9 Best Restaurants in Hoi An, The Central Coast

When famed foodie Anthony Bourdain visited, he declared the banh mi served here to be quite possibly the best in Vietnam; and he might just have been right. What you get here is a symphony in a sandwich, and though both her menu and popularity have grown, Madam Phuong is still serving up the same secret family recipes and silence-inducing sandwiches. Bourdain's favorite banh mi deluxe is a pork feast consisting of a mouth-melting slow-roasted five-spiced fillet, a rich peppery pate, a handful of herbs, pickled vegetables, and finished off with a generous scoop of mayonnaise, smoked chili sauce, and messy fried egg. Phuong also has vegetarian alternatives; ask for banh mi chay.

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 noodles.

Well established as one of the town’s preeminent dining venues is Morning Glory, where menu highlights include roast duck leg served with a five-spice dressing and crunchy tofu coated in young sticky rice. This is where local food celebrity Miss Vy originally made her name, and standards have barely slipped over the years with tourists and visiting gourmands flocking to the venue for authentic local dishes prepared with passion and skill.

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.

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.

Com ga (chicken with aromatic rice) is a true specialty of Hoi An, and one of the best places to try the dish is down an alley off Phan Chu Trinh. They start you off with some crispy shredded papaya and thin slices of onion and lime juice on the side before giving you a juicy half chicken with fluffy golden turmeric rice. Just add the cold beer for perfection.

Didier Corlou is celebrated as a pioneer of fine dining in Vietnam thanks to his ventures in Hanoi; now, his culinary journey extends to Central Vietnam. Situated in a former spice house, the restaurant offers patrons an exquisite dining experience. A good choice is the tasting menu that showcases an array of dishes such as braised pork, and barracuda cooked in banana leaf, complemented by starters like banana flower salad with chicken, and spring rolls filled with mackerel, pork, and mushrooms.

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.

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.