35 Best Restaurants in Laos

One of Luang Prabang's finest restaurants offers traditional French food, with a dash of Lao influence, such as the chevreuil au poivre vert (local venison in a pepper sauce) and the several daily specials usually include fish fresh from the Mekong. Seating is available in the bright, airy dining room or on the sidewalk, behind a barrier of plants. You can order à la carte or opt for a three-course prix-fixe menu, and if you need relief from the heat, head to the air-conditioned section. 

The charming restaurant of the boutique Ansara Hotel serves authentic French cuisine in a romantic garden setting. Appetizers on the varied menu might include anything from fish carpaccio or a warm goat cheese salad to the over-the-top combo of fried duck and duck foie gras. For your entrée you can go haute with a rack of lamb or roast lobster, or casual with pizza or a croque-monsieur.

With an unbeatable location over a UNESCO-classified lotus pond, this impressive wooden restaurant only serves traditional Lao food, all based on the owner's family recipes. The dishes, such as fish Hor Mok steamed in banana leaves or the delicious jungle honey-glazed spareribs, are presented with a panache that helps emphasize the venue's authenticity. Signature cocktails feature Lao ingredients combined with modern mixologies. Best visited at dinner when the flicker of light from dozens of lanterns makes it look extremely romantic.

As at the original location of Paste, a Michelin-starred restaurant based in Bangkok, the menu here is built on the traditional recipes of the Lao royal family, but with a slight update for modern tastes. The preparation, presentation, and taste are second-to-none in Luang Prabang.

This hip restaurant in the heritage home of a former French official serves refreshing Mediterranean fare such as huge salads, excellent wood-fired pizzas, and platters of beef carpaccio. Many dishes also feature savory local buffalo burrata cheese. There's also a full list of French wines and exclusive cocktail creations.

Contrary to popular belief, fine Lao coffee doesn't only come from southern Laos, it's also grown here in the northern part of the country, and this charming café, started over a decade ago, has helped change the lives of highland farmers in the surrounding rural areas. There are great sandwiches and pastries, but the absolute highlight is the artisanal coffee and the amazing views of the Mekong from their riverside terrace. Many an afternoon has been lost to gazing at boat traffic plying these waters. Cherry to Cup tours are also available for true coffee lovers. The upstairs is air-conditioned if you need a break from the tropical heat.

An institution on Vientiane's culinary landscape for several decades, this restaurant serves modern Australian and international comfort foods and a revolving weekly menu of specials showcases the dexterity of the Lao chef. The twice-weekly happy hours are great for meeting local expats.

This riverside restaurant is the place to experience and understand Lao cuisine in Luang Prabang. The various tasting menus feature five traditional types of jeow, or dips, to be eaten with vegetables or sticky rice; there's also a "five-bites" selection that includes dried buffalo, sai oua (flavored local sausage), and other delicacies. The restaurant also runs a popular cooking school worth checking out.

A husband-and-wife team from New Zealand opened this restaurant that serves outstanding wood-fired pizzas, freshly baked bread, pasta, and other Western dishes you can enjoy with a real espresso or cappuccino. It's affiliated with Forest Retreat Laos, a trekking agency across the street that works with local people to create and promote sustainable tourism in the Nam Ha Protected Area.

The international team in the kitchen of the River Resort's elegant restaurant prepares fine Asian and Western dishes—the best food you will find in all southern Laos—with equal skill and panache. Highly recommended is the local Mekong fish, which can either be grilled and served with tamarind sauce and lime, or steamed in a banana leaf Lao-style.

This longtime Italian restaurant, in a beautiful colonial villa with a garden, is a bit out of the main tourist center but still reigns as one of Vientiane's steady grande dames. Villa Opera serves authentic pasta, baked entrées, and fresh salads along with items like the Pizza de Laos, made with chilies and Lao sausage. You can get a perfect espresso or a cappuccino, too.

Crispy river weed with spicy buffalo jam and steamed mushrooms in an herbal mousse are just two of the local specialties served at this atmospheric restaurant on the front terrace of 3 Nagas Luang Prabang hotel. Set menus are available from 200,000 kip, though you can also order à la carte. Across the street, the hotel's trendy cocktail bar Nagini is great for a nightcap.

