No words to describe how amazing this place is. Everything our table had they loved! Cant say 1 bad thing about my experience. Would definitely dine here again, but it is hard to get a reservation because this place is so popular so get one early!! read more

This is one of my favorite places in Raleigh!! The pork belly soup is a must try! It tends to get a bit busy so booking ahead is probably best. Also heard the pad Thai is dank read more

Loved our experience from beginning to end. The space is beautiful, and the drinks and food were delicious. Our waiter was attentive and made the experience enjoyable. Would definitely return, and was tempted to go a 2nd time during my business trip. read more

Great food and huge portions! I had the cashew ginger chicken and it was really good. Portions can easily be shared.

Great Tai food. Monday night and the place was filled. Hour wait so I had to sit at the bar. Great service everyone was very nice and eager to offer suggestions. I had the spicy coconut soup and the pad Thai. They were both among the best I've had and I love Thai food. read more

This place has very good Laotian food! The atmosphere is great, the service has always been pretty good and I really appreciate the owners. The food is authentic and very fresh. As a foodie, along with our foodie friends, this is one of our go to spots! Try it! I recommend it!! read more

AMAZING PLACE!!!! Came here for an anniversary date as a recommendation from a friend. The place was packed on a Tuesday night which should tell you that the place is damn good. The attention was superb. The food was nothing short of amazing! I had the lemongrass sausage and salmon for the entree. Both had an amazing mix of flavors that will keep you wanting more. The price is on the higher side but very much justified by the quality of food that you get. For dessert, we had the sticky purple rice with coconut cream. It was the perfect ending to dinner. Will definitely be returning to this restaurant in the very near future. read more

We recently ate dinner at Bida and it was absolutely delicious. The service was perfect and we had a great time. Unfortunately, when we got back home we realized that we had been given the wrong leftovers mistakenly. This was pretty disappointing because one of our dishes had barely been eaten. After a quick call, management was EXTREMELY kind about the situation and mailed us a gift card to make up for the error. Five star customer service to match their five star food. Thank you!! read more

It has a great atmosphere and the food was well cooked and my teammates meals looked delicious as well, but the pad Thai did not taste like pad Thai to me. It had more of a tomato based sauce. read more

Every time I come here I am more and more impressed. The environment is perfect for an intimate celebration, a date or just a peaceful dinner. The papaya salad is hands down one of the greatest meals I've ever had... the steak is always cooked perfectly and will melt in your mouth. Best of all, the service is outstanding - you never feel rushed, and they truly treat you like family. I recently came here to celebrate my birthday and was blown away at the level of service. Bida Manda easily gets my vote for the best restaurant in Raleigh - the menu is creative, yet I can guarantee anyone will be able to find something they enjoy. read more

After a meal here this week I wanted to update and share that the ribs are really really good and probably now one of my favorite things on the menu. This time around, the papaya salad and duck didn't really do it for me in comparison to the other dishes we had. The pork belly soup remains excellent. I highly recommend the spring rolls and the chicken wings in curry sauce for appetizers. read more

Love it I can eat here every week... honestly I do ! Great service it never fails me.

Wonderful food and fabulous service. You have to be open minded, lots of adventurous tastes but all fantastic. You have to try the soup if nothing else. read more

What a fantastic find when we showed up for the first time in Raleigh. We had Bida Manda recommended to us by someone we ran into earlier in the day out in Hillsborough, then the bartender at Sitti. Had to go. No regrets. Our server, Sophia, was fantastic, from menu recommendations to just making us feel comfortable and helping us have a fun experience. The cod we got, steamed in a banana leaf, was one of the best pieces of fish we've ever had. The dessert we had was incredible as well. read more

This was a wonderful date dinner spot! The beautiful wooden walls were cozy and warm. It was clear that the owner took pride in the creative design of the whole space. The staff was so friendly and welcoming to their new workplace. We left all smiley after eating and drinking: Crispy Rice Lettuce Wraps Basil Beef Saffron Crepe Two - El Picaflor Thank you! read more

So glad we have this place in Raleigh. There are not many Lao restaurants out there and definitely not a lot that are as nice looking as this one. I have eaten here several times. Overall, atmosphere and staff are great. The food is a little tame compared to real Lao food. There are Thai and Vietnamese items on the menu, like half of the menu is Thai, I wished they would have gone full confidence on 100% Lao cuisine because real Lao cuisine is extremely flavorful, wonderful, and absolutely exciting. I love that I can get sticky rice whenever I crave it. The papaya salad should be a crown of a flavor bomb of dynamic and complex flavors, but I think the one they serve at BM is quite bland. The pork belly soup is like a southeast Asian ramen, good flavors. The décor really pulls points for this place, it is eye-catching for sure. If there was a small, family-run, hole-in-the-wall Lao restaurant across the street that was uncompromising to Western influences, I would rather go there but that place doesn't exist....yet. read more

