38 Best Restaurants in The Central Coast, Vietnam

Quite possibly serving the best Western food in all of Vietnam, this café captures the hearts of all who eat here. There is nothing on the menu that disappoints, but the complete winners are the veggie lasagna, meatball subs, and carrot cake. Opened by an American, vegetarian chef, Capture even has hard-to-find items like bagels and ginger beer. They are located right next to the Easy Tiger.

Don't be shocked when you walk through the door of Kushiyaki Banjiro to find the kimono-clad staff yelling in Japanese; it's the way they do it in Japan. Try the omakase set, a plate piled high with sashimi that includes blue lobster, tuna, and salmon, or authentic chicken or beef yakitori. If the lively atmosphere is too much, reserve a private tatami room in advance.

As one of Vietnam's leading fine-dining experiences, this restaurant resembles an old French mansion with elaborately decorated themed rooms. The aesthetics have earned La Maison a spot among the World's Top Ten Designed Restaurants in Architectural Digest, and the cuisine of three-Michelin-star chef Pierre Gagnaire only adds to the illustrious status.

Neighboring the historic Imperial City, this French-Vietnamese restaurant is fashioned after a colonial villa with green shutters, arched doorways, tile floors, antiques dating back to 1915, and artwork depicting pastoral scenes. Slightly pricey by local standards, the enormous menu features green mango salad, fresh spring rolls, beef in banana leaves, and grilled sea bass with a Mediterranean sauce, as well as sandwiches, pasta, and pizza. The goat cheese and prosciutto platter is superb, as is the roasted chicken in a white wine sauce. The Chinese emblem embroidered on staff uniforms and napkins is a wish for prosperity and longevity. The restaurant has a second location renowned for its French-Vietnamese menu in the backpackers' district at 18 Vo Thi Sau Street.

Fusing art, music, history, and cuisine, this 19th-century house in Hoi An's Old Quarter has been beautifully restored and offers silver service at remarkable prices. Slightly overshadowed by the setting, the menu is Vietnamese-meets-modern cuisine with such dishes as bean sprout dumplings, mango and lotus salad, caramelized pork, and wok-fried ancient noodles.

On the main thoroughfare into the Old Town, this is an unfussy but undoubtedly lovely 19th-century family home, where local artwork hangs from crumbling yellow walls and seating takes second place to a huge open kitchen. The street-facing patio is the place to sit here, with great views across to an ornate community temple.

One of Danang's hippest hangouts, this industrial-style, open-fronted warehouse pub-restaurant wouldn't look out of place in New York City. The ever-changing menu of authentic Italian fare includes specials such as risotto alla Milanese, pizza, pasta, and steaks. Come evening, the rustic brick walls and gas station–themed bar make for a different experience altogether.

The most social spot on the beach, Soul Kitchen attracts a year-round mix of expats and local visitors, with frequent live music and open mic events. During the day the shady grass frontage, pool table, and board games keep kids entertained, leaving parents free to relax in raised cabanas with a Vietnamese-French menu, wine list, and cold draft Tiger beer. Thursday through Sunday, rain or shine, Soul Kitchen hosts a live music event 7–10 pm.

No visit to Dong Ha is complete without a visit to this cheerful spot in the heart of town. It's both a charity café (Mr. Tam employs and supports deaf people in the area) and a one-stop information shop, without the hard sell. The menu is a wholesome mix of excellent Vietnamese and Western staples, including pizza, banh mi, and half-decent espresso. Tam also employs local war veterans and offers excellent tours of the DMZ and surrounding area.

If you are staying overnight in Dong Ha, Tam's also offers decent accommodations at very cheap prices (starting at 160,000d) as well as guided tours to the DMZ.

As the first fully interactive street food experience in Vietnam, this buzzy, upscale food hall, owned by local-celebrity chef Ms. Vy, attracts a steady stream of enthusiastic foodies keen to take a culinary tour of Hoi An’s gastronomic classics. The menu here is visual, and diners are invited to wander among the various food stations where traditional dishes like cau lao noodles, banh mi, and savory country pancakes are made to order, to be devoured on simple bench seating arranged in the central courtyard. The fixed-price all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet is well worth shelving your diet for, and don’t forget to take a peek at the Weird and Wonderful stall.

A favorite with locals, Am Phu ("hell restaurant"), has been in operation for more than 80 years, serving excellent Vietnamese cuisine. It's famous locally for com am phu, a colorful rice, pork, shrimp, and herb specialty dish—the seven colors of this dish represent the first seven steps of Buddha. This isn't a tourist spot; everyone eats together at large tables covered with red plastic tablecloths. Although there are no prices listed on the menu, most dishes cost less than 70,000d depending on how large a serving is requested.

Local families who come in droves to this popular no-frills diner make out-of-town visitors feel warmly welcome, even if you don't master the art of rolling the perfect banh xeo. There’s no menu; just pull up a stool and within minutes you’ll be presented with pork skewers, crispy pancakes stuffed with bean sprouts, deep-fried shrimp spring rolls, rice paper, various greens, a satay-style dip, and an array of condiments. Go hungry; portions are large, but the 175,000d set price is not.

Don't be put off by the grungy interior of this restaurant. The quality of the decor is in inverse proportion to the quality of the food. This favorite among locals serves only eight dishes, all specialties of the region. The price of 30,000d per dish should allow you to try them all—if you're hungry enough.

