and grilled sweetbread — two dishes nobody should skip. The grilled beef tongue arrives chewy outside, tender inside, perfect dipped in jaew and eaten with sticky rice, bite after bite. The grilled sweetbread is cooked just past raw and still juicy — anyone who's never had liver this way will understand immediately why it's called "sweet." It's rounded out with grilled pork neck, a fixture on every Isan table, and if you're lucky enough to catch a day when they have mum (fermented pork sausage) or som neua (fermented beef), don't hesitate — both are made in limited batches and aren't available every day. Once they're gone, they're gone.

Another draw is the restaurant's location itself. Trok Chan, off Chan Road, is a small alley in the middle of Old Korat that has become a legendary food street, packed with old-established restaurants along its length — walk a few steps and you'll find another good one. That makes Laab Somphit a great first stop on an Old Korat walking food trail: eat laab for a late-morning meal, then walk it off toward the Thao Suranari Monument, and follow up with dessert or coffee in the same neighbourhood. A laab restaurant opened by someone from Yasothon in the middle of Korat, still running strong half a century later, with a Bib Gourmand to back it up — a story like that needs no embellishment to make the drive worth it.