I had dinner with some friends at Charming Elephant last week, and I enjoyed our meal! Charming Elephant is a Lao restaurant. Since Laos borders Thailand, China, Vietnam, and Cambodia, you'll see some dishes common in those countries as well. We shared their garden wraps, fried chicken appetizer, Goi Pa (Laap fish), Pad See Ew with shrimp, crab fried rice, Thum Shrimp Salmon, mango sticky rice, and street fried bananas. Of these, I'd say the highlights were the fried chicken, Goi Pa, and Pad See Ew! Charming Elephant makes a fish house in-house, and it's got some real fish sauce funk. A few of our party weren't super fond of the Thum Shrimp Salmon since the fish sauce flavor was strong and the salmon was either cured or raw (the menu didn't specify this, but I think it was probably cured?). Overall, I'd say that the menu covers a lot of bases! If someone in your party wants something familiar to them, that they've seen on a lot of Lao or Thai restaurant menus, Charming Elephant has you covered. If you want something a bitter harder to find, something specifically Thai, something spicy, something with seafood, Charming Elephant has you covered, too. We also enjoyed their drink offerings. They offer a few Asian beers, soju, great cocktails, and some great non-alcoholic options (2 of the party of 5 weren't drinking when we visited). One of us had a Lao Charming Margarita (butterfly pea tea), which she loved. Several of us had the yogurt crush (two made non-alcoholic). Next time, I'm not adding any flavoring to my yogurt crush, because the flavorings were a little sweet and I wanted the tang of just the carbonated yogurt that they spike! The service was good, friendly - we're a loud, difficult bunch (we talk too much and forget to read the menu and we're never ready to order quickly) - but our server was great. The restaurant is casual and comfortable. Parking wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be (we did eat at 5:30 on a weekday though). Overall, it's a place I'd be happy to eat at when I'm next in the area, but I didn't love it so much that I'm driving into Canton without another reason!

Okay so I was actually really blown away by the food here! A group of us dined in on a rainy Tuesday and were basically the only people there. We made a reso but it wasn't needed. Maybe people mostly order takeout here? I highly recommend the passion fruit yogurt crush! I got it without alcohol and it was so refreshing. Perfect combo of tangy and sweet and I couldn't stop eating the passion fruit boba at the bottom! Yum. We started with the garden wraps, egg rolls, and fried chicken. The wraps were fresh and came with a yummy peanut sauce. Egg rolls and chicken were both perfectly fried and delicious! For dinner we shared the crab fried rice, shrimp pad see ew, laap with fish, and the shrimp salmon salad. My favorite dish by far was the pad see ew!! The noodle texture and sauce were perfect and had a nice kick to it. The crab fried rice was also really good and was seasoned with black pepper that made it stand out from others I've had in the past. The laap dish had good flavor but maybe a bit too fishy for me. I didn't actually eat the shrimp salmon salad as I can't eat uncooked seafood at the moment but it didn't seem to be the crowd favorite. For dessert we had the mango sticky rice and street bananas with coconut ice cream. Both were excellent but the sticky rice really stood out to me. It was warm and the mango was perfectly ripe! It hit the spot and was probably the best sticky rice I've ever had. Still craving it as I write this review! I will definitely be back to try more dishes! Give the spot a try!

The food is criminally underrated!!!! One of the rare times where EVERTHING was awesome! My favorite was the sausage & the mango sticky rice! 5 stars all the way

Refreshing yet filling Laotian food with a Yelp check-in freebie? Say Laos. I went to Charming Elephant in Canton on a rainy Saturday on an empty stomach and enjoyed some Southeast Asian cuisine with friends. We were seated immediately with no reservations, and the restaurant hovered around half full. With a bar on one end of the converted double rowhouse, a Kpop Youtube playlist blasting, and colorful murals on the exposed brick, the spacious restaurant was open and inviting. I didn't know beforehand, but once I checked in, I received a coupon for a free Thai tea for immediate use. So, let this be your reminder to check in everywhere you go! Besides tea, I ordered Tom Khem, a bowl of braised porkbelly in broth with a boiled egg with steamed rice. I'm not normally a soup girly, but this dish was so warm and tasty, I'm drooling just thinking about it! My friends enjoyed a Lao Porkbelly Banh Mi with colorful shrimp chips, and Lao Sausage and Goi Pa, which was a cooked tilapia salad. This was my first time trying Laotian food, and I'm a big fan!

