6 Best Restaurants in Laos

All the usual Italian stalwarts grace the menu at this upbeat spot, along with imported oysters and Wagyu beef. The same owners also run the more casual Ai Capone next door, a traditional pizzeria.

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.

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 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.

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.