Where are the best places to eat in Sapa, Vietnam? Sapa has many restaurant options ranging from vegetarian/vegan to Western to local Vietnamese cuisine, so it’s difficult to narrow down where to go.
After visiting Sapa several times, we put together this post on the 7 incredible places to eat in Sapa to try on your next trip.
Most of the recommendations are sit-down restaurants, but budget-friendly places are included.
This list is not comprehensive as we had breakfast at the hotels we stayed at and ate dinner at homestays during our multi-day treks.
We also do not have any sponsored meals. We’ve been to every place listed here and paid for our meals, so you’ll read our unbiased reviews.
If you need an idea of how to plan a trip here, have a look at our recommended 3-day Sapa itinerary.
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Map of Where to Eat in Sapa
Click on the map to see a larger view of the restaurant locations to try in Sapa, Vietnam. Credit: Map data: Google
Sapa Restaurant Recommendations
1. Good Morning Vietnam
Good Morning Vietnam is one of our favorite restaurants to visit in Sapa.
Located on Fansipan Street, this restaurant serves Vietnamese cuisine. They have everything from fried rice, fried noodles, sizzling platters, seafood, pork, chicken, and much more. If you’re vegetarian, there are plenty of options.
Portions are on the larger side so it’s great for sharing with others.
We’ve been here twice and have ordered a variety of dishes.
We’ve tried vegetarian spring rolls, stir-fried morning glory vegetables with garlic, a sizzling salmon platter, and a sizzling deer platter. Many of the dishes came with rice so it’s a hearty meal.
We enjoyed the sizzling salmon and sizzling deer platters at Good Morning Vietnam
Vegetarian fresh spring rolls
I’m a huge fan of the sizzling salmon platter with the sweet teriyaki sauce. Salmon is farmed in the Sapa area, so it’s a must-try food in Sapa.
Note: The sizzling platters have a strong smell so your clothes may smell like food when you exit the restaurant.
A popular dish to consider is the curry in a fresh coconut. We haven’t tried it, but many reviewers love it.
If you like ginger tea, this place includes a lemongrass stick with smashed ginger pieces.
Pricing varies depending on what you order. The sizzling platters are on the pricier end as the sizzling salmon costs 210,000 VND ($8.55).
Address: 63B Fansipan Street, Sa Pa, Lào Cai
For More Information: Facebook
2. Thong Dong Vegan Kitchen & Cafe
Looking for a vegan/vegetarian restaurant in Sapa? Thong Dong Vegan Kitchen is your answer.
The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so you can get your vegan food fix at any time of the day.
While we’re not vegetarians, we love vegetables and trying vegetarian places whenever we travel.
We went here for dinner and it was crowded. Since we didn’t have a reservation, we waited for 10-15 minutes.
The small but mighty menu has Vietnamese and Western options.
Vietnamese food options are either rice or noodle dishes. For example, there is colorful rice with chili tofu, stir-fried vegetables, and mushrooms, vegetarian noodle soup, and fresh rice noodles with fried spring rolls. The vegetables are locally sourced.
Western options are pasta dishes such as creamy spaghetti made with cashew nuts and vegan cream, spaghetti, and pumpkin spaghetti. There are two sizes for the pasta dishes – small and medium.
The drink menu had fresh fruit drinks, fresh coconut, coffee, and tea. It’s not required to order a drink as everyone receives complimentary hot tea.
We ordered an appetizer of fresh spring rolls with king oyster mushrooms, rice noodles, and herbs. The flavors of the oyster mushrooms were delicious.
My mom ordered the vegetarian noodle soup and enjoyed the fresh vegetables of carrots, corn, winter melon, and corn in the vegetarian broth. It was a refreshing meal after the long day of travel to Sapa from Hanoi.
I went with the pumpkin spaghetti. I can’t resist a dish made with cashew nuts. Also, after living in Ho Chi Minh City for many years, I’ve tried many vegetarian Vietnamese foods so I wanted a change in flavors.
The creamy sauce for the pumpkin spaghetti was not bad but the pasta was not as al dente as I would have liked. Maybe it was an off day but I would stick with the Vietnamese food.
