What food costs in Việt Nam: street prices and a daily budget

Eating in Việt Nam is cheap, as long as you eat where the locals do: on a low stool, from someone who cooks one dish. Here is roughly what things cost, what a day of eating adds up to, and how to pay. Every price here is at the time of writing; prices move with the year, the city and the street.

What things cost

What	At the time of writing	Roughly
A bowl of phở or bún at a street stall	40,000–70,000₫	$1.50–3
A bánh mì	20,000–40,000₫	$0.75–1.50
Coffee at a street café	20,000–40,000₫	$0.75–1.50
A glass of bia hơi	Small change	Well under $1
A fruit smoothie (sinh tố)	30,000–50,000₫	$1–2
A meal at a sit-down local restaurant	100,000–300,000₫ per person	$4–12

Iced tea (trà đá) is often free or very cheap. Expect to pay more on the busiest tourist streets and anywhere with air-conditioning and an English menu.

Reading the price

• The đồng has a lot of zeros, so menus often drop three of them: 50k means 50,000₫.
• A dot separates the thousands: 50.000đ is fifty thousand, not fifty.
• The blue 20,000 and 500,000 notes look alike at a glance. Check before you hand one over.

A day of eating

• Street food only. Phở for breakfast, a coffee, bánh mì for lunch, a smoothie in the afternoon, noodles at a stall for dinner and a glass of bia hơi: roughly 150,000–300,000₫ ($6–12) at the time of writing.
• Street food plus one sit-down meal. Swap the stall dinner for a local restaurant and you are looking at roughly 200,000–500,000₫ ($8–20), again at the time of writing.
• Restaurants and bars. Air-conditioned dining for every meal, cocktails, imported wine: there is no ceiling, and imported drinks can cost close to what they do at home.

Most travellers mix all three. The cheapest meal of the day is often the one you remember.

How to pay

• Cash is what stalls, markets and street cafés expect. Carry small notes: 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000₫. A 500,000₫ note at a phở stall is a nuisance.
• QR codes: locals often pay by scanning a code on the counter for a bank transfer. It usually needs a Vietnamese banking app, so don’t count on it.
• Cards work in bigger places: restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and chain cafés. Ask before you order.
• Tipping isn’t expected at street stalls. Our guide to tipping in Việt Nam covers the rest.

Avoiding the tourist price

• Now and then, especially on busy tourist streets, a stall quotes visitors more. If the price isn’t on the wall, ask before you eat: “Bao nhiêu tiền?” (how much?).
• What’s on the table isn’t always free. Fried dough sticks (quẩy), peanuts and packaged wet towels often go on the bill if you open or eat them.
• Count your change, and smile while you do it.

Our guide to picking a good street food stall has more on finding the places worth your đồng.

Eat with us

Our Dawn Phở Run in Hà Nội starts at 6 a.m. in the Old Quarter, with two bowls of phở from two rival stalls, a plate of bánh cuốn and a cà phê đen to finish. In Sài Gòn, our Back-of-the-Bike Food Night rides you pillion with a local driver to six food stops, drinks included.