Da Nang, the popular resort in central Vietnam, is a city where you can enjoy café-hopping along with its beautiful beaches.
Because it's a place many tourists and foreign travelers visit, a tourist-oriented café culture has developed, and more shops let you enjoy a diverse food culture — modern, stylish cafés and shops incorporating vegan menus.
Naturally there's Vietnamese coffee made with rich Robusta beans, but being able to spend time leisurely in open spaces is also an appeal unique to Da Nang.
This article introduces everything from chain shops you can use with peace of mind to residents' everyday cafés rarely featured in tourist guides.
The cafés introduced here are broadly divided into "around My Khe Beach" and "the city center."
Along the beach there are many cafés where you can enjoy a resort feel, while the city center gathers quiet cafés and local shops. The two areas are easy to move between at about 10–15 minutes by car, and a feature is that they're easy to choose from to match your stay style.
For those who want to spend time watching the sea | Da Nang's beachfront cafés
When it comes to Da Nang, the abundance of cafés overlooking beautiful beaches is a major appeal too. Time spent gazing at the sea is perfect for a refresh between sightseeing.
Here we introduce beachfront cafés popular with residents too, combining scenery and comfort.
Esco Beach Da Nang
[Recommended for] Those who want to eat or have tea while watching the sea; families with children
A beach café with an outstanding open feel, along My Khe Beach. You can enjoy coffee and light meals right in front of the sea, so it's an easy café to drop by between sightseeing.The recommended time is the morning. Unlike the lively daytime mood, you can savor coffee while gazing at the sea in a calm atmosphere.
The outdoor terrace seats have wide spacing between them, and their appeal is that you can spend time in calm.Of course you can enjoy quiet time as adults only, but since there's a small play area too, families with children can use it without worry.
Lounge Beach Bar – Restaurant
[Recommended for] Those who want to relax watching the sea; those who want to enjoy a meal too
A restaurant-cum-café recommended for those who want to spend time leisurely along the beach. With many sofa seats, it's for travelers who want to enjoy time gazing at the sea doing nothing.Of course you can use it as a café, but the meal and drink menus are also substantial, so it can be used for a wide range of purposes.
For those who want to avoid crowds | Da Nang's quiet cafés
Step a little away from the bustle around the beach, and quiet cafés are dotted around Da Nang.
For times when you want to catch your breath between sightseeing, or for those who want to spend calm time, here we introduce hidden-gem cafés chosen from a resident's viewpoint.
Ge Cafe
[Recommended for] Those who want to spend quiet time
A café whose appeal is being a little removed from the tourist bustle, where you can spend quiet time until late at night.
Da Nang residents recommend the coconut coffee, with its good balance of sweetness and richness, perfect for a leisurely stretch of time.
Brewman Coffee Concept
[Recommended for] Those who want to quietly enjoy reading and conversation
A hideaway café known to those in the know, set a little off the main street.
With a calm interior, you can savor coffee quietly. Coconut coffee is popular here too, and it suits chatting and reading.
Evolight cafe
[Suited to] Those who value time alone; those who like a calm atmosphere
The small interior and understated location feel pleasant, a café with an atmosphere easy to enter even alone.
Easy to drop by casually between sightseeing, you can enjoy coffee in a calm air. Recommended for those who want to spend time without worrying about others' eyes.
For those who want to enjoy the outdoor atmosphere too | Da Nang cafés where you can savor an open feel
Da Nang has open-air cafés dotted around where you can enjoy a tropical openness even without a sea view.
Being able to spend time feeling the breeze in a courtyard or terrace seat is an appeal unique to a resort area. Here we introduce cafés recommended for those who want to relax with a bit of a change in atmosphere between sightseeing.
Roots Plant-Based Cafe – Healthy vegan restaurant
[Recommended for] The health-conscious; those wanting vegan options
An open terrace café with a rich menu of vegan and gluten-free options. Many visit for the acai bowls, and it suits morning and lunch use too.There's no sea view, but you can spend relaxed time on the greenery-filled terrace seats.
Incheon Coffee Đa Nang
[Recommended for] Those who want to savor both the outdoor and indoor atmospheres
A Korean-style café with both air-conditioned indoor seats and stone-paved terrace seats.Its appeal is being able to use it differently when you want to escape the heat and when you want to feel the outside air. Recommended for those who want to spend a leisurely break during sightseeing.
FOREST98COFFEE
[Recommended for] Those who want to experience an unusual café
A unique space imagined as "a café inside a rainforest," where you can spend time gazing at waterfalls, ponds, and carp.Recommended for those who want a slightly unusual café experience.
