This is a pretty tough review to write because the food here was a welcome change from the other places we ate in Phonsavan, but still not great. However, it was so much better than the other food we had there that you might want...to eat here anyway.
We decided to try it on our last night in Phonsavan because we were hungry and none of the places in town near our hotel were good. We paid 50,000 kip ($3 US from "downtown") for a tuk tuk ride to get to the restaurant which is located at the lodge by the same name. It was the same price to return to town.
The food here is supposed to be French. This is unlike any French food you have had or will probably every have again - and not in a good way. There is no richness or highly developed flavors, or variety. The menu here is very limited. They basically have two entres beef and chicken. Not multiple choices with beef or chicken, two dishes, one beef, one chicken.
We tried both and the chicken was better. The cow who donated the beef was a thin, spindly animal, at least that is what we imagined based on the thin piece of steak that was served on the plate. It had a lot of gristle but decent flavor. It came well done and would have been impossible to cook any other way given how thin it was. The potatoes were good but only because we hadn't had a potato for weeks.
The chicken dish was flavorful and not as tough as the beef. The meal was not satisfying, so we had to ask for bread during the meal. The restaurant serves beer and wine and the house wine was good.
The service like most in Laos verges on the weird. The waiters hover around the table until you need the bill and then are nowhere to be found until you flag one down.
The atmosphere in the restaurant is nice, the view of Phonsavan pretty spectacular, but there were so many mosquitoes in the restaurant, that we had to slather ourselves with repellent. Wear long sleeves.More
