Vientiane's food is just all right & not especially good.
The Pad Kee Mao (Thai Drunken Noodles) were soft and tasty for the most part, but the meat was overcooked & not enjoyable.
The Laab (Laotian) was bland, with overcooked meat again, though it wasn't as badly overcooked as in the noodle dish.
I've had a fish dish (tilapia?) which was edible -- meh.
This is a charming little restaurant that's nicely decorated and comfortable to sit in. Â The food is around 2 or 2.5 stars, so with the decor and ambience, I give it 3 stars all around.
I am a big fan of Thai and this restaurant definitely stayed true to the fresh flavors that make the cuisine so good. Fish and chicken were both tender and well prepared. Â The thing is the food had no oomph. Wonton soup looked great bit the base was too sweet. Same with the pan seared tilapia meal. Â I ate it all but couldn't savor it the way I've had Thai at other restaurants.
Review Source:Came here with my mom and had the lunch special. The coconut soup and dumpling appetizers were delicious, as was the Pad Kee Mao noodles (like drunken noodles) Â that my mom ordered . I wasn't a huge fan of the chicken satay - it was cut differently from what I was expecting and was just okay. The Penang tofu curry that I ordered was a little too peanut-y.
Overall yummy, but it depends on what you get.
This place is tiny but it's great. I came here with a large party of 15 people right after an awful experience with Vietnam Cafe around the corner. We were looking for a good BYO and Vientiane did the trick.
ATMOSPHERE
It's dimly lit inside and very small, but the place is pretty clean. It looks like they've done some remodeling recently and changed up their chairs and tables.
FOOD
The food is pretty tasty. The portions are medium-sized, not too small and not too large. I usually get the pad thai or anything with basil. The food could be spicier but that would probably not fly with everyone.
PRICES
The food is very reasonably price. I wouldn't say it's the cheapest Thai food but it's definitely affordable.
STAFF
The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We had a large group but our food was served in a reasonable time frame and they were very nice about setting up our BYO drinks.
Vientiane's food was good but it wasn't the best Thai food I'll ever had. I will say that it's appetizers are really good but the entree's were definitely just average.
Plus points for it being a very charming and well-decorated place.
I came here during lunch and had one of their lunch special. (3 courses for $10.95).
Good Appetizers: Coconut Soup, Tom Yun Soup, and the Chicken Appetizer
Mediocre Appetizer: Steamed Pork Dumplings (this definitely came out of a bag you can buy at a Chinese
Good Entree: Pad See Ew (drunk noodles). If you like spicy food, definitely get add a spice level to it. They add a lot of onions, broccoli, and other vegetables into their interpretation.
Please avoid the Pad Thai. I'm not sure what everyone was raving about, but the Pad Thai was very dry and tasteless. It didn't blend well with the vegetables.
We came here with friends in our hunt for a good Thai-Laos meal. We ordered the bahn-xeo, pad kee mao, spicy basil fried rice and green curry. The only dish that disappointed us was the green curry which was a little too sweet and watered down but the rest of the meal was pretty flavorful.
Review Source:We eat at Vientiane all the time and often bring our friends and family here when they are visiting. The food is flavorful and delicious. Some dishes that you don't see on the menu at every Thai place. Service is hit or miss, but I've never had any problems. Fresh vegetable spring rolls are incredible. Laab is yummy. Steamed red bean dessert is like nothing you've ever had before. There's some ginger basil something rather that is probably my favorite thing there. We eat there a lot and I'm trying to work my way through the menu.
I've knocked them down a star because the spiciness level varies. That being said, I've requested my food Thai hot and, after an "are you sure?" from the server, was served an incredibly delicious super spicy meal. I have found that, unless you specify that you want it very hot, though, that the food will come out mild. That's certainly fine for a lot of people and they've probably done so to Americanize some of the authentic spicy dishes but just know to ask for it hot.
Since the recent renovation, the interior decor is much nicer and the cafe has doubled in size.
Lunch special is a great deal too!
NB: it's cash only, BYOB, and they don't take reservations.
