7 Best Restaurants in Chau Doc, Mekong Delta

The old-world charm of the Victoria Chau Doc Hotel extends to its in-house restaurant, which serves Western and Asian cuisine in a stylish riverfront setting. Take a seat on the terrace to enjoy the sunset (and happy hour at the bar) and the attentive but discreet service. This is the priciest place in town, but the food, the staff, and the river views make it worthwhile. Reservations are recommended because sometimes the restaurant hosts bus tours.

Pull up a stool at this sidewalk restaurant and pop open a Saigon beer while you look to see what the locals are eating. Chau Doc is all about seafood, and you can't go wrong with clay pot fish—unless you don't like fish sauce, in which case go for clay pot pork, with juices that taste great over white rice. There's not a lot for vegetarians, but the plates of sautéed vegetables—morning glory, baby corn, banana flowers—flavored with coriander go well with rice, and there is a vegetable soup.

A basic Vietnamese joint, with a cafeteria-style interior and patchy English abilities, Bay Bong 2 does a range of standard but tasty Vietnamese dishes. The house specialty is com ca kho to (catfish in claypot) and sweet-and-sour soup with catfish or shrimp. The service can be hit or miss, especially if the place is busy, as it often is.

Western tourists will find an English menu (with some very unusual translations) at this basic Vietnamese restaurant, where a range of standard dishes includes the local specialty, lau mam (fermented fish hotpot). A big plus is the air-conditioned room, in a town where many places are fan-cooled only. The style is basic, with check table cloths and wooden dining settings inside and plain marble-topped tables on the terrace.

Alongside a French colonial villa once home to a Nguyen Dynasty official, Mekong serves up fresh and tasty Vietnamese dishes, has an English menu, and serves cheap cold beers. The location could be described as a courtyard if it didn't look so much like a parking lot, and the metal tables and chairs are rather basic, but the striped awnings and red tablecloths do give the place a certain touch of sophistication. The menu includes southern Vietnamese staples such as seafood, eel, quail, and frog, but there are plenty of less exotic options as well.

A pint-size eatery near the market and just in from the river, casual Thanh Tinh serves mostly vegetarian dishes. There's plenty to choose from, including a flavorful vegetarian pho made with coriander, tofu, diced vegetables, and tender noodles as well as a piquant dish of tofu stir-fried with citronella (safe to eat—it's a plant) and red peppers that pairs nicely with fried wontons in a fragrant broth. Mix-ups seem to be fairly common, so double check your order after it's been taken.

A simple roadside eatery where you'll see a good mix of tourists and locals, Truong Van serves standard but tasty pho, spring rolls, fish soup, and grilled beef in a sweet-and-sour sauce. Vegetarians can tuck into mixed sautéed vegetables (cauliflower, baby corn, red and green peppers, morning glory) over wok-fried noodles. Toast to your trip with Saigon beer and finish on a sweet note with the excellent banana pancakes.