Boi Boi Laos is open

Since October 4 2023 we have opened our Boi Boi Laos restaurant. You can sit inside, or order a takeout online via dapper.boiboi.com.

If you like to book one of the few tables we offer, as a boutique restaurant, the only option is our website. boiboi.com is the place to reserve one.

Rumour had it in our neighborhood that we were limited to takeout orders since October. That is far from the truth, so let us break the hearsay cycle. It is correct that since 2016 we occupied the smaller location adjacent to Dapperstraat 12 building, to focus on takeout. After we entered the disastrous Covid era and had to focus on delivery services like thuisbezorgd and Ubereats, we were confronted with delivery service commissions of 36% (thirty six, not a typo) per dish. This was disastrous and forced us into making losses or go outrageous with prices per item. So we decided to stop.

Then we tried to help out our Italian friends and let them serve pizza, high quality in an intimate setting. It became rather popular, but unfortunately the business case became very dark. That is why we had to stop this co-operation with Magna. The quality of the pizza was real and that is why we did it, but we cannot deliver free pizza purchasing to the hood. Love is a two way road.

What happened in the background, unrelated to Covid and starting before that virus ever hit us, was that we had serious trouble with the floor and foundation of Dapperstraat 12. So bad that eventually our staff literally went down the floor. De Key did some sort of reconstruction in 2015 before we finally got the key to the restaurant in July of that year. The underlying trouble with the “langshout” etcetera was never solved and we were not aware till the floodings started and the restaurant literally felt like quicksand to us. De Key installed a new bv (commercial company in stead of the foundation) Lieven de Stad as owner in 2018 and nothing was done to solve this deteriorating situation. It went worse and worse. Eventually we had to make a compromise and leave the building as the NVWA would never support the casco we had to work in. You can lose your reputation only once, and after years of begging to help us and improve the situation, we lost all hope.

The only blessing we got was that now we had a chance to rebuild the Pieter Vlamingstraat 56 location next door and prepare it for the mini Boi Boi we have now as our only location. We built new walls in the building and improved the overall quality of what we could. We reused all the stuff we had in our old restaurants. We have even bigger plans, but have to stay realistic. It is not easy to pay for all the Covid damage and postponed payments with only our small restaurant.

Some drastic choices were made by us, to make it also a happy experience for our guests and ourselves.

• we only serve home made food, from our own-made curry pastes to the sauces

• the base of all our dishes, when fish or meat is not necessary, are vegan or vegetarian

• we focus even more on the Laotian heritage of our cooks, and let them use their grandmother’s recipes

• the wine selection got an upgrade, as Laos is a former French colony, proud of its wine and bread knowledge

• the restaurant is way smaller, a bit more squeezed, so we deliver a somewhat hectic but charming atmosphere once filled. Most of our guests seem to embrace this vibe, it’s authentic.

Once the sun will arrive we also offer a modest outside seating. We have terrace heaters, and those have been used in October and November of last year already. Also there it will fill up quickly. All our plants of Dapperstraat we have joined together, so you feel like you are a little bit on a holiday in Laos surrounded by bamboo and jasmin plants.

It would be our pleasure to welcome you in our charming little boutique restaurant. Everything we do is made with Laos Love. Call us 020-2339499

p.s. This post was made to answer any questions about what happened all of a sudden to Boi Boi Dapperstraat. The story runs much deeper, but we think we already gave a glimpse of what we went through. And that we always rise like a phoenix. Ready for the Red Dragon year 2024.