Bida Manda is run by some the kindest strangers I've ever encountered! You'll always be greeted with a smile. I have dined for lunch and dinner multiple times. No complaints. The Pho is great, Duck Larb, Lao coffee, and the cocktail selection is what it should be these days. Belly up to the bar on a weekend. It's filled with great energy. read more

Has to be one of the best , if not the best restaurant in Raleigh. I happened to be there on my birthday and the hostess made my dinner special. The ambiance was pleasant and the music was just soft enough . For someone like me who dislikes bland food, this was heaven. Its a little pricier than other restaurants but totally worth it. read more

Pumpkin curry was delicious! You want to go there. Also, I hope you like spicy, because there's a (much welcomed) spicy quality to the food.

This place is top notch!! Always great service and amazing food! It's a perfect date spot.

I finally went to Bida Manda last night after hearing about it for months. We were seated immediately at a very nice table for two. The ambiance was pretty and romantic, and the hostesses and servers were very professional and friendly. We ordered two cocktails, which were good but not amazing. We ordered the lettuce cup appetizer, which was incredible and very fresh tasting. It was exactly what an appetizer should be: light and not too filling but delicious and comforting enough to leave the diner with a sense of intrigue as to what the entree options will be like. For our entrees we ordered the crispy pork belly soup and the papaya salad with dill and trout. The soup was amazing even though I did not eat the pork belly because I was not a fan of the texture. The portion is huge so I was very happy that out server divided my soup into two bowls so that we could share the soup and the salad. The salad was excellent,with a perfect level of acidity and spice. Easily the best papaya salad I have had on the east coast. The trout was perfectly fried, crisped to perfection. We also ordered dessert which was outstanding. The dessert we chose was a trio of coconut custard, apricot and tamarind cobbler and chocolate crepe brûlée. Each dessert was great on its own, but the flavors of the desserts paired perfectly together as well. I can't wait to go back! read more

Wonderful service and delicious food. The authentic Laotian and Thai food brings comfort with every bite! The owners are gracious and humble in their delicious endeavors. Highly recommend for a trendy date read more

The place has awesome vibe. However, the food was pretty disappointing. We tried the caramelized ginger pork and wings. Pork was super dry and very salty. Flavor was too overpowering. I'm an avid cook and foodie so my expectation was higher. It took me weeks to get a reservation. I will not be returning. read more

Due to the snow and ice Raleigh was a ghost town but this restaurant was packed on a Monday night. This tells you something about the food and service. Impeccable. Bida Manda is now one of my top five favorite restaurants and I have eaten all over the world. The Crispy Pork Belly Soup is a MUST! read more

Bida Manda - Crispy Pork Belly Soup. - Laotian Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

So, even the "chips" that were brought out before dinner were interesting and fantastic. We ordered the spring rolls with pork for an app, those were great. And then came out the main course...I ordered the curry w chicken....out of this world. Halfway through I decided I was just about full...but pushed to eat the entire thing because my hotel room didn't have a fridge and no way was I leaving anything behind...highly recommended if your in Raleigh, make sure you make a reservation. read more

I made reservations at Bida Manda for a friend's birthday celebration because it had great reviews on all rating platforms. I'm still a bit confused as to why. I made reservations, we were sat on the bar side, we waited for at least 15 min for someone to say anything to us. We waited another 10min to get water. We got our food and it was very underwhelming, had little flavor, and no spice. I thought this was one of the best restaurants in Raleigh...it's def not. Also, it's not fine dining so I'm not sure why it's classified as such. Won't be returning. read more

There isn't much to say about Bida Manda that hasn't already been said. For me they are my go to date night spot when dining in DTR. The atmosphere, service, and food are impeccable. I know I'm going to have an enjoyable evening and leave full and happy. I've been able to try the spring and summer rolls as well as the chicken wings and out of the three I would do the wings again. The Panang Curry Sauce is the perfect balance of curry and coconut milk covering these crispy delights. As far as entrées go my most recent meal has won me over. I love fresh herbs and the use of cilantro and basil coupled with an interesting mix of fried treats and pork neck made for a delicious and oversize dinner "salad". If you're new to the area, visiting for the first time or been held captive since 2012 and haven't tried them yet it's time you right that wrong. Make reservations on Open Table and pray you planned far enough in advance to eat at a reasonable time. read more

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We have been trying to come to Bida Manda for a few months and hadn't been able to work out an advance reservation with our schedules - for the weekend you need to book a week or 2 in advance. We started with the lettuce wraps which were one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. I had the curry chicken (which was more soup like) and my husband had the shrimp crepe and we were both very happy. His crepe was especially cool looking and had a lot of good flavor. This is a neat experience in a trendy restaurant and we will be back! read more