One of my favorite restaurants because they don't hold back on the flavor. Â It's authentic laos food, not watered down dishes. Â I love love love the papaya salad and order it with the crab sauce. Â There are pieces of crab shell in the dish; that's the real deal. Â My second favorite is the rice salad, perfect blend of sour and sweetness. Â The laab is better when it's spicy. Â You must order sticky rice to compliment these dishes and eat it with your hands.
I noticed the restaurant expanded and the decor has been updated. Â I was happy they didn't change the menu. Â Keep it tasty. Â Keep it real.
I have always loved this place and raved about it, but my most recent experience made me question my loyalty.
My date and I ordered two orders of vegetable spring rolls and we were brought two orders of dumplings. When our server came back she said "Did you want to change your order to the spring rolls?", wherein we replied that we had ordered them originally and not the dumplings. It's not a big deal to mishear an order, but she didn't apologize or act as though the mistake was on her end which put me off.
Then we got our entrees. Mine was great and delicious but my date ordered laab and even pointed to it on the menu when he ordered it but he was served pho. What is pho doing on a Thai menu first of all? They eventually brought out his laab which he described as lackluster.
The disappointing part was it felt as though our server was half listening to our order because she made glitches on both of our appetizers and my date's entree. When the mistakes were brought to the staff's attention they were not apologetic and did not try to make it up to us in any way. When we got our bill we were charged an extra dollar more than the listed menu price for each of our spring roll orders. That's just bad business practice. At the restaurant I work at, I always make sure I give a table special treatment if their order was botched in any way.
I am a fan of the food at this place and I won't ever say otherwise, but this past experience was very disappointing. I will only come for take-out from now on or at least until that server is no longer working there.
My husband has been a fan since they first opened and were just a tiny spot. Â Now they're slightly larger, a bit trendier/more expensive, but he still loves the food. Â I am not an adventurous eater, but I did enjoy the angel shrimp appetizer and the crazy pineapple rice. Â It came with tofu, which I tried and enjoyed. Â Their tossed salad is one of the better ones around. Â It's substantial and worth ordering.
Review Source:Okay I've been hearing so many good reviews from Yelp and from friends. I decided to check it out myself. One star for the decor. One star for it being BYO.
I ordered the Papaya Salad, Red Chicken Curry, the Chicken Larb, and the Satay Chicken Skewers. The Papaya Salad was mediocre, I definitely had better. The Chicken Curry was pretty good judging from a person that loves curry and tried many. The Satay Chicken Skewers were very disappointing, first of all it was not cut correctly, meat especially chicken is suppose to be cut against the grain especially if it's being skewered that way it is easier to pull apart. Second it was VERY dry and small. Chicken breast is fairly inexpensive and they only gave me four very small pieces of chicken . Last meal was the Larb, it wasn't bad but it wasn't particular good.
Overall I'd give the place a 3, one for the decor, one for it being BYO, and one extra star for the curry. On another note, it's CASH-ONLY
The spice levels listed on the menu are * (low spice), ** (mildly spicy), *** (spicy) and ***** (super spicy). Â Or something very close to that. Â I am a huge fan of very spicy Thai curry dishes with a delicious Thai iced tea to cut through the heat. Â
Vientiane will NOT sell me the super spicy. Â I don't know why. Â I've tried ordering the spiciesy. Â They will give me mild. Â I've tried convincing the waitstaff that indeed they cannot make it hot enough. Â I've received mild food. Â I've even then pointed out a lack of heat in the dish and the crappy side of spicy red pepper flakes in oil. Â My wife has had the exact same problem. Â I gave up going here because it would appear they do not make anything spicy.
Then, my friend Mike assured me he was actually served spicy food here. Â It was renovated so I gave it another chance. Â Both my wife and I ordered 5 stars. Â Our waiter looked surprised with my wife's order and checked with her to confirm that she REALLY did want 5 stars. Â She said yes, that she wants it as hot as possible. Â 5 stars. Â MAKE IT HOT. Â I then proceeded to order 5 stars as well.