A Pakse mainstay, this restaurant serves vegetarian and nonvegetarian Indian and Malay food, including excellent dosas and curries. Western-style breakfasts are prepared starting at 6:30 am—perfect for the early-morning minivan crowd heading to the 4,000 Islands.

Canadians run this inexpensive self-service restaurant, where the in-house bakery turns out delicious pastries, bagels, sandwiches, and salads. The homemade soups are excellent, as are the breakfast burritos and wraps, and there are all the typical coffee and espresso drinks. A second Joma branch is available on Sisavangvong Road about halfway down the peninsula.

A TREE Alliance training restaurant for marginalized youths, Khaiphaen's menu might include anything from tofu with Khaiphaen crispy river weed and green mango dip to fusion Lao staples such as grilled buffalo steak with pickled daikon. The food is great and you'll also be helping young Lao people build their hospitality skills.

An incredibly scenic branch of a Vientiane restaurant mainstay, Khop Chai Deu offers Lao, Thai, and Western food options served on the pool deck of Inthira Vang Vieng hotel. Try the duck laab, a zesty minced duck salad tossed with herbs. The staff are quite well-trained and the bartender keeps the champagne chilled as you watch the sun dip down behind the jagged landscape. 

A popular downtown restaurant and bar in a French colonial building, this is an excellent stop for happy-hour cocktails or dinner. For a tasty introduction to traditional Lao cuisine, try the Discovery Lao, a set menu including larb (a semi-spicy salad of ground meat), a zesty sour fish soup, khao niaw (Lao sticky rice), and a glass of lao-lao (rice whisky).

The Lao food at this restaurant inside a fading mansion is among Vientiane's best. Favorites include mok pa fork (steamed fish wrapped in banana leaves and cooked with eggs, onions, and coconut milk), and gaeng panaeng (a thick red curry with chicken, pork, or beef). Servings are small, so most people order several entrées à la carte or set menus featuring seven to nine dishes, plus dessert and coffee.

This beautifully situated resort restaurant right on the river serves an impressive mix of Thai, Lao, French, and Western dishes. The penang curry is aromatic and full of flavor, as is the spaghetti pad kee mao (drunken noodles, with basil and chili sauce).

Sidewalk seating and the retractable brown-striped awning contribute to the atmosphere of a traditional French café at this café on the northern end of town. Freshly made quiche, baguettes, and grandes tartines (large slices of homemade bread with various toppings) are menu highlights for lunch and dinner. 

This bistro occupies a 1930s historical building in the corner of Talat Yen Square and has a wide menu of Western-inspired comfort foods, including salads, pasta, rice dishes, and coffees. The good milkshakes, selection of beer, good coffee, and strong Wi-Fi make it popular with travelers.

With a central location and the most enticing atmosphere of several outdoor-seating restaurants in its part of town, the bakery is an ideal stop for people-watching and a cool drink or coffee and pastries. You can also sample some of the nearly two dozen Laotian dishes, such as jo mart len pak lae kout noi (steamed fresh vegetables with a spicy grilled-tomato sauce) served here, or satisfy a craving for Western food with a hamburger, a pizza, some pasta, or even a steak.

Here's a double surprise: some of the best food in Laos can be found in remote Phonsavan, and it's Indian to boot. Hole-in-the-wall Nisha, presided over by its amiable owners from Tamil Nadu, serves fantastic Indian cuisine, including delicious chicken tikka or tandoori. The owners' family operates branches in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng.

The family that runs this cute little café prepares various breakfasts and gourmet sandwiches that include imported feta, Camembert, or goat cheese melted onto fresh baguettes. They also whip up just about any tropical fruit smoothie you can imagine. The colorful spot, which also sells local handicrafts, is a good place to watch the world go by and meet other travelers. 

Vang Vieng's haute cuisine restaurant offers an eclectic choice of Lao, traditional Asian, and French dishes—the Laotian sampling menu is the top draw. The indoor and outdoor dining areas command majestic views of the river and towering limestone cliffs. In addition to lunch and dinner, there's also a good buffet breakfast.

This humble restaurant under a tent awning overlooking the Nam Khan River doesn't really churn out fusion food so much as superb Lao and Western dishes without overlapping influences. Chef Dith also makes frozen margaritas and mojitos that rival any in town, as well as iced tea with rosella, the restaurant's namesake and an edible species of the hibiscus plant.