TripAdvisor listed 349 restaurants in Hoi An. We calculated we could easily dine at a dozen restaurants over our 14-day stay. Highly rated restaurants made our list and cost would have been a consideration, too, but in Vietnam most prices met our budget of less than $18 for a dinner for two.
We spotted this food pyramid painted on a school wall in Hoi An.
We put our choices into five categories: The Best of the Best; Very, Very Good; We Loved These; A Notch Down But Still Worth A Trip; and We Think There Are Better:
The Best of the Best
Visit 1: Cost for the 2 of us – 200,000 dong = $10 included tea and tonic water
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 5
Order: cabbage leaf parcels with shrimp mousse in broth, vegetable curry soup
Visit 2: Cost for the 2 of us – 220,000 dong = $10.05 included beer and Cham Island Sunset (non alcoholic fruit drink)
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 5
Order: Mi Quang noodles with prawns and mixed vegetables, pan-fried morning glory with garlic
The menu described the dishes in detail with notes on health benefits. Cloth napkins and beautiful place settings sealed the deal.
Cost for the 2 of us – 240,000 dong = $11.48 included beer and soda
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 5
Order: Banana blossom salad with grilled marinated prawn, fried banana flower and coconut dressing; hot and sour fish soup
Who knew a salad could be so good? Seedlings is a nonprofit with a great mission – and great food. (Order the banana blossom salad!)
Cost for the 2 of us – 350,000 dong = $15.98 included wine and soda water
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 5
Order: Green papaya salad with crackers, vegetable spring rolls with tofu, vegetarian cau lau (thick rice noodles with vegetables)
The food, art, and wine exceeded expectations.
Very, Very Good
Cost for the 2 of us – 150,000 dong = $7.15 included beer and bottled water
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 4
Order: Fried shrimp wontons with crab, tomato and onion topping and a pomelo and shrimp salad with crackers
We had just arrived in Hoi An and saw a crowd in Mermaid. We were rhapsodic eating the wontons – one of the best dishes ever.
Fried shrimp wontons at Mermaid
Cost for the 2 of us – 365,000 dong = $16.66 included red wine and a mango lassi
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 4
Order: Shrimp in a tomato and onion sauce, vegetables in a coconut curry sauce, onion kulcha
One of the three best Indian meals we’ve ever had. The food was radiantly hot and flavorful. (You can dial up or down the how hot the spices are; we chose mild.)
The lassi was cool and refreshing.
We Loved These
Cost for the 2 of us – 220,000 dong = $10.05 included beer and soda water
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 3.5
Order: Cashew spring rolls, morning glory and garlic, main dish was shrimp with peppers, onions and cashews
The restaurant is a lovely thatch-covered patio overlooking the garden. The food was fresh, and we know because we watched the cook go out into the garden and gather some of the ingredients.
Vegetables grew in fields bordering Baby Mustard
Cost for the 2 of us – 150,000 dong = $9.13 included wine and tonic water
Food – 5; Atmosphere – 3
Order: White roses, traditional Hoi An savory pancakes, eggplant in banana leaves, fried tofu w/scallions, bok choy with mushrooms and bamboo shoots, rice
We would never have gone in, if not for the rave reviews. We ate with friends from NZ, which was perfect for ordering more dishes and sharing. The food was terrific, and we got a lesson in how to correctly prepare a Vietnamese pancake.
Cost for the 2 of us – 422,000 dong = $18.85 included red wine and a soda
Food – 4.75; Atmosphere – 4
Order: Pumpkin soup, vegetable tofu soup, claypot slow baked tuna with tomatoes, onions, and rice
The soups were excellent and piping hot, just the way we like it. The waiter was one of the best in Hoi An.
Looks like an artichoke but it’s known by many names: sweet-sop, sugar-apple, and custard-apple.
A Notch Down But Still Worth a Trip
Cost for the 2 of us – 260,000 dong = $11.87 included 2 soda waters
Food – 4.5; Atmosphere – 3.5
Order: Vegetarian pizza, apple crumble with ice cream
A very good pizza with lots of roasted vegetables was a nice change of cuisine for one night.
The riverside view was a bonus at Three Dragons – except when there’s flooding.
Cost for the 2 of us – 210,000 dong = $10 includes beer and soda water
Food – 4; Atmosphere – 4.5
Order: Mi Quang noodles with prawns and mixed vegetables, baby bok choy with mushrooms in sauce
We sat by the open front of the restaurant in a nice cool breeze. Art graced the walls. A good lunch for a hot day.
Cost for the 2 of us – 180,000 dong = $8.22 included beer and a soda
Food – 4; Atmosphere – 3.5
Order: Sweet and sour prawn soup, pumpkin soup, eggplant and spring onions in a claypot, rice, bananas
The family grows the rice, vegetables, and bananas. No MSG is used. Home-grown, homemade, and delicious.
This may look like a red pepper but it’s a rose apple.
We Think There Are Better
Cost for the 2 of us – 160,000 dong = $7.62 included beer and bottled water
Food – 3.5; Atmosphere – 4.5
Order: Vietnamese fried noodles with vegetables and pumpkin soup
We like vegetables and wondered why we didn’t see more in the vegetable dish. The waiters enjoyed practicing their English conversing with the Westerners.
Cost for the 2 of us – 260,000 dong = $11.87 included a beer and soda water
Food – 3; Atmosphere – 4.5
Order: (an appetizer of) Tempura mixed Vietnamese vegetables
We didn’t want to order a set meal so ordered an appetizer. It was only OK and the most expensive dish we’ve had yet in Vietnam.
October 2013
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I recalled this post and we have just been to Mermaid on our first night. Thanks for the summary.
Yum! You will lose weight and feel better!
Yep, we did lose weight and feel better, and we’re ready to go back another day.
Love the food pyramid sign!
The sweet-sop is in my top 5 of Southeast Asian fruits. We call it maak kiep, and I never knew the English name. I used to save the hulls for their fantastic aroma.
A lovely trip down a Vietnamese menu – one of my favourite cuisines and I love, love, love Hoi An!
Thx for your comment. We agree. As we compare Hoi An to other destinations, it rises on the scale of what we like. Same for Vietnamese food.