She received mildly spicy. Â I received zero spice. Â When the check arrived we were shocked. Â Her order was written down with 5 stars next to it and TWO of the stars were whited out. Â Yes, they changed her order. Â Mine? Â Well it had one star written next to it.
I have no idea why. Â But they will not sell us spicy food. Â This is not just once, it is endemic. Â Fans of spicy food, do not frequent this place. Â I know I will not.
Small BYO. The restaurant is very very casual. The food was good. Nothing amazing. There was nothing that I said "wow! that is really good!" that would make me want to rush back.
We went for UC dining days so $15 for three courses = a great deal. We ordered the crispy spring roll with pork (just ok), papaya salad (light and refreshing), tilapia, pad-kee-mao (tasty! nice medium level spice), and banana chocolate spring roll for dessert. Â The highlight was the dessert! It was just the right amount of food. The service was good - they kept our water glasses full. Â Â
For a cheap dinner, and byo, this place hits the mark. Â But the food can't even compare to Trio in Fairmount. Â I wouldn't rush to go back or go out of my way to go there, but I am glad I tried it.
Don't forget that this is cash only. Â Our bill came to $32.40 before tip.
PROS: Light, medium-portioned dishes that leave you satisfied (not bloated)
CONS: Stuffy & simple dining space, mediocre service
Vientiane Cafe is cheap for the quality of food you receive! The steamed dumplings were more like veggie raviolis and the sweet and sour tilapia was a bit too sweet (albeit the fish itself was moist and cooked to crispy perfection). Overall, the dishes are not mind-blowingly good, but they won't break the bank either! Worth a visit. BYOB!
If you're looking for standard Azn food then Vientiane Cafe is the place to rock out to. It's a quaint BYO with a menu customizable to any palate. Standard options such as noodles, rice, curries and vegetable stir fries accompanied by your choice of meat, tofu or more veggies abound. No one will leave disappointed...even if they only eat the sticky rice. Because everybody loves perfect sticky rice.
The green papaya salad is scrumptious, even without peanuts. This is where Vientiane lays claim to other Asian establishments: peanut allergy? No worries. They'll make sure those little goobers don't infiltrate any part of your dish...even offering to box a separate papaya salad only after learning of a food allergy. Nice.
I very much enjoy coming for the affordable and deceptively filling 3-course lunch. Â For your $10 you get a soup, a small appetizer, and a main entree from a limited menu. Â I always get the Tom Yum soup which is delightfully spicy, but also very light. Â You can't go wrong with any of the appetizer choices.
The main courses include Thai curries, Pad Thai, sweet ginger, and one or two other things that I can't remember. Â I really like the green curry and the sweet ginger with any choice of protein.
The staff is very friendly, the clientele is all over the spectrum, and it looks like they are planning to expand their space to include the place next door so there will be even more room.
I have yet to be there for dinner, but lunch is solid.
My wife and I stopped in for dinner recently on a Saturday night and were pleasantly surprised with the food here. we actually meant to go to the vietnam cafe, which is around the corner but popped in here by accident. Its a pretty small place with the tables packed in tightly together so you can pretty much hear what everybody around you is talking about and it got pretty loud when the dining room filled up.
The servers were very attentive and friendly. I got the pad thai which I thought was fabulous but I've never had it before so I don't really have anything to compare it against. The amount of food for the price was great as well. My wife got the sweet thai basil shrimp and that tasted wonderful. She doesn't really like spicy food and they cooked it up sans spicy-ness with no fuss. Hers was a little smaller portion size, and it was perfect for her but might leave you wanting a bit more if you're a big eater.
The neighborhood was nice, with a major "portlandia" vibe lol. I would be careful about straying too far though because the area gets real sketchy if you go to far in the wrong direction
Another after work dinner night with my kids.
Sticky rice, sausage, bamboo soup, laad na and fried banana with chocolate drizzle. All of that food was all for me... lol. Thai ice tea to finish off my dinner. Got embarrassed that I was eating too much and had my food packed to go with extra sticky rice. Food was excellent. Service was great.
