Hoi An is a yellow-walled river town on the Thu Bon, an old trading port whose Ancient Town streets run with lanterns at night. Since the 2025 merger it sits inside Da Nang city, about 45 minutes south of the airport, but it eats like nowhere else in Vietnam. Cao lau, the chewy noodle made with water from the old Ba Le well, is found only here. So is the white rose dumpling, and the banh mi that Anthony Bourdain called a symphony in a sandwich. Chicken rice (com ga) comes with offal and herbs, and mi quang comes from the next town up the coast. Outside the Ancient Town are the herb gardens of Tra Que, the basket-boat canals of Cam Thanh and the grilled-seafood tables of An Bang beach. A new wave of chefs has arrived since 2025: a tasting menu among the herb beds, an Indian restaurant on Phan Chu Trinh and riverside hotel kitchens. September to December is flood season, so plan around it.
Hoi An at a glance
What to eat
Cao lau; Banh mi; Com ga; Mi quang; White rose dumplings.
When to go
Best: February–May. Also good: January and June–August. Hardest: September–December.
Top tables
This guide lists 1 award-winning restaurant, starting with Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai.
Where locals eat
Local favorites off the prestige lists include MÙA, Lá Sen, Plait and PHiRANGG.
Markets
Hoi An Central Market, Duy Hai Fish Market and Tra Que herb village.
Hoi An's own noodle: chewy, lye-soaked noodles piled with sliced roast pork, bean sprouts and herbs, with a splash of dark pork broth and crisp crackers on top.
1 award-winning10 local favorites4 hot right now3 markets6 walking tour stops10 chef's picks5 sandwich shops5 romantic dinners5 breakfast spots4 new openings21 dish spots
Going with a group?Give Chef your dates and hotel and he drafts every meal. Then send the group one link: they heart what they'd go to, add their own, and see the morning each table opens.
Hoi An is two towns. The Ancient Town and its edges have the famous stalls, mostly on Phan Chu Trinh, Tran Cao Van and Hai Ba Trung. Out in the herb gardens and along the river, a newer set of chefs is cooking. Most noodle and chicken-rice shops close by mid-afternoon or when they sell out, so eat them early. In flood season (Sept to Dec) call ahead.
The well-known five
Banh Mi Phuong
Phan Chu Trinh, Ancient Town
Banh mi$
Order: The mixed banh mi (thap cam)
The shop Anthony Bourdain made famous. The bread is light, crisp outside and soft inside, and the line moves because a team assembles sandwiches nonstop.
Best for: a breakfast sandwich · Reserve: walk-in · Hours: 6:30am to 9:30pm daily
The restaurant of Trinh Diem Vy, who started Hoi An's cooking-school boom. A restored heritage house in the middle of the Ancient Town. It costs more than the noodle shops.
Best for: a sit-down lunch in the old town · Reserve: book for dinner · Hours: 10am to 11pm daily
New places change fast. “Provisional” means a guide or directory lists it as new but we have not confirmed the opening date. Check hours and book ahead before you go.
Memorable breakfasts in Hoi An
Five places chosen for the food, the room, the history or the local character. In no ranked order.
Picks come from romantic-dinner lists on booking and review sites. Confirm dinner service, menus and availability before you book.
Food walking tour
Banh mi to chicken rice: a Hoi An noodle and dumpling day
A banh mi at opening, cao lau with the locals, white rose dumplings, mi quang, banh beo and chicken rice for supper.
Start 7:30 at Banh Mi Phuong, 2B Phan Chu TrinhTime 11.0 hoursDistance about 3.1 milesBest days Any day from February to May. Go early: the cao lau shop sells out.
Hoi An's famous bowls are open at odd hours, so this day is built around them: bread at 7:30, noodles before the pot empties, dumplings late morning, a street snack at 3pm and chicken rice for supper. Everything is cheap, so share each dish.
Crazes move fast. “Just spotted” means one report so far, and most entries rest on a single source: confirm hours and expect a wait.
The Hoi An food map
Every place in this guide, pinned. Tap a pin to see what to order, then add it to your trip.
Open the full Hoi An food map: every place on our lists too (pizza, ice cream, romantic, where locals and the famous eat, cooking classes), searchable by dish.
· 14 of 21 dish places are pinned; the rest appear in the lists below. Pins are placed by address or name and can be a little off; always confirm in your maps app.
Plan my days in Hoi An
Tell us what you like and we will line up the places on this page into a day-by-day plan. Only places from this guide, never anything else.
What to eat in Hoi An, and where
Each dish comes with the places that do it best. Tap Add to my trip on the ones you want, or find them on the map above.
Cao lau
Hoi An's own noodle: chewy, lye-soaked, topped with roast pork, greens and crisp crackers, with a little dark broth
The 3 best places to eat it in Hoi An
1
Cao Lau Khong Gian Xanh
Hai Ba Trung · $
Order: Cao lau
The author's pick for the best bowl, with thick, fatty roast pork and chewy noodles.
Ha My Beach, south of town · Resort, with Lá Sen contemporary Vietnamese dinner · Chef Heath Gordon (executive chef) · $$$$
Two MICHELIN Keys, MICHELIN Guide Hotel Selection 2026
The resort kept its two Keys for a second year, and its restaurant Lá Sen reworked its dinner menu in March 2026 around heritage recipes and garden produce. The Keys are a hotel award, not a restaurant star.
February to May is warm and dry. June to August is hot. September to December is the central-Vietnam storm and flood season, with October and November the sharpest, and the Ancient Town can flood to knee depth or more. December usually dries out in its second half.
In season
MÙA's seasonal tasting menuJan–DecThe menu follows the harvest, so the cao lau salad swaps greens and tubers through the year.
Plait's catch of the dayJan–DecThe fish on the menu changes with the weather and the tides.
Closures to plan around
Flood season, Sept to Dec: riverside restaurants and lantern streets can close for days. Raised cafes and upper floors often stay open (Nov 2025 floods).
Lunar New Year (Tet), early Feb 2027: many family noodle and chicken-rice shops close for several days.
Cao Lau Thanh and Com Ga Hien close when the food runs out, often by early afternoon or by 8:30pm.
From published guides and tourism boards. Months are our mapping of how guides describe the seasons; 2027 event dates are expected, not confirmed. Prices come from single sources of varying age, so treat them as a rough guide. Compare cities by month
The best of Hoi An, by category
The top pick in each, then every place on its own page with what to get and a map.
Locally loved places that are not on the big prestige lists.
fine dining
MÙA
Trà Quế herb village · $$$
Order: The 14-course tasting menu
Chef Tru Lang, who cooked in San Francisco, serves modern Vietnamese food built from the village's herb gardens. The set menu was VND 1,000,000 in summer 2025. Book ahead.
Order: Catch of the day from Duy Hai fish market, charcoal-grilled
A seafood room on the Co Co river, unveiled Nov 10 2026. Chef Duong Danh Linh grew up in Central Vietnam. Pick your fish and have it grilled on the Josper or in a hot pot.
Awards come from the guides named on each listing (2026). Researched November 14, 2026. Restaurants change; confirm hours, reservations and current stars before you go. Some addresses, phone numbers and websites come from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), so call ahead to confirm. Local favorites are editorial picks, not rankings.
Chef Amazing’s lists for Hoi An: where locals eat, new openings, romantic dinners, ice cream, cooking classes and more, each place with what to order. Cooking classes in Hoi An: who teaches, what you cook, how long and how to book.
