A Vegetarians and Vegans Food Guide To Vietnam

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Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Last updated: July 2026

Yes, Vietnam is vegetarian-friendly. But vegetarian-friendly is not the same as foolproof.

The country has a long-established culture of chay food, dedicated vegetarian restaurants and plant-based versions of practically every Vietnamese dish you want to try. It also has fish sauce, shrimp paste, oyster sauce and meat broth quietly doing overtime in dishes that look completely meat-free.

That is the only real catch.

As a vegetarian, I found that eating well in Vietnam was rarely about settling for plain rice and vegetables. It was about knowing what to search for and when to stop trying to customise a regular dish. A dedicated quán chay will nearly always give you a better meal—and require far less negotiation.

One of the dishes I kept ordering was rau muống xào tỏi: morning glory stir-fried with garlic. Simple, salty, very garlicky and excellent with rice. But even something this straightforward needs one question at a mixed restaurant: has it been cooked with oyster sauce?

That, in miniature, is vegetarian travel in Vietnam. There is an enormous amount to eat. You just need to ask the right questions.

Vegetarian food in Vietnam: the quick answer
How easy is it? Very easy in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Da Nang and Hue.
The most useful word: Chay, meaning vegetarian or meat-free.
If you are strictly vegan: Look for thuần chay.
Typical local meal: 40,000–80,000 VND (roughly ₹150–₹300).
Ingredients to check: Fish sauce, shrimp paste, oyster sauce, meat broth and lard.
Best Maps search: Quán chay gần đây—vegetarian restaurant nearby.

Is Vietnam vegetarian-friendly?

Yes, especially if you are travelling through the major cities and central Vietnam.

Vegetarian cooking here is not a recent wellness import. It is closely connected with Buddhist food traditions and has been part of Vietnamese life for generations. The official Vietnam Tourism vegetarian guide notes that many Vietnamese Buddhists eat meat-free food on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. Vegetarian restaurants and morning markets can have more options—and more customers—on those dates.

Vietnamese cooking also begins with several things vegetarians already want: rice, noodles, tofu, mushrooms, herbs, greens, tropical fruit and vegetables used with actual purpose. You are not asking a meat-heavy cuisine to produce one apologetic side dish.

The complication is seasoning. A vegetable stir-fry can contain oyster sauce. A noodle bowl served without meat can still use bone broth. A clear dipping sauce can be based on fish sauce. A vegetable bánh mì may still include pâté, butter or mayonnaise.

For flexible vegetarians, this is manageable with a few phrases. For strict vegetarians and vegans, dedicated chay restaurants are the easiest and most reliable choice.

Hop on & let’s go on a culinary journey to Vietnam and find the must-try Vietnamese food, only in this blog, you’ll find vegetarian or vegan Vietnamese food!

What does chay mean in Vietnam?

Chay is the word that makes the entire food landscape easier to navigate.

Quán chay: Vegetarian restaurant

Cơm chay: Vegetarian rice meal, or vegetarian food more generally

Phở chay: Vegetarian pho

Bánh mì chay: Vegetarian bánh mì

Món chay: Vegetarian dish

Thuần chay: Completely vegan or plant-based

There is some variation in how restaurants use these terms. Many Buddhist-style chay kitchens are fully plant-based, but chay is not an absolute guarantee that a dish contains no egg, dairy or honey. Strict vegans should look for thuần chay and ask about individual ingredients.

Also, cơm chay and cơm cháy are not the same thing. The first can lead you to an inexpensive vegetarian lunch. The second is crispy or scorched rice. Vietnamese tone marks are doing serious administrative work here.

How to say you are vegetarian or vegan in Vietnamese?

Save this section as a screenshot. Showing the written sentence is usually easier than attempting Vietnamese pronunciation over traffic, music and a busy lunch service.

