by Could the vegetarian restaurants in Hue be the best in Vietnam? We think so! If you’re after authentic vegetarian and vegan Vietnamese dishes created for locals (instead of bland tourist food that’s been de-meated), then you’ll love the huge variety of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Hue as much as I did!
What’s in our Guide to Our Favourite Vegetarian Restaurants in Hue?
1. Vespa Adventures Hue Food Tour
2. Lien Hoa, The Most Popular Vegetarian Restaurant in Hue
3. My Favourite Vegetarian Restaurants in Hue
4. Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Hue to Try Next Time
5. Best Hotels in Hue Vietnam
In Vietnam, there’s not much distinction made between vegetarian and vegan. Most vegetarian restaurants in Hue are completely vegan, though a few serve one or two dishes with egg or milk. You just have to ask!
If you’re a vegan or vegetarian visiting Hue, here’s…
Your Guide to Our Favourite Vegetarian Restaurants in Hue
Also don’t miss these great posts:
Why is Hue Vegan and Vegetarian Heaven?
Hue was, for centuries, the centre of Buddhist scholarship in Vietnam; Hue has 108 pagodas and 300 Buddhist temples. Because of that, Buddhists in Hue are a little more devout than in many other parts of the country. In Hue, many people eat vegetarian food 2-6 days per month to observe the special Buddhist lunar days.
There is also a legend that the emperors, who resided in the Hue Imperial City from 1802 to 1945, instructed their chefs to serve a different dish for every day of the year. According to lore, there are 1,300 individual dishes that make up Hue’s cuisine and these includes hundreds of vegetarian dishes.
That’s great news for travellers who want to experience vegetarian and vegan Vietnam. Some of the best food in Hue is vegan and even if you spend weeks in Hue, you won’t tire of the variety of vegetarian restaurants in Hue.
(Don’t miss: Our vegan guide to travel around the world)
Vespa Adventures Hue Food Tour
My introduction to Hue vegan food falls into the capable hands of Duong, a tour guide for Vietnam Vespa Adventures.
Unfortunately, the incessant Hue rain has not stopped for days (November is not the best month to come here) and many of the places that would normally be on their Hue food tour are closed because the city is flooded.
Vespa Adventures offers* to take me out anyway and I gladly accept. The Vespa Adventures food tours are half Hue city tour, half food tours, so I know I will get to see the main attractions of Hue while stuffing my face with the best food in Hue.
After a welcome cocktail (an excellent way to start any vegetarian food tour), I am given a thick blue poncho and a bright orange helmet. I hop onto the back of a lovingly restored vintage Vespa and we roll off down the soggy streets.
We start our tour at perhaps the most famous vegetarian restaurant in northern Vietnam…
Lien Hoa, The Most Popular Vegetarian Restaurant in Hue
3 Le Quy Don, Hue, Vietnam
Even if you have a good understanding of Vietnamese food in other parts of the country, the menu at Lien Hoa can be confusing. Many of the dishes are regional and the English translations are just this side of hilarious. For instance, there are about 10 dishes of “mecan”. I found out later that this is wheat gluten / seitan. Yum!
Expert dining tip: If you go to Lien Hoa at lunch, you can order the Com Dia, a plate of rice with assorted dishes of the day. It’s a great way to try a little of everything without over-ordering.
Duong starts me off with a plate of Banh Cuon. In Hanoi, Banh Cuon came as a small pile of paper thin rice noodles, topped with crispy fried onions.
Don’t miss my post about Hanoi Vegetarian Food: The Complete Guide for Vegetarians Visiting Hanoi →
In Hue vegetarian restaurants, vegan Banh Cuon is a spring roll of thick rice noodle, stuffed with fresh veggies. The dip, a creamy peanut-infused soy paste, is what really makes the dish come alive.
Banh Loc is a tiny rice flour dumpling containing a smidgen of mushroom. Again, the dipping sauce brings out the flavour of what might otherwise be a bland dish.
