Best Food in Hoi An: Our Favorite Hoi An Restaurants

If you’re wondering where to eat in Hoi An, allow us to point you to the best food and the best restaurants in Hoi An, Vietnam.

With so many affordable food options in Vietnam, we’ve had the opportunity to eat out nearly every day for lunch and dinner. Since we’ve stayed in Hoi An for around 9 months in total, that’s hundreds of meals. So we’ve tried quite a few Hoi An restaurants!

We certainly have our favorite places to eat, and we’re happy to share them with you.

Updated: February 2024. Originally published: March 2019.

P.S. We put together an interactive map of all these recommendations, plus many more. 

Get our Interactive Map + Hoi An Travel Guide

Best Food in Hoi An: What to Eat and Where [VIDEO]

A Quick Guide to Our Favorite Places to Eat in Hoi An

Before we share more about each Hoi An restaurant, here’s a quick overview of our recommendations for different categories.

KEY:
v = Run by a Vietnamese family, often out of their own home
* = Places we visit regularly

Cheap Vietnamese Restaurants in Hoi An

Go to these for the delicious food and the affordable price, not the atmosphere. Meals for the equivalent of $1 – $3 US.

– Verdant Space a.k.a. Cao lầu Không Gian Xanh (v, *)
– Madam Khanh Bahn Mi Queen (v, *)

Honorable mentions:
– Bon (v,*)
– Phi Bahn Mi (v)
– Mì Quảng 92
– Long Cơm Gà (v)

Sit Down Vietnamese Restaurants

Our favorites for local food in the $3+ per dish range. Both atmosphere and price increase as you go down this list.

– Cơm Linh (*)
– NostaLife (v, *)
– La Plage at An Bang Beach
– Morning Glory Original

Best Fusion Restaurants in Hoi An

Delicious, unique dishes that use Vietnamese ingredients with a twist. $2 – $8 per dish.

– Nu Eatery
– The Fisherman

Foreign / Western Food in Hoi An

These are the best restaurants in Hoi An for when you’re craving something other than Vietnamese food. $3 – $8 per dish.

– Greek Souvlaki (v, *)
– Nourish Eatery
– Bikini Bottom Express
– Chips ‘N’ Fish ‘N’ Stuff

Best Pastries and Desserts in Hoi An

These are the best places to pick up a tasty treat in Hoi An.

– Cargo
– EM Bakery

Hoi An Old Town Restaurants

Among those mentioned above, we thought it might be convenient to create one list with the best restaurants in Hoi An Old Town. The most central restaurants are listed first.

– Verdant Space (v, *)
– Morning Glory
– Cargo
– Nu Eatery
– Banh Mi Queen (v, *)
– Com Linh (*)
– Mì Quảng 92 (v)
– Greek Souvlaki (v,*)

An even more comprehensive list of recommended restaurants, cafes, and street food can be found on our interactive map.

Keep reading to learn about the food specialties of Central Vietnam. Then, we’ll share more about each of our favorite restaurants in Hoi An and what dishes are best to order at each place. 

What to Eat in Hoi An

Central Vietnam, and Hoi An itself, have some unique regional cuisine that can’t be found (at least not widely) in other parts of the country. We recommend trying each of these dishes while you’re in Hoi An.

Cao Lau is perhaps the most quintessentially Hoi An because the fat yellow noodles are exclusively made with water from local wells.

You can see the fresh noodles being sold at the market. When served, it comes with a sweet pork broth, slices of pork on top, and a couple fried noodles for crunch. This was definitely one of our favorites – especially because it’s not typically spicy!

Bonus: See how cao lau has been made from scratch for four generations in this Hidden Gems Hoi An Food Tour.

White Rose, or delicate rice paper dumplings with shrimp and pork inside, are all sourced from one producer in Hoi An.

It’s served in the shape of a rose with crispy, fried shallots on top and a spicy and sweet shrimp broth dipping sauce. This one is good to order as an appetizer and it’s served at many local restaurants.

Mi Quang is a rice noodle dish with a bit of broth. It often comes with shrimp, pork, vegetables, roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, and sometimes quail eggs or sesame rice crackers on top.

If you get one with good flavor, it can be really delicious. We’ve had it made with a pumpkin base or with saffron, both giving it a golden color.

Banh Xeo is a savory, rice flour pancake. Ingredients include turmeric, pork, shrimp, and green onion with bean sprouts folded into the center.

In this area of Vietnam, banh xeo is usually served with rice paper and greens. Wet the paper to soften it, wrap up a piece of the pancake with your greens, and then dip the roll into a peanut sauce or fish sauce.

Bánh mì is not specifically a regional cuisine, but there are several shops selling these Vietnamese sandwiches that are super popular in Hoi An. Sandwich ingredients vary but it starts with a crispy baguette and usually includes mayo, cilantro, cucumber, and pickled carrots and daikon.

