Hoi An has been well-known for being the best destination for vegan travelers in Vietnam for really quite a long time. It’s not just the incredible vegan food that draws people to the central Vietnam town but also the beautiful architecture, bike riding, the slowly relaxed feel of the place, and being just a couple of kilometers from the beach is an added bonus restaurant.
However, in recent years, some new places have popped up that have made Hoi An an even better destination for vegan travelers and the great thing is so many of them are very different and as a result, you can really enjoy vegan food and vegan restaurants in a variety of settings and locations in and out of the lovely town.
So, onwards! Here are three + one bonus vegan restaurants in Hoi An that you must try out if you are heading to this lovely town.
In town: Vegan Zone
Vegan Zone is a new addition to the vegan scene in Hoi An. Only a year old, it is owned by a friend of mine. Her name is Chi and we have known her for over 14 years. We’ve always been in awe of her incredible get-things-done attitude. Chi helped us with our CPG Trip to Vietnam in 2018 and she started a vegan lifestyle not long afterward. Not only that, within 5 months she had opened her own vegan restaurant just outside the old town of Hoi An! Now, that is being action-oriented if ever we witnessed.
When I asked her why she started her restaurant she said ‘After I finished helping run the CPG Trip to Vietnam, while I liked the food on the trip, I just thought I could do better. I wanted to create a larger menu, have a proper restaurant rather than a hold-in-the-wall.’
Chi is also passionate about reducing her use of plastic in her restaurant. No single-use plastic is available and the décor is very natural and tastefully done.
We love the lemongrass tofu, the noodle soup, and the cinnamon tea. Recommended
Location
Find their menu here
At the beach: The Fisherman
The Fisherman (which is a strange name we know) is a restaurant right on An Bang beach. We were told about this restaurant just before we came to Vietnam in 2018. It had opened just a month earlier and we were so happy to hear about it because we were really struggling to come up with a place that would be able to cater for us for a particular meal having driven up in the early morning from Hue and seen the Douc Langurs at Son Tra Peninsula. It ticked all the boxes we needed and everyone loved it. Beautiful breezy beach restaurant, attentive caring staff and management and they put on an incredible spread for our group.
So, a year and a half later we went again. The management had changed, the service and the food was not quite as good as we remembered. We were also alarmed to see that there was and very small aquarium at the entrance of the restaurant with no enrichment at all for the fish.
However, it is still very good for the location (all other restaurants sell huge amounts of seafood. Having a vegan beach restaurant is always a lot of fun and it’s open early in the morning, they don’t use single-use plastic and they have lots of parties and events! 🙂
Location
PS: I spoke to the manager on Facebook about the fish in the tank. The person said they were going to be removed and said they would follow my advice about what they could do with these animals. If anyone can follow up and let me know that this has happened, I will edit this post.
Best restaurant with furry friends: Jack’s Cat Cafe
Jack’s Cat Cafe has been vegan for just over a year now! It’s a legit cat cafe. When we say that we mean that the cats are rescues and are pretty much all adoptable. Set in a lovely garden with plenty of shade (it can get very hot in Hoi An in the middle of the day) they have a small lunch menu with some drinks. Please note, you have to book before you come and also their opening hours are limited. Come and spend some time with the kitties and enjoy the delicious wraps and Vietnamese coffee.
Location
Bonus: best restaurant in the paddy fields: Nourish
This one doesn’t make the list because it is not 100% vegan it’s not that far off!
Nourish is new to the vegan scene in Hoi An as well. Located a short distance from town, this nearly vegan restaurant requires a jaunt through some paddy fields to get there. The small restaurant itself is in an old central Vietnamese house and has a lovely garden. The service was pretty good and we had a nice experience.
Located in a very sweet garden this place specializes in smoothie bowls and nourishes bowls. While it calls itself a plant-based café, it does still serve eggs and dairy although of course, nondairy milk is an option. Seb was not keen on his coffee experience, but we both enjoyed our food.
