US magazine selects 10 best restaurants in Vietnam

US magazine Travel Leisure has made a list of 10 best restaurants in Vietnam based on votes by its readers.

A view of La Maison 1888 inside InterContinental Sun Peninsula Resort in Da Nang (Photo: vnexpress.net)
A view of La Maison 1888 inside InterContinental Sun Peninsula Resort in Da Nang (Photo: vnexpress.net)

The southern hub Ho Chi Minh City has six representatives in the list, while the capital Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang each boasts two.

At the top place is Quince Saigon restaurant on Ky Con Street in HCM City’s District 1, which specializes in serving European-style dishes. The highlight of the restaurant is all dishes are grilled in wood fire ovens.

La Maison 1888 inside InterContinental Sun Peninsula Resort in Da Nang comes second. It is Vietnam’s first restaurant to feature a Michelin-starred chef, Pierre Gagnaire.

Coming in third is Pizza 4P’s restaurant chain in HCM City. Pizza 4P’s was founded in Vietnam by Japanese couple Yosuke Masuko and Sanae Takasugi. It has quickly expanded its presence in HCM City, Hanoi, Da Nang and Nha Trang. It now has 13 restaurants in HCM City.

Nen restaurant in Da Nang is fourth on the list. Nestled in a quiet grassy neighborhood next to the Han River, the restaurant opened to tourists in 2018 and serves traditional Vietnamese dishes, but it is now temporarily closed.

At the fifth place is The Deck Saigon in HCM City’s District 2. The venue on Nguyen U Di Street on the bank of the Saigon River is elegantly decorated with glass doors, warm lighting, and furnishings by top local designers as well as traditional wooden decks surrounded by bamboo trees.

Located on Ly Tu Trong Street in HCM City’s District 1, Sol Kitchen & Bar, which mainly serves Latin American-style dishes, secures sixth place on the list.

Coming in seventh is Tung Dining Restaurant in Hanoi. Located close to popular tourist destinations like St. Joseph's Cathedral and the Sword Lake, the restaurant specializes in elaborate 18-course dinners prepared by chef Hoang Tung and his team. Last year, it was ranked one of Asia’s 100 best by William Reed Business Media, a British business magazine and digital media company.

Golden Jade Restaurant on the first floor of SC VivoCity shopping center in HCM City’s District 7, is eighth. It mainly serves Chinese cuisine.

At the ninth place is Moto-san Tam Thuong Restaurant in a small alley on Hang Gai Street in Hanoi. Designed in architectural style like restaurants in Japan’s Kyoto with the dim light from ceiling lamps, the restaurant treats diners with Japanese dishes or Vietnamese cuisine like chicken skewers, noodle soup and Banh mi.

Mad House on Nguyen U Di Street in Thao Dien area, which is popular with the expat community, rounds out the list. It mainly serves French cuisine and Vietnamese treats like fresh burrata cheese, French snails, beef noodle soup, chicken noodle soup, and beef stew.