Now that you’ve seen some of the local specialties, let’s talk more about our favorite restaurants in Hoi An. 

Food culture: What to know about eating out in Vietnam

1. Wait staff in Vietnam won’t typically check in on customers, so when you’re ready to order or you want the check, just flag someone down.

2. Typically, restaurants in Vietnam will only accept cash. There are some exceptions and these may charge a 3% fee for using a credit card.

3. Tipping at restaurants is not customary. You may want to tip at nicer restaurants, when the service is truly exceptional, or when dining with a large group. In these cases, 10% or a couple dollars-worth is a nice gesture.

4. Restaurants that serve foreigners will often have picture menus. Pointing to the menu item and gesturing for “one” or “two” helps clarify your order when there’s a language barrier.

5. Chili flakes/sauce and black pepper are pretty much the only sources of spiciness in Hoi An. You can ask for “not spicy” or “no chili” with relative success (show the Vietnamese words, không cay, via Google Translate on your phone). Some things like dipping sauces may be pre-made with chili. Hot sauce is often provided at the table if you want to up the heat.

6. Be careful not to leave chopsticks sticking up in your bowl, as this is a symbol of death in many Asian cultures. Always lay chopsticks flat.

7. Vietnamese food uses a lot fresh greens. Restaurants in Hoi An are accustomed to safely washing and preparing vegetables and fruit for visitors. We never worry about getting ill from the food. If you’re concerned, stick to restaurants with commercial kitchens and high ratings online.

Authentic Hoi An Food Tour: Hidden Gems with Locals

Looking for a local guide to take you off the beaten path and introduce you to authentic, local foods in Hoi An? You won’t find a better experience than this Hidden Gems Hoi An Food Tour.

Let’s Eat! Our Favorite Hoi An Restaurants

As we mentioned earlier, we’ve had the opportunity to try countless restaurants in Hoi An. Not all of those restaurants are worth mentioning, but we return to many of them numerous times during our 5+ stays.

Guests who visit us in Hoi An often ask how we find our favorite places. The answer is: extensive online research.

I’m obsessed with analyzing reviews. I scour blogs as well as Google Maps and supplement my findings with feedback from TripAdvisor. Then, of course, we go and try the restaurant for ourselves.

A note about Trip Advisor: We typically don’t use Trip Advisor to find restaurants in other situations because the reviews tend to be heavily weighted by foreigners rather than the local perspective.

That being said, Trip Advisor is king in Hoi An and the logo is plastered on pretty much every establishment. When I use it, I really have to scrutinize the reviews because ratings don’t tell the whole story.

For example, everyone has their own definition of “cheap” and “reasonably priced” so I ignore those comments and look for mention of specific prices. User photos are also helpful, especially when they share pictures of the menu.

1. Nu Eatery (Fusion)

By all means, every first time visitor to Hoi An should eat local Hoi An specialties. But if you have more time and want a memorable meal, this restaurant is a favorite. They use local ingredients with a twist to create dishes with unique flavor and texture combinations.

The atmosphere is elegant, cozy, and colorful. During the pandemic, the sister restaurants, Seashell and Nu Eatery (previously in two locations), seem to have merged. They may take reservations but it’s not usually necessary unless you have a large group.

The menu changes from time to time. Sadly, our favorite dish from 2018 – an avocado and sweet potato salad – is no longer available. But the catfish tacos are out of this world. The pork bao is a long-standing favorite. The lemongrass ice cream is also worth a try.

We typically order small plates/tapas to share. Snacks and soups are 40,000-60,000d; salads are 75,000d; mains are 100,000d. Desserts are 50-75,000d.

We typically spend around $9 US for the two of us, which is more than most of our meals in Hoi An, but still an amazing value.

Nu Eatery
10 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai (alleyway)
12pm – 9pm. Closed Sunday.

If you have our interactive map of Hoi An, you can see more photos and menu details.

2. Com Linh (Local Vietnamese)

Com Linh is in our regular restaurant rotation when we’re in Hoi An. We often bring guests here as well.

The restaurant is centrally located in town and reasonably priced. It offers all the typical local dishes – cao lau, mi quang, bahn xeo, etc.

We’ve never tried a dish at Com Linh that we didn’t like. Our personal favorites are the broken rice, bun nem, and papaya salad.

Most dishes at Com Linh are 60,000d to 85,000d ($2.50 – $3.50 US). A small bottled water was oddly double what you’d find in other restaurants, but otherwise, the dishes are a good value.

Com Linh
42 Phan Chu Trinh
9am – 9pm

For more photos of the food and menu, see our interactive map of Hoi An.

