Top 5 coffee shops in Vientiane

Coffee shops are essential for big cities this days, and even a small capital like Vientiane. So here is a list of the best 5 coffee shops in the city. It is based on my experience (I basically live in coffee shops) and these factors: Coffee quality, service, opening hours, food, wifi, location. Best coffee shops in Vientiane:

  1. JOMA Cafe Ponthan Not only has Joma the most experience in Vientiane (they are here for 12 years already), what makes them outstanding is the fact that they always keep the quality of food and service at the same level. Although Joma Ponthan is not in downtown, it is less crowded, has more seats and parking as well as a kids play room. Opens early at 7am, closing 9pm.

2. Cafe Nomad Located close to the Thai embassy, this little gem has everything you need: Good coffee, delicious paninis, free and fast wifi. Opening 9.30am, every day.

3. Benoni Cafe They do have the best coffee in town, and this place is the number one to go for lunch. Breakfast isn't really available, and they open late at 10am. Parking is difficult, staff doesn't speak English well enough (but the owner do), and Wifi is unreliable. Located in the heart of Vientiane, on Setthathirat road, next to Joma.

 4. Baan Tonmali Cake Cafe Not too many people know this place since it isn't located in downtown. But if you pass by Lao-Top College then you will find this coffee oasis on the right. It got it's ranking because of the nice decoration, the cheap and delicious lunch (Lao food), the best chocolate cake in town and the fact, that it is the place where young Lao filmmakers come together. Opens at 8am, close at 6pm.

5. Espresso Cafe Get a bit of a New York coffee shop feeling in this little coffe shop, located next to the cultural hall Not many seats available, but the coffee is outstanding, the crossant the best in town, and wifi is free and fast. Open early at 8am, closed on Sunday.

Naked Espresso - new coffee shop in Vientiane

Coffee shops are just great: First, you get coffee there, something I need at least 3 times a day.

Then, since Starbucks replaced the Vienna style Cafe, it is also a cozy place to spend some time. With Benoni, Tonmali Cake, Espresso Cafe and Friends de Cafe we already have some nice, individually designed places, and now we have a new kid in town.

Naked Espresso is located at Dongpalan Street, not far from the roundabout. Just pass by the flower shops and then it is on the right side.

It offers the usual suspects from Latte to Americano, while its signature dish is Totally Naked - a multiple shots iced coffee drink.

They also offer some food, from scambled eggs, ham and cheese sandwich to Bruschetta, Fettuccini Meatballs and Roasted Atlantic Samlon with mashed potatoes. Homemade cakes are available as well.

Prices are quite fair, and the coffee (they have their own supplier) is in the same league as Benoni. A relief for expat is the fact that the owner Ariya speaks fluent English.

Opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 8am to 7pm.

Why I like to sit (and work) in coffeeshops

It sounds like the lazy spouse spending a lot of money browsing the internet and chatting with friends back home, but it"s not. I like to work in coffeshops for two reasons: Less distraction and cheap office space. The first seems to be confusing, but it is true. I do not get that much distracted as I get at home, when my dogs want to play with me, my neighbors want to chat or other tasks at home had to be done. In the coffeshop nobody ask me anything (not even the waiters, even if they sometimes should).
So how much i spend there? Since competition brought the price down from ridiculous expensive Joma (21.000 KIP large latte) to 10.000 Kip (Ban Tonmali Cake cafe), it is one dollar a day and free water. Also you have a desktop and free internet. So my spending is about 30 Dollar a month. If I make a coffee at home I am not saving that much. One litre milk is 28.000, that is for 6 cups of coffee, what means 5000 KIP plus coffee and gas.. I may save 3000 KIP at home. Not that much.

Baan Tonmali Cake Cafe

What I really really liked in Vietnam were the many tiny cute coffee shops. I am not talking about the street stalls with a small plastic chair. I mean the fancy hidden ones, in small streets nobody knows, like Yeu, where a popular singer was performing regularly. These coffee shops were visited by young Vietnamese people, many of them couples try to get out of their homes to get a bit of intimacy.

Now we have something similar in Vientiane. Yesterday opened the Baan Tonmali Cake Cafe, a small cute shop near the Lao Top College. They are targeting "Filmmakers and photographers" so you can imagine who the customers are. Expect a creative community, an well decorated place, good coffee an nice talks.