For many years, Vietnam has often talked a lot about culinary tourism. We are proud of phở, bánh mì, bún chả, nem, mì Quảng, cơm tấm, bún bò Huế, cao lầu, and iced milk coffee. We also organize many food festivals, chef competitions, restaurant weeks, invite international chefs to Vietnam, and build the image of Vietnam as the “kitchen of the world.”
But there is a question that needs to be asked more seriously:
Why does Vietnam have such an attractive cuisine, yet lacks a strong enough national strategy to bring Vietnamese restaurants to the world as “brand ambassadors” for Vietnamese tourism?
Through the culinary experience at V-Senses Cafe Heritage, Furama Villas Danang, diners not only enjoy Vietnamese flavors but also step-by-step discover the culture, people, and beauty of Vietnam’s lands.
Cuisine is not just food. Cuisine is the first memory many tourists have of a country. A delicious bowl of phở in Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, or New York can make a diner curious about Hanoi for the first time. An authentic bánh mì in London can prompt the question: “What does Vietnam have that makes its food so appealing?”. A professionally operated Vietnamese restaurant abroad can completely become a tourism touchpoint even before a guest books a flight.
This is what Thailand has done very successfully.
Vietnam is strong in cuisine, but has mainly promoted it “domestically”
It is undeniable that Vietnamese cuisine is increasingly known worldwide. Vietnamese dishes frequently appear in newspapers, culinary rankings, and international media. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism once cited a survey by the World Food Travel Association showing that 81% of international tourists want to learn about local cuisine, and they can spend 25–35% of their trip budget on food and beverages. This shows that cuisine is no longer a secondary part of a trip but has become a motivation for choosing a destination.
However, Vietnam’s current approach still leans heavily towards developing culinary experiences within Vietnam: organizing festivals, building food tours, developing domestic restaurants, connecting chefs, and promoting regional dishes. These actions are necessary, but not enough.
What is missing is a strategy to market Vietnam abroad through a system of Vietnamese restaurants.
Currently, most Vietnamese restaurants abroad are formed spontaneously by the Vietnamese community, overseas Vietnamese, or local entrepreneurs who love Vietnamese food. They have made great contributions to spreading Vietnamese cuisine. But because of this spontaneous development, the image, menus, service standards, cultural stories, brand identity, ingredient quality, and storytelling about Vietnam are inconsistent.
Some restaurants are very successful. But in many places, Vietnamese food is understood as a “delicious, cheap, fast” option, not yet elevated into a cultural experience capable of drawing tourists to Vietnam.
This is the strategic gap.
Vietnamese Embassies have promoted cuisine, but there is no national-scale support program for Vietnamese restaurants
Reviewing public information sources shows that Vietnamese representative agencies abroad have organized many culinary promotion activities. For example, in February 2026, the Vietnamese Embassy in China collaborated with Vietnamese restaurants in Beijing to organize the “Vietnam Phở Day” event, attended by more than 170 diplomatic delegates, to promote the national brand through phở and support the Vietnamese business community in introducing products and services.
In Europe, Phở Week in Europe 2025 gathered more than 230 restaurants, eateries, and culinary businesses from 21 European countries, Japan, and Vietnam to promote phở and Vietnamese cuisine. This was noted as the first time a Vietnamese culinary promotion campaign had such a wide scale in Europe.
In 2026, the Phở Cultural Roadshow Europe 2026 program was also introduced by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, with the goal of making phở a bridge to promote Vietnamese culture in Europe.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has also promoted the participation of overseas Vietnamese in introducing, distributing, and developing distribution channels for Vietnamese goods abroad in the 2026–2030 period, such as the meeting between the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore with Vietnamese businesses in Singapore in May 2026.
However, what needs to be emphasized is: there is no national program equivalent to Thailand’s Thai SELECT—an official system to support, standardize, certify, train, identify brands, and connect Vietnamese restaurants abroad into a network to promote Vietnamese tourism.
In other words, Vietnam has had many culinary promotion activities. But we do not yet have a true “Vietnamese Restaurant Global Program” strategy.
The Lesson from Thailand: Thai Restaurants as Tourism Ambassadors
Thailand is a classic example of turning cuisine into a tool for cultural diplomacy, trade promotion, and tourism marketing.
Since 2002, the Thai Government has supported the development of Thai restaurants abroad. According to Thai government media, the number of Thai restaurants abroad has increased from about 5,500 to 15,000 thanks to support policies since 2002; by 2024, there were approximately 17,478 Thai restaurants globally, of which 1,546 achieved Thai SELECT certification.
