5 Best Local Restaurants in Nha Trang

This is where you’ll find delicious Vietnamese dishes at a fraction of the price you’d pay at more renowned establishments. Set just minutes away from Nha Trang’s touristy areas, these restaurants may specialise only in one or two dishes but they have attracted a steady following of locals for many years.
 
Exuding a very authentically Vietnamese dining experience, Nha Trang’s most popular local restaurants feature plenty of outdoor seating, lack of air-conditioning, and menus in Vietnamese (though some provide English translations). However, if inexpensive, authentic, and satisfying are your requirements for a great meal in Nha Trang, read on for our list of Nha Trang’s top restaurants for local style meal.

Lac Canh Restaurant has been serving up delicious Vietnamese grilled beef for over 40 years, as well as an array of unique delicacies. This busy, smoky, casual, and scruffy eatery is accessible within a 15-minute walk from Sheraton Nha Trang Hotel & Spa. Marinated with honey and local spices, its signature beef is served in cubes where you can grill them according to your preference on the table-top charcoal stove. Lac Canh Restaurant also offers seafood dishes such as noodles with crab eggs, spicy stir-fried frogs, and barbecued squid. Do note that the eatery gets really packed by 19:00, so make sure you head there early to avoid long queues.

Vit Tiem 69 Bach Dang is particularly popular for its duck hotpot, which is served with vegetables, rice noodles, chopped lemongrass, as well as Nha Trang’s signature fish sauce. Drawing a predominantly Vietnamese crowd, the menu here is not in English so it’s best to just point out what is ordered by the neighbouring tables. Expect to pay about VND 300,000 for your meal, which is inclusive of drinks, sauce, and vegetables. If you’re up for something out of the ordinary, we highly recommend the deep-fried pig tails.

Lang Viet is Nha Trang’s first authentic Vietnamese and Asian food court and bar. Located just a short walk away from La Suisse Hotel, the al fresco establishment features wooden furnishing, colourful umbrellas, and relaxing views of a tropical garden and Tran Phu Beach. While you can find an array of international delicacies here, we highly recommend the seafood buffet as you can choose from a wide range of live crabs, shrimp, fish, and marinated meat skewers. The bar section is always packed with locals and expats in the evening, where a live band performs classic rock and Vietnamese tunes.

Nem Nuong Dang Van Quyen is a local restaurant that’s always bustling with locals as it’s one of the most popular places in Nha Trang for authentic nem nuong. Priced at VND 40,000, diners are served with a platter of fermented pork meat, lettuce, fresh herbs, chillies, garlic, and rice papers to wrap up the ingredients. Great for pairing with nem nuong, the restaurant’s unique dipping sauce is made with sticky rice porridge, ground pork, tomato, chili sauce, and fish sauce. Nem Nuong Dang Van Quyen also serves Vietnamese grilled beef, rice noodles, and grilled pork chop with rice.

Bien Dong’s speciality lies within its extensive range of fresh hai san (seafood), where you can enjoy them steamed, barbecued, fried, or prepared in a hotpot. Priced according to weight, prawns, snails, crabs, obsters, fish, oysters, and clams are also kept in large buckets and aquariums for optimum freshness. Bien Dong’s price range is also much cheaper compared to beachfront eateries in Tran Phu, making it a popular spot for locals and expats. Highly recommended dishes include tiger prawns grilled with garlic, and grilled mussels with onions and peanuts.

Source Vietnam-guide