Add Thong Dong Vegan Kitchen to your Sapa restaurant list if you like vegetarian/vegan food
The pricing is reasonable as the Vietnamese main dishes start at 60,000 VND ($2.45 USD).
One thing to note is that there is a wall of colorful Post-it notes from visitors. Feel free to add your note to the collection.
Address: 08B Hoàng Diệu, TT. Sa Pa, Sa Pa, Lào Cai 330000
For More Information: Facebook
3. Thong Dong Vegan 2
After visiting the original vegan restaurant, Thang Dong, on our first night in Sapa, we tried the sister restaurant, Thong Dong 2 for dinner the next day.
The restaurant is tucked in the back of a garden area and is shared with Mist Coffee Shop. You can easily miss the front entrance as there isn’t a large sign.
At Thong Dong 2, the menu focuses on traditional Vietnamese food. It’s also 100% vegan.
The signature dish is vegetarian hot pot. It’s a set menu with side dishes of fried tofu and tempura vegetables, the main entree of hot pot with fresh vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and fresh fruit as dessert.
We saw a few people eating the hot pot. It’s a lot of food for 2 people to share. Plus, it’s the ideal meal to enjoy on a cold day in Sapa.
There is also a set meal of Vietnamese dishes that has appetizers, soup, vegetables, a few main dishes, and seasonal fruit. It’s for 2 people and up.
Ordering a la carte is also fine. There are options such as fried rice, noodle soup, fresh spring rolls, tofu in tomato sauce, fried tofu, Vietnamese sweet and sour soup, and more.
My mom and I ordered a la carte as it was a bit too warm to eat hot pot. We tried crispy mushrooms with lemongrass, fried tofu with butter garlic, and Vietnamese salad.
The vegan food at Thong Dong Vegan 2 is delicious
My favorite dish was tofu with butter garlic since the garlic flavor popped. The crispy mushrooms were super fried and yummy but had a tad too much lemongrass for my liking. The Vietnamese salad had sliced typical squash, cabbage, carrot, and tofu salad with rice crackers.
The pricing starts at 60,000 VND ($2.45) for the main dishes and 115,000 VND ($4.70) per person for the traditional meals.
You can’t go wrong with either Thong Dong Vegan locations.
Address: 11 Phố Thác Bạc, TT. Sa Pa, Sa Pa, Lào Cai 330000 (Once you enter Mist Cafe, follow the stone path to the back and you’ll reach the Thong Dong restaurant)
For More Information: Facebook
4. Good Morning View Restaurant
Good Morning View Restaurant is an unassuming restaurant along Muong Hoa Street. Yet, it serves incredible Vietnamese food.
We went here for dinner as this place was next to our hotel, My Boutique Hotel & Spa. We also didn’t want to travel far as it was raining and our legs were tired from hiking Fansipan earlier in the day.
There were many options to choose from on the menu. We tried a papaya salad, salmon spring rolls, a sizzling sturgeon platter, and salmon in a banana leaf.
We loved the salmon spring rolls as they had salmon, dried wooden ear mushrooms, carrots, and other veggies. They were very flavorful.
The sizzling sturgeon platter was also a winner with the unique curry flavor. Sturgeon is another popular food to try in Sapa.
It was a lot of food and we struggled to finish it all. If you have a large group, consider trying this place for lunch or dinner.
As with pricing, it’s around 190,000 VND ($7.80) for the sizzling sturgeon.
Address: 047 Mường Hoa, TT. Sa Pa, Sa Pa, Lào Cai 333100
For More Information: Facebook
5. Sapa Market (Chợ Sapa)
Looking for a local place to eat noodle soup? Check out Sapa Market.
It’s a local market that sells souvenirs and bulk goods such as tea, dried fruit, coffee, and nuts.
There is also a section for cooked foods where you can get noodle soups.
Many of the stalls serve noodle soup with pork.
We bought our noodle soup from this vendor who also sold plenty of cooked meats
If you’re vegetarian, there are vegetarian items such as rice noodles with vegetables. The only caveat is that the soup will most likely be pork-based so it’s not vegetarian. Or, you can order noodles without soup.
My mom and I stopped by here before our bus departed from Sapa to Hanoi Noi Ba International Airport. We did a to-go order as we needed to catch our bus at 2:00pm.