Thai SELECT is a certification issued by the Thai Ministry of Commerce to ensure authentic Thai flavors for Thai restaurants and Thai food products both domestically and abroad. This certification evaluates not only the food but also the ambiance, customer experience, hygiene, chef’s skills, and ingredient quality.
According to updated information from the DITP under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, as of May 2026, there were 1,419 Thai SELECT restaurants in 70 countries after a repositioning and upgrade of the certification identity. Meanwhile, the Thai SELECT website currently displays 1,878 restaurants in 71 countries; this difference may come from statistical methods based on certification versions, databases, or different update times.
The important thing is that Thailand does not just “let Thais open restaurants on their own.” They created an ecosystem:
National brand – quality certification – dish standards – ingredient connection – communication – trade promotion – tourism promotion.
Thai Trade Offices abroad also participate in promoting the list of Thai SELECT restaurants in each area, such as the Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia regions in the United States.
This is how Thailand turns Thai restaurants into “soft ambassadors.” An American eating Tom Yum, Pad Thai, or Som Tum in Washington may have never been to Bangkok, but they have had their first experience of Thailand. A good Thai restaurant doesn’t just sell a meal; it sells an image of Thailand: friendly, flavorful, tropical, sophisticated, and worth visiting.
What can Vietnam do?
Vietnam can certainly learn from Thailand’s approach, but should not copy it mechanically. Vietnamese cuisine has its own identity: fresh, light, plenty of herbs, balanced, regionally diverse, associated with markets, streets, families, history, and community memories. Therefore, the strategy to bring Vietnamese cuisine to the world needs to be both standardized and maintain its richness.
The space of V-Senses Cafe Heritage at Furama Villas Danang shows that the identity of a Vietnamese restaurant lies not only in the food but is also shaped through materials, art, and the cultural stories conveyed to diners.
First of all, Vietnam should build a national program that could be named:
Vietnamese Kitchen Global or Vietnam SELECT – Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine
This program should be implemented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, Vietnam Trade Offices abroad, tourism associations, restaurant associations, chefs, and the overseas Vietnamese community.
The goal is not for the state to open restaurants. The goal is to create conditions for Vietnamese restaurants that have opened or will open abroad to become part of the national brand strategy.
A brand identity and standards for Vietnamese restaurants abroad are needed
Vietnam needs a set of soft standards for Vietnamese restaurants abroad, not too rigid but enough to build trust.
That set of standards could include:
- flavors and foundational recipes for some iconic dishes;
- standards for Vietnamese ingredients and spices;
- bilingual menu design;
- cultural stories behind the dishes;
- modern Vietnamese visual identity;
- hygiene and service standards;
- suggestions for ambiance, music, and decoration;
- connection with Vietnamese tourism products;
- use of Vietnamese agricultural products, spices, coffee, fish sauce, rice, tea, pepper, cinnamon, star anise, and fruits.
The important thing is not to turn Vietnamese cuisine into a boxed formula. Hanoi phở, Nam Dinh phở, Saigon phở, bún bò Huế, mì Quảng, cao lầu, Central Vietnamese bánh xèo, Saigon cơm tấm, Hanoi bún chả, and Mekong Delta bún mắm all have their own identities. What needs to be standardized is not making every dish the same, but standardizing the quality, the story, and the way Vietnam is represented.
Vietnamese restaurants abroad must also sell the trip to Vietnam
If a Vietnamese restaurant abroad only sells food, it has only fulfilled half its role. The other half is to become a tourism marketing point.
On the dining table, guests can see:
- Vietnamese tourism maps;
- images of Hanoi, Hue, Danang, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong, Phu Quoc;
- QR codes leading to the Vietnamese tourism website;
- short videos about Vietnamese markets, craft villages, beaches, and heritage;
- suggestions on “where to eat this dish when visiting Vietnam”;
- regional food weeks;
- pairing between dishes and destinations.
Example:
- eating phở associated with a Hanoi itinerary;
- eating bún bò associated with Hue;
- eating mì Quảng associated with Danang – Quang Nam;
- eating cao lầu associated with Hoi An;
- eating cơm tấm associated with Saigon;
- eating seafood associated with Central Vietnam;
- drinking egg coffee associated with Hanoi;
- drinking iced milk coffee associated with Vietnamese urban culture.
Then, Vietnamese restaurants become “living showrooms” for Vietnamese tourism.
From Cultural Diplomacy to Culinary Diplomacy
Vietnam has a Cultural Diplomacy Strategy until 2030, which identifies cultural diplomacy as a common task of the entire political system, associated with enhancing soft power and national position. The strategy also emphasizes the principle of taking localities, people, and businesses as the center in implementing cultural diplomacy.
