Best Dining Bets in Laos

Amphone, Vientiane (tel. 021/212-489): At Amphone, local dishes from Vientiane are artfully prepared. If you're looking for a Lao culinary adventure, this is it.

The Cote d'Azur Pizzeria, Vientiane (tel. 021/217-252): This excellent restaurant is deceptively called a pizzeria. It is, more accurately, a riverfront restaurant serving the finest French provincial cuisine.

La Cave des Chateaux, Luang Prabang (tel. 071/212-100): La Cave des Chateaux is effortlessly elegant. It has a lovely setting overlooking the Mekong River, with superb traditional French food.

The Tamarind Café, Luang Prabang (tel. 020/777-0484): Come here for light breakfasts and lunches, and a range of Lao delicacies. They've just begun offering cooking classes, too.

Vieng Kheam Khong, Luang Prabang (tel. 071/212-726): This is one of a number of great riverside restaurants in this most beautiful of cities. Try the Luang Prabang sausage.

The Dao Savanh, Savannakhett (tel. 041/260-888): Housed in a converted villa in the crumbling remnants of the old French quarter, the beautiful architecture complements the excellence of the food.