What you want to say	Vietnamese
I am vegetarian	Tôi ăn chay
I am vegan	Tôi ăn thuần chay
I do not eat meat, fish or seafood	Tôi không ăn thịt, cá hoặc hải sản
I do not eat eggs, dairy or honey	Tôi không ăn trứng, sữa hoặc mật ong
Please do not add fish sauce, shrimp paste or oyster sauce	Xin đừng cho nước mắm, mắm tôm hoặc dầu hào vào món ăn
Does the broth contain meat or bones?	Nước dùng có nấu từ thịt hoặc xương không?
Please use soy sauce	Xin dùng nước tương
Is this dish completely vegan?	Món này có hoàn toàn thuần chay không?
Thank you	Cảm ơn

Do not rely on không thịt, or “no meat”, as your only instruction. It can still leave fish, seafood, fish sauce and meat-based broth in the meal.

A food card for strict vegans

Tôi ăn thuần chay. Tôi không ăn thịt, cá, hải sản, trứng, sữa hoặc mật ong. Xin đừng dùng nước mắm, mắm tôm, dầu hào hoặc nước dùng nấu từ thịt hay xương.
I am vegan. I do not eat meat, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy or honey. Please do not use fish sauce, shrimp paste, oyster sauce or broth made from meat or bones.

If you have an allergy rather than a dietary preference, use a professionally translated allergy card. “Vegetarian” and “allergic” do not communicate the same level of risk in a kitchen.

Animal ingredients that hide in apparently vegetarian dishes, make sure to ask and avoid these

Fish sauce: nước mắm
Shrimp paste: mắm tôm
Oyster sauce: dầu hào
Meat or bone broth: nước dùng
Pork fat or lard: mỡ heo or mỡ lợn
Seasoning granules: hạt nêm
Pâté, mayonnaise, egg and condensed milk

12 vegetarian Vietnamese dishes worth ordering

You do not need to eat pho every day simply because you are in Vietnam. Each region has its own noodle dishes, rice preparations and snacks, and most have a convincing chay version.

Phở chay

A good vegetarian pho uses a fragrant vegetable-and-mushroom broth with flat rice noodles, tofu, bean sprouts and fistfuls of fresh herbs. Star anise, cinnamon, ginger and charred onion provide the familiar depth.

Order it at a dedicated vegetarian restaurant. At a regular pho shop, “without beef” still leaves you with beef broth.

Bánh mì chay

This is one of the easiest quick meals in Vietnam: a crisp baguette filled with tofu, mushrooms or mock meat, plus cucumber, coriander and pickled carrot and daikon.

At a mixed stall, ask about pâté, butter and mayonnaise separately. At a vegan stall, the plant-based pâté is often the best part.

Bánh xèo chay

Bánh xèo is a thin, crisp rice-flour pancake. The vegetarian version may contain bean sprouts, mushrooms, mung beans and tofu. Tear off a piece, wrap it in lettuce and herbs, and dip it into sauce.

The pancake is rarely the problem. The dipping sauce is. Confirm that it is nước chấm chay rather than regular fish-sauce-based nước chấm.

Gỏi cuốn chay and chả giò chay

Fresh summer rolls (gỏi cuốn chay) combine rice paper, noodles, tofu, herbs and crunchy vegetables. Fried vegetarian spring rolls (chả giò chay, or nem rán chay in the north) are usually filled with mushrooms, glass noodles, taro and vegetables.

Both are easy crowd-pleasers. Both come with a sauce that deserves one question.

Bún chả chay

The vegetarian answer to Hanoi’s famous bún chả replaces grilled pork with tofu, mushrooms or plant-based patties. It is served with rice vermicelli, herbs and a sweet-sour dipping sauce.

If you want to try Hanoi’s local food without watching everyone else eat the city’s signature dish, this is the order.

Bún bò Huế chay

This is the dish for anyone who finds regular pho a little too polite. The vegetarian version uses a spicy, lemongrass-heavy broth with thick rice noodles, tofu, mushrooms and herbs.

The word bò, meaning beef, remains in the name because it refers to the original dish. The chay version is the one you want.

Mì Quảng chay

A central Vietnamese speciality made with broad noodles, herbs, peanuts, rice crackers and a small amount of intensely flavoured broth. Mushrooms and tofu replace the usual meat or seafood.

Look for it in Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue. It is more textural and less soupy than pho, and well worth ordering while you are in the region.

Cao lầu chay

Cao lầu belongs to Hoi An. It combines chewy noodles with greens, herbs, crunchy croutons and a savoury dressing, with tofu or mushrooms in the vegetarian version.

