In Nha Trang it's easy to eat at the tourist restaurants by the seafront, but the local dish — bún cá, a noodle soup with fish and jellyfish — is eaten in plain noodle shops from 5:30 in the morning. This is a selection from my list of saved places: noodle shops, vegetarian cafés, grills and world food. I left short notes on five of them; the rest of the descriptions are put together from Google Maps reviews.
Prices are Google's average spend per person, and entry tickets come from visitors' reviews; valid as of 1 October 2026. Rate: 100,000 ₫ ≈ $3.90.
In short
- The local dish: bún cá, a noodle soup with fish, fish cakes and jellyfish. Quán Mịn and Nam Beo open at 5:30; a bowl is about 40,000–50,000 ₫ (≈$1.50–2).
- For vegetarians: Shakti Veggies Bistro, stylish and inexpensive, plus the vegan Phyto Bistro nearby.
- Dinner that isn't Vietnamese: Armenia Nha Trang (closed Tuesday) and meat with craft beer on LIVIN's rooftop (closed Monday).
- Korean food: Chang Tho for gukbap, where most diners are Korean, and the Goguryeo grill.
- Northern food: Cơm nhà Góc Hà Nội for phở and Hanoi-style home cooking.
Vietnamese food
Quán Mịn
city centre · bún cá, fish and jellyfish soup · under 100,000 ₫ (≈under $4) · daily 5:30–21:00, Sat–Sun until 21:15
Google Maps · website · 170 Bạch Đằng
Come here for a bowl of soup. According to Google Maps reviews (4.3 from 700+): a noodle shop serving bún cá, the local soup with a clear, slightly sweet fish broth, fish, fish cakes and jellyfish. By around 2 pm the crowds have gone. Downside: one regular says quality has slipped, with jellyfish that no longer crunches and pork knuckle served cold.
Nam Beo Bun Ca Restaurant
city centre · bún cá & bánh canh · under 100,000 ₫ (≈under $4) · daily 5:30–20:30
Google Maps · B2 Chung cư, Phan Bội Châu
Come here for a bowl of soup with jellyfish. According to Google Maps reviews (3.9 from 790+): a no-frills noodle shop where 40,000–50,000 ₫ (≈$1.50–2) gets you a soup with three or four kinds of fish; regulars order an extra portion of jellyfish, and the bánh canh with different toppings gets praise too. The honest downsides: for some the broth and fish are too fishy, and there aren't enough fresh greens.
Cơm nhà Góc Hà Nội
city centre · northern Vietnamese home cooking · 100,000–200,000 ₫ (≈$4–8) · daily 10:00–21:00
Google Maps · 142 Bạch Đằng
Northern Vietnamese food; come here for pho. According to Google Maps reviews (4.2 from 790+): Hanoi-style home cooking with bún chả, huge crispy pancakes, ginger chicken and pork with rice; a lunch set for two is about 140,000 ₫ (≈$5.50). Relaxed and friendly, with lots of Korean customers. Some call the bún chả the best they've had, others find it average.
Vegetarian cafés
Shakti Veggies Bistro
tourist quarter · vegetarian · 100,000–200,000 ₫ (≈$4–8) · daily 7:00–21:15
Google Maps · website · 31 Huỳnh Thúc Kháng
A stylish vegetarian café: inexpensive, with an interesting menu. According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 1,100+): an all-vegetarian menu that includes Vietnamese dishes such as bún đậu mắm tôm, a cosy room and attentive service. Downside: takeaway portions struck one reviewer as small, with too little dipping sauce.
Phyto Bistro
tourist quarter · vegan · 100,000–200,000 ₫ (≈$4–8) · Mon–Sat 11:00–15:00 and 17:00–21:00, closed Sunday
Google Maps · Facebook · 8/19 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật
According to Google Maps reviews (4.9 from 490): a small, clean and quiet vegan bistro doing hearty Western-style food. The hit is the rainbow tempeh wrap, with crisp fries and homemade kombucha on the side. Many find the ginger ale flat, the falafel is plainly presented, and it's pricey compared with Vietnamese food.
Meat, grill and world food
LIVIN – Barbecue & Steakhouse
city centre · American barbecue & steaks · Tue–Sun 16:00–23:00, closed Monday
Google Maps · website · 5a Ngô Thời Nhiệm
An American diner with craft beer. According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 3,300+): smoked meats, T-bone and New York strip steaks, a French onion soup made on brisket stock and a rooftop deck; the taps carry one of the biggest selections of Vietnamese craft beer (Heart of Darkness, Pasteur Street, East West). Downsides: burgers don't always come at the doneness you asked for, and portions are small for the price: pulled pork with fries, dessert and a beer come to about 385,000 ₫ (≈$15).
Armenia Nha Trang
tourist quarter · Armenian · 200,000–600,000 ₫ (≈$8–23) · Wed–Mon 10:00–21:30, closed Tuesday
Google Maps · 120/32 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 1,000+): a family-run Armenian restaurant people return to several times in one trip. Reviewers praise the lula kebab and lamb skewers, bozbash soup, aubergine rolls and the yoghurt drink, while the bread, lavash and desserts come from the Lavosh bakery next door. Big portions, clean and cosy inside. Downsides: the khinkali are too salty, the khachapuri average, and it's hot if you sit outside.
Nhà Hàng Chang Tho
tourist quarter · Korean · 100,000–200,000 ₫ (≈$4–8) · daily 10:00–22:00
Google Maps · 3 Tôn Đản
According to Google Maps reviews (4.8 from 2,500+): a two-floor Korean canteen full of Korean customers who say it tastes like home. The signature is gukbap, a beef and rice soup; reviewers also like the cold noodles and the free side dishes of kimchi, radish, fish cake and pumpkin. Downsides: noisy in the evening with drinking groups, no cards (QR payment works), and the manager barely talks to guests.
Goguryeo
tourist quarter · Korean barbecue · daily 9:30–21:30
Google Maps · 141 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật
According to Google Maps reviews (4.2 from 300): Korean barbecue with beef and pork, kimchi stew and generous banchan, again with a mostly Korean crowd. Reviews are split: some find it tasty and authentic, others complain about unfriendly staff, mixed-up orders and prices like 200,000 ₫ (≈$7.70) for five thin slices of beef. For Korean food, Chang Tho is the safer bet.
One last thing
Bún cá is breakfast: the noodle shops open at 5:30 and the crowd has thinned by lunchtime, so come at 6–7 am. Plan non-Vietnamese dinners around closing days: Armenia is shut on Tuesdays, LIVIN on Mondays.
More on Nha Trang: what to see, bars