Great place serving food from Lao in Canton! The server helped us pick quite a few things from the menu, and overall everything was good!

I came here for restaurant week with my friends after hearing such great things about this place, and I was not disappointed in the slightest. The food was PHENOMENAL, easily making this restaurant one of my favorites in Baltimore. I tried some seafood options, and I loved that I was able to pick the spice level of the curry. Even more delightful was that the waitress brought over chili oil for the table in case we wanted additional spice. The food itself was very filling, and I honestly would have been satisfied with just the Tom Kai appetizer as a whole meal if the Crab Curry hadn't been absolutely amazing. The restaurant itself is set up like a typical Asian restaurant, but the painted elephants along the wall add a cute charm to the otherwise all-wood interior. It was pretty empty when I went for a weekday dinner, so no reservations necessary but worth a visit (and then some!) for sure!

So glad we found this restaurant. The food is really good, like super yummy.. Shrimp egg rolls were simple and crunchy. Full sized shrimp fried to perfection, golden brown goodness. Fried rice was another winner. We got it with chicken and it was delicious. Next winner was the pork belly in brown sauce with green beans. The pork belly was fried crispy and then smothered in this heavenly sauce. Veggies perfectly cooked, onions, red and green peppers, green beans. I covered my steamed rice in the sauce then dug right in. Lovely experience and just simply divine. We will return when in the Baltimore area. Another plus, they play Kpop videos on a loop. Try it!

As Nayvadius DeMun Cash, also known as American rapper 'Future', once said: sensational. Brace yourself to one of Baltimore's more sensually-involved fare which tickles and teases the palate. Immediately coming into this weathered, but tried and true eatery, I was entranced by the night-life themed Laotian decor. I wondered to myself if I had indeed, bought an airplane ticket to Laos itself. But that disillusionment was quickly waved away by a speedy seating in the calm and alluring restaurant. I looked through their menu with gusto, keeping my salivary glands at bay - with variable success. I ultimately ended up ordering the Tom Khem, fried meatballs, and drunken noodles. While engaging in knuckle-dead scholarly conversation and entertaining higher order propositions, our food arrived. To describe the first morsel that hit my tongue is to describe what it means to be alive - but I'll give it a shot. The Tom Khem tasted like the first few seconds of warm sunshine after persisting a frigid winter. It was Laotian comfort food in its essence. The braised pork belly soaked my soul with its inviting and addictive flavor of savoriness and umami. It was clear to me that this was a dish thoughtfully made and intentionally portioned to keep you satisfied but wanting more. The braise, poured over rice, pushed the envelope more - highlighting the effort and intricacies of the braising itself. The braise was sweet and savory, complimenting the pork belly and encouraging the inquisitive to embellish the dish with rice. Finally, the boiled egg, albeit simple as it was, was as delicious as it could be. Grounding the dish's roots to what a comfort food should be. I could really speak to how the drunken noodles and fried meatballs were of similar caliber to the Tom Khem, but I truly wish to encourage all Baltimore residents and visitors to give this place a shot. Charming Elephant embodies what it means to be a beloved, local Baltimore restaurant. A must-go.

I finally was able to dine in for the first time! I've been a fan of their food for forever, but I've only ever had them for takeout. The decor on the inside is super cute, and the space was a lot bigger than I expected. They even have a bar and offer mixed drinks that I need to try next time! We arrived basically right when they opened, so we were the only people in there and our service was super fast. I was really surprised by how quickly our food came out once we ordered. I ordered the butterfly pea tea mostly because I knew it was going to be so pretty, but I was impressed with how yummy it was too! It honestly just tasted like a lemonade to me, but a little different - I'm just not sure in what way. The drunken noodles were also super delicious. You can choose what protein you would like added (if any) and your spice level. I went with medium spice, and it was honestly really mellow and not too spicy at all. The noodles were nice and chewy and all the veggies were well-cooked. It's also a pretty big portion - I only ate about half and was comfortably full. My dad went with me on this trip, and he ordered the pad thai with shrimp and a Thai tea. I had a bite/sip of both, and the taste I had of each was great! My dad was also really pleased. Everything we've tried on their menu is truly delicious. We also ordered the pho and garden wraps to-go, and enjoyed both of those as well. I'm excited to try more of the menu. You really can't go wrong!