This is a regional dish, not something to postpone until you reach another city. Try it in Hoi An.

Cơm tấm chay

Southern Vietnamese broken rice is usually served with meat, but the vegetarian version may come with grilled tofu, plant-based ribs, pickles, cucumber and vegan fish sauce.

Order it in Ho Chi Minh City when you want a local rice meal rather than another café bowl that could exist anywhere in the world.

Cơm chay

Cơm chay is not one recipe. It usually means rice with a selection of prepared vegetarian dishes: tofu, mock meats, braised vegetables, curries, greens and pickles.

At a local buffet, point to what you want and pay according to the number of items or the plate size. Go closer to lunch than late afternoon; the choice is better before the trays begin to empty.

Rau muống xào tỏi and đậu hũ sốt cà chua

Not every meal needs to be a famous noodle dish.

Rau muống xào tỏi is morning glory stir-fried with garlic. Đậu hũ sốt cà chua is tofu in a savoury tomato sauce. Add steamed rice and you have the kind of unfussy meal that is very easy to eat repeatedly.

At mixed restaurants, request soy sauce and check that the vegetables do not contain oyster sauce.

Chè

Chè refers to a large family of Vietnamese sweet soups, puddings and drinks. They may contain beans, mung bean paste, sticky rice, fruit, jelly and coconut milk.

Many versions are naturally vegan, but condensed milk can appear. Ask if you are strict—and save room. “Dessert” can mean an entire second tour of Vietnam here.

What should vegetarians eat in each part of Vietnam?

Destination	Dishes to look for
Hanoi	Phở chay, bún chả chay, bánh cuốn chay, nem rán chay
Hue	Bún bò Huế chay, bánh bột lọc chay, cơm chay
Da Nang	Mì Quảng chay, bánh xèo chay, vegetarian dumplings
Hoi An	Cao lầu chay, bánh mì chay, cơm gà chay
Ho Chi Minh City	Cơm tấm chay, hủ tiếu chay, bánh mì chay
Mekong Delta	Hủ tiếu chay, vegetable hotpot, tofu dishes and tropical fruit

If you only remember one rule, let it be this: order the regional dish where it belongs. Eat bún chả chay in Hanoi, cao lầu chay in Hoi An and cơm tấm chay in Ho Chi Minh City. A vegetarian trip should still taste like the place you are visiting.

A short, useful list of vegetarian restaurants in Vietnam

This is deliberately not a directory of 40 restaurants. Those lists date quickly, and nobody needs to travel across a city because an article from three years ago called one café “the best”.

These are practical starting points in the destinations most travellers visit. Details were checked on 21 July 2026. Confirm the latest opening hours and location on Google Maps before leaving.

Hanoi

Bao An Vegan Street Food

66B Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm

Best for inexpensive vegan versions of Hanoi street food, including bánh mì, pho, fried snacks and chè. It is a useful first stop if you want to learn what several local dishes taste like without questioning every sauce.

Ưu Đàm Chay

55 Nguyễn Du, Cửa Nam

Best for a more polished vegetarian meal with Vietnamese dishes, hotpots and sharing plates. It is listed in the MICHELIN Guide, but remains much more approachable than the words “Michelin-listed” can make a restaurant sound.

Ho Chi Minh City

Be An Vegetarian Bistro

Branches at 11B Trần Cao Vân and the ground floor of Saigon Garden, 99 Nguyễn Huệ

Best for contemporary vegetarian versions of Vietnamese staples such as pho, bún Huế and cơm tấm. Be An uses vegetables rather than building the whole menu around mock meat. The official Be An website lists both branches and current hours.

Hum Garden

32 D10 Street, An Khánh Ward

Best for a slower, more refined vegetarian meal in a garden setting. It is currently listed as a vegetarian restaurant in the MICHELIN Guide Vietnam. Choose this for a proper dinner; choose a local cơm chay counter when all you need is lunch.

Hoi An and Da Nang

Chickpea Eatery, Hoi An

86/5 Phan Châu Trinh

Best for fully plant-based Vietnamese dishes, including a vegan version of Hoi An-style cao lầu. It also runs vegan cooking classes. The restaurant is inside an alley, so follow the directions on the official Chickpea website rather than assuming you have the wrong address.

