Despite Hanoi being the capital city, it isn’t actually the most vegan-friendly city in Vietnam. In fact, Ho Chi Minh City takes the top spot. That being said, Hanoi is still pretty good for vegans! The city has a variety of vegan food on offer and if you are visiting for just a few days to a few weeks, you’ll certainly never get bored.
Having spent quite a few months here, I’ve gradually been able to eat my way around all of the vegan hotspots. Unfortunately, I discovered a few ‘vegan’ restaurants which were actually vegetarian, as well as a few tourist scams along the way.
Therefore, I’ve dedicated this roundup to the BEST 100% vegan food spots that I ate at in Hanoi. You can read about my selection process here.
My top picks
So, let’s tuck into all of the amazing 100% vegan food in Hanoi.
La Studio
- Location: Tây Hồ
- Type of food: Sandwiches, cake and smoothie bowls
- Dish recommendation: Chocobana Smoothie Bowl
Lá Studio is one of my favourite vegan cafes in Hanoi. All of the food is delicious and made to a really high quality. For example, all of their sandwiches are made using homemade sourdough bread, or homemade bagels. Find out more about them in my full Lá Studio review.
They also have a range of delicious salads, like the photographed hummus salad with roasted pumpkin. It is delicious! Plus, their smoothie bowls are an absolute must-try. Make sure to get yourself one of their special coffee drinks. My personal favourite is their cinnamon roll latte which comes with oat milk.
The cafe is situated in a lovely old building and has a great chilled out atmosphere. It can get busy at weekends, but there is an upstairs space as well. Plus, you can easily work from here during the week!
Quan Pho Chay anh Hai
- Location: Hoàn Kiếm
- Type of food: Vietnamese
- Dish recommendation: Whatever they have that day!
If you are looking for cheap but tasty local vegan food then you need to visit Quán Phở Chay anh Hải. Once you try their delicious broths you’ll be going here every day of the week for your breakfast.
I’d go as far as to say that it is the best Phở Chay I’ve had in the whole of Vietnam. The ingredients are cooked to perfection and the broth has a great depth of flavour. Plus the atmosphere in the place is awesome. You’ll find yourself nestled amongst locals eating in a small alleyway. It’s a great way to immerse yourself in the Vietnamese culture!
They are open during weekday mornings, 7-11am, and they serve a different noodle soup every day.
Kiez Vegan
- Location: Tây Hồ
- Type of food: Vegan junk food
- Dish recommendation: Phở Chay
Every single thing that I have eaten at Kiez has been delicious. They offer a range of junk food dishes, but they also have Phở Chay which they serve on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Find out more about them in my full Kiez Vegan review.
The Phở Chay has great flavour and the accompanying chilli sauce packs a punch. I always love being served the Phở by the kitchen staff, they are so happy and friendly! Plus they have super special abilities being able to move those steaming hot bowls from their trays onto your table.
I personally love going here for my vegan junk food fix. They do awesome kebabs, burgers and ‘chicken nuggets’ made using the amazing lion’s mane mushroom.
Chayfood
- Location: Hoàn Kiếm
- Type of food: Asian
- Dish recommendation: Miso Ramen
Located just on the edge of all the madness in Old Quarter, Chayfood is the perfect place to chill out and restore your energy levels. The space itself is calm and spacious. They have a great balcony on the upper floor that is great for people watching.
Their menu features a large variety of classic Vietnamese dishes, vegan-style. But they also offer a few other dishes like salads and noodle dishes from around the world.
The quality of the food is great and the flavours are spot on. You’ll pay a little more than you would in a small local eatery, but the food reflects this.
Vegan Banh Mi
- Location: Hoàn Kiếm
- Type of food: Vietnamese
- Dish recommendation: Shumai Banh Mi
This small local vegan eatery is located in an alleyway south of Hoàn Kiếm lake. It is nearby to some great coffee shops, as well as the Vietnamese Women’s Museum.
It is a family-run restaurant with an inspiring story. Their family has been making and selling food for quite some time and when one of the family members turned vegan they took the risk and made their food business vegan too. It’s obviously worked out for them as their restaurant is popular amongst both tourists and locals!
All of the food is reasonably priced and really tasty! They have a great selection of banh mi, as well as some noodle dishes. I’d also recommend ordering a side of wontons, they are delicious.
iVegan
- Location: Tây Hồ
- Type of food: Smoothie bowls, toast and salad bowls
- Dish recommendation: Saigon Bowl
iVegan is a popular vegan restaurant among tourists and expats. They have a range of healthy dishes, including salad bowls and smoothie bowls, as well as cakes and protein shakes.
There are a few iVegan restaurants dotted around Vietnam, including one in Saigon and another in Da Nang. In fact, it is one of my favourite vegan spots in Da Nang. They are quite successful, but it is obvious why, as they are one of the only places offering up healthier plant-based dishes!
I personally love their Saigon Bowl, but it is a lot more expensive than what you’d pay for a similar dish at a local chay eatery.
My selection process
When researching for this roundup I ate at a lot more restaurants than what I have mentioned here. This is mostly because I want to present my ultimate favourite establishments, so there are a fair few places which didn’t meet the full criteria.
Here is how I chose what to include in this guide to vegan food in Hanoi:
- Vegan: Navigating the vegan food scene in Hanoi can be tough because there are many chay restaurants that label themselves as vegan, yet they serve egg and dairy products. I’ve been caught out a few times! Moreover, I have left off a few 100% vegan establishments which have shared their space with non-vegan businesses/people. For example, a fair few times at Abracado (a vegan restaurant in Tây Hồ) I saw someone walk in and out of the shop with bags of freshly caught fish. Therefore, I wanted to select a variety of truly 100% vegan establishments so you can feel safe eating out in this city.
- Quality: The quality of food is really important to me. Therefore, I have made sure to only include restaurants who serve quality food that is both tasty and hygienic. No dodgy tummies here, I hope!
- Tourist traps: Wherever there are tourists there are tourist traps. I have left off any restaurants that I thought fell into this category. One example is the very popular Katze restaurant, that sells vegan ‘family-style’ food. Their menu is designed so that you will over order food, spend 5x more than you would at an actual local family restaurant, and you’ll have enough food leftover for a small army. The food isn’t great and most of it looks repurposed (not surprising). They are unlikely to offer you change from any notes you give and when you leave they will guilt trip you for a high review.
If you feel I have missed anything off my roundup then please do share it in the comments – let’s get a discussion going!
More Hanoi articles
Leave a Reply