Vientiane Nightlife: Top 20 Nightclubs and Bars (Updated)
By
Tibs
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I stayed a week in the capital of Laos, Vientiane, to explore its nightlife. In this review, I will give you some tips about the best nightclubs, the best bars, where to stay near the nightlife and how to meet Laotian girls. If you expect Vientiane to be a boring town, you are only partially right. After night falls, it isn't long before all shops and restaurants close, and by 10PM most streets are desperately deserted. At this time, even finding street food can be challenging. If you go to the right places though, you'll discover some much more happening areas. As I realized, you can party every night in Vientiane until at least 3AM, well past the official midnight curfew. Nightlife Areas in Vientiane Click on the map to enlarge Most of the bars, restaurants and nightclubs recommended in this article are within a small area north of the Chao Anouvong Park (green rectangle on the map) and along the riverside. Almost every visitors will stay there and you shou
Phoenix nightclub is located on Thadeua Rd, about 3 kilometers from the tourist center in Vientiane (just a few hundred meters after Paris Cocktail). It's easy to spot from the street as it is inside a white, flashy building. Phoenix is officially targeting an upper-class crowd, the "hi-so" (high society) of Laos: It has a modern design, it features guest bands and DJs from Thailand, and they have a strict dress code. In reality, it is not that stylish. It is quite dark, with mostly young people wearing t-shirts, and the music is boring EDM. Even on a Saturday night at 1AM it was 2/3rd empty.
Samlo is an expat/tourist pub and restaurant located on Rue Setthathirath in Vientiane. It looks a bit dirty and old, with torn seats and peeling paint, but in a way it adds to its charm. It is normally fairly busy every night of the week, mostly thanks to regular patrons. They come to play pool or foosball, to watch live sports and to drink cheap beer (small lao for 10,000 kip). There is also Western food (40,000-70,000 kip).
Wind West is a popular live music pub located in Rue Setthathirath in downtown Vientiane. It was packed when I visited (Saturday night) with a chic local crowd and about 10% of foreigners (expats or tourists). The oldest bar in Vientiane (since 1992), it is housed in an independent building that you can easily spot from the street. There is no entrance fee and a dress code normally applies (no shorts and no sandals, though most foreigners didn't respect the rule).
Marina is the best nightclub in Vientiane as of 2017 (my second favorite would be Gold Star ). It is located on Luang Prabang Road, 3 kilometers from the tourist area so you'll need to ride a tuk-tuk (20,000-30,000 kip maximum). As you arrive, you'll see a mini-traffic jam with some luxury cars. Maybe because it is far, there is almost no foreigners who visit it (apart from Thais and Chinese). That's too bad because it would challenge a few stereotypes they might have about "sleepy" Vientiane.
Batman Pub is a nightclub and karaoke located at least 8 kilometers from the city center of Vientiane. I went there with a rented motorbike after visiting another club called Romeo. Honestly, it is really in the middle of nowhere. To reach it, you'll need to take a dirt road on the last 500 meters, surrounded by nothing but empty fields. Judging by the look on the staff's faces, I'm sure I was the only foreigner they ever saw. They gave me a real VIP treatment, including serving my 25,000-kip Beer Lao together with an ice bucket
Romeo and The Pavilion is a nightlife complex in Vientiane consisting of a nightclub (Romeo), a live music hall (The Pavilion), a beer garden, a restaurant and a karaoke. It is quite far from the city center (at least 5 kilometers) but still, I wanted to check it as it seemed to be popular with the local elite. In particular, it targets the Laotian-Chinese community with the same kind of ostentatious, over-the-top design you may have seen elsewhere in Chinese clubs in Asia.
Galaxy Pub is a live music club located on Samsenthai Road in Vientiane. Be careful as it has changed location and it is no longer by the Mekong river. It is a chic place, with a dressed-up crowd and pretty girls (among which a few ladyboys though) that features live bands singing Laotian pop. The entrance is free, and if it isn't too crowded the waiters will give you a table. I only had one lao beer for 25,000 kip. It is a bit cheesy for my taste, but if if you want to meet upper class Laotian girls it could be an option (some of the girls could also be Chinese or Thai, I'm not 100% sure).
Gold Star is a nightclub in Vientiane, part of the Daokham Hotel complex. On the same location, you'll also find Sam Dao beer garden and Merci karaoke. The whole site is quite impressive. You arrive through a small road perpendicular to Souphanouvong Avenue, and then suddenly you have this huge, hidden property with hundreds of party-goers. I had a quick look at the beer garden. Nothing special there, it caters mostly to large groups who also come for eating. The nightclub is more interesting. It looks similar to Marina, except that the crowd is much younger and less stylish. From what I could guess, at least 10% of the crowd was less than 18 years old. I also saw a handful of foreigners. In total, I would say it can accommodate 500 people. I think the live band was from Thailand. They played rock song (none of them in English), and during breaks a DJ would mix famous EDM anthems. This is a video I took: