10 Must-Try Hoi An Restaurants

Hanoi, the capital, is without a doubt the country’s flagship for street food. However, generally speaking, I believe Hoi An is the foodie capital of Vietnam, with a fantastic and varied food scene, a lot of local delicacies and amazing restaurants scattered around the city. Here are my favourite Hoi An restaurants and food joints:

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Top 10 restaurants and eateries in Hoi An

1. Morning Glory

The king of Hoi An restaurants

106 Nguyễn Thái Học, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

If you’ve read about Hoi An restaurants, this one will not come as a surprise, because Morning Glory is the crown jewel of Hoi An’s foodie scene. Morning Glory focuses on traditional Vietnamese food and elevates it with excellent products and a nice presentation. The restaurant is located in one of the elegant and old yellow houses of Hoi An’s city center and it is decorated in a 20’s modernized style. It is considerably more expensive than a typical eatery in Vietnam, but it is still very cheap in western standards. Eating at Morning Glory is fine dining at a fraction of the price, so if you are in Hoi An make sure you make time for this marvel.

Recommended: deep fried red snapper with mango salad (picture), Cao Lau noodles, slow-cooked pork belly, stuffed squid.

2. Madam Khahn the Bahn Mi Queen

I agree, she is the Banh Mi Queen

115 Trần Cao Vân, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Even before setting foot in Vietnam, you have probably heard of Banh Mi, the local sandwich. Hoi An is the best place to eat banh mi in all of Vietnam and, within Hoi An, there is no better Banh Mi than Madam Khahn‘s, who has named herself (and accurately) the Banh Mi Queen.

This tiny establishment doesn’t seem much, but their sandwich (for a mere 20,000 VND, 0.8€) is one of the best things you’ll ever put in your mouth. They have 5 different kinds of Banh Mi, including a vegetarian option, but the star of the show is, without a doubt, the mixed bread (Thap Cam), which contains vegetables, char siu pork, ham, omelette, paté, egg sauce, papaya and cucumber. I think it is probably the best quality – price ratio that I’ve encountered in my life!

Recommended: Banh Mi Thap Cam.

Travel tip: the first floor is crowded and warm, go upstairs for a wider refrigerated room!

3. Banh Mi Phuong

The most instafamous of Hoi An restaurants

2b Phan Chu Trinh, Cẩm Châu, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Banh Mi Phuong is arguably the most popular Banh Mi joint in the city thanks to the recommendation of Anthony Bourdain in his show No Reservations, calling it the best Banh Mi in Vietnam. Even though I may not agree 100% with that statement (because Madam Khahn’s are my favourite), the Banh Mi at Phuong are legendary and do not disappoint. The downside is that, due to its media popularity, you can expect a line. However, it is quite impressive that, despite their popularity, Madam Phuong has managed to keep an establishment with heart, good product and reasonable prices.

Recommended: Banh Mi (you choose the ingredients).

Photo credit: Capture ItOnce with CC BY 2.0

4. White Rose Restaurant

This Hoi An Restaurant invented this dish!

533 Đ. Hai Bà Trưng, Phường Cẩm Phổ, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

White Rose Restaurant is a legendary establishment in Hoi An that gave birth to the dish that gives it name, the White Rose. In fact, the restaurant only has two dishes in their menu: their famous dumplings – the white roses – stuffed with pork or shrimps and fried wontons. Have you heard of the saying “stick to what you’re good at”? Well, they took it seriously, but it works like a charm!

Recommended: white roses.

5. Red Bridge

You can simply eat, or you can learn to cook it!

Thon 4, Hội An, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam

Red Bridge is both a restaurant and a cooking school. I actually took a class there, so if you want to read about my experience you can do it in this post. As a restaurant, Red Bridge has a winning setting: a riverside tropical paradise in the outskirts of Hoi An far from the noise of cars. This is paired with a fine dining experience that walks you through Vietnam’s favourite dishes with a modern touch.

Recommended: anything!

Vietnamese Cooking Class in Hoi An with Red Bridge

6. Cao Lau Khong Gian Xanh

The best Hoi An restaurant for Cao Lau

687 Hai Bà Trưng, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Cao Lau Khong Gian Xanh is a quirky establishment that serves arguably the best Cao Lau noodles, the local dish by default. They serve a BIG portion of Cao Lau noodles that is filled with nice chunks of roasted pork meat. There’s not much more to say, when you’re in Hoi An you should try Cao Lau noodles and you should do it at Khong Gian Xanh (for a mere 40,000 VDN = 1,5 €). They make the noodles themselves in the traditional style, with the water from the Ba Le well.

