Nightlife in Vientiane

The bar culture in Vientiane leans heavily on two things: cold Beer Lao and the view. Along the Mekong riverfront, on Fa Ngum Road, a string of open-air bars operate with the kind of informality that makes you forget you are sitting at an establishment rather than a friend's terrace. Belgian beer bars near the Nam Phu fountain cater to the European expat community with an impressive selection of imported drafts, drawing a crowd that tends toward long conversation over background noise. A handful of cocktail-forward spots have opened in recent years around the Samsenthai Road area, where the colonial-era architecture provides an atmospheric backdrop that does most of the design work without anyone having to try too hard. For whatever reason, the bars that have lasted longest in Vientiane are the ones that do not take themselves seriously.

Vientiane's late-night food options are better than the city's modest nightlife reputation might suggest. The night market along the Mekong riverfront runs into the evening with grilled meats, papaya salad, and sticky rice that seems to taste better the later it gets. Noodle shops in the Thong Khankham market area stay open reliably late, and a bowl of khao piak sen, a thick, slightly gelatinous rice noodle soup that is Laos's unofficial comfort food, is the practical antidote to a night of Beer Lao. A cluster of stalls near the Talat Sao bus station area operates essentially around the clock for early-morning departure travelers, which means if you find yourself hungry at 2am, you will find company there and something worth eating.