As a vegan traveler, finding good plant-based food while on the road is a top priority. Luckily for me, there are many vegan restaurants in Hoi An with offerings from traditional Vietnamese cuisine made vegan (my personal fave!) to fusion dishes you won’t find anywhere else.
I extended my stay in Hoi An on my first trip to Vietnam, where I visited solo and did everything I could to learn more about the culture before I flew home early due to the pandemic.
In this post, I’m sharing 8 amazing vegan and veg-friendly restaurants in Hoi An I fully believe everyone should try!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase any of the products or services from the links below, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I love!
1 // Vegan Zone
Vegan Zone is ranked at the top of HappyCow’s numerous Hoi An listings for a reason. Or rather, three:
- The food is so delicious it’s unreal,
- It’s a relaxing spot to truly unwind and enjoy your meal, and
- Everything about their offerings is fresh.
When I’m eating restaurant food back in the States, it doesn’t matter how healthy it is. After a while, I feel the fatigue from eating portion sizes that are too big, with rich sauces and ingredients that don’t always vibe well with my body.
But, in Southeast Asia, I didn’t feel that way. I ate from local restaurants that were either fully vegan or had vegan offerings, and my body was thankful for it.
Vegan Zone is one of those restaurants that really sticks out in my memory as a place with fresh ingredients that helped me feel nourished instead of just full.
I highly, highly recommend the pan sear mushroom dish. It was my first meal in Hoi An, and it was so good I went back for dinner another night of my time there!
If you’re craving some caffeine, the lovely staff at Vegan Zone also make plant-based Vietnamese iced coffees (i.e. coffee of legendary proportions). Yum!
2 // Bánh MÌ Chay (Vegan Banh Mi)
Next on my list of vegan restaurants in Hoi An is Bánh MÌ Chay, a.k.a Vegan Banh Mi. I read about this little street food cart on vegan blogs, but I didn’t end up going until my day trip to Sun World in Ba Na Hills. The lady who runs this cart is really sweet and makes amazing banh mi! She even ran to the bakery to get more fresh bread when I showed up.
My banh mi was filling, flavorful, and offered plenty of healthy ingredients for a long day of sightseeing and walking. If you’re planning on a day trip or just want a yummy banh mi, make sure you try this place!
The cart is only open from 7am to 10am, so you’ve got to get out earlier for her food. I’d say it was 100% worth it, though!
You can find her cart here on Google Maps.
3 // Quan Chay Dam
Quan Chay Dam was easily one of my favorite spots to eat in Hoi An. Not only do they offer a buffet with a set price, but they also have an expansive menu of Vietnamese cuisine made vegan.
I ordered cao lau here, after having the same dish on my train trip to Da Nang and not remembering what it was called.
Wow. Cao lau became my favorite Vietnamese noodle dish.
Where pho is filled to the brim with a more watery, less flavorful broth, cao lau has so little broth that you can’t see it on the top. And that broth is potent. Potent in all the best ways.
I went to Quan Chay Dam twice for their vegan cao lau because it’s that good. And their prices are amazing, even in comparison to the great budget-friendly options in Hoi An!
If you go nowhere else on this list, go to Quan Chay Dam. It’ll be my first stop once I’m back in Hoi An!
4 // NOURISH Eatery
If you’re craving a balanced bowl of veggies, protein, and grains, head to NOURISH Eatery! It’s just down the street from Vegan Zone, an easy walk from Hoi An Old Town.
I recommend the Nourish bowl, which comes with falafel, grains, beets, pickled red cabbage, tofu feta, and their homemade tahini. My mouth is watering just from typing that.
Similar to Vegan Zone, this place has menu offerings that are so fresh and, well, nourishing 😉, that you’ll feel energetic instead of lethargic after your meal is gone.
Likewise, if you have some work to get done, you write, or you want to do some travel planning, this spot is great for being productive. I definitely felt the digital nomad vibes while I was there, and even got some work done on the new design of this blog!
