Bar the Day in Vientiane: My favorite bar and restaurant in town

Granted I was only there for 3 days and I didn’t really venture into a great deal of what the town has to offer because my primary objective while there was to obtain a visa to Thailand (which was a success by the way) but in my neighborhood was a place called Bar The Day and it was just wonderful.

For starters the draft pints of Beer Lao (which is excellent by the way) is only 10,000 Kip (around $1) and that is a very quick way to get on my good side. They kept offering me a fresh glass with each pour but I told them they don’t need to do that.

the chicken wings actually weren't that great, but at least they cooked them all the way

It is a bit of a funny mix there to be honest. The menu consists entirely of American and Tex-Mex items, the place is owned by a man from India, and all the staff were Filipino and Malaysian. I asked them if any Laos people were employed there and they said that they tried to hire locals, but they were not interested. I think that this is because a vast majority of their customers are tourists.

The food was good, fast, and cheap. I actually ate there, and also got a take-away quesadilla. It was karaoke night, which I normally hate, but I guess I got lucky because there were actually some good singers in attendance. I sang a duet with one of the singers and well, she made me look bad because she was MUCH better than I am. There was a time that I was quite a good singer but after 25 years of basically kicking my own ass with cigarettes and booze, I’m afraid I can’t quite hit the notes like used to be able to.

I love their slogan too

This place has zero online presence, so you’ll just have to remember that it is almost within sight of the Thai Consulate. They are open from 5pm until whenever, and I am not afraid to say that I do not remember my walk home. It was a great time and when I find myself in Vientiane in the future, I shall definitely return.