Laotian restaurants in Vientiane
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A
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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B
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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C
Saovaly Restaurant
The French and Lao food here is wonderful, with subtle flavours and artistic presentation complemented by attentive but not harassing service. And all for very reasonable prices. It’s just a pity the atmosphere is so, well, living room –when we ate here it was to the dulcet tones of Martin Tyler on a Man U TV re-run.
reviewed
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D
Soukvemarn Lao Food
Don’t be put off by the location down a dirt alley from That Dam – the Lao food at Soukvemarn is very good. Specialities include kąeng pąa khai mot (fish soup with ant larvae –in season) and làap pąa (spicy minced fish salad), among many others. The family who manage it make good conversation, too.
reviewed
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E
Le Belle Epoque
For a taste of colonial-era luxury it’s hard to beat this restaurant in the Settha Palace Hotel. The menu is mainly French but also has a Lao component; dishes include braised lamb shank with organic mash potato (US$13.50) and the delicious flat noodles with grilled eggplant and cream sauce (US$5.50).
reviewed
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F
Tamnak Lao Restaurant
If you mention Tamnak Lao to locals, they will be impressed. It has a well-earned reputation for excellent Lao and Thai food. You can sit inside or in the manicured garden, and there is a traditional dancing show most nights.
reviewed
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G
Tum Zaap
This new hole-in-the-wall is a reflection of the growing sophistication of Lao youth and their palate, serving Lao cuisine with a modern twist.
reviewed
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H
Ban Vilaylac Restaurant
Hidden between Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan and Wat Chanthabuli, this romantic little place serves tasty Lao and Thai food.
reviewed
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I
Mekong Riverside Restaurant
On the river, tucked just behind PVO, this comparatively formal riverfront eatery offers a small menu of tasty Lao staples supplemented by snacks you won’t find at home; deep-fried underground singer (cricket; US$2.50) with your Beerlao, anyone?
reviewed