Reassuring even for first-timers | Da Nang's chain cafés
In a destination you don't know well, chain shops whose flavor and atmosphere are easy to picture are reassuring. Da Nang has everything from local chains where you can feel Vietnamese character to cafés familiar in Japan too.
Here we introduce standard chain shops easy to drop by between sightseeing or en route.
Cong Ca Phe
[Suited to] Those who want to casually enjoy a Vietnamese atmosphere
A Vietnam-born chain featuring retro interiors. It has four locations in Da Nang.Popular with tourists too, where you can casually enjoy Vietnamese coffee and coconut coffee.
Starbucks
[Suited to] Those who want to work in calm
'Starbucks,' with several locations in Da Nang,is a standard chain that many visit for its Vietnam-exclusive drinks and goods.With stable flavor and service, it suits working as well as a break. Recommended for those visiting Vietnam for the first time, or who want the reassurance of their usual taste even while traveling.
Tan Coffee
[Recommended for] Those who want to try a local chain; those who want to try distinctive menu items
A coffee chain from the ancient city of Hue, a café whose appeal is its calm atmosphere. It suits those who want to try a local chain.
Beyond traditional Vietnamese coffee, it also has distinctive drinks like banana coconut coffee and corn coffee.Recommended for coffee lovers and those who want to enjoy a cup you can only taste here.
Da Nang's café culture and its characteristics
Because Da Nang is a city that has developed as a resort area, there are many tourist-oriented cafés with a stylish, tropical atmosphere.
On the other hand, calm cafés blended into residents' daily lives are also dotted around, and a feature is that they're easy to choose from to match your purpose.
Many seaside cafés
What you can't leave out in talking about Da Nang's cafés is the abundance along the beach. Centered around My Khe Beach, cafés where you can spend time gazing at the sea are plentiful. Easy to drop by between sightseeing, they're popular with travelers who want to enjoy the scenery.
Many vegan cafés
Against a backdrop of health consciousness and diverse food cultures, having many vegan-friendly cafés is also a Da Nang feature. Supported not only by tourists but by resident foreigners too, there are shops easy to use for a light meal or breakfast.
Many tourist-oriented cafés
Overall there are many cafés mindful of tourists, and shops with English menus are plentiful too. Easy to enter even on a first Da Nang visit, being usable with peace of mind even on a short stay is a major appeal.
Reassuring even on a first Da Nang trip | Café Q&A
Before café-hopping in Da Nang, there are surprisingly many little things on your mind.
We've gathered common questions like Wi-Fi and use with children in Q&A form.
Can you use Wi-Fi?
At Da Nang's cafés, Wi-Fi is available at most shops.
The password is often written on the receipt or displayed on the wall or near the counter inside; if you can't find it, ask the staff and they'll tell you right away.
Are cafés OK with children?
Most cafés are OK with children. Vietnamese people are very tolerant of children, so you can use them with peace of mind even while traveling.
Shops offering juice and smoothies besides coffee, and cafés where you can relax on sofa seats, are recommended.
What are the payment methods?
Cash payment is the norm, but at tourist-oriented shops and chains, more cafés accept credit cards.To be prepared for small purchases, it's reassuring to keep a little cash on hand.
What drinks do you recommend?
From standard Vietnamese coffees to distinctive drinks, you can choose by that day's mood.
| Types of Vietnamese coffee | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Black coffee Ca phe den | Black coffee made using a metal dripper called a "phin" |
| Condensed-milk coffee Ca phe sua | Coffee with condensed milk |
| Milk coffee Bac Xiu | Vietnam's version of an iced latte; similar to ca phe sua, but bac xiu has more milk |
| Coconut coffee Ca phe dua | Strong coffee mixed with coconut milk and condensed milk |
| Egg coffee Ca phe trung | Coffee topped with a foam of egg yolk and sugar |
| Salt coffee Ca phe muoi | Salt added to the milk layer of an iced latte. Coffee and saltiness go together surprisingly well |
If you want something refreshing to drink on a hot day,fruit juices and smoothies are popular too, letting you casually savor a tropical mood.
A tour of long-established Vietnamese coffee shops, their history and appeal
Conclusion | Café-hopping in Da Nang, to enjoy to match your purpose
Da Nang is a city rich in cafés you can choose from to match your purpose — beachfront cafés, hidden gems where you can spend time quietly, and open-air cafés with terraces or courtyards.In addition to traditional Vietnamese coffee, you can enjoy distinctive drinks using coconut and fruit.
A cup of coffee dropped by between sightseeing, and time spent feeling the tropical air, should make your Da Nang stay more comfortable. Find a café that suits how you spend your time and enjoy café time unique to Da Nang.