I've eaten here 4 or 5 times over the past few years. It's a decent place, but I really don't think it's anything special. I've ordered vegetarian red curry, yellow curry, and eggplant sweet basil. I found the curries more flavorful and interesting than the eggplant. The eggplant was pretty nicely cooked (and eggplant is easy to over or undercook, so that's nice), but the flavor didn't seem that interesting -- lots of basil and not many other flavors supporting it. The curries are nice, very rich, flavorful, and spicy, but I didn't think they were a great value ($11). I do really like the sticky rice. My usual dining companion likes the beef and seafood red curries, but once ordered the Thai catfish and said that it was *horrible*, weirdly deep fried to death. He ate only 3 or 4 bites and couldn't stomach any more.
I've never had lunch here, but dinner prices are not super cheap -- entrees are in the $11-$15 range. Tables are very close together, which occasionally leads to awkward moments because it is almost impossible to avoid overhearing other peoples' conversations and to avoid being similarly overheard by those at neighboring tables. Wait times can be a little long, but are generally bearable -- I've never had to stand around for more than 20 minutes.
As busy as this place is, it's ridiculous that they don't accept cards...at the very least, they should post a prominent sign to warn people about their cash only policy.
This place has always been good for a quality lunch or dinner on the cheap, and now we finally review it.
We ordered a special egg and fish-chili sauce appetizer, the bbq cornish hen, and the red curry.
The egg and chili appetizer was a thinly fried spiced egg served with a dish of chili sauce and rice, but the taste was really lovely. It was definitely an appetizing start to the evening. The bbq hen was a dry barbecue that came with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. The hen itself was cooked very well. Finally, the curry was superb.
The service is always reasonably good here, and even though they are popular for dinner, our table had enough room around it so we could relax.
I went here for a BYO a few months ago, but I figured I would give review it as I feel like it's often forgotten about in West Philly.
I came with a group of about 8 people, and everyone enjoyed their food, even people who were a little bit unsure about Thai food. The service was great, and the place is open pretty late, and didn't kick my group out immediately after paying. Also, can I mention how insanely cheap Vientiane is? It was ~$7 per person in my entire group, including tip which is pretty insane.
My wife and I ventured to this spot the other day for lunch. The funny thing is, we thought it was Vietnamese food because of the name. Ironically, there is a spot just around the corner called Vietnamese Cafe. Anyway, this is a Thai place.
The had a great lunch deal. For $9.99 you get a soup, appetizer and an entree. My wife and decided to share the appetizers. We got the Spring rolls and dumplings. Both were fantastic.
I had the Spinach Soup with chicken and it was great. My wife got the Coconut Soup. She said it was okay, but not her thing. She did say it probably tasted the way it should, but realized afterwards she's not a huge coconut fan.
For the entree, I got the Pad Thai with chicken. I was perfect. I really enjoyed it. My wife got the Sweet Basil with chicken. She really liked it too.
All in all, it was a great experience, and the price was also great.
Despite the fact that Vientiane had run out of nearly everything I tried to order, I am still giving it four stars. Â Their food is that good, their menu that extensive.
(But seriously, order more tofu. Â This is West Philly where more people are probably vegetarian/vegan than not... Ugh!!!)
Regardless of their failure to supply me with my necessary protein intake, I still really enjoyed my meal. Â We started with the papaya and cucumber salad which was delicate and at the same time complex. Â Then I had veggie pineapple fried rice and asked them to load up on the veggies because of the tofu outage. Â They obliged, and the plate was delicious. Â I got spice level 4/5 and didn't find it very spicy, but I may just have a high spice tolerance.
For dessert we had the mango sticky rice and chocolate banana fried something or another... Both were delicious. Â The mango sticky rice had slices of fresh mango with coconut topping. Â
I will be back. Â And hopefully they will have what I order.
I have been following these people throughout the city for the last 10yrs. Â They first operated out of their backyard under a blue tarp, served beer for 2 bucks, then was re-located to a wing shop by Drexel, and then was kicked out and moved back to their house but only secretly offering takeout from their house. Â So I was quite happy to see that in the last few years they've been able to relocate to their own, cute BYO on Baltimore.