The Banana Buds in Sesame was my favourite dish at Lien Hoa. It has a chewy texture and is used a stand-in for chicken on Buddhist days. The sesame adds a light nutty flavour. Eating it, I couldn’t imagine that this dish was somehow related to bananas!
No Vietnamese vegetarian food tour is complete without tomato tofu. At vegetarian restaurants in Hue, tofu tends to be served in large fried hunks that give it a tough skin you have to bite through. It’s perfectly polite to pick the entire piece up with your chopsticks and take a chomp out of it – no need to cut it beforehand as we might do at home.
I’m not even sure the mixed mushroom dish Duong ordered was on the menu. That’s the pleasure of taking a food tour – you get to try things you might not discover on your own. These little slippery mushrooms were a chopstick challenge but tasted great when I managed to get them in my mouth.
After dinner, we zip around the city on the Vespa and I get to see the Hue attractions by night. Lights sparkle prettily on the Perfume River but the streets are almost empty because of the rain. Many of the places that would normally appear on a vegetarian food tour of Hue are closed. But finally, we find a che restaurant where I get to explore the most popular Vietnamese desert.
Usually, che is ordered in a single bowl and you just ask for (or point out) the items you’d like to add. So I can try everything, Duong orders each item in its own individual glass!
When I’ve had a taste of yellow mung beans, purple mashed taro, red adzuki beans, orange gelatinous cubes and all the other ingredients, I ask for a cup and mix it all together with a generous serving of ice to cut the sweetness. I do like che in small quantities but agree with Duong’s assessment that it’s a little sweet!
Here are a few other Hue tours that might interest you:
My Favourite Vegetarian Restaurants in Hue
Thanh Lieu
50 Nguyen Cong Tru, Hue, Vietnam
A local’s favourite lunch spot, Thanh Lieu was packed with school kids and local workers when I arrived. There is no English on the simple menu here, so you either have to know your Hue food or take your chances.
I started with the Banh Beo, thick circles of rice noodle sprinkled with a flavourful yet mysterious topping. They were tasty but the sticky noodles were tricky to pull apart with chopsticks.
I also ordered a small Lau (hot pot), which is the speciality here. Even though I’ve had hot pot in China many times, the ritual differs slightly from place to place. Luckily, the locals who were seated next to me also ordered hot pot, so I could follow their lead.
How to eat hot pot in Hue vegetarian restaurants. Hot pot is served on a table-top burner which the waiter will bring and light for you. He should also bring a large serving spoon, a basket of green herbs, a plate of cold noodles and a small bowl.
Let the soup come to a boil and then reduce the heat (there should be a knob or lever on the side of the burner) and let it simmer for a few minutes. Once the veggies are looking cooked, you can add a few herbs.
Finally, serve the cold noodles into the small bowl and then top with soup. Slurping is absolutely fine, as is bowing your head low above the bowl to avoid splashing the soup on you or your neighbours.
The Lau was more delicious than any noodle soup has a right to be and was the perfect lunch for a rainy winter day in Hue.
San May Vegetarian
8 Thanh Tinh St, Vi Da Village, Hue, Vietnam
Friends who come to Hue frequently (to run their awesome non-profit for Vietnamese kids, Rock-Paper-Scissors Children’s Fund), told me that San May is their favourite Hue vegetarian restaurant.
San May is hidden down a small street just north of the city center and it’s well worth the walk or cab ride to get here. Housed in a 100-year-old traditional house surrounded by lush gardens, it’s a little more upscale than most of the restaurants in town and is a great place for a romantic meal or family dinner.
My hosts ordered a variety of dishes and we ate family style. The most striking one was a tiny dish of fermented soy curd. With the consistency and tang of a very old blue cheese, mixed with a distinct flavour of something rotting, it is an acquired taste. I still can’t decide if I liked or loathed it but I know I want to try it again.
