De-Laos-ious Eats: Our Favourite Family-Friendly Restaurants in Luang Prabang
After eating out in Luang Prabang every day for nearly a week, we’ve had a chance to try a bunch of the top restaurants for families with kids in the city.
Here are some of our favourite places to eat in Luang Prabang:
This spot is our favourite bakery in Luang Prabang, hands down. It’s not even close. Just go. Enjoy a baguette. Try a pain au chocolat, an almond croissant, a delectable danish. Let your taste buds take you to Paris. It’s unreal. Just go. We also picked up some passion fruit jam (to go with the many baguettes we purchased), which was incredible as well. Just go. In fact, we fully intend to return tomorrow, so maybe we’ll see you there! Seriously…just go, already!
Approximate price per person: 3–5 USD (for a baked good and a coffee or tea beverage)
This restaurant is a bit of an odd agglomeration of various styles of cuisine. The name itself suggests it is a Mexican spot and there are some Mexican-style items on the menu, but the emphasis within the menu was decidedly Italian, with a focus on pizza. And being a family that likes to go with what a place seems to excel at, we ordered a few pizzas along with their kombucha. It seemed a little pricey for Laos, with the pizzas each ringing in between 170,000 and 250,000 kip (8.22 USD and 12.09 USD), but two pizzas were enough to feed the whole family and their sourdough crust was awesome — chewy and crispy, but not overcooked. This spot had their pizzas seriously dialed in and the kids appreciated it.
Approximate price per person: 5–10 USD
This was the first restaurant we visited in Luang Prabang — our Airbnb host was kind enough to take us out for dinner there on our first night. We weren’t sure what to expect of this place — we hadn’t been told what it was called beforehand, so we didn’t have the opportunity to do our due diligence by Googling the menu and reviews in advance like we normally would. But we have to say, this place was very good. It was actually surprising to us at first that the Indian and Sri Lankan influences are so prominent here in Laos, but this restaurant was a great testament to the ties between these two regions. Mrs. Worldsmith ordered the chicken tikka and Mr. Worldsmith ordered kottu roti, both of which were excellent. They also had a few non-spicy options for Little Miss Worldsmith and Young Mister Worldsmith, as well as an openness to providing meals with toned down spice levels for all. The meals still had loads of flavour to them, even without the full heat, and we liked them so much we returned for dinner again a few days later.
Approximate price per person: 5–10 USD
This place was a favourite of ours for the quality of the food and the creativity of the menu. A gnocchi green curry with the gnocchi cooked to perfection? Amazing. And the nem khao…wow! It was our first time trying this dish and we were definitely big fans. The kids split the lime chicken burger, which was also very tasty. Always a plus when restaurants have food that works for our western children. We chased it all with a Bouang Mess, their take on the Eton Mess dessert, made with meringue, yogurt, passion fruit, and mango. All in all, we were pleased with this place. Our one complaint is that the prices must have recently increased as everything cost 20–25% more than listed on the menu posted to Google. Still reasonable, though.
Average price per person: 5–10 USD
This restaurant was perfect for a beautiful sunset meal overlooking the Mekong River. That’s really what this place is all about. They also have easy meals for western children (although we do worry about our kids subsisting solely on chicken fingers long-term!). Mr. WorldSmith made the mistake of ordering the steamed tilapia, which came whole with the head still on — a new experience for him. He was a bit traumatized, but did ultimately enjoy it. Mrs. WorldSmith ordered the cashew chicken, which was very tasty. All in all, solid food at this place and an exceptional view of the incredible Luang Prabang sunsets.
Average price per person: 5–10 USD
Two Little Birds Cafe (Vegetarian/Vegan)
Somewhat concerned about Little Miss and Young Mister WorldSmith subsisting entirely on deep-fried food (see review above!), we decided to seek out a restaurant with some healthier options that worked for their … ahem … “still-developing palettes.” Two Little Birds was recommended to us by a family member who had been to Luang Prabang a few years ago, and it seemed to fit the bill perfectly. A bonus was that it was also conveniently located a few minutes’ walk from our Airbnb. The kids chose smoothie bowls and happily devoured them. Mrs. WorldSmith had the pad lao, which was pretty good but a bit small when it came to portion size. Mr. WorldSmith had the green curry, which was a bit bland. The smoothie bowls were definitely the winners here.
Average price per person: 3–7 USD
This is another popular spot on the main strip in Luang Prabang, just a few doors down from Bouang Asian Eatery (see above). It offers an eclectic menu ranging from local Laotian dishes to Greek and Middle Eastern foods to pasta. And to speak to our Canadian hearts, they even had poutine on the menu! While we were definitely tempted by giant plates of fries smothered in cheese and gravy, we opted to restrain ourselves and go for the vegan poke bowls instead, which were tasty. One great thing about Yuni Yupoun is that it’s one of the only places in Luang Prabang that we’ve found with kids’ meals — they even have a little kids’ corner for the kids to play in. For these reasons, Little Miss and Young Mister WorldSmith loved this place and immediately asked to go back again the next day.
Average price per person: 5–10 USD
The Silk Road Cafe at the Ock Pop Tock Living Crafts Center is a bit off the beaten path, but it’s well worth the visit. The cafe is set on the banks of the Mekong River just a short ways outside of the old town — about a 30-minute walk or 5-minute tuk tuk from the town centre. This quickly became one of our favourite restaurants in Luang Prabang due to its gorgeous river views, serene setting, fantastic food, and reasonable prices. They serve local Lao and Thai dishes as well as some western dishes, which are mostly part of their all-day breakfast menu. During our visit, we tried the pork dumplings, vegetarian pad thai, chicken khao soi, french toast, and baguette with butter and jam and they were all fantastic. The staff were lovely and fawned over our kids, which of course they ate right up. Coincidentally (or maybe not), it was also one of the only places in our whole time in Luang Prabang where we saw other tourist families with kids.
The cafe is part of the Living Arts Center, so after a leisurely lunch, make sure you walk the beautiful grounds of the facility and stop at the various informational displays to learn about local arts and crafts. You can also watch their artisans weave gorgeous silk textiles using traditional looms, and even purchase some of these works of art from their on-site shop.
Average price per person: 5–10 USD
While it isn’t a restaurant in the traditional sense, we would be remiss if we didn’t include the Luang Prabang Night Market on this list. Alongside the stalls selling textiles, wood carvings, and elephant pants that pop up every evening along the main street in Luang Prabang, there’s a huge food section with hundreds of tables that always seem to be at full capacity. Surrounding these tables are dozens of food stalls selling everything from local Lao dishes to fruit shakes to sweet treats, and even alcohol. It’s a very lively atmosphere that can feel more like a party than a market once things get busy, especially when there’s live music playing on the giant stage that looms over the seating area. It’s a great place to sample a variety of Lao dishes and treats, to mingle with locals and fellow tourists, and to watch the world go by. (Elephant pants optional.)
Average price per person: It totally depends on how many different items you want to try, but most dishes are less than 5 USD