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Vientiane Bistro

4.5 (109 reviews)
Open • 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM

Order Vientiane Bistro Takeout or Delivery

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VIENTIANE BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Romantic
Moderate noise
Good for groups

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MOK CASSEROLE
Andrew K.

I wasn't sure what to expect walking in and was met with a super long menu of options. It is broken down a bit into Laos/Thai and then appetizers, but we weren't so sure where to start. We asked for help and were given a ton of suggestions we probably would never have chosen ourselves. We started with the Tom Saap. I found this flavoring to be pretty pleasant and fragrant. The structure of the dish is a little hard to eat but the soup floats around a flame with meat cooking all the time. This didn't come with rice so we ordered on the side (it feels a bit egregious not to offer rice with this). Then went with the mok casserole with salmon. The salmon here was good but felt like salmon I could have cooked at home and the casserole itself was...meh. For the price of the salmon upcharge this was not worth it. Not sure if we just tried the wrong dishes or if this is reflective of the place at large. Would consider trying other dishes from here? But I'm certainly not rushing to come back here. BYOB. Service was okay. When we walked in we made eye contact with essentially everyone in the kitchen, none of whom seemed interested in offering us a table. Once we got the food, we didn't really see our server (the only server it seemed, despite us being 1/2 tables) until it was time for a to go box and the check.

Khaopoon aka King Soup
Thuy H.

How have I not reviewed this place yet?? I love coming here. I mostly come for just their Lao dishes as it is truly authentic. King soup - this is the only spot in Philly that I know either has it or does it right! The soup is loaded with herbs and flavor Crispy nem salad - omg!!! So tasty. Just get it. This is my kiddies and my favorite dish. You might think it sounds funky, but the sourness mixed with the crispy rice just makes everything just work! Lao sausages - served with sticky rice and some unique sauces. So flavorful and the green sauce is delicious. We always order extra sticky rice with it.

Michelle T.

Came here on a Friday night and it wasn't too packed. It is a small little cozy resturant serving thai and lao's. I didn't love what I chose so I defintely will be back to try other dishes. I got a fish curry casserole- it was very eggy/tofu like with fish inside- it wasn't what i was expecting lol.

PAD KEE MAO and CURED SOUR PORK CRISPY NAAM LETTUCE WRAP
Melanie T.

Restaurant is nestled in Kensington. It's really a hidden gem if you can disregard the neighborhood it's in. Came by on a Saturday and was able to order the pad kee mao aka drunken noodle lunch special which came with spring rolls and the sai gawk which is a lao sausage plate. Both were really good and loved the coconut rice that came with the sai gawk. Also tried the naam lettuce wrap which was my favorite dish, must try! You can get it with or without the cured pork. Service was quick and staff was friendly

Chanthorn H.

Hands down, one of my favorite places to go for some delicious food. My go to items are the sausages served with sticky rice. It's so flavorful and the sauce that it's served with is wonderful. I could eat it on it's own! The crispy Naam salad with the cured pork is another go to. The crispy rice mixed with the sour flavors from the pork is the perfect combo. Lastly, can't end a meal without dessert. The mango and sticky rice is a must! Small restaurant, but never had an issue getting a table. Also, the staff is very attentive. Can't wait to be back

Kow piek sen moo krob
Kaitlyn T.

Best Lao spot in the city. Vientiane is the reason why I am so familiar with Lao cuisine. People are hesitant to come to this part of town, but as a Kensington-born girl, I'm grateful to have a nice BYOB restaurant to eat at which is owned by the friendliest and most genuine people ever. There are so many good options to choose from such as Thai classics and Lao specialities you may have never heard of before. This place is for everyone, including those who are looking for vegan and gluten-free options. I have so many favorites but my favorites of all time are the Lao papaya salad, beef jerky, mussels (get the basil or green curry sauce), brisket pho, gang naw mai (bamboo stew), laab (beef and duck are my favorites), sai gawk (Lao sausages) and kow piek sen with moo krob crispy pork belly. All of these are so flavorful and fulfilling. You can also request different spice levels. I am grateful this place grants what you ask for. When I ask for very spicy at other places, it's not enough but here it is what I asked for. Their brewed drinks are super refreshing, especially the green Thai tea and Thai coffee. The ambiance is the best during dinner, which is super intimate and cozy. You can really go here for any occasion whether it be a casual meal or a celebration.

