In Sapa you will find a variety of places to eat – from the stalls along the road and some touristy looking restaurants.Except of the food stalls I have not seen as many little food places like in most other places in Vietnam.
Gerbera Restaurant
I visited Gerbera twice. It is on Cau May Road – walking down the road it is on your left side. While it was certainly one of the larger restaurants I found the place very charming, with a fireplace in the middle of the restaurant (very nice to have it when it is cold outside). The hot-pot and the other dishes I had there were very good. I can highly recommend the hot-pot and the wild boar with yoghurt. The prices there were very good – so very good value for money.
Lotus restaurant
This restaurant at the far end of Cau May Road (on the right side) offers a decent priced buffet, including freshly made omelette and pancakes, some Vietnamese dishes (rice and pork), bread, sausages, bacon jam, coffee and juice. It was great value for money.
Street Food
Along Cau May Road and near the entrance to the viewing point you find quite a few food stalls offering a good selection of finger food. My favourite was the older lady next to the entrance to the market selling Banh Goi (deep fried pastry filled with meat or a little egg). She also sells spring rolls. Other little snacks you can spot is sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf or bamboo, little rice cake and a variety of fruit. You might also see some locals sitting there with a little barbecue and a selection of meat and fish. They will grill the meat / fish for you.
Other places
Along Cau May road you will also find plenty of places selling fresh Banh Mi. Very handy if you want only a small breakfast before a hike.
Even though I was a bit unlucky with the choice, I would also recommend checking out places along Fansipan Road, as the places on the left offer some great views. Maybe even head for a coffee to the larger hotel The Mountain View at the end of Cau May Road.
Drinks
Another good thing about Sapa is the amount of little cafes you can visit to have ca fe su da. You won’t struggle to find a nice place to sit down, rest your feet enjoying a lovely refreshing drink.
At night you can find some bars with pool tables and Fussball-table at the bottom of Cau May Road. So if you need a late night beer, you will find one or two places. However, most places will not stay open after 11pm.