Mom’s Kitchen by Chickpea Eatery, Da Nang

73/12 Trương Định

Best for homestyle vegan food away from the beachfront restaurant strip. The same official site lists this as the family’s Da Nang location.

For a very quick Hoi An meal, also look for the small Hội Bánh Mì Chay stall near the corner of Nguyễn Huệ and Phan Châu Trinh. Its hours can be irregular, which is normal for a tiny street stall and a good reason not to build an entire evening around it.

What about Hue?

Hue has one of Vietnam’s strongest Buddhist vegetarian-food traditions, so you do not need one “famous” restaurant to eat well. Search cơm chay near your hotel or around pagodas, check the newest reviews and choose the place with a busy lunch service. This is one city where a modest buffet can be more useful than a heavily promoted restaurant.

You may also like to read:

10 Things to Do in Hanoi on a Budget

Travel Guide To Phong Nha National Park

7 Days Vietnam Itinerary on a Budget

How much does vegetarian food cost in Vietnam?

Vegetarian food can be extremely affordable in Vietnam, although the plant-based scene now covers everything from street stalls to tasting menus.

Type of meal	Typical price	Rough INR equivalent*
Vegetarian bánh mì or snack	20,000–50,000 VND	₹75–₹185
Local noodle or rice meal	40,000–80,000 VND	₹150–₹300
Mid-range vegetarian restaurant	100,000–250,000 VND	₹370–₹925
Upscale restaurant or tasting menu	300,000 VND onwards	₹1,100 onwards

*The INR conversions use the approximate July 2026 mid-market rate of 100,000 VND to ₹370. Exchange rates and card charges change, so use the rupee figures for planning rather than exact budgeting.

Local cơm chay restaurants are usually the best value. Western-style vegan cafés are useful when you want plant milk, breakfast or a break from rice and noodles, but they can cost several times more without being several times more memorable.

Can vegetarians eat street food in Vietnam?

Yes, with one condition: choose food that is explicitly labelled chay rather than asking a busy mixed stall to reinvent its recipe.

Look for these signs:

Bánh mì chay

Phở chay

Cơm chay

Quán chay

Thuần chay

At a mixed stall, removing the meat does not remove broth, pâté, frying fat, fish sauce or seasoning already built into the dish. If your diet is strict, this is not the place for a long ingredient negotiation.

Dedicated vegetarian street stalls are a different story. They are inexpensive, fast and often serve the local dishes you would otherwise miss.

How to find vegetarian and vegan food in Vietnam

Search in Vietnamese on Google Maps. You will find far more local options than you will by typing “best vegan restaurant near me”.

Useful searches include:

Quán chay—vegetarian restaurant

Quán thuần chay—vegan restaurant

Cơm chay—vegetarian rice meal

Bánh mì chay—vegetarian bánh mì

Phở chay—vegetarian pho

Quán chay gần đây—vegetarian restaurant nearby

Then read the newest reviews, not only the overall rating. Check whether the most recent photographs show the same entrance and menu. Vietnam’s restaurant scene moves quickly; a saved pin is not a legal commitment to remain open forever.

GrabFood is useful for inspecting menus before you order. HappyCow is helpful in the larger cities, but it will not contain every small neighbourhood cơm chay stall. Around pagodas and temples, simply looking for a chay sign can work better than either app.

Is Jain food available in Vietnam?

Jain food is much harder to find than regular vegetarian or vegan food.

Vietnamese vegetarian cooking commonly uses garlic, onion, mushrooms and root vegetables. The word chay does not imply Jain, and even Buddhist kitchens that omit onion and garlic may still use ingredients that do not fit every Jain traveller’s restrictions.

Strict Jain travellers should contact restaurants in advance, arrange suitable meals with Indian restaurants in major cities, or carry a detailed food card listing every ingredient they avoid.

You can show this sentence:

Tôi ăn chay và không ăn hành, tỏi hoặc các loại rau củ mọc dưới đất.
I am vegetarian and do not eat onion, garlic or vegetables that grow underground.

Do not treat a translated sentence as a guarantee against cross-contamination. If your requirements are strict, discuss them before you arrive rather than during a busy dinner service.