Morgan M.

My boyfriend and I had their lunch special. It was a good deal and came with a small salad, an appetizer, and an entree. I really enjoyed the vegetable spring roll and small salad I had; the dressing on the salad was sooooo good! I got pad thai for my entree and the serving was pretty big for lunch. Overall a cute spot with extremely friendly service and great food. I can't wait to try more!

SAI GAWK
George C.

Located in a small storefront in Kensington, this is a gem. Ate with my wife and our two college-aged children. We were all blown away by the food. Really don't think you can go wrong on their menu. The spring rolls were amazingly crispy; steamed pork dumplings flavorful. We also shared a crispy crepe stuffed with shrimp that everyone at the table loved. I ordered the Laotian sausage, Sai Gawk, and couldn't have been happier with it. This is exactly the kind of small place that you're thrilled to stumble across, and look forward to visiting again.

BANH XEO - crispy crepe
Emma Z.

Cute little place, decorated well inside. Hidden spot in an area I would normally not get to, but the food is pretty good, especially their Lao dishes! Not your typical Thai restaurant with just the usual dishes, it has a lot more varieties and flavors. I would definitely vote for their Lao specialty dishes, just for the unique flavors and combinations. Our favorite was the "king soup" with red curry coconut & vermicelli noodles, added crab/pork meatballs, rich but also refreshing. Appetizers all looked good. Sad they don't have mussels any more... the crispy crepe is good with contrasting textures, paired well with picked cucumbers. Tamarind wings are also decent- very sticky, a tad bit too sweet for me but overall good. The duck is also cooked well, crispy skin and 2 huge leg/thighs. But the sweet basil sauce is a bit disappointing, too syrupy and not much other basil or interesting flavors. Curry dishes are good but nothing outstanding or different. Will definitely come back to try more of their Lao specialties!

Pho w brisket
Michelle C.

Enjoyed a delicious meal last evening at Vientiane. We were returning our son back to college from Winter break and wanted to grab dinner before getting back on the road. Quaint inside. I loved the pop music playing , maybe a little loud for a date night but for our family dinner. The service was friendly and attentive. Parking was easy. Just a 10 minute drive from Temple University We ordered the crispy pork spring roll and steamed vegetable dumplings. Perfect morsels full of flavor. We also ordered the crepe with shrimp which came with a delightful palate cleanser. My son order the pho with brisket which had a beautiful clear broth packed with flavor. My daughter order the pad Thai and I had taste and agreed with her that we will never be able to order pad Thai again from our favorite place back in Baltimore. My husband had Laotsausages with sticky rice which he loved and I had the sweet basil with beef in this beautiful spicy, tangy, sauce with a hint of sweetness and perfectly cooked broccoli and carrots. My son said he will go back with friends and we definitely want to come back next time we visit.

$11 for four tiny satay skewers
Dylan S.

Not yummy, not good value, and sent me to the porcelain throne for most of the following day.

Beautiful artwork out front.

I'm from CA where we have a huge hub of diverse ethnic restaurants. Aaaand man oh man, this place was probably the BEST Laotian and Thai food restaurant I've ever had. The staff was very hospitable and friendly. The duck laab was absolutely delicious, the nam khao was chefs kiss, the Thom saap soup was fragrant and delicious- soul food for sure. The pompano fish was cooked to perfection. The mussels were delicious. This is a must eat if you're in Philly.

LAO GREEN PAPAYA SALAD

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3 months ago

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9 months ago

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9 months ago

This restaurant was amazing and their environment was good. Good food and service. recommended,

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10 months ago

Great food--very tasty--and good variety. We all ordered many things and shared them. Friendly service, too.

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

The best food and the friendliest staff! Off the beaten path but not to be missed. Vegan options.

