55 Best Restaurants in The South-Central Coasts and Highlands, Vietnam

The wood-fire pizza hits the spot at this busy two-story restaurant serving Southern Italian cuisine, as does the perfectly cooked pasta and respectable wine list.

Join the locals at this popular, sometimes rowdy barbecue and hotpot joint that becomes quite smoky when the table-top barbecuing on charcoal braziers is in full swing. Expect plastic chairs and plain decor, but the food is cheap, grilling your own meat can be fun, and there's an English menu.

Almost exclusively using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, Lang Viet's menu highlights Vietnam’s regional culinary diversity with the best dishes from three regions, North, Central, and South. It's a journey through Vietnam via your palate.

An upmarket brewery, bar, and restaurant situated in huge beachfront premises, Lousiane Brewhouse even has its own pool and sun loungers. A good selection of well-priced European-style craft beer is on offer, as well as an extensive menu of international and Vietnamese cuisine. Louisiane Brewhouse has a bit of something for everyone, including live music in the evenings, and is one of the best places in town for a sundown drink.

Brewery tours with tastings are available.

This Franco-Swiss-owned resto-bar serves great European staples including raclette and Swiss fondue, as well as steak served on a hot stone in a contemporary setting on the main strip. Sip wine and nibble on a cheese or charcuterie platter in the fan-cooled space backed by a jazzy soundtrack.

This basic metal-tables-and-chairs joint serves nem nuong (grilled pork sausage) with platters of rice paper, herbs, pickled vegetables, fried wonton wrappers (for crunch), fresh rice noodle, and other fixings, all to be rolled together and dipped into a pork-and-peanut sauce.

Qui Nhon's "food street" is short but packed with dozens of stands that come alive in the evening. Join Vietnamese tourists on plastic stools having snacks and desserts.

For some of the best authentic Vietnamese food around, head 6 km (4 miles) outside the city center to this 300-year-old house surrounded by rice paddies and lotus ponds. The menu features traditional dishes such as fish barbecued in bamboo, banana flower salad, crispy prawn pancakes, and Asian spinach soup with basil-seasoned rice. For a unique dessert, try the white rice and mung beans in coconut sauce.

Though its dining room looks quite plain, Now Restaurant serves delicious home-style Vietnamese cooking, which means ordering a soup, vegetable, and meat dish to be shared family-style and eaten with rice. But if you're solo or a pair, they've recreated the experience with a filling set menu.

This local pho restaurant has the holy trinity: the northern-style pho is excellent, the restaurant is clean, and the owners are kind and welcoming in spite of any language barrier.

The customizable poke bowls are loaded with fresh seafood and other toppings at this simple but cheerful joint, which also has smoothie bowls and delivery service.

Located on the street art alley, Primavera gives old-fashioned trattoria vibes with wood paneling, a cozy dining room, and outstanding pizza. Reservations and some patience are recommended; try to book a table on the upstairs terrace or front sidewalk.

This Australian-owned, multistory bar has all you'd expect of a sports bar: a selection of cold beer, pub grub, live sports on TV, and live music nights. Gaze at ocean and traffic going round in the roundabout from the roof terrace.

It doesn't look like much from the road but at the back of the property is a bamboo and thatched roof Mnong house, built on stilts, where you can eat minority cuisine underneath, or inside if you can manage the traditional "stairs," a narrow plank carved with steps. Their specialty is com lam ga nuong, a whole barbecue-grilled chicken and rice.

Once the in-house restaurant at Cham Villas Resort, Ratinger Lowe's traditional German fare became so popular it had to move to larger premises on the street. The owner, hailing from Ratingen, oversees a bountiful menu of German specialties (including bratwurst and wiener schnitzel, of course) as a well as a selection of international and Vietnamese hits.

Whether you're looking for some seaside relaxation, cool cocktails, or a thumping party, the Sailing Club has you covered with its prime beachfront location and wide-ranging menu serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After dark it magically morphs into one of the plushest clubs in Nha Trang. Daytime options include coffee and/or cocktails, while lounging in a cabana near the lotus pond or on a beach chair; the more upright options include dining, playing pool, or hanging out on a swing, all oceanside.

Inside Sailing Club Resort Mui Ne, in a high-ceiling Balinese-style pavilion overlooking the sea, Sandals has long been considered one of Mui Ne's best dining options even if you're not staying there. The menu is diverse, with everything from lighter poke bowls and seared tuna salad, to heartier dishes from the grill.

Sindbad's short and sweet menu of fresh, tasty kebabs, salads, and dips is widely celebrated in the area. The staff is friendly, and the service is generally quick.

Sunsea Resort's small oceanfront restaurant, Sukhothai, serves authentic Thai favorites, including som tam papaya salad, chicken laab, and a range of delicious curries.

Curiously, there are two Surf Bars under the same ownership within 100 meters of each other, and they are among the few businesses permitted on Quy Nhon Beach. The turquoise wooden chairs and string lights add a casual tropical feel, and either bar is a nice place to have drinks with your feet in the sand.

This small Japanese restaurant has long been a Nha Trang favorite, so much so that they've opened a second location, the more refined Kiwami 2, but this place is still packed nightly. Expect to be elbow to elbow, and note that reservations are essential.

For an overpriced Vietnamese coffee, tea, or beer, you can sit at the water's edge and enjoy views of Xuan Huong Lake, which is pretty both in the daylight and at night.

This bright and cheerful three-story modern café-restaurant has friendly service and a large menu of popular Western and European dishes and brunch classics, making it a solid pick whether you come for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

This giant café, set in a replica open-air ancient house with a garden and man-made pond, is not a bad spot to enjoy one of the vast array of coffee drinks, and if you're peckish, desserts.

This local restaurant specializes in cha cuon ca, deep fried herring rolls wrapped in rice paper wraps you make yourself. Fill it with rice noodles, fresh herbs, cucumber, and mango, before dipping it in nuoc cham—a delightful textural feast.