My mom ordered a chicken noodle soup with glass noodles, while I had a tofu with rice noodles.
Here is what I ordered from the vendor at Sapa Market – tofu noodle soup
Sapa Market is an affordable place to eat as we spent 60,000 VND ($2.45) in total.
It’s recommended to come here only if you’re in the area and want some cheap local food. Sapa Market is 1.4 kilometers (.87 miles) from Sapa Station by walking, so it’s not nearby.
Address: Lương Định Của, TT. Sa Pa, Sa Pa, Lào Cai, Vietnam
6. Duc Manh/Manh Dien Restaurant
If you’re trekking in Sapa for 1-2 days, then you will most likely stop by here to eat lunch. It’s a popular spot in Hau Thao Village, where all the tourists eat.
The food options vary depending on the trekking guide. Some tables had family style with rice and many side dishes, while others had individual portions of fried rice and fried
Our guide, Zaazaa, ordered the family-style lunch with rice and plenty of vegetarian options.
My mom and I had tofu with tomato, stir-fried cabbage, cucumbers, fried vegetarian spring rolls, stir-fried chicken, and watermelon for dessert.
If you eat at Manh Dien Restaurant, request to have a family style lunch
Zaazaa ate lunch with the other guides, so it was a generous portion for lunch for the two of us. We did our best to finish everything but left some food behind.
Do I recommend that you make a trip here? No, it’s not necessary as the restaurant is 6.3 kilometers (3.9 miles) away from Sapa Station by walking. There are plenty of other restaurants to enjoy in Sapa Town.
But it’s a decent place to enjoy a meal and rest before continuing the trek.
Note: Many young children visit here to sell bracelets and other stuff to foreigners. Do not buy from them as this act encourages them to earn money instead of getting an education.
Address: 8VFM+84X, Hầu Thào, Sa Pa, Lào Cai
7. Chestnut cake (Bánh hạt dẻ)
To be honest, this isn’t the name of a restaurant. But one of the best things to try in Sapa is the warm chestnut cake.
There are vendors in the main Sapa Town area that sell chestnut cakes on a griddle.
It’s a round cake with a delicious filling of mashed chestnuts, some butter, and some mung bean and topped with black and white sesame seeds. The filling is the perfect amount of sweetness.
The thin, flaky pastry dough is buttery and decadent. It tastes similar to the Cantonese pastry, loh poh beng (also referred to as a wife cake, 老婆餅) with winter melon and almond paste stuffing. I ate a lot of loh poh beng when I was younger.
Since Sapa borders Southern China, it’s not surprising that there are Chinese influences for this Lao Cai specialty food.
Chestnuts do not grow in the Sapa area, so it’s imported from China, yet this chestnut cake is delicious to try.
It’s also affordable at 10,000 VND ($.40) each.
Many people buy boxes as souvenirs and reheat them at home. You may be tempted to buy a box for yourself after trying a piece.
Sapa’s chestnut cakes are a must-try food!
Other Tips About Dining in Sapa
- We mentioned the top eats in Sapa such as salmon, sturgeon, and chestnut cakes. Other foods to try include dried buffalo, horse meat, and sticky rice in bamboo. We haven’t tried these yet but let us know in the comments below if you have any recommended restaurants that serve these.
- Food price tends to be higher in Sapa compared to other locations in Vietnam. Expect prices to be around 150,000 VND to 200,000 VND ($6.15 to $8.15) for dishes with protein.
- Most restaurants are cash-only. Some accept credit cards with an added 3% fee to the total cost.
- Restaurants have free WiFi. The password is posted on the wall or the menu.
- There isn’t much street food here. Maybe it’s due to the timing as most people are gone in the morning and afternoon and many hotels offer breakfast.
We looked very hard to find a bánh mì (sandwich) shop for lunch before our bus ride to the Hanoi Noi Bai Airport, but the shops listed on Google Maps were closed or led us to a bakery.
Final Thoughts
We hope you get to try one or more of these recommended places to eat in Sapa. As you can see, there are many options to choose from.
We can’t wait to return to Sapa again to go on more hikes and also try more local foods.
Have you been to Sapa? What other restaurants do you recommend that we try next time?
If you need more inspiration on what to do in Sapa, check out our other posts:
