3 of the Best Places in Vientiane to Celebrate a Birthday

Content: People want to celebrate their birthday in different ways the older (and wiser) they get. While some just love great music, a fun atmosphere and a tableful of drinks and hearty food, others like to spend their special day in the company of close friends and family dining on their favorite dishes and drinking an excellent bottle of wine. While Vientiane has plenty of places that qualify in all these areas, birthdays are a special celebration. So, we’ve chosen what we feel are the three best experiences in the city for a birthday night of celebration. They range from the fun and loud to the casual to the elegant. These three establishments provide quality experiences in Vientiane that will provide fond birthday memories for the person of honor as well as for their guests.

Bor Pen Nyang

This riverside bar and restaurant has become an institution in Vientiane as much for its riverside location as for its lively reputation for food, music and fun. This four-story destination is known as a hangout for locals, backpackers and foreign businesspeople, a reputation that any bar and restaurant in Southeast Asia would be proud to have. On any given evening, you might find all three of these types engaged in a friendly conversation over a few beers. They're open from 10 AM until midnight and serve a variety of western breakfast dishes in the morning. From lunchtime on, their extensive menu features everything from burgers, pizza and fajitas to larb, stir-fried dishes and Lao-style BBQ. And there are two pool tables you can sign up to play a game on while you’re waiting for your food. Of course, they feature a full bar as well as wine, beer and soft drinks. And with four floors of seating, reserving a private birthday party is a request they are more than prepared to fulfill.

The Spirit House Bar and Restaurant

The Spirit House Bar and Restaurant is the ideal place for birthday revelers who are looking for a casual evening surrounded by traditional Lao architecture, and where they can look out over the river while they celebrate. With an elegant wooden interior and a large veranda of seating that overlooks the river, this bar and restaurant is a prime meeting spot for locals and foreign residents that value good food and a pleasant atmosphere as their primary considerations for a quality night out. The Spirit House is that curious combination of western and eastern traditions that seem to work seamlessly in comfortable and impressive surroundings. While the décor is traditional Lao, the football commentary on their large-screen TV is decidedly English. The establishment is open from 7 AM until 11 PM. They serve a menu with western breakfast dishes like eggs benedict and a western breakfast fry-up that would bring tears of joy to the most homesick Englishperson. They also have western entrees including fish and chips, steak and ale pie and other hearty pub-type food. But they also prepare some exquisite Lao food that makes the restaurant a prime location for the birthday parties of locals. In fact, with a full bar as well as wines, beer and soft drinks, the restaurant can be the venue for up to 75 of your closest friends and family. Choose between an evening under the stars on their riverside veranda or an exclusive indoor event in their Lao-style lounge bar.

3 Merchants

For the best in elegant Asian dining in Vientiane, schedule a birthday celebration at the 3 Merchants in the Vientiane Crowne Plaza Hotel. They're open for lunch from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM and for dinner from 6 PM until 10 PM. Your birthday celebration will be one where you can sample the best dishes of Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The talented chefs at 3 Merchants have also created a fusion menu that combines the best flavors and cooking techniques of the world's cuisines into unique and intriguing combinations of tastes and textures with an Asian twist. And when you plan and pre-book your birthday celebration at 3 Merchants, you can order their extravagant 8-course tasting menu as well. The tasting menu is designed for two or more guests, so this is not a place where it's advisable to spend your birthday alone. The tasting menu illustrates the depths of talent of the chefs and is truly a memorable way to spend another birthday. The cuisine of 3 Merchants is accompanied by some of the most well-stocked beverage collections in the city. Choose from a wide array of teas, coffees, soft drinks, juices, beers and aperitifs. For those who want to toast the birthday person with a cocktail, there is a full bar available with a variety of bourbons, whiskies and single malts that will impress anyone, as well as a full complement of many other quality brand liquors and liqueurs. With this being a birthday celebration, you might want to toast the occasion with a glass of champagne or sparkling wine. 3 Merchants has a well-curated wine cellar that will help you celebrate in style from the beginning of your culinary adventure until the final toast is made. The elegance of the surroundings plus the quality of the food and drink means it will be a birthday that you'll never forget.