Restaurants in Laos
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JoMa Bakery Café
JoMa is the first-choice lunch stop for many expatriate workers in Vientiane, partly because the large and stylish café is a good place for meetings but mainly because it does a brisk trade in delicious pastries, sandwiches, quiche, muesli, fruit, shakes and coffee. Wi-fi is available for US$2.50 an hour.
reviewed
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Lao Lao Garden
Superlative Thai, Lao and Western fare graces the long menu at this hip, alfresco restaurant, where tables tumble into a hilly, candlelit garden. The Lao barbecue here is a must – diners are served a basket of raw meat and vegetables, which they cook at their own leisure on a round hotplate in the centre of the table. It’s about as much fun as dinner gets.
reviewed
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JoMa Bakery Café
Arguably the best bakery in town, JoMa has alfresco tables along the street or in a spacious air-con dining room. A great menu of sandwiches, soups and salads joins the large bread and pastry selection, and the coffee is excellent.
reviewed
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Makphet
Run by Friends International (www.friends-international.org), this small restaurant trains homeless youths to cook and wait tables. The modern Lao cuisine is both interesting and tasty.
reviewed
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Nisha Restaurant
Tuck into delicious aloo ghobi, dosas, tikka masalas and rogan josh at this spacious Indian diner. The list of vegetarian options is long and you can down a whole tandoori chicken for US$4.
reviewed
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Fujiwara Restaurant
Just west of Wat In Paeng, Fujiwara has an epic menu including all the Japanese favourites and several set meals. Sushi is the specialty and it’s good, but not cheap.
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Croissant d’Or
The coffee, sandwiches and fine pastries make this petit French-run café a long-time favourite.
reviewed
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Somchanh Restaurant
This simple but pleasant outdoor place near the cluster of guesthouses in Ban Wat That serves a large selection of Lao and Luang Prabang dishes, including the best choice of vegetarian Lao food in town. Dining areas are divided between tables on a slight bluff near the kitchen and seating across the road on the riverbank.
reviewed
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Craters Bar & Restaurant
This very cosmopolitan eatery has a mostly falang menu of club sandwiches, pizzas and even an Australian T-bone. There are also Thai and Lao dishes tamed to Western palates. Two shell cartridges mark the entrance so you can’t miss it. You can also exchange money here and book bus and air tickets.
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Lala Café
A refreshing variation from the ubiquitous burger-and-pizza selection greets diners at this trendy little spot. Gracing the menu are Greek dishes, massaman curries and a kicking spicy catfish and mango salad. Dine in the intimate café or at the tables on the riverbank across the road.
reviewed
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Douang Deuane Restaurant & Wine Bar
The tasty Lao, Thai and Vietnamese favourites here are complemented by an attractive traditional setting and a welcoming French host. We always have a good time when eating here, it’s that kind of place. The upstairs balcony has a good table for couples.
reviewed
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Restaurant Brasserie L’Elephant
One of Luang Prabang’s most elegant eateries features wooden floors, subdued lighting and Lao antiques. The menu is mostly French but you’ll find other treats such as New Zealand rib eye with gorgonzola cheese sauce, and delectable seafood.
reviewed
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ParadIce
In the grounds of the Centre Culturel et de Coopération Linguistique, this airy, comfortable bar and café is, understandably, popular with Francophone expats and serves cheap coffee (from US$0.30), sandwiches and simple meals.
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Kangaroo Sunset Bar
This Australian-run place is a decent sunset and evening drinking hole (it does have the coldest Beerlao in town), and the Lao, Thai and fusion-ish food is very edible indeed. The garlic bread and prawn rolls are delicious.
reviewed
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Nisha Restaurant
This place serves Indian specialities, Western breakfasts and Lao dishes, both veg and nonveg.
reviewed
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Night Stalls
Some of the cheapest and tastiest dishes in town can be found at the night stalls that emerge at dusk on streets running off Th Sisavangvong where the night market takes place. The main congregation is one street north of Th Kitsarat, where you can dine on a whole barbequed pig's head, superb vegetarian dishes and noodles, and just about everything in between. There's even a 'vegan' stall.