In 2026, the Foreign Cultural Strategy until 2030, with a vision to 2045, continues to set the goal of widely promoting Vietnamese cultural values to the world, enhancing Vietnam’s position and influence in the international arena, focusing on strong fields such as cinema, performing arts, cultural tourism, and heritage.
Cuisine needs to be placed at the center of this strategy.
At V-Senses Cafe Heritage, Furama Villas Danang, each culinary space contributes to telling stories about people, community, and the richness of Vietnamese cultural identity.
Because cuisine is the most accessible form of culture. Not everyone watches a traditional performance. Not everyone reads Vietnamese history. But many people are willing to try a bowl of phở, a bánh mì, or a glass of iced milk coffee.
Cuisine is the softest door to enter a country.
A Specific Proposal: Global Vietnamese Restaurant Network
Vietnam can implement the Vietnamese Restaurant Global Network model at three levels.
Level 1: Vietnam Taste Partner
For Vietnamese restaurants abroad that meet basic standards for food, hygiene, menus, cultural stories, and the image of Vietnam.
Level 2: Vietnam SELECT
For restaurants that meet higher standards of flavor, ingredients, service, ambiance, experience, and the ability to promote Vietnamese destinations.
Level 3: Vietnam Signature / Vietnam Heritage Dining
For high-end restaurants or those with special contributions to elevating Vietnamese cuisine, combining fine dining, heritage, regional products, Vietnamese chefs, and cultural experiences.
Along with that, a toolkit for Vietnamese restaurants abroad needs to be built:
- “Vietnamese Cuisine” brand identity;
- Vietnamese tourism image library;
- short videos about destinations;
- dish story collection;
- sample menus;
- base recipes;
- list of Vietnamese ingredient suppliers;
- chef training programs;
- annual communication programs;
- connection with Vietnamese Embassies, Consulates, and Trade Offices.
Vietnamese Cuisine Needs to Accompany the Export of Agricultural and Local Products
A Vietnamese restaurant abroad does not only help promote tourism. It also paves the way for Vietnamese goods.
Phở needs rice noodles, cinnamon, star anise, fish sauce, chili sauce, beef, and herbs. Bánh mì needs pickles, pâté, spices, and sauces. Vietnamese coffee needs robusta coffee, filters, and condensed milk. Hue dishes, Quang dishes, and Southern dishes need characteristic spices and ingredients.
If well-organized, Vietnamese restaurants abroad will drive:
- rice exports;
- fish sauce;
- coffee;
- pepper;
- cinnamon;
- star anise;
- cashews;
- fruits;
- processed foods;
- beer, beverages;
- handicraft products;
- books, movies, music, and tourism.
This is something Thailand understands very well. Thai SELECT not only promotes dishes but also helps increase demand for Thai ingredients, food, and products. Thailand’s “Travel, Taste, Eat Thai SELECT” program is also implemented with the participation of the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and related agencies, showing a very clear interdisciplinary approach.
Vietnam also needs such an interdisciplinary model.
Questions for Vietnam
If Thailand has Thai SELECT, South Korea has the K-food wave along with K-pop and K-drama, and Japan has sushi, ramen, and izakaya as global cultural symbols, how will Vietnam use cuisine to invite the world to itself?
We have phở, bánh mì, bún chả, coffee, fish sauce, street food, Hue royal cuisine, Central Vietnamese cuisine, Mekong cuisine, mountain and forest cuisine, and seafood. But do we have a strong enough system to turn those values into a national marketing strategy?
The question is not whether Vietnamese food is delicious. The question is:
Who is telling the story of Vietnamese cuisine abroad? In what language? According to what standards? Associated with which destinations? And does it lead guests back to Vietnam?
Not only introducing Vietnamese flavors, V-Senses Cafe Heritage also embeds stories of the land, people, and cultural heritage in every dish.
Conclusion: Bringing the Vietnamese Kitchen to the World to Draw the World to Vietnam
Vietnamese tourism is entering a phase that requires growth through value. To do so, we cannot just wait for tourists to come to Vietnam before introducing Vietnamese cuisine. We need to bring Vietnamese cuisine forward as an invitation.
A good Vietnamese restaurant abroad can be an ambassador.
A Phở Week can be a tourism campaign.
A Vietnamese dish brand identity can be part of the national brand.
A Vietnamese chef abroad can be a storyteller for the country.
A delicious bowl of phở in Europe can be the reason for a tourist to book a ticket to Hanoi.
It is time for Vietnam to not only talk about culinary tourism in Vietnam but to think of a larger strategy:
Marketing Vietnamese tourism to the world through Vietnamese cuisine.
Not only building Vietnam into the “kitchen of the world”, but also making the Vietnamese Kitchen the first doors for the world to enter Vietnam.