5 // Rosie’s Café
If you’re craving a smoothie bowl that tastes as good (or better than!) it looks, head to Rosie’s Café! It’s a little longer of a walk from the Old Town, which makes it feel more local despite the large expat and traveler crowd it attracts.
I went twice while I was in Hoi An and ordered the Dark Paradise smoothie bowl both times. Why fix what isn’t broken?
In the Dark Paradise bowl, your taste buds will find bananas, oats, dates, and cocoa powder, with coconut milk and toppings.
Rosie’s is a veg-friendly place that also offers meat dishes, so this is a great place to try if your travel companion isn’t veggie! Speaking from experience, veg-friendly places sometimes offer better dishes than fully vegan spots…
Aside from their smoothie bowls, they also offer vegan pancakes, breakfast plates with tofu scramble, oats, and yogurt with granola. You can’t go wrong at this place!
P.s. The co-owners are friends, and named their café Rosie’s because their favorite movie is Love, Rosie. How adorable is that?
6 // Macaroni Hoi An
After a while of being in the same place, your taste buds get tired of local delicacies. Just in case that happens to you in Hoi An, Macaroni is a great place to get some Italian food!
With their customizable and build-your-own menu, you can create the pasta dish you want. It’s also easy to be vegan at this little spot near the Old Town, with a plant-based “bolognese!”
Aside from the tasty vegan pasta, I enjoyed how relaxing the atmosphere was at this restaurant. Tucked into a small, winding street that heads toward the river, Macaroni is an intimate spot with food that’s worth a try — especially if you’re craving Italian food!
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7 // Art Space
When it comes to ambiance, I can appreciate it all — from a street food stall to fine dining. After several weeks of eating at night markets, I wanted to shake things up a bit and eat at a hotel restaurant.
Art Space is in the lobby of a more upscale boutique hotel. While their website says they have a dress code, I ate in some comfy palazzo pants, a v-neck, and my faux leather flat sandals.
The main reason I chose a dinner at Art Space is their vegan pizza with cashew cheese sauce and chickpeas. It looked like no pizza I’d had before, and I prefer to try dishes I won’t get anywhere else!
I found the flavors of the pizza to work well together, and I appreciated that the ingredients vary by what’s in season. It’s more on the expensive side for vegan restaurants in Hoi An, but worth it!
8 // Ganesh Indian Restaurant
In its central location, most Hoi An visitors notice the line outside Ganesh‘s door just about every night. After seeing this line for a few nights, I decided I should try their food for myself. My expectations were high and my appetite was craving some more delicious Indian food after eating my weight in samosas in Thailand.
At Ganesh, I ordered one of their vegetarian options and got an absolute feast! Bread, sauces, curries, chickpeas, veggies — you name it, it was on my plate. An appetizer was included, which made this meal an even better value.
As a traveler, I tend to stay away from restaurants that are popular or appear to be overrun with tourists, but I’m glad I didn’t skip over Ganesh. They constantly have a line for a reason!
• • •
All eight of these veg-friendly and vegan restaurants in Hoi An are exceptional. Creative menu items, flavors that meld in a way that’s just right, amazing prices, and fresh ingredients that nourish you while they fill you — Hoi An has so much to offer a vegan foodie traveler.
But, one experience I couldn’t share above just might be the best of all.
I stayed at Nem’s House for my week in Hoi An, and became fast friends with the front desk manager. When she found out I was vegan and I prefer to try local cuisine, she invited me to lunch on her break. Of course, I said yes!
We rode on a motorbike, the transportation of choice in Hoi An, away from the Old Town and all other travelers to a large restaurant full of locals. I was the only non-Vietnamese there. It was awesome.
We shared a hot pot, which she graciously taught me to eat. And we made our own spring rolls!
Moral of the story? Part of the beauty of travel is experiencing local culture. And the dinner table is one of the best ways to see, feel, and taste that we’re more alike than different.
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