11 Best Restaurants in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Pull up a stool at this sidewalk restaurant and pop open a Saigon beer while you look to see what the locals are eating. Chau Doc is all about seafood, and you can't go wrong with clay pot fish—unless you don't like fish sauce, in which case go for clay pot pork, with juices that taste great over white rice. There's not a lot for vegetarians, but the plates of sautéed vegetables—morning glory, baby corn, banana flowers—flavored with coriander go well with rice, and there is a vegetable soup.

The setting of this charming vegan restaurant, which helps support the nearby Vinh Trang pagoda, is basic but pleasant with a tangle of potted plants. Service is not the fastest, but the food is truly delicious. Don't be fooled by the English menu that lists meat dishes, this is a strictly vegan place and they are made with imitation, soy-based "meats." The house specialty is the vegan Thai-style sour-and-spicy hotpot (lau Thai Lan); the braised vegetables in claypot (rau cu kho) is also a stand-out dish.

Across the road from the marina, this small, neat, and cozy café is a good place to stop for a coffee, ice cream, milk shake, or smoothie, as well as light meals such as salads, burgers, and Vietnamese dishes. It's probably the only place in town where you can get toasted Vegemite-and-cheese sandwiches, reflecting the owner's Australian roots. Famous for its "scoop" on Phu Quoc Island, Buddy is a de facto tourist information center, so stop by to pick up the latest copy of the Phu Quoc Island guide and free tourist map.

Offering very basic Vietnamese café fare, such as stir-fried noodles, pork and rice, and baguettes, this café associated with the Que Toi Hotel is a place more for satisfying hunger pangs than enjoying fine dining. Like most Vietnamese cafés, it's a place for people to meet, drink coffee, and smoke cigarettes. On the plus side, it has an English menu, which most places in town don't have.

This modern café on the ground floor of an apartment block serves Korean and Japanese-influenced dishes, including ramen and bi bim bap. The dual language menu is useful to travelers.

This is a small outdoor market that sets up shop most evenings from 5 pm right on the riverside. You'll find Saigon beer for around 15,000d a bottle and stalls selling grilled meat and seafood as well as those with hotpot set-ups. Sit down on a little plastic stool alongside the locals and tuck in to plates of grilled squid and steaming bowls of pho.

There are two parts to the night market, one section selling clothes and tourist items and the other serving food from a variety of mobile stalls, with vendors who are well versed in the point-and-nod style of ordering. Most of the food can be munched while strolling and is more of a snack than a meal, but what's on offer can change from day to day, so it's best to just go and see what is available. Food stalls start appearing at around 6 pm each day.

A plain and simple bar serving a range of drinks, including super cold beers, Oasis lives up to its name for the wealth of free travel information English owner Andy provides. (There is also a small travel agency inside the bar.) Oasis is the only place in town serving Western food, starting with breakfast, including the full English hot breakfast, and continuing through the day with bar-style meals such as chili con carne, baguettes, and Thai green chicken curry.

A pint-size eatery near the market and just in from the river, casual Thanh Tinh serves mostly vegetarian dishes. There's plenty to choose from, including a flavorful vegetarian pho made with coriander, tofu, diced vegetables, and tender noodles as well as a piquant dish of tofu stir-fried with citronella (safe to eat—it's a plant) and red peppers that pairs nicely with fried wontons in a fragrant broth. Mix-ups seem to be fairly common, so double check your order after it's been taken.

A simple roadside eatery where you'll see a good mix of tourists and locals, Truong Van serves standard but tasty pho, spring rolls, fish soup, and grilled beef in a sweet-and-sour sauce. Vegetarians can tuck into mixed sautéed vegetables (cauliflower, baby corn, red and green peppers, morning glory) over wok-fried noodles. Toast to your trip with Saigon beer and finish on a sweet note with the excellent banana pancakes.

There are several dining options in this multilevel shopping complex adjacent to the Vinpearl Can Tho Hotel. Level 4 is where most of the eateries are, as well as an indoor kids' play center. Choices include Thai BBQ Buffet, GoGi House (Korean), Kitchi-Kitchi (Japanese), Rainbow Yoghurt, and a Lotteria burger outlet. Level 5 is home to a CGV cinema complex and an arcade section. Level 1 has mostly shopping, as well as a Chinese restaurant called Crystal Jade Kitchen.