3. Madam Khanh Bahn Mi Queen

The great debate: which is the best banh mi in Hoi An? When we first arrived in 2017, we tried the top three contenders: Bahn Mi Phuong (made famous by Anthony Bourdain), Phi Banh Mi, and Madam Khanh.

As much as we appreciate Bourdain, we didn’t find that Banh Mi Phuong was worth the longer wait and higher price.

Madam Khanh Banh Mi Queen is our personal favorite for banh mi, with Phi Banh Mi as a back up just a block or two away. You can enjoy the signature sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or take away.

First, Madam Khanh offered only two options: her signature sandwich, with or without chili. With growing popularity, the family changed locations and expanded the menu. The standard sandwich – the “Mix” – stayed at 20,000d (less than $1 US) for the longest time.

You’ll primarily see tourists eating there now days. And since the pandemic, the Mix sandwich is now 30,000 VND ($1.25).

The ladies at the counter crank out sandwiches all day long and family members still help run the operations. If you’re dining in, there’s no need to order at the counter – just walk in and find a table. Atmosphere is basically a “hole-in-the-wall” type place, with additional seating on the second floor of the house.

Bahn Mi Queen
115 Tran Cao Van
7am – 8pm

4. Verdant Space Cao Lau

Verdant Space is one of our favorite spots for cheap and delicious noodle dishes. You’ll find it tucked into a narrow lane that leads into Ancient Town, not far from the Japanese Bridge.

The restaurant is frequented by tourists, but locals still show up, too. The space is a bit eclectic with the family shrine and a small lantern shop next to it.

Like Madam Khanh, go for the food, not the atmosphere. They often have some dishes partially prepped so they can be put together quickly when you order.

Although the restaurant’s name features cao lau, which they do well, we fell in love with another dish from their small menu: bun thit nuong. It’s vermicelli rice noodles, greens, roasted peanuts, pork, and the most delicious sweet gravy ever.

Prices are 40,000 VND per dish (about $1.70 US).

Verdant Space Cao Lau
687 Hai Bà Trưng
Lunch and Dinner

5. NostaLife Restaurant

We love the vibe of this hidden gem near the river. When Ancient Town is bustling with tourists at night, find the little alley with the NostaLife sign amid restaurant row and retreat to their quiet courtyard.

This place is great for local food in a nice, casual atmosphere. It’s family run and has always been a pleasant experience for us. Chill music, Christmas lights and lanterns, murals, and open air seating (with retractable rain cover).

We like to take friends here and share dishes family-style. One of their best is bbq pork skewers, which comes with rice paper and greens to make wraps. (Ask them to show you how to remove the stick and assemble the wrap.)

We also love their crispy wonton, which reminds us of a Mexican chip with mango salsa.

The NostaLife menu is pretty extensive, including all the typical Hoi An specialties. Dishes are typically 40,000d to 85,000d. They also have good deals for a glass of local red or white wine from Da Lat.

We often share three dishes and treat ourselves to a wine and a beer, which totals under $10 US for the two of us.

NostaLife
33/1 Đường Nguyễn Phúc Chu
12:30pm – 9:30pm

6. Long Com Ga

Chicken rice, or com ga in Vietnamese, is another Hoi An staple. You can find it all over town, but we gravitate to Long Com Ga, which has a predominantly local clientele. The restaurant is run in three different spaces around the family home – front courtyard, back courtyard, and living room with AC.

On its own, chicken rice is nothing to write home about. It’s more of a comfort food. The trick is to take advantage of condiments and sauces for flavor.

The signature chicken rice for 45,000d ($1.90 US) comes with small chicken parts soup and pickled papaya salad. Typically, they add chicken parts on top of the rice, though for foreigners, they might assume you don’t want it.

Use the soy sauce on the table to sprinkle over your rice. I like to add a bit of papaya salad to each bite. And we like to request a small dish of salt and pepper with lime for more flavor.

The other chicken dishes on the menu are more for sharing with large groups. That includes the chicken salad, which – be aware – comes with bones.

Long Com Ga
53/16 Phan Chu Trinh alley, near Le Loi St.
11am – 10pm

7. Greek Souvlaki

When we’re not feeling like Vietnamese food, this is the first place we turn. The couple who ran the little shop out of their house (now a full-blown restaurant next door) has always been so kind, and the food is delicious.

We order a pork or chicken souvlaki (70,000d each) and sometimes order a plate which is bigger and includes a small Greek salad. Costs have gone up for them since the pandemic, especially on imported ingredients.

They make the pita bread fresh when you order. Although the meat is not carved off a rotator, it’s still full of flavor and goes well with the tsaziki sauce. It also comes with some fries inside, and ketchup is available on the tables.

Greek Souvlaki
7 Thái Phiên
11am – 10pm

8. An Bang Beach Restaurants: La Plage & The Fisherman

There are many places to eat on the beach in Hoi An, but we think the best An Bang beach restaurants are La Plage and The Fisherman. They happen to be next to each other, but the food they serve is quite different.