Although the food doesn't seem quite as good as the days it was operating out of their backyard, it's still pretty solid. Â The green papaya salad is delicious (but has a lot of fish sauce if you are okay with that), the pad thai has thinner, less traditional pad thai noodles which I actually like better, Â isn't greasy and very flavorful.
Dinner here was great until the very end, but my opinion was definitely soured by being informed "we do not accept credit cards" only after I went to pay with a credit card. I checked the doorway on the way out - nope, no sign. There was nothing on the check to indicate they were cash-only, I don't remember seeing it listed on the menu (and I look for these things!) While dinner was delicious, that is a customer service fail that left me less-than-impressed.
Up to that point, though, I very much enjoyed my dinner here. We started by sharing an order of spring rolls, two large rolls were served cut in half which was a nice portion for sharing. The peanut sauce they are served with is delicious! I had the panang curry -always delicious, although not anything particularly innovative. My friends had the pineapple fried rice (I had a taste - again, good but nothing mind-blowing) and sweet basil chicken (this is something I had never tasted before - yum!). Portion sizes were generous and the prices are reasonable. Service was OK - there was a long wait between appetizer and entrees, and for a while our water glasses were very neglected.
They would have gotten 4 stars had it not been for their poor advertising of the cash-only policy. If you like Thai food they're worth a visit, just make sure to hit up the ATM before you head in!
One of the best BYOB joints in Philly. I've been here several times and have never been disappointed. I must say that the last time the food came out incredibly fast and our meal didn't last more than 30 minutes. That's what I call a speed dinner. I think they could have waited to take the food out another 10-15 minutes. Usually, I don't complain about this but it just felt kind of weird.
They have the most authentic Laotian cuisine in the city and the service is very friendly. The ambiance is nice and quaint but still perfect for groups or small gatherings. I may need to give it a break considering there are so many other places to check out in the city but if I'm recommending a nice, delicious, cheap dinner with a BYOB policy, Vientiane is usually among the first places I mention.
This restaurant is not a place I take dates. Why? I just shovel everything put in front of me into my mouth, as though I have five minutes to live.
Alright. If you need seating for more than two, you may have to wait. The restaurant is small and you may be nearly sitting on top of the table next to you.
I'm obsessed with their pad thai. Vegetables are always of perfect consistency. Their vegetable coconut soup is awesome. I've tried eating other things but really... no sense in toying with perfection.
I've had the distinct pleasure of eating here with the below yelper Marissa B and she's not joking about the mango sticky rice OR this place haunting you from the other side of the country. Their thai ice tea is worth drowning in.
I must have ordered the wrong dish (and my sis in law must have, too) because I did not enjoy my meal at all.
I ordered beef thai basil. My experience with thai basil dishes is that they, at the very least, have some miggyfiggy thai basil in them. This bowl of soupy veggies did not have a hint or trace of anything resembling thai basil. Literally. None. Not like, "oh man, i love thai basil i sure wish they put more of it in here!" It was just completely absent from the dish.
This place also doesn't take cards. I totally get that lots of little cafes in West Philly don't take cards. It's inconvenient and I hate it but I get that when most of your transactions are $1.75 cups of coffee, accepting debit and credit is not a necessity. But when the average dish on your menu is $10+ being cash only is ridiculous to me.
I just don't see why I'd ever return. meh
Delicious. So delicious. Why do they not have a sign anywhere that says CASH ONLY? We definitely had to send my brother out to get cash when the bill came. Embarrassing.
I had the Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) which were delicious. Though the menu said they'd be spicy, and they didn't even have a slow burn thing going on. Next time, I would get it spicier. Lots of beef in it though, they definitely did not skimp on that.
My parents both ate Pad Thai and loved it. I snagged a bite of my mom's Chicken Pad Thai and it was pretty yummy. I prefer greasy spicy noodles though.
The desserts here are so so good. A bit overpriced maybe ($6 a piece), but delicious. I had the sticky mango rice, my mother ate the chocolate banana egg roll, my brother had the banana tempura. All yummy. Â My dad clearly made the right choice when he ordered the coconut ice cream. It came in half a coconut and there was SO MUCH ICE CREAM. I dont' know if they make it on location, or if they get it elsewhere, but I could definitely eat it every day.
