Nha Trang Guide
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6 places for Seafood congee Nha Trang

Rating: 4.1 / 5 — Our own score, not an average of guest reviews

Our own score, not an average of guest reviews

The late meal after an island day, or breakfast when nothing heavy will do

City centre

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Address
A dish rather than an address. Six named places at the foot of the page, with prices read off their menus
Opening hours
The two shops at the foot of the page close at 22:30 and 23:00
Price range
35,000 – 160,000₫/dish
Best time to go
After 21:00, or the morning after a heavy night

Overview

Congee is rice cooked down to a loose porridge, and in a coastal city it is made with prawn, squid or fish rather than pork. It is light, hot and easy on the stomach, which fills the two gaps nothing else on this list covers.

The first is the late meal: back ashore after an island tour, tired and salted, with the noodle shops long closed. The congee places are still open. The second is breakfast after a night of grilled seafood and beer, when nothing heavy is welcome.

One thing is worth knowing before you go looking: most congee shops in Nha Trang do not cook seafood. The city has more than thirty places advertising congee, but most of them serve the pork or offal version. The reason is simple: seafood congee does not live in a congee shop, it lives on a seafood restaurant's menu, which is why most of the six addresses below are restaurants, and why the way to find it is to open the congee section of a menu rather than to search for a congee shop.

If you know congee as thick, this is looser, closer to soup. It comes with spring onion, pepper and sometimes fried dough sticks. The price spreads nearly fivefold, which is the most useful thing to know: a small bowl is 35,000₫ at Gỏi Cá Hà Ra, while lobster congee at Hà Linh is 160,000₫. All read off the shops' own menus.

Other sea dishes: gỏi cá mai and bún sứa. For late hours, see the night-eating page.

Some shops, with addresses

  • Hải Sản Nina

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    6 Ngo Si Lien, Tay Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    Open 10:00 – 23:00

    Three tiers of live tanks stand at the door: point at what you want and the kitchen cooks it the way you ask, so the bill follows the creature you chose rather than a line on a menu. Steamed crab and scallops fried with lemongrass are the two dishes to order. It is an indoor restaurant with an upstairs, unlike the tables set out along the seawall, and Ngo Si Lien is an inland street rather than the beach strip. It closes at 23:00. The later of the two here, which is exactly the late meal the top of this page describes. One thing to know first: almost nobody here orders the congee, so if the congee is why you are coming, ask before you sit down.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Quán Hải Sản Cô Liền

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    83 Tran Phu, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    4.0★ Google · 580 reviewsOpen 10:30 – 22:30

    83 Tran Phu, open 10:30–22:30. An old name on the seafront strip, strongest on lobster. The congee is a side dish in a seafood house rather than the point of it. One thing to know: it has been less consistent lately: the staff do not know the seafood well and the menu has narrowed. Order simply and ask prices first.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Nhà Hàng Hải Sản Hà Linh

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    34 Tran Phu, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    4.8★ Google · 1,424 reviewsOpen 10:00 – 23:00

    34 Tran Phu, open 10:00–23:00, and note that it has moved here from To Hieu street, so ignore the old address if you find it elsewhere. The new room is large, airy and clean, on a main road so it is easy to find and to park at. This is the one for a family meal. The congee is a line on a seafood menu rather than the reason to come.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Hải Sản Vịnh San Hô — Bãi Dài

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    Bai Dai, Cam Lam, Khanh Hoa

    4.8★ Google · 110 reviewsOpen 10:00 – 23:00

    The only one outside the city, at Bai Dai south of the airport. Worth it only if you are staying in the Cam Lam resort strip. To be plain about the evidence: the printed menu shows seafood soup at 80,000₫ rather than a congee section, though the restaurant does serve a bowl of oyster congee. Ask before sitting down for the congee alone.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Gỏi Cá Hà Ra

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    188 (formerly 977) 2 Thang 4 street, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    4.7★ Google · 23 reviews

    188 on 2 Thang 4 street: formerly 977, so the map and the sign can disagree. This place is known for its gỏi cá mai and its dipping sauce, and the congee is a line at the end of the menu, but the cheapest in this group: fish, oyster and mixed-seafood congee are all 35,000₫ for a small bowl and 130,000₫ for a large. Small is one person's meal. If congee is why you came, this is the cheapest; and once you are there, order the raw fish too.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

  • Cá Mai 79

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    10 Dien Bien Phu, Ba Lang, north Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa

    4.8★ Google · 12 reviews

    A three-line congee section, with the shop's own star against the seafood one at 119,000₫; oyster and clam are both 89,000₫. Open all day, so this is somewhere you can have congee at midday rather than only late. North of the centre, in Ba Lang.

    Reference photos from sources on the internet.

Addresses come from each shop's own Google Maps listing, and the Open map button opens that shop's pin rather than running a search. 18 shops on the site have no listing we could confirm, so they have no button: the address lookup returned a different business, and a button that points at the wrong place is worse than none. A Google score appears only when Maps carries both the score and the number of reviews — a bare average cannot be weighed, so this page leaves it out. Street-food stalls change hours and close without telling anyone; call ahead if you are travelling across town.

What to order

  • Made with prawn, squid or fish rather than pork
  • Sold late, when the noodle shops have closed
  • Light and easy, right after a night of grilled seafood
  • Most congee shops here do offal or duck; seafood congee is the minority

Practical tips

  • This congee is looser than the northern version, closer to soup
  • Ask the price by seafood before ordering; prawn and squid differ
  • Searching "cháo Nha Trang" mostly returns offal congee, add "hải sản" to the query

Frequently asked

When does seafood congee make sense?

As a late meal after an island tour, when the noodle shops have shut; or as breakfast after a night of grilled seafood.

What does a bowl cost?

Roughly 40,000–70,000₫ depending on what is in it.

Which area?

The two shops at the foot of the page: 6 Ngo Si Lien and 83 Tran Phu. Most other congee shops in Nha Trang do offal, duck or chicken rather than seafood.

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