La Plage is one of the original Hoi An beach restaurants. They serve local dishes, specializing in seafood, as well as some Western items like croque monsieur sandwiches, hamburgers, and pizza. Actually, their menu is extremely large. Smoothies, beers, cocktails, and other drinks are a favorite for those lounging on the beach.

Jedd’s favorite is to order a fried rice and an order of grilled clams. After pouring lime and salt on the clams, he mixes it all up.

At La Plage, you’ll find individual noodle dishes like cao lau for 75,000d and banh mi for 60k. However, most dishes are more than 100,000d. Smoothies are around 55,000d.

In my research, La Plage was one of the best values on the beach but I’m not sure if that’s still the case post-pandemic. The food is good, though you still pay a premium for the location.

The Fisherman next door is a vegetarian fusion restaurant. As an example: their smoothies include ingredients like turmeric or peanut butter (not in the same drink).

At The Fisherman, smoothies are 65,000d. They also have smoothie bowls, avocado toast, veggie burgers with sweet potato fries, and zucchini noodle pasta, among other things. Most dishes range from 60,000 – 100,000d.

Both restaurants have essentially the same view. You can just order a drink and lay on a lounge chair all day. Or you can order a full meal for a sit-down breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Unfortunately, An Bang beach has receded significantly since 2020 and both restaurants have lost most of their sandy lounging space. In January 2023, we saw them trying to build up an embankment to save the beachfront of these restaurants.

Changing rooms and bathrooms are available for guests. La Plage has a children’s play area in the back. Otherwise, the main difference is the menu – and a more artsy, bohemian vibe at the Fisherman.

Parking Note: If you’re riding your own bicycle or motorbike to La Plage or The Fisherman, they do have free parking in back.

You cannot bring bikes onto the beach, however, and parking attendants will force you to stop and try to get you to purchase parking before coming to the beach entrance on Hai Ba Trung road. Avoid this by turning off one street early and looking for the little alley with signs pointing toward the restaurants.

The back entrance of each restaurant will also have a sign where you can enter and park. (The roads are not accurate on Google Maps, but we pinpoint it on our custom map – see below.)

If you have our interactive map of Hoi An, you’ll find more detailed parking instructions, plus photos of the food and menu.

La Plage Beach Bar & Restaurant
8am – 10pm

The Fisherman Vegan Restaurant
7:30am – 11pm

9. Best Cafes in Hoi An

There are plenty of cool cafes to enjoy coffee, tea, smoothies, and other cold treats in Hoi An. 

Some of our favorites are Cafe Moc Lan, along a canal a ways East of Ancient Town; Cong Caphe near the river in Ancient Town; and Ren Rứa Cafe hidden down an alley behind Banh Mi Queen.

Cong Caphe is actually a Vietnamese coffee shop chain that can be found in most of the large cities. Our friends introduced us to their amazing coconut coffees in Hanoi years ago. It’s essentially a coconut ice-cream with coffee poured over it, and it’s become all the rage in Hoi An coffee shops the last couple years.

The shops feature a vintage military-esque decor, which is surprisingly trendy yet toned down in the Hoi An location. Drinks are typically 50,000d to 60,000d.

Away from the tourist center, Moc Lan – a.k.a. Magnolia in English – is an open air cafe that’s very popular with locals in the morning.

The owner (who lives on site with his family) is friendly, the setting is unique, and the drinks are tasty. They also have a version of coconut coffee, though I tend to order the coconut mango smoothie.

When the crowd dwindles later in the morning, we sometimes bring our laptops and do some work on the wifi until they close for their lunch break. Drinks are only 12,000d to 39,000d.

Cafe Moc Lan
121/2 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu alley
6:30 – 11:30am, 1:30 – 10pm

Cong Caphe
64 Công Nữ Ngọc Hoa
7:30am – 11:30pm

Ren Rua Cafe
hẻm 144 Nguyễn Trường Tộ
8:00am – 9:00pm

We have many more favorite restaurants in Hoi An to share with you!

With our curated map, you’ll find amazing places to eat for your budget, food preferences, and location in town. Each point on the map includes photos, menu pictures when we have them, and tips on what to order.

The map includes:

• 5+ really cheap places to eat local Vietnamese food in Hoi An
• 8+ amazing mid-range Vietnamese restaurants
• 7+ of our favorite cafes, coffee shops, and tea houses
• 7+ delicious international restaurants for exceptional international food in Hoi An
• Plus over 25 recommended things to see and do in Hoi An, including the spas, tailors, and gym we recommend.

Access the map along with our ultimate Hoi An Travel Guide – 50+ pages of tips.

Purchase here: Interactive Map + Hoi An Travel Guide

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