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3 years ago

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6 years ago

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1 year ago

Food is so good and a great value. We have been several times. Glad to have this place in the neighborhood.

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7 years ago

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5 years ago

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4 years ago

Excellent takeout- full of flavor and consistently on time and accurate order fulfillment.

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Lovely find - the place was clean, friendly, great food, fast. Try the bistro soup! Mango sticky rice was ok.

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Kalaya - Gong Ob Woonsen (Shrimp & Glass Noodles w/Bacon & Chinese Celery)

Kalaya

4.4(611 reviews)
0.9 mi•Fishtown

Came for a birthday celebration. One of the few nicer places on my short list of restaurants with…read morereservations available, so I decided to go for it. Service was excellent! Our staff were always looking out for us, and making suggestions and recommendations throughout our entire meal, and even helping us with some tips to better enjoy our meal (they saw me sweating in response to the Thai spice). Definitely made this a top-notch experience. Ambience here is great! Love places with *real* greenery indoors and a lot of natural light, like this place, and seats and tables were spread out sufficiently such that there was a nice background chatter without feel too infringed upon by other conversations. We ordered a good variety to share. The spare ribs and the glass noodles dishes were amazing! Everything came out as ready, but it was on a good cadence such that we were enjoying things as they were ready, hot and fresh. I'm no expert on legitimacy of flavors and dishes, but honestly this feels like the most legit stuff I've had in the Thai wheelhouse in a while. To boot, even though we said no to dessert because we had other plans, they came with a candle on a plate to still share birthday wishes. A nice touch! Definitely a fancy occasion kind of place in my books, but I'd definitely make a return trip on another occasion!

KenScale: 8.25/10 Visit: April 2026…read more One restaurant in Philadelphia that I had wanted to visit for a long time was Kalaya, which was featured in the Chef's Table documentary on Netflix in 2024. I was moved by the personal story of the chef Chutatip "Nok" Suntaranon in the show, and of course my wife Jun and I would never say no to some delicious Thai food. On our recent trip to Philly to celebrate our anniversary, Jun and I finally got to check out Kalaya (which is named for the chef's mother) on a rainy Sunday for lunch before driving back home. We were very pleased with the lunch at Kalaya, which in our mind really showcased the Thai spicy flavor well. The menu at Kalaya features Southern Thai dishes inspired by the chef's family history. The colorful display of the dishes stood out throughout our meal, but more importantly we also really liked the spicy flavor that felt genuine and soulful. The cute flower-shaped Shaw Muang dumplings with ground chicken were highly recommended by our server and the kick from the Thai chili set the right tone right away. We were also fond of the poached shrimp and cabbage salad with coconut cream (Yum Kalum Bplee) for the delightfully crispy texture. For the main dishes, we ordered one stir fry and one curry. If you have to order just one dish at Kalaya, I can't recommend the colossal crab stir fry with egg (Pu Pad Pong Karee) enough. Served with jasmine rice, this dish offered complex flavor of spicy, salty, sour and sweet that was quite unlike anything I had encountered in a while. As Jun and I were savoring this awesomeness, I wished that I could've eaten this every week. The goat and lamb curry (Gaeng Pae), served with pickled cucumbers and coconut turmeric rice, was also impressive, with rustic curry broth that suddenly hit my tongue with spice blend. Despite that powerful impact on my palate, I couldn't stop myself from enjoying the curry, especially with the coconut turmeric rice that neutralized the curry's spicy kick somewhat. We also shared a side dish of stir-fried local mushrooms (Hed Pad Kratiam) that was solid as well. We were running out of room in our stomach after cleaning up the savory dishes, so we settled with ordering a Thai iced coffee to go before hitting the road. Not surprisingly, Kalaya is a very popular restaurant in the Philly dining scene so getting a reservation in advance is essential. I was a bit nervous on our visit as we were running rather late (by around 30 minutes) from picking up our car from the parking lot, yet the restaurant was gracious enough to honor our reservation. The bright and lively dining space offered quite a fitting background to the character of the dishes. There is a full bar with Thai-inspired cocktails and concise wine list designed to complement the Thai spices well. Kalaya definitely lived up its hype as one of the most important restaurants in Philadelphia; Jun and I were glad to have visited and would be more than happy to come back for our next visit to the city.

