We flew into Bangkok on our way for our first trip to India and as long as we were in the neighborhood, it didn’t seem right to be that close and not include some time in Luang Prabang.

Before this trip we had spent a little time researching new restaurants in Luang Prabang and actually prepared a list of possible places we might like to try but by the time this trip was over, we realized we had largely gone with our stand by favorites including Tamarind, Tamnak Lao and Tangor. As a gross generalization, I would say our meals at Tamarind and Tamnak Lao were very good but in all honesty, it seemed as though Tangor might have lost a bit of their mojo since our last trip there a couple years ago.

We also enjoyed a couple lunches at another favorite from previous trip; Saffron Coffee and Bakery on Khem Khong Road.

Editor’s Note: Probably since we have been to all these places and written about them on this website numerous times; it seems we didn’t take any food pictures this time. For some photos and more detailed reviews of all of these above places you can refer to our Luang Prabang Restaurants 2016 page.

We were fortunate to be the guests of Mr. Vong and his wife Ty, the original owners of the Chitdara 2 Guesthouse for dinner one night at the Bamboo VatSene Restaurant (not the Bamboo Tree on the Nam Khan River on Kingkitsarath Road but the sister location in front of Wat Sene Temple on Sakkaline Road.)

We’ve enjoyed this restaurant in the past and it is the location of the cooking class we took from Chef Linda in 2016 but Mr. Vong is such a respected member of the local community that we got the “Royal Treatment” at this dinner. The chef as well as the owner fussed over our table location and comped us several dishes they wanted us to try. We loved the Luang Prabang Salad and the Nam Khao (Lao Crispy Rice Salad) that was one of our favorites from our cooking class and actually ended up coming back here for another meal later in the week.

As to be expected, my travel partner had lined up a weaving workshop at Ock Pop Tok so we ended up having lunch several days at their Silk Road Café at the OPT Living Crafts Centre at its beautiful location on the banks of the Mekong. It was as good as ever.

Also to be expected we hit the bar Icon Klub on one of our first nights in town. Owner/bartender Elizabeth Vongsaravanh still mixes outstanding cocktails and creates a welcoming environment where strangers seem to connect instantly and interact like long lost friends. Her slightly dirty Bombay martini is hard to beat.

As we walked out of Icon one night we realized that Café Toui was now located right across the street and was now a part of a home stay. On some earlier trips we had enjoyed some Lao sampler plates at the old location but at this new spot, the menu and atmosphere had changed for the better.

The one truly new place we tried was also a suggestion by our friend Mr. Vong. We had joined him for the monk alms giving procession on several mornings and one day he asked if we would like to go have coffee with him. So we jumped into his car and he drove us to Cafe Sinouk on Sisavangvong Road, which is just around the corner from Icon and Toui. We had a cappuccino and a latté to go along with a couple crescents (one plain and one chocolate) and were quite pleased. We came back for coffee one other morning and while it looked good, we didn’t try anything from the larger breakfast and lunch menu.