Introduction
Our latest list of Hoi An's best eating - from street eats to more upscale dining - was updated in December 2016.
If restaurants per square metre were a measure of a town’s gourmet credentials, Hoi An’s old town would be a culinary delight. Alas, finding a good meal in Hoi An, like most hardened tourist towns, is a little more tricky.
So, we’ve selected a bunch of places from street stalls and cafes through to some more upmarket spaces. Fine dining hasn’t reached Hoi An yet, which probably isn’t such a bad thing as the old town feel at night is very relaxed and pretence free.
Photo: Mark BowyerMy Quang is another delicious specialty from central Vietnam
Hoi An has its own culinary heritage so you’ll need to make sure you sample cao lau, a delicious and light noodle dish with pork, croutons and plenty of greens. Other local dishes not be missed include white rose and Hoi An wontons. Central Vietnam is also famous for another noodle dish, my quang as well as com ga which is rice chicken.
There are plenty of places offering these specialties too. Nearly every restaurant in the old town offers them as do plenty of streetside and small market stalls.
If you haven't already done so, Hoi An may well be the place to take the street food plunge. There are lots of very good streetside stalls. One famous spot spills out from small lane onto Le Loi St with locals and travellers. By day it serves bun noodles and by night it shifts to com ga - chicken rice. There are lots good little street food stalls in and around the market as well.
The old market at the centre of town (corner of Tran Phu and Nguyen Hue) has been turned into food market focusing on local specialties. It's very popular with tourists, and it's tasty too.
Just out of the old town, Ba Le Well and Com Ga Ba Buoi are the genuine local article with lots of Vietnamese approvingly partaking of their set menu dishes.
Stepping up a notch, Mango Rooms' contemporary Asian menu is tasty and the space is groovy. Mango Mango right across the river, also by chef Tran Duc, is another good spot for a fancy Hoi An feed. Duc's other Hoi An eatery, Mai Fish is also worth a look.
Brothers may well have secured one of the best restaurant settings in the country but it might be a little more pricey than the food warrants.
Ancient Faifo is Hoi An's newest high-end arrival in a stunning downtown shophouse.
There are plenty of western and mixed options as well. White Marble focuses on wine but serves up Asian food in a cosy space.
And if you're visiting Hoi An in summer, make sure you spend at least an afternoon and everning on An Bang Beach where you can dig into fantastic local seafood. Phuc from Nu eatery has also opened Sea Shell - a very tasty new An Bang offering.
