Mango Rooms Restaurant, Hoi An

Review

When Vietnamese American Tran Duc arrived in Hoi An in 2004, the old town was dominated by mostly uninspired tourist restaurants. Mango Rooms was a breath and fresh air in both cuisine and fitout. More than a decade later, it’s still a standout for travellers seeking out innovative and original Asian flavours in Hoi An.





Duc has gone on to open other restaurants around Hoi An (he also owns Mango Mango and Mai Fish). His most recent project is Fat Fish in Danang.

Duc may be less visible in Mango Rooms these days but the quality of the kitchen’s output is unchanged. And remarkably, a good many of the team that started working with him back in 2004, are still on board - both in the kitchen and on the restaurant floor. That’s always a good sign.

On my most recent visit (September 2015), I tried Duc’s crispy calamari with spicy smoked tomato sauce as a starter and went for his recommended duck dish as a main. Both were very good.

Duc’s cool space is also a good spot for breakfast or an evening cocktail looking over the river. Happy hour runs till 7pm.

And if Duc looks familiar, it might be because he's cooked with celebrity chefs Gordon Ramsay and Luke Nguyen.


Disclosure
Rusty Compass reviews are always independent. We list the places we think are worth knowing about. That’s it. We’ve always paid our way at Mango Rooms and Mango Rooms have not exercised any influence over the listing or review. Tran Duc is an old friend.