Best restaurants in Sapa Vietnam – If you’re planning your trip and worried about where to eat in Sapa, stop worrying because, even for vegetarians, there are plenty of options. If you fancy one, you can even get the Doner Kebab! The price range, however, varies considerably depending on whether the location mostly targets tourists or welcomes locals and expats as well.
You can find many restaurants vying for your attention along the main tourist strips of Phan Xi Phang, Muong Hoa, and Cau May streets of Sapa. Most of them serve regional meals, but since it’s a friendly area for foreigners, all of them try to offer a little bit of everything. A mix of American, French, and Italian cuisine can be found, but make sure you try some local specialties. This guide will assist you in finding a place to suit your tastes.
Hill Station Signature Restaurant
Location: 37 Fansipan, Lao Cai
The Hill Station Signature Restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy delicious and authentic Hmong ethnic cuisine. The restaurant displays cool Zen decor and stunning views. This restaurant, located in the shadow of Vietnam’s highest mountain, Mt. Fansipan, offers superb views as diners indulge in the unique flavors of the North.
Try flash-cooked pork with lime, ash-cooked trout in banana leaves, and a traditional Hmong-style black pudding. Tasting sets of local rice and corn wine are also of interest to curious travelers. Don’t miss to try the delicate, raw rainbow-trout rice-paper rolls; think of them as ‘Sapa sushi.’
back to menu ↑Nature View
Location: 61 Fansipan, Lao Cai
Another place where you can dine with a fantastic view of the hilly surroundings, Nature View, remains true to its name. This recently expanded location stands out for great service and a superb view of the valley from the windows. This place scores on its excellent atmosphere, delicious food, and quick and friendly service.
There’s a mix of delicious Vietnamese and Western food items on the menu and good-value dishes, and maybe Sapa’s finest fruit smoothies. It’s also a great place to take a while to yourself, sit outside, above the clouds, and sip some local Lao Cai coffee as you enjoy a great book. A special mention should be made of chicken sautéed in lemongrass and basil, grilled salmon, and yogurt sautéed chicken. Other advice: spicy sautéed potatoes, pasta, vegetarian, and tofu dishes. Plus, it’s open for 24 hours!
back to menu ↑Sapa O’Chau Cafe
Location: 3 Le Van Tam, Lao Cai
This is a special café run by the Sapa O’Chau Travel Social Enterprise, which serves as a meeting place for the socially conscious, a training facility for the enterprise’s students, a Sapa O’Chau project information center, and a place to organize treks and homestays.
Sapa O’Chau is a non-profit organization that aims to foster education and employment opportunities in Sapa and beyond for the Hmong ethnicity. The ginger tea sweetened with Sapa mountain honey served here is the perfect way to warm up during cold days. You can also have a good breakfast and a few snacks and light meals.
back to menu ↑Sapa Cuisine Restaurant
Location: 10 Hoang Dieu, Lao Cai
Hidden away, up some stairs in the alley, this restaurant surprises most of the patrons with how good the dishes are, despite the restaurant being quite empty. It’s got a place to thank for that. You’re welcomed in a warm, smiling environment, and it’s just getting better from there.
The food is healthy, cooked using organic ingredients from local farmers. The menu changes seasonally, but the dishes to keep an eye out for our pumpkin soup and lemongrass stir-fried tofu.
back to menu ↑Le Gecko
Location: 33 Xuan Vien, Lao Cai
This French-owned place has a menu of tasty country cuisine that goes from French tartiflette casserole with potatoes, cheese, and bacon to pan-fried wild Sapa mushrooms and good steaks, all washed with French wine in a glass. Save room for the amazing chocolate mousse, and so on, and some local options such as fish served with wild Sapa mushrooms.
The patio in Le Gecko is a great place to sit down with a cup of coffee and watch the world go by. Try “Nama Chocolate,” the favorite among the patrons, and just VND10,000 (US$0.44) apiece. Le Gecko is also a hotel with 12 rooms, ranging from $18 to $40 a night.
back to menu ↑Viet Emotion Restaurant
Location: 27 Cau May, Lao Cai
Featuring a cozy fireplace on the inside, the Viet Emotion Restaurant is the perfect place to warm up on cold mountain nights. The menu includes Western items such as pizza, pasta, and steaks, as well as Vietnamese and Sapa specialties, such as herbal medicine hot pots with lemongrass and mushrooms and spring rolls. Two computers are also available for use with free internet access. There’s also a branch on the 17D Xuan Vien.
back to menu ↑Little Sapa
Location: 18 Cau May, Lao Cai
Little Sapa is best suited to its truly authentic and very reasonable Vietnamese food. This restaurant has a large, delicious menu and a quick, friendly service. The staff don’t speak a lot of English, so be patient while ordering. In the experience of tourists, most of the time, they understand and get it right. The restaurant has a good mix of local patrons and tourists.
Prices are among the lowest in Sapa City, with food prices as low as VND40,000 (US$1.76). A must-try dish is a special Sapa mushroom-tomato soup, which will also help you stay warm in the cold weather.
Also worth a mention is the pho-ga (chicken noodle soup), and probably one of the best pho dishes you can find in town. For most dishes, the fiery garlic sauce that sits on the tables is a great accompaniment but take it easy. Other recommendations: spring rolls of fish, tofu, tomato gravy and vegetables, and vegetable curry.
back to menu ↑A Quynh
Location: 15 Thach Son, Lao Cai
This is a restaurant that is a bit difficult to find in English. A Quynh is a favorite among locals who serves specialties of northwest cuisine; it offers foreign travelers a great way to taste some unique dishes. Sapa residents come to taste their meat “thang co” dish from horse, beef, buffalo, and pork internal organs. Note that when you reach the Bac Ha market, you will mostly see local groups lunching there.
The rice bamboo tube, smoking-stick buffalo, fish, sautéed, and baked products made from wild boar and hotpot are other dishes that shine are also available. The restaurant is open all day long, from morning to night, but this hearty type of food is ideal for a winter dinner. During the holidays, it can get very busy with big groups of friends, so have your hotel book you a table.
back to menu ↑Red Dao House Restaurant
Location: 4b Thac Bạc, Lao Cai
The Red Dao House Restaurant is set on the way to the Silver Waterfall (Thac Bac) in a traditional Red Dao house. Rural foods like “heo rung cap nach” and bamboo rice are included in the menu. Food is affordable, and if you want to relax in the sun you can sit outside.
back to menu ↑Sapa Lotus
Location: 34, Pho Cau May, Lao Cai
Thanks to their swanky design and a classic but unique style, Sapa Lotus stands out from the many other restaurants at Cau May Street. This is the perfect spot for west food with a unique Vietnamese twist. Local dishes with a menu similar to other restaurants are also available. Family style order –meaning you get a few dishes and share them with each other through chit chat. The Vietnamese do like that.