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Kalaya - Bar Area

Bar Area

Kalaya - Kanom jeeb nok (bird-shaped dumplings)

Kanom jeeb nok (bird-shaped dumplings)

Kalaya - Goong Ob Woonsen (Shrimp & Glass Noodles w/Bacon & Chinese Celery)

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Xiandu Thai

Xiandu Thai

4.2(722 reviews)
3.2 mi
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We went visited Xiandu Thai a year ago and the food was delicious minus one thing we didn't really…read morecare for. However overall it was some of the best Thai food we had in Philly and we used to live in the area years ago. We decided we had to come back and see if the food was still just as good and the results are in...IT WAS! First the customer service is still really good and the server was beyond friendly and attentive. The restaurant itself is still super quant and perfect for a girls dinner or a date night! Now onto the food! We ordered the Sexy Shrimp appetizer, Pad Thai, Dan Dan Noodles! The Sexy Shrimp appetizer was good but we weren't really a fan of the dipping sauce that came with it. It was like a chipotle dipping sauce but I think the a traditional Thai Sweet Chili would have been better. But my, my, my the Pad Thai and Dan Dan Noodles were Phenomenal! Portion size was HUGE, flavor and spice was spot on and honestly, I wish I could pick up this restaurant and move it to DC where we are located! Still phenomenal and we will continue to return everytime we come back to visit Philly!

Phenomenal place! I love Xiandu Thai and they offer a good deal Happy Hour and their menu overall…read morehas some great options. Drinks are made well and reasonably priced. I love good Hendricks martini But I also do stray away from some of their original cocktails. The Chicken Pad Thai is my absolute favorite here. I always ask for spice and extra peanuts! Never disappointed. The Drunken Noodles are also a go-to favorite. Their starter options are sized appropriately so you'll have room for dinner. Bonnie & Peter are remarkable and they have an amazing staff. Xiandu is such a kind and friendly atmosphere with a beautiful ambiance both indoor and outdoor. Located right on Walnut Street you'll see beautiful views from their full bar (with two TVs) and they also have a beautiful patio with spacious seating. I would recommend Xiandu for a cute lunch, beautiful romantic dinner and a place to really come have some amazing Thai cuisine!

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Xiandu Thai - Angry Beef

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Circles Contemporary Thai - Pad Woonsen

Circles Contemporary Thai

3.5(468 reviews)
1.8 mi•Northern Liberties
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I'm mad they don't give you that many shrimp. Should I be? Perhaps not, but I'll write about that…read more Maybe opt for the chicken dishes that come with plenty of protein. The flavor was on point for the 6 shrimp. Ok size shrimp but nothing overwhelming. Pineapple rice was enjoyed by my bestie. A staple they get at Circles. I really liked the mango rice. This was Uber eats and delivered hot to SoPhilly. I've been to their cozy BYOB before and figured-- why not get the delivery?! Service was way longer than it said. Very slow and changed drivers 3-4 times because it was so slow. Maybe busy night for dine-in, either way definitely don't depend on timely delivery. Extra 30-40 minutes beyond initial estimate.

I've heard so many positive reviews of circles & drive by it often, but I'm only just now getting a…read morechance to try it. The place itself had decent parking out front, I was seated immediately & provided water while waiting for the rest of my party. It was pretty cozy inside. It always sounded odd when people spoke of how amazing their cheesesteak eggrolls are, yes they're a staple Philly food item but still a little odd for a Thai place. I get it now. The cheesesteak spring roll is superior to any cheesesteak roll I've ever had. The spring roll wrapper just makes it so much lighter & crispier & than the inside? Perfection, even when it's scorching your mouth. The chicken puffs were also delicious, especially in the sauce. Someone at our table may or may not have been drinking the green curry like it was soup & we couldn't blame them, it was that good. Highly recommend the pad Thai with shrimp. The thai iced tea was also a 10/10. This is one of those places where I left leaving a little full but oh so content. Can't wait to try more.

