🇫🇷 A Quick Look Back: The Origins of the Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide began in France in 1900 as a free booklet created by the Michelin tire company. It offered drivers tips on where to find gas stations, car repair shops, and good places to eat. Over time, the guide evolved into a global culinary benchmark.
Today, earning a Michelin Star can transform a local restaurant into a world-famous destination, with food lovers flying across the globe to experience the dishes judged by anonymous, elite inspectors.
In 2025, Vietnam finds itself both celebrated and questioned in this spotlight.
🍜 Michelin Guide Vietnam 2025: Who Made the Cut?
Let’s take a look at six restaurants—two from each region—featured in the 2025 Michelin Guide that showcase Vietnam’s rich and diverse culinary identity.
🥢 Northern Vietnam – Where Tradition Meets Subtlety
A Bản – Hanoi
Serving cuisine from the Northwest highlands, A Bản brings rustic, ethnic flavors to the capital with dishes like grilled hill-tribe pork, sticky rice in bamboo tubes, and wild mountain herbs. Founded to preserve ethnic culinary traditions, A Bản delivers an experience that’s as cultural as it is flavorful.
Phở Cuốn Chính Thắng – Hanoi
A local favourite located near Trúc Bạch Lake, this small eatery is known for phở cuốn—rice noodle rolls filled with beef and herbs, dipped in light dipping sauce. It’s a modern, refreshing take on traditional phở, beloved by locals and now Michelin-recognised for its simplicity and consistency.
🌶 Central Vietnam – Bold, Deep, and Full of Heritage
Madam Lân – Da Nang
A beautiful riverside restaurant offering a wide array of Central dishes, Madam Lân is famed for bánh bèo, bún thịt nướng, and bánh xèo. With architecture resembling an old Vietnamese home, it has become a must-visit for tourists and locals alike, showcasing the depth of Central cuisine in a more refined setting.
Mỳ Quảng Cô Sáu – Da Nang
This humble noodle stall has been serving generations with its signature mỳ Quảng—turmeric noodles with pork, shrimp, quail egg, fresh herbs, and crispy rice crackers. Despite its modest setup, it’s a local treasure—and now Michelin-approved for its enduring authenticity.
🍷 Southern Vietnam – Fine Dining With a Vietnamese Soul
Ănăn Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City
The first Michelin-starred restaurant in Vietnam, Ănăn takes street food to new heights. With dishes like bánh tráng nướng “Vietnamese pizza” and coconut ice cream with fish sauce caramel, it surprises and delights at every turn. Chef Peter Cuong Franklin combines global techniques with Vietnamese inspiration to reimagine familiar flavours.
GIA Restaurant – Ho Chi Minh City
A luxurious, modern space offering a seasonal tasting menu with Vietnamese roots. From fermented rice to heirloom fish sauce, GIA pushes boundaries while maintaining cultural integrity. Its Michelin star is a mark of innovation rooted in tradition.
🤔 But Where Are the People’s Favorites?
Despite the prestige, many locals questioned the guide's selections. Why were beloved everyday dishes like cơm tấm, bún chả, hủ tiếu gõ, and bánh mì left out?
Some of the chosen restaurants—especially those in the fine dining category—are rarely visited by locals and often cater primarily to international tourists. Meanwhile, long-standing street stalls with loyal followings were nowhere to be found.
This has led to one big question:
Who truly defines what Vietnamese cuisine is—the anonymous inspectors or the people who live and eat it every day?
✈️ The Best Way to Know: Experience It Yourself
At the end of the day, the most reliable food critic is you.
If you’re heading to Vietnam soon, why not taste both sides? Try a Michelin-starred restaurant and then wander down an alley to a sidewalk vendor. Compare. Discover. Decide.
With Vietravel Australia, you can build a travel itinerary that blends culture, comfort, and cuisine—whether you're after fine dining or plastic stools under a tree.
👜 Just bring an empty stomach and a sense of adventure—we’ll take care of flights, hotels, transport, and local tips.