Recommended: Cao Lau noodles

7. Hoi An Central Market’s Food Court

Several Hoi An restaurants in one spot

73 Phan Bội Châu Sơn Phong tp. Hội An Sơn Phong, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Hoi An Central Market is a tourist attraction on its own, but it is also a fantastic place to try out several Vietnamese street food dishes. The market has a whole section acting as a food court where several stalls sell Vietnamese dishes for cheaper than average restaurants. Even though the food quality is lower than what you can find on a stand-alone street food stall, it is still decent and there is something nice about having everything in the same place.

Travel tip: go there early to see the market in full activity!

Travel tip 2: look for a stall where Vietnamese people are eating for the best quality.

Recommended: Cao Lau noodles, Mi Quang, Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancakes).

8. Com Ga Ba Buoi/Long Com Ga

Com Ga Ba Buoi, the better known one

22 Phan Chu Trinh, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

Com Ga Ba Buoi is a Vietnamese chicken rice staple in the city since the 1950s. They have perfected the flavour balance of the recipe. They also give it a more interesting touch with congealed pork blood, which may sound horrible but it gives the dish a special taste and texture. This whole meal for only 35.000 VDN (1.3€).

Photo credit: Travelling Planner with CC BY-SA 2.0

Long Com Ga, the hidden gem

Another option is the lesser known Long Com Ga, which also serves a perfected version of the dish with a special touch, they serve it with an immature egg (that is, unlaid). If you are adventurous with food, I suggest you pay them a visit.

Recommended: Com Ga (chicken rice).

9. Bale Well Restaurant

More for less

45 Ngõ 51 Trần Hưng Đạo, Phường Minh An, Hội An, Quảng Nam 550000, Vietnam

I typically don’t recommend all you can eat restaurants, but in this case I will make an exception. Bale Well is one of Hoi An’s best known restaurants that offer a spread of barbecued pork meat and meatballs, fried spring rolls, banh xeo (Vietnamese crispy pancakes and vegetables. There’s no menu to order from, they just bring everything. It is definitely not the best of each dish that you can find in the city, but at 120.000 VDN per person (4.4€) for all that food, the value for money is unbeatable.

Photo credit: Bex Walton with CC BY 2.0

10. Hai Son Vietnamese Pancake

Back to basics

143 Lý Thái Tổ, Cẩm Sơn, Hội An, Quảng Nam, Vietnam

There are many places you can taste delicious Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancakes), since it is quite a simple dish to make, but a nice place to start is at Hai Son, an establishment specialized in this delicacy. They will serve the basic pancake with bean sprouts and then you can order the stuffing from the menu. It is quite removed from the Old Town, so you’ll get a more local experience.

Recommended: Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancakes)

How to get to Hoi An

By plane

Hoi An is one of the main cities, together with Hue, that people visit in Central Vietnam. However, it is quite far away from the two main international airports: Hanoi (798 km) and Ho Chi Minh City (940 km) through SLOW roads.

There are several ways you can get there though. The fastest is by plane to Da Nang airport. This is the option we chose and it saved us a lot of time, since we were going directly from Hanoi. To find the best deals, get your plane tickets in advance on Skyscanner.

By land

Other options are by bus or train. Generally in Vietnam trains are slower and more expensive than buses, and the difference increases with longer journeys. Buses also tend to be more comfortable, so I suggest you choose the bus if you don’t plan to take a plane.

That being said, a bus ride from Hue will be around 6h, from Hanoi 17h and from Ho Chi Minh you will be looking at a 20h bus drive. The flights from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh are 1h 20′ more or less. The prices of plane tickets are not that expensive compared to western standards and, in most cases, not much more expensive than a bus or train ticket, so unless you have all the time in the world and can stop at different villages on the way, I suggest you take a fast and cheap plain ticket (choose Vietnam Airlines instead of Vietjet).

Where to stay in Hoi An

This is a more complex question, so I wrote a list of my favourite places to stay in Hoi An by budget and by neighborhood, so you can accurately choose what hotel would suit best your wallet and your traveling style:

→ Where to stay in Hoi An: best accommodation in Hoi An by neighborhood

Closing statement

In Hoi An, you go for the sights, you stay for the food. I think my meals in Hoi An were some of the best in this country, which is known for its amazing gastronomy. Make sure you don’t miss out on the extraordinary tastes by reading this guide on the best local dishes in Hoi An.

If you feel adventurous, try learning some Vietnamese recipes at the amazing Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An! And if you prefer to have someone teach you about local food and visit the best spots in town, check out these tours:

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Make sure you are ready for your Hoi An trip by reading this guide. Also, get the best experience by choosing the perfect accommodation!

If you’re traveling in Vietnam, follow this perfect Vietnam itinerary:

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