40 Best Restaurants in The Central Coast, Vietnam

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.

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.

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.

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.