Hoa Nghiem
28 Ba Trieu, Hue, Vietnam
This was my one of my favourite vegetarian restaurants in Hue. A little more expensive than your run-of-the-mill eatery, it has the benefit of being completely indoors, to keep you warm in the cool months and cool in the hot months.
Though the portions were a little small, the food was more flavourful and of a higher standard than in most restaurants in Vietnam. Make this one of your first meals in the city!
Quan Chay Tam Thien
03 Kiet 10 Nhat Le, Hue, Vietnam
At the opposite end of the scale is this family-run place just 150m from the Northwest gate of the Hue Imperial City. If you’re looking for a quick vegetarian lunch and you want to eat like the locals do, stop in for lunch. Order the Com Dia and you will get what practically everyone else is having: a plate heaped with white rice and topped with four or five of the day’s special dishes. With a cup of cold tea, this feast costs 30,000 VND (about $1.50 US).
It’s not the most delicious food in the city, but it reminded me of the many places we ate in small untouristed villages during our bike trip. An excellent “authentic” experience.
Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Hue I Want to Try Next Time
There are plenty of vegetarian restaurants in Hue I didn’t get a chance to try. These are on my list for next time I go back.
- Thien Y – Dang Thai, 130/12 Dang Thai Than, Hue, Vietnam
- Bo De, 11 Le Loi, Hue, Vietnam
- Doa Sen Vang, Xuan 68 where it meets Le Van Huu (Happy Cow location is wrong I believe)
- Family/local Quan Chay restaurants, there are 2 on Ngo Duc Ke 22 where it meets Xuan 68
Best Hotels in Hue Vietnam
These are our recommendations for the best hotels in Hue. All prices are approximate. Ratings come from Booking.com.
Don’t miss our guides for where to stay in Hoi An, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Mui Ne, Vietnam.
Freedom Hostel
Rating 9.0, $10/night for a dorm bed, breakfast included
If you’re looking for a Hue hostel popular with Hue backpackers, Freedom Hostel should be top of your list. It’s located right in the center of the tourist district, so you won’t need to look far for restaurants or cafes. They have a 6-bed female dorm and a 10-bed mixed dorm and offer an evening family style meal that you can join for only 40,000 VND (less than $2).
Sunny B Hotel
Rating 9.0, $15 for a double, breakfast not included
We stayed here and loved it. This is our number one pick of Hue hotels.
I loved the Sunny B Hotel so much I stayed here twice. The rooms are big and include a balcony and excellent, professional plumbing in the bathroom. If you’ve travelled in Asia for a while you’ll know just how rare good plumbing is. Location is good, with the highly-rated Family Home Restaurant just across the street.
Note that the map location on Booking.com for Sunny B Hotel is incorrect (as of Jan 2017). Google Maps has the correct location, though it says Original Binh Duong 3 (Sunny B Hotel) for the name.
You can also try Sunny A Hotel, their sister property right across the alley.
The Scarlett Boutique Hotel
Rating 9.8, $38-44 for a double, breakfast included
If you’re hankering after a little bit of inexpensive luxury, this place looks outstanding. It kind of makes me want to cry to think about the horrible room we got in India for the same price.
Book The Scarlett Boutique Hotel in Hue →
Vedana Lagoon Resort & Spa
Rating 9.3, $100 for a waterfront double, $125 for a bungalow, breakfast included
Want to completely spoil yourself? Head out of Hue to this lagoon-side luxury resort. You can stay in a villa or bungalows and be treated to massage, Tai Chi, and yoga. Sigh. Let’s go there now.
Book Vedana Lagoon Resort & Spa →
There are many more great hotels in Hue. Find your perfect hotel here!
If you visit any of these vegetarian restaurants in Hue, or discover your own gems, please let us know in the comments!
♥ Happy eating, Jane & Stephen
I was a guest of Vespa Adventures for this tour, but as always, I only recommend tours that I think you’ll truly enjoy! Some of the links in this post are our personal affiliate links, which means, if you use them to book something we get a small fee. It helps keep this blog afloat so thanks in advance!