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Scandinavian Bakery
This long-running favourite on Nam Phu sells fresh bread, pies, sandwiches (US$2), real Scandinavian-style pastries, cakes and ice cream. It has indoor and outdoor seating, and the upstairs room has satellite TV tuned to BBC or CNN.
reviewed
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Full Moon Café
The relaxed-but-hip look of the Full Moon might lure you in, and once there the Asian fusion food won’t disappoint. The tapas and ever-changing set menus are worth considering.
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Tamarind
Chic little Tamarind injects a great deal of style into the Luang Prabang dining scene, inventing its very own make of ‘Mod-Lao’ cuisine. The à la carte menu boasts delicious sampling platters with bamboo dip, stuffed lemongrass and meuyang – DIY parcels of noodles, herbs, fish and chilli pastes, and vegetables. With a day’s notice they also serve banquets (per person US$6 to US$8) with variations like a Lao Celebration Feast (Pun Pa), and the degustation-style Adventurous Lao Gourmet. Dishes include whole fish, marinated in local herbs, stuffed with lemongrass and barbecued in banana leaves, traditional eggplant and meat stew, or Lao-style barbequed pork. Meals are…
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Bunmala Restaurant
It’s a little out of town, but this open-sided, timber-floored restaurant is about as archetypal Lao as you can find – and the food is great, too. There are all manner of Lao favourites, including pîng pét (roast duck), pîng pąa (grilled fish), pîng lîn (roast cow tongue) and pîng kai made from particularly plump chickens. For a classic Lao meal, order the (very hot) tąm màa-hung (papaya salad), kąeng naw mâi (soupy bamboo-shoot salad), sticky rice and draught beer. Delicious. It’s best to come in the evening when the full range of pîng is on offer and the draught beer is US$0.50.
reviewed
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Vieng Sawan
In the middle of Chinatown, Vieng Sawan is a bustling open-sided restaurant that is a real Lao eating experience. It specialises in nǎem néuang (barbecued pork meatballs) and many varieties of yáw (spring rolls), usually sold in ‘sets’ (sut) with khào pûn, fresh lettuce leaves, mint, basil, various sauces for dipping, sliced starfruit and green plantain. You can also order sìin ja here, thinly sliced pieces of raw beef which customers boil in small cauldrons of coconut juice and eat with dipping sauces, or some of the many varieties of spring rolls.
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Pyongyang Restaurant
Owned by the same people as the Phnom Penh restaurant of the same name, this Pyongyang is even more surreal. Waitresses direct from North Korea, trained to sing and dance since childhood, will take your order one minute and step up to the microphone the next to perform perfectly choreographed dance routines and/or play electric guitar and drums (it starts about 7.30pm). It’s a complete trip. Don’t, however, let them order for you, as you’ll be served only the most expensive dishes on what is a relatively pricey menu. There is no obvious sign; look for ‘Korean Restaurant’ on the window.
reviewed
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Riverside Snack and Drink Vendors
The riverside snack and drink vendors are great for sundowners. Beerlao and ice is the most common purchase but fresh tąm màak-hung (green papaya salad) and a range of grilled meats are usually on hand. Look for the friendly family of long-haired ladies who run one of these places; one who speaks English apologised to us this time for cutting her hair from calf-length to merely waist-length. Baw pen nyǎng, we say, it’s still pretty impressive.
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Seng Ahloune Restaurant
The Seng Ahloune is as popular for its delicious comfort food, including great fish and chips (US$3), as its prime location over the river just south of the bridge. Vietnamese spring rolls and curries are other dishes worth trying on the epic menu. Recommended – except during the tour-group rush hour around noon. It should have four relatively plush rooms (US$10 including breakfast) open by the time you read this.
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Sticky Fingers Café & Bar
Sticky Fingers Café & Bar has the atmosphere of a Sydney café, but Sticky Fingers is actually one of the best places to eat in Vientiane. The cuisine could be described as ‘modern international’, with delicious dishes cooked up by Mr Cho and his team – Mr Cho’s crispy fish (US$4.90) was subtle and delicious. And the hangover special (US$4, an extra 10c for paracetamol) works wonders.
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