I'm going to drag my brother here for the rest of the time he's at UPenn. I'm into it.
This eatery isn't much larger than a walk-in closet, but bright walls, flowers and candles - and the fact that they're a BYOB - make this an affordable date spot. Due to its size, you'll never be ignored by the friendly staff, even when there's a crowd.
The kitchen works fast, turning out piping hot Laotian and Thai dishes in record time. There's the usual assortment of curries, seafood, and rice plates. Fresh spring rolls ($3.95; vegetarian; cash only, last I checked) come with a side of sweet plum sauce and a pleasantly tart fish sauce. Try the pad kee mao ($10.95; with beef): While it could be spicier and the beef is almost dangerously dry, the sauteed rice noodles are moist, and the mix of onions, carrots, broccoli, chili peppers, bean sprouts, and basil give it flavor and color.
The difference between Thai and Laotian cuisine is damned if I know. Â It is a fairly safe bet that if you like one, you'll like the other.
All of the curries here are very tasty. Â The Shrimp sweet basil is very good and so is the triple-flavor red snapper. Â I also have to hand it to this place for making my favorite thai iced tea in Philly. Â It is like the tea leaves, condensed milk, and sugar had formed an unholy alliance with the devil so that they could climb to the top of the thai iced tea game. Â It is very sweet and very tea-y. Â ? Whatever.
Anyhow, the place has a pretty ambiance and the service has always been stupendous. Â On top of all this, it is a BYOB. Â It is a great place.
I love Vientiane and all that it manages to hook up food and atmosphere wise. But as much as I want to give it 5 stars, it always manages to have that one crucial snag in service that keeps it from getting there. The first time was how long it took to get the check squared away (which was also partly our fault) in the end. But most recently it was how long it took us to get some water in front of us even though we had some pretty damn spicy entrees in front of us. I love it spicy, and didn't exactly help matters when I added a dose of Siracha to the mix, but good thing we had some iced coffee in front of us! watching the server walk by us with the water pitcher a couple of times got to be some serious torture, but to their credit they apologized for it when they realized it.
But a couple snags aside this really is an intimate and inexpensive BYOB in West Philly. and Laotian food is pretty delicious.
Let me just update this review because I've had a new experience with this Heavenly Eden.
I had these lovely people and gifted cooks cater an event of mine. Not only were they ridiculously affordable AND generous with their portions -- huge trays of individually cupped mango sticky rice for 40 people, with extra "sauce" and a good amount of mango topping each one -- but they were so nice about everything! Incredibly helpful, lovely people (who give you free chopsticks and more!
I picked summer rolls, two entrees (one of which came with rice without me even having to ask for it), and a big dessert. Yum! The food was just as fantastic as it was in-house!
Deciding to come to the Vientiane Cafe, a Laotian/Thai restaurant, was a pretty easy choice after hearing a positive review about it from a friend. The only difficult part to getting out here would be convincing my other friends that it would be worth the short trek from Penn's campus. Always looking to explore affordable options outside of Penn's standard offerings, I finally got a small group to come out to try the place on a slow weekend.
The Vientiane has a small storefront located along a row of other randomly put-together offerings, including a record store and a Chinese take-out restaurant. Upon entering the restaurant, there was a sense of warmth and community as the waiters and kitchen hummed along and the diners happily focused on their food and conversation. Stepping in from the chilly walk and the proximity of the other tables certainly helped set the mood too.
Luckily for us, we came just in time to snag the last available table. Promptly after we arrived, a small line began to form outside. As a side note, it's probably better to come a bit earlier for dinner because the restaurant only has seating for about 20-25 people.
The prices for entrees, about $8-$12 for most items, were in-line with what I was expecting and were pretty well-sized. We tried to order more Laos-influenced and less commonplace Thai dishes. We ended up sharing 4 entrees--homemade sausage, laab, sweet basil with chicken, and a pineapple fried rice--and stick rice, figuratively the "glue" to this meal as it absorbed the delicious sauce. The sticky rice came in these cool, little Laotian rice baskets which were used for steaming the rice. I'm sure the rice baskets are commonplace, but I was really excited to see them (*note to self: must get out more).
