CAN THO - Restaurants

A few good, atmospheric restaurants cater to the steady flow of overnighting package trippers in Can Tho. There are local places too, but if you’re spending much time in the Mekong, you’ll appreciate the following places even if you don’t go with the pizza. Tour guides and hotels like to promote snake, which slithers its way onto most menus – not my favorite of all time, but worth trying once.

Those wanting something even more stylish should eat at the pool-side restaurant at SPICES, the Victoria hotel. The imported Argentine steaks are superb.

NAM BO
Nam Bo, Can Tho Perfectly situated across from the river promenade and boat docks in Can Tho’s center, Nam Bo fills both floors of a lovely French villa for its views and excellent Vietnamese food. It’s hugely popular with the package-tourist crowd, so get there early and head right upstairs to the vaulted-ceiling dining room for a terrace seat looking over the Uncle Ho statue. Vegetarian dishes are 15,000 to 35,000D, egg noodle dishes 35,000 to 50,000D. There’s also pasta and so-so pizzas (55,000 to 70,000D).
Tel 071-812-024; 50 Hai Ba Trung; open 9am-11pm

SAO HOM
Nam Bo’s cousin, the newer Sao Hom is set up in the spic-and-span, fully restored market, with tables right next to the water. The menu mirrors Nam Bo’s, with tasty mains from 35,000D. Try the Mekong-style cha gio (spring rolls).
Tel 071-815-616; Ninh Kieu promenade

MEKONG
Shoestringers in the Mekong usually eat here, a no-frills, basic café with egg breakfasts, noodle dinners and banana pancakes. It’s a couple doors down from Nam Bo. Most dishes are 20,000 to 30,000D.
38 Hai Ba Trung; open 7am-2am

EVENING CRUISE
If you haven’t gotten enough of the river by day, ‘Du Thuyen Can Tho’ – a rather campy, three-deck boat with stages and open windows – hits the water on a 90-minute cruise after dark. It’s 10,000D to board, where you can order food (including lots of fish, plus ‘Cao Lanh field mouse’ with chili and lemongrass; 40,000D). Or skip the grilled rodent and have a few drinks on the open-deck top. The boat leaves at 8pm and returns at 9.30pm nightly.
Tel 071-810-841; Ninh Kieu promenade, near north end of Hai Ba Trung St

HOP PHO
Flashy, two-story café popular with locals is a fine spot for café, particularly if you need WiFi access. There’s outdoor and AC areas. It’s behind the Golf Hotel, along Ngo Gia Tu Street from Hai Ba Trung.
Tel 071-815-208; 6 Ngo Gia Tu; open 6.30am to 10pm

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