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Circles Contemporary Thai - Pad Thai Panang Curry Green Curry

Pad Thai Panang Curry Green Curry

Circles Contemporary Thai - Thai tea

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Mawn - Banh chow salad (served with shrimp and chicken however, we 86ed the shrimp)

Mawn

4.7(255 reviews)
3.7 mi•Bella Vista, Italian Market

Enjoying lunch at Mawn felt like I had won the lottery!! If you know how hard it is to secure a…read morereservation than you know the feeling! So you might stumble across info for the best times to secure a walk-up reservation and they'll tell you to arrive at least by 10:30am Thursday through Saturday as Mawn opens at 11am. But let me tell you how I pulled up in front of Mawn at 10:40am on a Thursday and there was already a line of about 15 people!! Mind you, these people have PEOPLEZ as quite a few were holding spots in line for others in their party who could now casually stroll up to the line since their spot was secured by their people. I'm telling you have a game plan! If I knew then what I know now I probably would have got there at least by 9:30, seriously. My party got waitlisted as soon as we were just one person away from entering the restaurant and we had to wait for another 40 minutes. Fortunately it was a nice day so we just walked around the neighborhood and came back and got in. It's a small quaint place that only seats about 28 people. You'll feel like your visiting your favorite relatives home. You'll glance around at the other guest and feel like WOW i'm one of the few who finally made it into one of the most coveted highly acclaimed restaurants in Philly! Now let me see if it lives up to the hype! haha! I started out with the pear melon salad. It was light and refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed the citrus notes and the pear slices. I would have never thought to add the pear but that really complimented the salad well. I was told that a MUST try is the head on soft shell shrimp. At first I wasn't thrilled about the thought of eating the head but said what the heck, lets go for the full experience! If you love softshell crabs you'll love this! There was nothing off putting about it. It simply taste like delicious premium shrimp in a fish caramel sauce with a hint of thai basil and chili. It was wonderful. I could have gone for a second round but I wanted to try other items. I enjoyed the seafood fried rice..this is similar to the crab fried rice but included uni roe and caviar with saracha on the side so you can regulate your heat level. I'll say this, while I enjoyed the seafood fried rice and the bonus elements of it, I was not a fan of the texture of the rice itself. Perhaps it's just my preference. The rice was light, fluffy and slightly sticky in texture whereas I prefer more of a thai fried rice which is dry, slightly firm and non-clumpy texture. But that's not taking any cool points away from Mawn. It's just my preference that i'm mentioning in case anyone else goes in expecting a different texture. I love the team service aspect at Mawn. Our waiter emphasized that we're not bugging anybody if we need anything we can stop any staff person walking by. I love that. Beef Noodle soup is delicous here. So is the yellow curry noodle soup. The fish is really good here too. I didn't realize I could have requested for it to be deboned (probably because I was talking to much lol) But my waiter was kind enough to come over and help me debone it when they saw I was struggling lol This was the first time I ever had a green thai tea! It was really a treat. Not overly sweet. Nothing but pure deliciousness here! And a super helpful warm friendly staff.

Great service and great food! The place is small so it makes sense that it's so hard to get a…read morereservation. I love a good BYO, so I can splurge a bit more on the food and not worry about the cost of alcohol. For a party of three, we order 5 appetizers and shared the all star fried rice, which was a perfect amount of food. We got the beef skewers, which were definitely a favorite - the meat absolutely melts in your mouth! The papaya salad paired well with this, as it was tangy and refreshing, especially on such a hot day. The scallop crudo was a special for the night, but I think they should add this to their permanent menu because it was definitely a standout! The all star fried rice at $54 was also well worth it. I am often disappointed by dishes like these due to the lack of "stuff", but there was crab throughout and a generous portion of roe. I was a little disappointed however that there were only 2 scallops at that price. Overall, each dish had impeccable flavor, great presentation, and a good amount of seafood for the price.

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Mawn - Inside

Inside

Mawn - Fried chicken

Fried chicken

Mawn - Fried Chicken

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Fried Chicken

Vientiane Bistro - laotian - Updated May 2026

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