Top 5 dinners I've ever had in my life. I went with a group of 4 and every single person loved it. We had 3 main entrees and it was plenty for all of us. The curry, pho, and pad Thai were phenomenal. Would recommend and I will definitely be coming back! Also the mango sticky rice was heavenly! Thank you! read more

Everything about this place is wonderful - the ambiance, design, drinks, food & service all make for a great experience. Book a reservation & enjoy it! read more

The food is so delicious!! We had excellent service and the atmosphere is very cool too. Will definitely return for more. read more

Bida Manda - Laotian Near Me - Raleigh, North Carolina

I was really surprised at how amazing this place was. Thought the drinks were awesome and the wait wasn't too long for the food. Very attentive staff all around. The best part was my sweet chili salmon... oh my gosh! Probably the best salmon I've ever had. Big thick meaty slice cooked to perfection. read more

Just finished dinner here and I was thoroughly impressed. The ambience is beautiful and has this "Old World meets New" feel. Decor has a lot of traditional Laotian design elements as well as modern design pieces as well. Immediately after I sat down, the maitre d' brought over these shrimp cracker amuse-bouches, which took me back to my childhood. They were light and crispy. I then ordered ginger tea, which was quite delicate and lovely. For my appetizer, I started out with the crispy rice lettuce wraps. Presentation was beautiful. The lettuce leaves were arrayed into a flower shape with a dome of crispy rice in the center. It was accompanied with a sauce that seemed to be a peanut oil. The rice was delicious - the crispy texture was perfect and it didn't feel oily at all. It was flavored with an assortment of vegetables and spices. Be careful not to eat the two peppers on top, haha! My main course was the crispy pork belly soup. It was probably the best thing I've had in a while. Oh my goodness, the broth was what elevated it from every other noodle soup dish I've ever had. It wasn't watery or creamy, but this wonderful combo. And it wasn't bland at all. It was SO intense in its flavor. Not too salty, but perfectly seasoned. The pork belly was delicious as well. Normally I find pork belly too fat-tasting, but this one was crisped to perfection. Noodles were great and nicely textured. Really stellar dish. Huge portion too, especially for such a hearty dish, so definitely come with an empty stomach! I had a wonderful experience here and will be back for sure. read more

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This was one of the best meals I've ever had! We should have known it was going to be good when we tried to get a table at 6pm on a Saturday night and the next available dining reservation was at 9:45! We opted to put in our name for a seat at the bar and were seated at 7:30. While we waited, the hostess took our phone number so we could go out and get drinks elsewhere or walk around downtown. We arrived back before 7:30 and were seated shortly after. My husband and I both ordered drinks (he got a beer and I got one of their signature cocktails) and then we ordered the pork spring rolls. They were fantastic! So full of flavor! We were also given these spicy chips that were really good. Then we ordered the pork belly soup and the pad Thai. Holy cow!!!! Best meals ever! Seriously, it was SO amazing. And lots of food so we brought home quite a bit. We were talking about how exciting it will be to come back and try different entrees. We will definitely be back as Bida Manda is now in my top 5 restaurants in Raleigh. read more

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In spite of Yelp, the staff accomodated our two babies quite well (12mo olds) at 5pm. I suppose the only improvement would have been a baby-table so we didn't need to spoon them each bite. That said, we didn't make a reservation at chuck-e-cheese, we made a reservation at one of the best restaurants we've visited in the southeast. The drinks were amazing. I highly recommend the mezcalito...like a lot. The chicken curry is the best I've ever had and I've lived in Boston and have visited NYC at least 20 times, essentially always visiting places with curry dishes. The wings are very good and the sauces are astounding. My wife wasn't fond of the spring rolls, but I really enjoyed them and gladly ate those she passed on. The papaya salad was the best I have ever had, much better than what I had in NYC. The best dish was the sea bass mok. Do order it. It absolutely melts in your mouth and the flavor is incredible. read more

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Fell in love with this place! Went for dinner with my sisters and we got lots of stuff to share. We started with fresh summer rolls with shrimp and the green papaya salad with local trout. Loved the fresh, crispness of the summer rolls with their yummy peanut sauce. The green papaya salad was AMAZING, a little spice, a little acidic and perfect with the herby crispy trout. Then we ordered the crispy pork belly soup, the ginger pork ribs and the shrimp and bacon saffron crepe. I loves the soup the most out of the three. It was a rich, coconut milky broth with ground sausage and fresh herbs with rice noodles and crispy pork belly topped it off. DELICIOUS. My youngest sister loved the ribs all though for me they were just ribs, but yummy ones. The shrimp an bacon crepe was like nothing I've ever had before. It looked like a pretty standard crepe but had a creaminess to the filling that I LOVED, and came with a tasty little dipping sauce. Not what I expected and amazing! We also shared a great bottle of white wine. All in all it was one of the best meals I've eaten in a while and was priced reasonably. Three of us split one app, one large salad, three full entrees and a bottle of wine and the bill was about $120 after we added a 20% tip. read more

