The 11 best Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver

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Yes, there’s a famous backstory: the restaurant takes its inspiration from Nguyễn Thị Thanh, the Ho Chi Minh City street-food cook made internationally famous by Anthony Bourdain. But The Lunch Lady has long since become a Vancouver destination in its own right (and now, an international one!). The cooking plays confidently between street-food soul and West Coast polish, with 24-hour pho broth, crab fried rice, grilled octopus, shaking beef and outrageously savoury XO-butter garlic noodles. Don’t miss the Lunch Lady outpost at Time Out Market Vancouver in Oakridge Park.

What to order: Wagyu pho if you’re feeling flush; garlic noodles and coconut clams if you’re sharing.

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Here’s your reminder that Vietnamese noodle soup does not begin and end with pho. Hoang Yen is beloved for bún chả cá đặc biệt, an aromatic fish-cake noodle soup shot through with fresh dill, and bún riêu, its deeply satisfying crab-and-tomato cousin. 

What to order: Both their signature soups—because choosing is impossible.

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Some restaurants diversify. Cafe Xu Hue found a lane and basically paved it in gold. This tiny, no-frills favourite specializes in cooking from the Huế region, which favours heavy heat and punch via fresh chilies, chili oil and fermented shrimp paste. Its bún bò Huế (a spicy, lemongrass-heavy beef noodle soup) has inspired the kind of devotion normally reserved for sports teams. The menu is compact, the room is humble and they take cash only, so come prepared.

What to order: Bún bò Huế. Don’t overthink it.

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Siblings Amélie and Vincent Nguyen transformed the address where their parents ran Pho Hoang for decades into a handsome, cocktail-friendly restaurant that honours the family’s cooking while pushing it forward. While the MICHELIN Guide highlights dishes including banana-blossom salad with soft-shell crab and grilled prawn mousse with fine vermicelli,  Reddit opinion is spirited about the prices. But even the skeptics acknowledge the lively room, scrumptious cocktails and exciting experimental approach.

What to order: Bánh khọt, chạo tôm bánh hỏi and something from the cocktail list.

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A sandwich counter absolutely earns a seat at this table when the sandwiches are this delicious. Banh Mi Saigon’s freshly baked baguettes come stuffed with the usual crunchy pickles, cilantro, jalapeño and homemade mayo, with fillings ranging from pâté-heavy đặc biệt to lemongrass pork, meatball and Vietnamese bacon. The house special is packed with cold cuts, head cheese, meatballs, meatloaf and pâté.

What to order: The #1 special. Grab an iced coffee too.

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Pho is available, sure, but Hội An Café specializes in cuisine from central Vietnam and that’s what you don’t want to miss. The restaurant’s namesake region shows up in mì Quảng, with yellow rice noodles, pork, shrimp, herbs and banana blossom, and cao lầu, the famously specific noodle dish associated with Hội An. This is also one of the spots recommended by Vietnamese Vancouver diners when conversations turn to food that tastes closer to what they grew up eating.

What to order: Cao lầu or mì Quảng. This is your chance to leave the pho comfort zone.

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And now, the bún bò Huế rivalry gets serious. Song Huong has been a Vancouver favourite for years, with longtime diners arguing that its version of the Huế specialty beats just about everyone else’s. Expect a robust bowl with beef, Vietnamese ham and the traditional extras that increasingly disappear from more streamlined versions.

What to order: Bún bò Huế first, with a side of bánh cuốn (rolled rice noodles stuffed with savoury fillings).

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Cafe Dang Anh is especially handy when your pho preferences lean north: its clear, savoury bowls are a less sweet, Northern-style expression of the soup. The phở tái is especially delectable, but you’ll also want to sample to the bún riêu (fish-cake noodle soup) and phở sốt vang (the beef-stew variation with French-colonial roots).

What to order: Phở tái for the classic move; phở sốt vang when you want something richer and a little less expected.

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Kitsilano’s Hanoi Old Quarter plants its flag firmly in Northern Vietnam. That means bún chả Hà Nội with grilled pork, chả cá-style turmeric fish with dill, crab-and-pork spring rolls, bánh cuốn and even spicy pâté bánh mì. The kitchen bills itself as a love letter to Hanoi, and the menu feels refreshingly specific rather than trying to cover every Vietnamese greatest hit at once. 

What to order: Bún chả Hà Nội and the turmeric fish. Bring someone who understands the value of sharing.

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No meat? No problem. Do Chay does vegetarian Vietnamese cooking with an artfulness that turns mushrooms, tofu, bean-curd skin and vegetables into dishes with actual swagger. Think truffle dumplings, coconut rice cakes, crispy oyster-mushroom “wings,” black-garlic eggplant and a vegan bún bò Huế built around a spicy lemongrass broth. Even meat eaters routinely recommend the place, which may be the strongest endorsement a vegetarian restaurant can get.

What to order: Coconut rice cakes, truffle dumplings and black-garlic eggplant.