14 Best Restaurants in The Central Coast, Vietnam

Madam Phuong, the shop owner, serves from a simple little take-away counter, next door to a bakery on the edge of Old Town. When famed foodie Anthony Bourdain visited, he declared the banh mi served here to be quite possibly the best in Vietnam; and he might just have been right. What you get here is a symphony in a sandwich, and though both her menu and popularity have grown, Phuong is still serving up the same secret family recipes and silence-inducing sandwiches. Bourdain's favorite banh mi deluxe is a pork feast consisting of a mouth-melting slow-roasted five-spiced fillet, a rich peppery pate, a handful of herbs, pickled vegetables, and finished off with a generous scoop of mayonnaise, smoked chili sauce, and messy fried egg. Phuong also has vegetarian alternatives; ask for banh mi chay.

A great place to stop for a midday drink and refreshing splash in the river, this bar sits between two large bomb craters left during the American war. Run jointly by a Vietnamese couple and Australian couple, the bar is halfway between Phong Nha village and Farmstay Village. In the winter they’ll also keep a fire raging to warm you up on your Bong Lai Valley bike tour.

Quite possibly serving the best Western food in all of Vietnam, this café captures the hearts of all who eat here. There is nothing on the menu that disappoints, but the complete winners are the veggie lasagna, meatball subs, and carrot cake. Opened by an American, vegetarian chef, Capture even has hard-to-find items like bagels and ginger beer. They are located right next to the Easy Tiger.

There’s nothing fancy about this charity-run diner, just good Western food at cheap prices and heartwarming service. Repurposed from an English center, this café employs minority and deaf workers, and is a favorite among expats and visitors. Most come for the cause, but return for the vegetarian chili, English breakfast, or burgers and pizzas.

Don't be shocked when you walk through the door of Kushiyaki Banjiro to find the kimono-clad staff yelling in Japanese; it's the way they do it in Japan. Try the omakase set, a plate piled high with sashimi that includes blue lobster, tuna, and salmon, or authentic chicken or beef yakitori. If the lively atmosphere is too much, reserve a private tatami room in advance.

As one of Vietnam's leading fine-dining experiences, this restaurant resembles an old French mansion with elaborately decorated themed rooms. The aesthetics have earned La Maison a spot among the World's Top Ten Designed Restaurants in Architectural Digest, and the cuisine of three-Michelin-star chef Pierre Gagnaire only adds to the illustrious status.

Neighboring the historic Imperial City, this French-Vietnamese restaurant is fashioned after a colonial villa with green shutters, arched doorways, tile floors, antiques dating back to 1915, and artwork depicting pastoral scenes. Slightly pricey by local standards, the enormous menu features green mango salad, fresh spring rolls, beef in banana leaves, and grilled sea bass with a Mediterranean sauce, as well as sandwiches, pasta, and pizza. The goat cheese and prosciutto platter is superb, as is the roasted chicken in a white wine sauce. The Chinese emblem embroidered on staff uniforms and napkins is a wish for prosperity and longevity. The restaurant has a second location renowned for its French-Vietnamese menu in the backpackers' district at 18 Vo Thi Sau Street.

Fusing art, music, history, and cuisine, this 19th-century house in Hoi An's Old Quarter has been beautifully restored and offers silver service at remarkable prices. Slightly overshadowed by the setting, the menu is Vietnamese-meets-modern cuisine with such dishes as bean sprout dumplings, mango and lotus salad, caramelized pork, and wok-fried ancient noodles.

On the main thoroughfare into the Old Town, this is an unfussy but undoubtedly lovely 19th-century family home, where local artwork hangs from crumbling yellow walls and seating takes second place to a huge open kitchen. The street-facing patio is the place to sit here, with great views across to an ornate community temple.

One of Danang's hippest hangouts, this industrial-style, open-fronted warehouse pub-restaurant wouldn't look out of place in New York City. The ever-changing menu of authentic Italian fare includes specials such as risotto alla Milanese, pizza, pasta, and steaks. Come evening, the rustic brick walls and gas station–themed bar make for a different experience altogether.

The most social spot on the beach, Soul Kitchen attracts a year-round mix of expats and local visitors, with frequent live music and open mic events. During the day the shady grass frontage, pool table, and board games keep kids entertained, leaving parents free to relax in raised cabanas with a Vietnamese-French menu, wine list, and cold draft Tiger beer. Thursday through Sunday, rain or shine, Soul Kitchen hosts a live music event 7–10 pm.

No visit to Dong Ha is complete without a visit to this cheerful spot in the heart of town. It's both a charity café (Mr. Tam employs and supports deaf people in the area) and a one-stop information shop, without the hard sell. The menu is a wholesome mix of excellent Vietnamese and Western staples, including pizza, banh mi, and half-decent espresso. Tam also employs local war veterans and offers excellent tours of the DMZ and surrounding area.

If you are staying overnight in Dong Ha, Tam's also offers decent accommodations at very cheap prices (starting at 160,000d) as well as guided tours to the DMZ.

At the midway point of one of the most incredible (and strenuous) 22-km (13½-mile) bicycle loops in the Bong Lai Valley, with views over rice fields and the river, the Pub With Cold Beer has hammocks, a pool table, and, in season, tubes for floating down the river. It’s a beautiful spot to unwind and regain energy for a few hours, which is how long your chicken lunch is going to take to prepare once you've chosen your live bird.

As the first fully interactive street food experience in Vietnam, this buzzy, upscale food hall, owned by local-celebrity chef Ms. Vy, attracts a steady stream of enthusiastic foodies keen to take a culinary tour of Hoi An’s gastronomic classics. The menu here is visual, and diners are invited to wander among the various food stations where traditional dishes like cau lao noodles, banh mi, and savory country pancakes are made to order, to be devoured on simple bench seating arranged in the central courtyard. The fixed-price all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet is well worth shelving your diet for, and don’t forget to take a peek at the Weird and Wonderful stall.