Da Lat guide · Where to eat
Places to eat in Da Lat, with what to order and how comfortable each is for families and older travellers.
Updated
Da Lat's everyday food is Vietnamese highland cooking: noodle soups, grilled skewers, rice dishes and plenty of vegetables, strawberries and artichoke from the surrounding farms. Fish sauce, shrimp paste and meat stock appear in many dishes that look vegetarian, and shared woks are common. Strict vegetarians and Jains should not rely on saying 'no meat' alone.
The practical route is the vegetarian shops marked 'chay'. Wikivoyage lists Com Chay Thanh Dam at 99C Nguyen Van Troi, Quan Com Chay An Lac Tam at 104 Bui Thi Xuan and a small vegetarian stall on the second level of the Central Market. We could not open a menu for any of them, so we have not tagged them as pure vegetarian: ask about egg, onion and garlic. Wikivoyage also lists an Indian restaurant, IndiaGate, with vegan and halal options; we could not verify its current menu or opening status.
We found no verified Jain kitchen in Da Lat. If you eat no onion or garlic, say so in every kitchen and expect simple meals; steamed rice, plain noodles, fruit and fresh herb plates are easy fallbacks. If your hotel serves breakfast, ask the day before what it can make without egg, meat or fish.
Menus and kitchens change. If you follow a strict diet or have an allergy, confirm with the restaurant before you order.
27/44 Yersin Street, Ward 10, Da Lat
A small banh can place at 27/44 Yersin Street, open for a morning and an early-evening session. It serves the little crisp-edged rice pancakes Da Lat is known for, with a meatball filling.
180 Bui Thi Xuan Street, Da Lat
A street snack stop at 180 Bui Thi Xuan Street for banh trang nuong, the grilled rice-paper snack sometimes called Vietnamese pizza, which Wikipedia lists among Da Lat's regional specialities.
15F Tang Bat Ho Street, Ward 1, Da Lat
A banh uot long ga specialist listed at 15F Tang Bat Ho Street, with a second branch on Ma Trang Son Street. It serves steamed rice sheets with chicken offal, so it suits adventurous meat-eaters only.
104 Bui Thi Xuan Street, Da Lat
A vegetarian rice restaurant at 104 Bui Thi Xuan Street, listed by Wikivoyage. A short walk from the lakeside area.
99C Nguyen Van Troi Street, Da Lat
A vegetarian rice shop at 99C Nguyen Van Troi, listed by Wikivoyage. 'Chay' on a sign means vegetarian cooking in the Buddhist tradition.
19 Bui Thi Xuan Street, central Da Lat
An Indian restaurant on Bui Thi Xuan Street, listed by Wikivoyage with vegan and halal options. A familiar-menu option for Indian families.
Robin Hill cable car station, Ward 3, Da Lat
A vegetable hotpot and salad buffet restaurant on the first floor of the Robin Hill cable car station. It is built around fresh local vegetables, though we could not confirm whether the menu is fully meat-free.
Mac Dinh Chi Street, central Da Lat
A long-running stall on Mac Dinh Chi Street known for crab noodle soup, a light bowl served with a plate of fresh vegetables. It contains pork blood and bones, so it is not for vegetarians.
2 Nguyen Van Cu Street, central Da Lat
A soya milk stall at 2 Nguyen Van Cu, listed by Wikivoyage, serving the hot soy milk that Da Lat residents drink in the cool mornings and evenings.
3 Thang 4 (3/4) Street, Da Lat
A family-style hotpot place on 3 Thang 4 Street, cited for its chicken and lime-basil pot, one of the first in Da Lat to serve it. Meat-based, so not a vegetarian stop.
17 Bui Thi Xuan Street, central Da Lat
A long-opening restaurant at 17 Bui Thi Xuan Street, listed by Wikivoyage for international dishes, a Western-traveller crowd and live music each evening.