After the meal, we were all quite satiated and satisfied with our meal, including the bill, which came to roughly $15 per person (all-inclusive).
For my first foray into Laotian cuisine, I was happy with the experience. Compared to other Asian cuisines, there was greater use of mint, cilantro and spices to bring out the flavor in the meat dishes. My favorite was the laab dish, a warm minced meat salad served with chilis and mint. It is allegedly  also the unofficial national dish of Laos (I'm always amused where Wikipedia sources their information when there are no footnotes).
I would definitely come back for a lunch or dinner with a small group of friends.
Me and my boyfriend have been two times. Â We've walked/drove by here dozens of times but it wasn't until University City restaurant week that we went here (it was one of the participating restaurants) and we were curious. Â
To be honest, I would have never gone in here judging by the outside. Â But I'm glad I did. Â The food is very reasonably priced and also good the both times we have been there. Â The menu is also very friendly to vegetarians. Â
Please note that unless a place is designed to be some type of entertainment centered place, I generally don't rate based on anything else except food. Â Other people seem to really like this place besides it's a sort of neighborhood joint but I didn't take this into account (since I'm new around here).
My sister declared this her favorite restaurant in Phila, so I offered to take her here for dinner last night. Â However, it should be noted that they dp not take credit cards (that was all I had on me) and so my sister took me out do dinner instead. Â (A wonderful trick to pull if you are going with someone who is obligated to love you no matter what.) Â But even though she had to pay, our dinner (apps to entrees to dessert to yum iced tea) was under 40 bucks. Â Pretty awesome.
I'm a relative noob when it comes to Thai food and have never had Laotian, so I usually stick with shrimp pad thai. Â So I've had my share of shrimp pad thai. Â And this ranks up there with the best I've ever had. Â Yum yum yum. Â Sis got the red curry and it was like a sweet, spicy soup with lots of veg and chicken in it. Â The spring rolls we split for an app were so tasty, light and fresh. Â I tried the thai iced tea and I was scared it would be too sweet, but it was pretty close to a perfect compliment to my meal. Â I ordered the rice pudding for dessert, expecting normal rice pudding, but it came in 4 little warm cups and was anything but normal, but decidedly delicious. Â We were stuffed to the brim with delicious dinner. Â (No sense in leaving too little to take home on your plate, of course.)
As for the service, it was above average. Â Our waters were refilled, the food came out quickly, but it did take a while to flag down the waitress for the check. Â Not a big deal at all, just us being in a hurry to get out the door to answer the call of nature ;) Â
So go here. Â It's a cheap, delicious, cozy restaurant.
I can't say enough about this place. Everything I have ever had was delicious - panang curry, egglplant/dill/sticky rice, Pad Kee Mow (so tasty that it took me a year to stop ordering it), red curry, yelloy curry, green curry- try it all, rice noodles, curries. Â It's not Thai, as some people claim, but Laotian, which is why many people don't recognize dishes on the menu, or certain flavor combination.
I don't give 5 stars based on food, though. I love this place because it is a neighborhood joint, because you can eat outside in the summer, because it is a BYOB, because it is CHEAP for the amount of food you get, because when you're there you feel happy just knowing that everyone else is having as good a time as you are. It's not fancy, it's just fantastic.
Also, there are so many vegetarian options, it's always a hard choice to decide between something new and something that I've had beofre and loved. Really, I could go here every day.
Have gone here several times with my girlfriend, as well as once for a big birthday party. For the price the food is terrific - but I'd say that anyone who makes a special trip from outside the neighborhood might be left scratching their head about Vientiane.
If you live nearby, or find yourself outside, this restaurant and are hungry you honestly could not do better.
Don't forget two things before going: it's BYOB and it's cash only. There's an ATM in the corner deli if you ever end up short of money and the closest wine and spirits store is at 49th and Baltimore.
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