Bida Manda, Raleigh

Every once in awhile you come across a restaurant that requires you to wait days or even weeks at a time before you can get a reservation. Often it tends not to live up to the hype, but that certainly wasn’t a problem at Bida Manda.

This upscale Asian fusion restaurant serving a variety of both Thai and Laotian dishes, with the occasional American twist, was a true delight and definitely a place I’ll be returning in the future. Having been to both Thailand and Laos in my travels I was slightly put off by the fact the food didn’t really taste like anything I found locally, but it was still pretty scrumptious nonetheless.

The lettuce wraps were spectacular, to start. We tried the vegetarian option since we were having meat for the entrée and the peanut sauce added just the right touch to balance out the seasoning. For my main course I had the sea bass, which was exceptionally tender. It came seated in a plate of banana leaf and curry mild enough that it didn’t overwhelm the dish.

The atmosphere is more on the fancy side, so feel free to dress up. The service was well above average and it’s a wonderful place to take a date. A meal here costs a little more than I’m used to, but it seemed like a pretty good deal for what we got.

Bida Manda

222 S Blount St.

Raleigh, N.C. 27601

919 829 9999