Food ranking siteTasteAtlasIn the 2026 edition of "the world's 100 most delicious noodle dishes" published by, Vietnam's noodle dishes came in 2nd by country. Second only to No. 1 Japan in scale, 18 items ranked in, and among them beef pho (Pho bo) took a resounding world No. 1 with a score of 4.5. It's a result that reflects where Vietnamese food culture stands now, having entered the stage of "being eaten and rated" rather than production volume.
Pho takes world No. 1, 18 items make the top 100
TasteAtlas is a platform that scores dishes by combining ratings from users worldwide with experts' judgments. In the 2026 noodle-dish ranking, Vietnam sent 18 items into the top 100, second only to Japan, securing 2nd by country. Standing at the summit was beef pho (Pho bo), with a score of 4.5 out of 5. It became the world's most highly rated bowl of noodles.
The upper ranks lined up strongly regional items like mi quang (Mi Quang) and bun bo Nam Bo (Bun bo Nam Bo), showing the depth of Vietnamese noodles beyond pho alone.Like the fermented food that young people line up for at a back-alley shop in Hanoi's Old Quarter,there's a background of ratings building up from stalls and lanes.
"Vietnamese noodles" that differ by region
Looking at the items that ranked in this time, even taking just pho, multiple forms, beef, chicken, vegetarian, mixed, and stir-fried, were rating targets. The ingredients and broth differ in the center, south, and north, and the diversity that greatly exceeds the general Japanese image of "Vietnamese food = pho" is a discovery for Japanese readers.
| Dish | Characteristics | Approximate rank |
|---|---|---|
| Pho bo (beef pho) | The flagship of rice noodles + beef-bone broth | 1st (score 4.5) |
| Bún đậu mắm tôm | Rice noodles + fried tofu + shrimp paste | 70th |
| Bánh đa cua | The red noodles of crab broth (Hai Phong) | 75th |
| Cao lầu | Hoi An's specialty tossed noodles | 93rd |
| Hủ tiếu Nam Vang | A southern noodle of Phnom Penh origin | 96th |
| Bánh canh | A soup of thick rice noodles | 100th |
Local and social-media reactions
Vietnamese domestic media reported all at once that "pho stood at the summit of the world's noodles," and on social media a movement spread of locals posting to each other the ranking of the noodles from their own hometowns. Central readers took pride in the selection of mi quang and cao lau, and northern readers in the rating of banh da cua and bun, with such posts standing out. The ranking also sparked a domestic debate over "which region's noodles are the best."
On the tourism side, as withthe coffee capital Buon Ma Thuot being chosen among the world's 15 foods,noodles too have begun to be built into itineraries as "a reason to go and eat."
The impact on Japanese travelers and buyers
In Japan, pho and banh mi have outstanding recognition, but this ranking becomes a gateway to the regional noodles beyond them. Hoi An's cao lau, Hai Phong's banh da cua, and the center's mi quang can become travel destinations as bowls you can only savor locally. A regional tour with noodle dishes as the angle also becomes material for dispersing Japanese itineraries, which tend to skew toward the standard cities.
Into the "export" phase of food culture
The world rating of Vietnamese noodles is linked not only to local food experiences but to the spread of Vietnamese restaurants overseas.Like Hanoi's food streets that stay open until late at night,stall culture is being transplanted to each country along with the ratings. From the standpoint of the supply of raw materials and ingredients too, Vietnamese ingredients like rice noodles for pho, pho broth, and Hue-derived seasonings may be sought in a wider market going forward.
Summary
Vietnam standing at world No. 2 in the TasteAtlas 2026 noodle ranking isn't limited to the rating of the single item pho. The fact that 18 items differing by region made the world's top 100 speaks to the depth of Vietnamese noodles. Next time you visit Vietnam, in addition to the classic pho, a trip searching for a bowl you can only meet in that place is fun too.
