French Cuisine Meets Lao Produce: Inside HOME's Kitchen

At HOME, we are a French restaurant — but we cook in Vientiane, and that changes everything. Every morning, our kitchen works with what Laos gives us: fragrant herbs from local markets, river fish, tropical fruits at their peak, and cheeses now crafted right here in the country. This is the story of how French cuisine de maison meets Lao produce, and why we wouldn't have it any other way.

Burrata from Luang Prabang

Ten years ago, serving fresh burrata in Laos meant flying it in from Italy. Today, one of our most loved starters — our Crispy Burrata — is made in Luang Prabang. Creamy heart, delicate skin, and a journey of just a few hundred kilometres instead of ten thousand. We serve it fresh or lightly crisped, and it has become one of the dishes our regulars order again and again. It says something beautiful about Laos today: world-class produce is being made here.

Lao classics, cooked with French technique

Look at our menu and you will find a section simply called "Lao". It is not a token gesture — it is some of the cooking we are proudest of. Mok Paa, the traditional Lao preparation of fish steamed in banana leaf with herbs, we make with salmon. Orlam, the slow-simmered stew from Luang Prabang rich with local herbs and chilli wood, we prepare with lamb — a very French meat in a very Lao dish. And Koiy, the bright, citrusy Lao salad of finely chopped fish, we serve with salmon or tuna, dressed with the precision of a French tartare.

French technique, Lao soul. That is the whole idea.

Herbs, fruits and the rhythm of the seasons

Laos is generous. Lemongrass, ginger, mint, kaffir lime, coriander — the herbs that perfume our Lemongrass, Mint and Ginger Iced Tea and many of our sauces are grown minutes from the restaurant. Our smoothies and juices follow the market: mango at the height of the season, pineapple, watermelon, avocado.

Desserts follow the same rhythm. Our Seasonal Fruit Carpaccio changes with what is ripe that week, always served with ice cream made in-house every day. When mango season peaks in Vientiane, you will taste it. When it ends, the plate changes — and that is exactly how it should be.

A gin distilled from Lao botanicals

Even our aperitif tells a local story. Our House Gin is crafted with botanical scents expert Laurent Severac, using aromatics found in Laos. We pour it in our Gin & Tonics, and we cure our Salmon Gravlax in it — a Nordic classic, reimagined through Lao botanicals, on a French table in Vientiane.

Why it matters

Cooking French food twelve thousand kilometres from France could mean fighting the place you are in. We chose the opposite: to let Laos into the kitchen. It makes the food fresher, the menu more alive, and every plate a small conversation between two cultures that both take eating seriously.

Come taste that conversation. Explore our full menu at www.home-vte.com/menu, or reserve a table in our 1960s garden villa at www.home-vte.com — lunch specials run Monday to Friday, and Saturday evenings begin with cocktail hour at 5:30 PM.