51 Best Restaurants in The Central Coast, Vietnam

Simple and delicious dishes are served shortly after you sit down on a plastic chair in this restaurant in the fabled neighborhood of Kim Long. Their menu is limited to only a few barbecue pork dishes. The recipes that were passed down to Mrs. Hai, the owner, from her grandmother have not changed since the 1960s. Huyen Anh has been so popular that its neighboring restaurants even fake their name and menu. There are only three authentic Huyen Anh, which are this one, Huyen Anh at 50 Kim Long Street, and Huyen Anh 2 at 126 Kim Long Street. The last two are owned and run by Hai’s brothers.

This busy little café is one of the oldest in Hue. On a busy corner by the side of the river, it mainly specializes in banh khoai, crispy pancakes stuffed with bean sprouts, shrimp, and little mounds of pork, served up with herbaceous side salads and a spicy peanut sauce. To eat, cut them in half, wrap them in herbs and rice paper, and dip. The shady seats on the sidewalk are perfectly positioned for watching life go by.

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.

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.

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 Tran 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.

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.

A couple of kilometers downstream from the Pub With Cold Beer, this rustic jungle hut, formerly called Wild Boar Eco Farm, is run by local tour operator Captain Cuong. The scenery here is awe-inspiring—swinging hammocks overlook the wilderness and Cuong’s prize collection of free-range Euro-Asian wild boar.

This garden restaurant with mostly outdoor seating is an expat favorite. Founded by Spanish and Italian natives, My Casa blends the two cuisines together to create a unique array of options. Choose from a selection that encompasses homemade pastas, delicious paella, pizza, classic tapas like tortilla, Iberico ham, and chorizo as well as hearty mains like a slow cooked lamb shank. 

The plush Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai is a fittingly impressive setting for one of Central Vietnam's most exquisite Japanese dining experiences. Utilizing the finest ingredients, including fish and seafood imported from Japan and high-grade beef cuts, the chefs here create unforgettable omakase menus for diners. Wash the food down with premium sakes and wines or Japanese-inspired cocktails.

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.

This opulent 40-seat restaurant is inside Ancient Hue Garden Houses. Blending cultural heritage and fine cuisine, it pays tribute to the last carving artists in Hue. The restaurant is famous for vividly recreating the authentic cuisines of Hue's royalty. Each dish is beautifully presented with vegetables sculpted into shapes of plants and animals. Expect an experience more than a meal with the Royal Court Dinner, an eight-course dinner with traditional music.

Reservations should be made at least four hours in advance.

No visit to Hue is complete without sampling the city's most famous breakfast dish, bun bo Hue, a glorious lemongrass-and-chili infused beef broth, served with slippery round noodles, beef, pork shank, and a fistful of fragrant herbs. It's not unlike fiery northern pho, and is best slurped from specialty kitchens; the best in Hue is Quan Cam, a tiny family-run noodle shop on Le Loi Street.

Don't be fooled by the street view. The (red) sky's the limit at this trendy restaurant with some of the best Western food in Vietnam. Start with the salmon tartare followed by homemade spaghetti carbonara. Straight from the grill are perfectly cooked mango chicken and Zurich tenderloin with mushroom and potatoes.

The Italian menu at this decent little cafeteria is one of the best in the city—and the cheapest, too. Think plates piled high with herby olive oil–drizzled beef carpaccio, al dente creamy risotto, and real Italian pizza, each coming in at under $7 a pop. Nothing is served quickly (everything on the menu is made fresh to order), but the location in the bustling Night Pedestrian Zone makes it a great spot to kick back and people-watch when the sun goes down.

There are times when only a good old-fashioned curry will do, and the talented Indian chefs here make some of the best. Highlights of the menu include anything from their tandoori oven, soft buttery naan, mixed vegetable or meat grilled dishes, and tikka. For vegetarians the channa masala and paneer dishes come in belt-slackening-size servings, and for upset stomachs, the honey lassi is a great cure.

In a tastefully restored former teahouse, this café-restaurant is the perfect place to unwind over a coffee and French pastry or a cold beer during a busy day of sightseeing. For people-watching grab a balcony table; for shady seclusion there's a quiet courtyard garden; and for rainy days there's a pool table and games room. Despite a promising dinner menu offering both French and Vietnamese delights, meals can be a bit disappointing.

This vegetarian food stall is located right on the edge of Hue's Night Pedestrian Zone. This is the cheapest food stall in town with tasty plant-based dishes starting from 10,000d. It's overcrowded during full moon and new moon days (on the 14th, the 15th, the last and first day of each lunar month) when most of the Buddhist local people have vegetarian meals for religious purpose.