Excellent food and atmosphere, however we didn't feel it lived up to the hype. Food was good but not amazing. We will try again and order something different, often times the food quality can change depending on which chef is in the back. We enjoyed their next door neighbor (also same owner I believe) Brewery Bhavana and we liked their food better. read more

I fell in love with the food (as well as the people, culture, temples) of southeast Asia during my travels to Thailand and Cambodia, and I often daydream about going to Vietnam and Laos. When I saw the first Bida Manda review on yelp, I was so excited about a Laotian restaurant opening in the Triangle! I checked it out on a weekend night with a big group of friends. Although a number of us arrived pretty late to the reservation, there were no issues and we were able to sit and wait for them without a hassle, which I appreciated. So, first: the decor. Really stunning, modern, and elegant. Lots of greens, golds, with accents of red and bright blue. Huge blown-up photos of Laotians in traditional dress and Laotian landscapes covered several walls, as well as stacks of thin tree parts (trunks? branches? dunno). Although it's a large space, there are divisions with little peep holes so that you don't feel closed off from the other patrons, but you also feel more intimate with your party. The food and drink menus were on little clipboards, which I found a bit awkward and unwieldy. The font of the menu was faint and thin, difficult to read with the dim lighting. I found myself squinting to read the menu. Our server was polite and attentive...he ably offered recommendations. I went with the El Picaflor ("Tequila, fresh grapefruit juice, fresh lime juice, peppercorn-infused honey, Angostura, and soda water"), and...eh. Extremely mild and lightly citrus-y, but not much of an impression-maker. I also ended up with a champagne cocktail which looks pretty cool, with its orange flavored sugar cube sitting at the bottom, but I didn't really taste anything much other than OK champagne. As for the dishes... APPETIZERS -Crispy Rice Lettuce Wrap (With herbs, peanuts, and vegetables): by far my favorite dish of the entire night. The crispy fried rice was pleasantly crunchy, and the flavor combination was bright and multifaceted. Loved this. -Tuna ceviche (served in crispy rice bowls): eh. The "rice bowl" was a distraction and the tuna was just OK (certainly without the texture or flavor of fine sushi-grade tuna). It was like a mediocre hors d'oeuvre you'd get at a convention event. ENTREES -Green Papaya Salad (Thum Mak Houng) with tomato, peanuts, spicy lime sauce, sticky rice, and your choice of meat (I chose duck): ehhhh. I ordered this dish because of the glowing reviews here, but I was disappointed. The texture of everything was fine, and the papaya seemed reasonably fresh, but I was disappointed by how not-spicy it was. I was asked about a spice level, and was told that hot "makes people cry" so I went with medium. I barely noticed any spice whatsoever. The entrees come with a tray of condiments so I piled on the hot sauce to help out, but I was underwhelmed. The duck tasted a bit strange to me. My favorite part was the tiny basket of sticky rice, which greatly improved my mouthful of papaya salad and dunk. However the rice was dry and cool, and seemed like it had been cooked a long time prior. I'm just not a huge fan. -Crispy Pork Belly Soup (Mee Ka Tee) with coconut curry, julienned vegetables, herbs, and rice noodles: Spanish Guy (SG) ordered this, and let me taste. It was delicious. VERY heavy, so you need to be hungry to conquer this massive bowl, but a wonderful balance of sweet coconut, savory fatty crispy pork, fresh light green vegetables, and perfectly cooked noodles. I was jealous. -Amphone's chicken curry (Kali Kai Mae Amphone) with root vegetables and jasmine rice: meh, meh, meh. A friend got this stating her spice preference as "mild." She let me try it, and it was so, so sweet and with barely any curry flavor. I really disliked this. It may very well be authentic (I wouldn't know) but I didn't like it nearly as much as the Thai and Cambodian curries I've tasted. -Pho: another friend got this. I didn't taste it, but he said it was just "OK" and with very few pieces of meat. The service was gracious throughout, and split our checks properly for our big party. Overall, Bida Manda was not quite my Laotian fantasy away from Laos, but it was nice experience with some great food and some mediocre food. Will be back to see if the menu is more consistently excellent the next time to earn the full 5. read more

This is my second favorite restaurant in Raleigh and the only reason it's second is because you have to plan your visit three weeks in advanced due to its popularity. Well worth the wait! The atmosphere, drinks, service and food are all amazing. This place has my favorite drinks/cocktails in all of raleigh and the food is right up there with it. It is a great date spot or for the family and friends if they come into town. The ambience is great with the red velvet drapes that greet you on your way into the bamboo features that are throughout the restaurant! read more

Amazing collection of food, and wonderful presentation along with a fantastic service.