So much choice.

For the tapas experience, sit at the bar, order a glass of wine and get right to studying the delightfully long list. Tapas is ideally shared, though the portions are generous enough that two to four could satisfy one person as a meal. The tapas includes a variety of grilled sausage, fried calamari, imported anchovies, spanish omelette, octopus carpaccio, potato croquetitas and olives. Do we need to go on? The price for each small dish ranges from 25,000 to 85,000 kip, with most hovering in the middle.

Choirzo sausage, pepper sausage, Italian sausage, garlic sausage, Morcilla sausage. Sausage, sausage, sausage.

If you’re craving steak, this is the place to indulge in one. Raising or cooking beef has never been Laos’ strong suit so it’s worth knowing where your beef is imported from and paying accordingly. If you order steak at a restaurant in Laos and it’s cheap, it’s usually buffalo. At Pimenton a 225 gram steak imported from Thailand starts at 95,000 kip, a grass-fed beef tenderloin from New Zealand for 165,000 kip. And the Canadian Angus beef or Kobe sirloin from Japan? Well, there’s a Spanish proverb barriga llena, corazón contento, a full stomach makes for a happy heart – in this case we would add “and an empty wallet.” But in fact, the price would be comparable to a nice steakhouse in the West. Let’s just say they accept credit cards. And you might as well pair your meal with a bottle of Spanish wine from their extensive list.

Add Spanish spice to your travels.

Like almost all restaurants in Vientiane of this calibre, Pimenton has a lunch set that’s fantastic value in hopes of luring office workers and business lunches. It includes a meat, pasta, salad, fries, vegetables and dessert for 75,000 kip. This place is definitely not for vegetarians unless they are willing to cross over to the dark side. One look at the open grill and they just might.

Pimenton is located in downtown Vientiane, on the same street as Le Banneton patisserie.