Vientiane is the Lao capital, but its restaurant scene is surprisingly international. French bakery culture left over from the colonial period, Vietnamese noodles and baguettes, Chinese dim sum, Indian and Pakistani curries, Italian pizza, Japanese and Korean all sit in one city, so you do not need to eat Lao food at every meal. This guide groups the roughly forty-odd restaurants listed on this site by cuisine. Prices change, so none are given here, and hours are best checked on each venue page. Lao food itself, including sticky rice, larb and what to avoid, is in our food guide.
Lao food: larb, grilled dishes and jeow sauces
Lao restaurants range from formal places serving traditional set menus, to crowd-pleasing restaurants with a long Lao and Thai menu, riverside beer restaurants, and lunch-only spots. Signature dishes are larb, grilled fish, fish steamed in banana leaf and jeow dipping sauces eaten with sticky rice. A place serving traditional set menus in a colonial-era house wants a booking for dinner, and some garden-café style home cooking places open for breakfast and lunch only. Riverside restaurants where you watch the Mekong sunset open in the evening.
Vietnamese: pho, banh mi and nem nuong
Pho and baguette sandwiches (banh mi) are the basis of a Vientiane breakfast. Several pho shops and banh mi counters serve only in the morning and at lunch. There are places that specialise in nem nuong, grilled pork patties you wrap yourself in rice paper with herbs, and Vietnamese restaurants that stay open into the evening with live music.
French bakeries, bistros and Italian pizza
The French colonial past left bakery-bistros that bake croissants and baguettes; several open early and close in the afternoon, which suits breakfast. Italian restaurants are mostly wood-fired pizza and pasta, open for lunch and dinner. Some have a weekly closing day, so check Mondays and Sundays before you go.
Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indian
Chinese restaurants split into Cantonese dim sum, northern Chinese dumplings and Sichuan dishes with real heat. Japanese places are mostly sushi, ramen and set meals, and the hotel Japanese restaurants are calm sit-down options. The listed Korean restaurants serve barbecue such as samgyeopsal and galbi, plus kimchi stew, kimbap and tangsuyuk, and some bring free refills of side dishes. Indian restaurants offer North Indian curries and tandoori breads with plenty of vegetarian choices, and there are halal options.
Cafés and brunch
Many cafés are listed too. There are roaster cafés serving coffee from the Bolaven Plateau, specialty coffee places with fast Wi-Fi, fresh juice and smoothie-bowl stops, bakery cafés and a place known for Western brunch. Some cafés close at 5 pm and on Sundays, so go in the morning or early afternoon.
Choosing by time of day
Morning: pho, banh mi, bakeries and cafés. Lunch: Lao home cooking, dim sum and noodles. Evening: riverside restaurants, Italian and Japanese. Late: restaurants that double as beer bars. Some places open only for lunch or only in the evening, so check the day-by-day timetable on the venue page.
What to check before you go
If you are travelling in a group, check whether there are vegetarian dishes, whether a reservation is needed, whether takeaway or delivery is offered and which day the place closes.