The standard but good Vietnamese food served here—spring rolls and fried rice—may not be spectacular, but the setting is: a beautifully restored colonial villa on the banks of the Thu Bon River. In the evenings you can sit and sip a drink in the lovely garden out back as you watch local fisherfolk ply their trade. The stylish interior has ceiling beams, tile floors, and classic Chinese-style wooden furniture.

At Duyen Anh Restaurant you can pick up your own live fish, shrimp, or lobsters from the tanks, and vegetables are homegrown in the nearly 5,000-square-foot garden viewable from your dining table. All dishes are designed to share. Crab salad is a delicate combination of crab meat, crab roe, and baked rice paper with fresh banana blossom, bean sprouts, and herbs. The best seats are on the second floor or in the private pavilions on a waterlily pond. Although it has a beautiful setting and a playground for kids, it's far from the city's center.

This traditional Italian restaurant is a popular spot in the Old Town center for those looking for a break from the standard Vietnamese fare. During the day, the welcoming, homely environs make for a quiet rest stop, where you can enjoy a good Italian coffee or a light bite from the second-floor balcony overlooking the streets.

It might be overcrowded during lunch and dinner, but this open restaurant's wide range of Hue specialties such as nem lui (grilled pork sausage on lemongrass stick), banh khoai (savory pancake), tapas like beo, nam, loc, and noodles with grilled pork and salad are all worth the wait.

Fresh daily ingredients are the pride of this small restaurant located near the iconic Truong Tien Bridge. While the restaurant’s menu features a wide range of Vietnamese and local cuisines, their pizza is the best in town. 

Managed by the Vietnam Backpackers Hostel, this beach bar offers a complimentary pool, bocce ball court, and great music, as well as alcoholic slushies for 50,000d. The cheeseburger spring rolls are an interesting fusion, and the buffalo chicken sandwich is definitely worth the money. If you’re trying to stay healthy, try a breakfast smoothie in an edible coconut bowl or order a bean and pepper feta salad.

Inside the historical Azerai La Residence Hue, this pricey brasserie rivals anything you might find in Paris. The French fusion degustation menu (which must be requested eight hours in advance) features six exquisite courses, ranging from smoked duck carpaccio to beef tenderloin with rosemary. International wines are paired with each course, including an impressive dessert of molten chocolate with red hibiscus coulis served under a crystallized sugar dome.

Clay-oven pizza, pasta, antipasti plates, and fine wines, all sourced from Italy, can be enjoyed on a tropically planted beachfront garden, or, on wintery days, holed up in a cozy corner by the kitchen. The sesame-coated tuna with salad, Pecorino cheese, and olives are to die for, as are the Italian homemade desserts.

In the Japanese Quarter, beside the river, is this classic Vietnamese restaurant resembling an upscale residence with its ornate armoires, wooden chairs, and a lantern-lit courtyard where you can listen to soft jazz. Lighter menu items such as baguettes, spring rolls, and salads are offered alongside duck or prawn curry, tofu, rice platters, and seafood dishes. Take note of the antique bar, once a "rice safe" used by families to protect their harvest.

A spinoff of the original Mango Rooms in Old Town, this Vietnamese fusion restaurant is located along the river directly across from the Japanese Covered Bridge. Owner-chef Duc has created an innovative menu of modern-Asian-meets-the-world, inspired from his 20-plus years of travels abroad. Mango Mango's signature cocktails and mouth-watering delicacies look like works of art.

Pitch-perfect sangria is the best way to start a meal at Merkat. This restaurant, owned by Mamen and Dani from Spain, is the genuine article; and their open kitchen design allows customers to see the masters at work. The menu includes photos, cook time, and ingredients, and the pig thigh in the dining area is meant for consumption. Bookings are highly recommended as this place can fill up in minutes at peak meal times.

Miss Ly was one of the first cooks in town to open her humble, market-edge restaurant to the trickle of travelers astute enough to have put Hoi An on their itinerary almost 20 years ago. Two decades later, Ly is still in the kitchen pouring her heart and soul into each dish served. Her Hoi An wontons, crispy rice-flour shells with a pocket of minced pork and shrimp, dressed with a fruity, Chinese-style sweet-and-sour salsa, are some of the best in town.

This garden restaurant with mostly outdoor seating is an expat favorite. Founded by ambitious Spanish and Italian natives, My Casa blends the two cuisines together to create a unique array of options. Choose from eight types of tostas, six types of pastas, and four different sauces, or stick with the crowd favorite of a big juicy burger. The menu is easy to read and laid out with ingredients and a “How We Do” section to let you in on the process.

This simple contemporary Indian restaurant a five-minute walk from the Old Town serves up and delivers the best northern Indian cuisine in town. The rara mutton and Kashmiri chicken are definitely worth coming back for, along with the Delhi street food breakfasts, served 9–11 am. Bonus: it's very affordable.

American businessman Scott, who hails from Louisiana, decided to get into restaurants with his Vietnamese partner Olivia, and the result is a steak house devoted to Southern-style hospitality. Overlooking Han River, this brick-and-bamboo establishment caters to families and groups and has the best steaks in town, along with killer sides. After dinner, don’t be surprised when you are offered a shot of locally made chocolate vodka. The prices are high for Vietnam, but you get what you pay for.

Hai, from Hai’s Eco Conservation Tour, runs this bamboo restaurant with his family and serves delicious dishes every day from 7 am until 10:30 pm. Try the fresh fruit smoothies. You can also take part in a morning cooking class that includes a visit to the local market.