Bida Manda
Laotian restaurant · Fayetteville Street ·
Lao fare & exotic cocktails in a slick, woodsy space
Lao fare & exotic cocktails in a slick, woodsy space
"I know Bida Manda from Lon Bounsanga’s tenure as executive chef; the restaurant was critically acclaimed in its early years, though it later became embroiled in scandal when employees began holding management accountable for abuse of power—Bounsanga was not named in those reports." - Erin Perkins
"At Bida Manda in Raleigh, the scandal that unfolded after a manager referred to a Black employee as a "slave" exposed wider allegations of sexual assault and rape and ultimately brought down the restaurant’s entire top-level management team, a fall from grace for one of the Southeast’s most lauded dining institutions." - Matt Lardie
"A prominent Raleigh restaurant that reporting found fostered an atmosphere marked by misbehavior, abuse of power, and inappropriate sexual conduct, contributing to serious workplace-misconduct allegations." - Amanda Kludt
"Operating as a reinterpretation of Laotian home cooking, Bida Manda was opened by siblings Vansana (“Van”) and Vanvisa Nolintha to honor their parents (the name means mother and father in Sanskrit), with the family’s wedding photo greeting diners. I saw it celebrated for warm, family-style hospitality and for fostering an intimate “we’re like family” work culture — but that culture included enforced “radical vulnerability” through staff retreats (including Buddhist-ceremony tying, public critique exercises, and mandated sharing of traumatic experiences) and boozy post-shift socializing that employees say normalized sexualization and blurred professional boundaries. Multiple current and former staff allege that environment enabled serious misconduct, from a reported incident in which a Black employee was called a “slave” by a manager to numerous allegations of unwanted sexual advances, grooming, and assault allegedly involving Van and members of management, and many employees describe a lack of effective HR channels, silencing of complaints, and managerial failures to act. Leadership later apologized, removed Van from operations and saw senior managers resign or be fired, promised new HR and anti-harassment measures, briefly reopened for PPP-related takeout, and has faced staff protests and deep distrust from former employees." - Matt Lardie
"Serving a Laotian pork-and-rice sausage prepared by chef Lon Bounsanga, this version uses a high-fat blend of ground pork (including pork belly) mixed with jasmine rice—historically used to stretch meat but retained here because it helps the sausage hold the flavor of the pork fat and aromatics. Seasoned with lemongrass, dill, garlic, scallions, cilantro, and makrut lime leaves, the sausage is grilled, sliced, and served with pickled ginger; its texture is somewhere between crumbly and creamy and its flavor juxtaposes lively, fresh herbs with salty, fatty pork. The reviewer declares it the best sausage they’ve ever had." - ByAlex Delany