From breakfast to dinner, it’s all covered here — a must-visit “Laotian Starbucks” in Luang Prabang

▲ Joma Bakery Cafe, known as the Laotian version of Starbucks.

Text and photos by Kiya

Although Starbucks outlets are found all over the world, there are still some countries where you can’t find one, such as Laos — a rather mysterious Southeast Asian destination for Taiwanese travelers. If you’re craving coffee while there,Joma Bakery Cafe,referred to hereafter as Joma, is a great choice.

▲ Ordering area at Joma Bakery Cafe.

Joma originated in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and has a history of about 20 years. Its branches have expanded to Vietnam and Cambodia, where it remains quite popular. On this visit, we headed to the Joma location in downtown Luang Prabang. With its café exterior featuring a touch of French flair, stepping inside reveals a lineup along the high walls of coffee, juices, desserts, cakes, and even brunch and ice cream options. The prices are also reasonable, and with opening hours starting from 7 a.m., it’s a great spot for travelers to grab a meal from breakfast to dinner.

▲ Dining space at Joma Bakery Cafe.

The seating area at Luang Prabang’s Joma is spread across two floors. The first floor features a simple cement wall style and wooden furniture, with just a few paintings decorating the walls, but the overall space is tranquil and very peaceful.

Another big advantage of Joma for travelers is that it accepts payment in Laotian Kip, US dollars, or Thai baht. Prices on the menu are listed in Kip, but if you want to pay with the latter two currencies, you can just ask the staff — though change will only be given in Kip.

▲ A generously sized iced latte.

Due to time constraints during our trip, we could only order an iced latte to satisfy our coffee craving. Joma’s iced lattes are generously sized, and they are generally not sweetened — if you want sugar, you’ll need to ask the staff to add it. The overall flavor is on the lighter side; without sugar, the bitterness of the coffee is quite strong, and while adding sugar tones down the bitterness, it creates a somewhat unbalanced taste. The black coffee, however, is highly praised. Considering its price and the ambiance of the space, the overall value is still quite decent.

▲ Joma Bakery Cafe even offers branded merchandise such as exclusive mugs and T-shirts.