Seafood is what most people come to Phu Quoc to eat, and the island delivers: blue swimmer crabs from Ham Ninh, squid, scallops grilled with spring-onion oil, sea urchins, and the island’s own herring salad. The way it is sold takes a little getting used to. In most seafood restaurants you pick live seafood from tanks at the front, it is weighed and charged by the kilo, and you choose how it is cooked. Done right, it is one of the best meals of the trip; the only real trap is not knowing the price before the crab goes into the pot.
How the pricing works
- Prices are per kilo for anything in the tanks, sometimes per piece for oysters, scallops and sea urchins. The menu or a board at the front lists the price; dishes such as fried rice and vegetables are priced per plate.
- Ask the price per kilo, watch it go on the scale, and agree the total — including the cooking — before it goes to the kitchen. Good restaurants weigh in front of you without being asked.
- Prices are legal if they are listed. Under Vietnamese law a restaurant can be fined for not listing prices (500,000–1 million dong) or for charging more than the listed price (5–10 million dong), but a high price that was listed and agreed is not a violation (VnExpress, May 2026). In February 2026 a bill of 300,000 dong for six prawns went viral; the authorities checked and found the price had been on the menu (Tuổi Trẻ, February 2026). In other words, the check you do before ordering is what protects you.
- If something goes wrong, Phu Quoc’s tourism rapid response team has taken complaints about prices and services around the clock since February 2026 (Tuổi Trẻ, February 2026); your hotel can help you report a problem.
- Choose your own restaurant. Some drivers take passengers to restaurants that pay them a commission (Dân trí, 2023). If you have picked a place, insist on it — one reviewer in 2026 had to, at Ham Ninh.
What it costs in 2026
| Seafood | Price, about | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ham Ninh crab (ghẹ), live | 200,000–500,000 dong/kg, 6–7 crabs to the kilo | VnExpress, January 2026 |
| Steamed crab at a Ham Ninh floating restaurant | 350,000–600,000 dong/kg | Dân trí, April 2026 |
| Crab set menu, Ham Ninh | 300,000–500,000 dong per person | Dân trí, April 2026 |
| Grilled sea urchin (nhum) | 20,000–40,000 dong each | Dân trí, April 2026 |
| Herring salad (gỏi cá trích) | 150,000–250,000 dong a plate | Thanh Niên, 2024; Dân trí, 2026 |
| Tiger prawns at Tet | 450,000–500,000 dong/kg | a restaurant owner, Tuổi Trẻ, February 2026 |
| A dish at the Bai Truong night market | 100,000–500,000 dong | VnExpress, January 2026 |
From Google Maps reviews in 2025–2026: a big seafood dinner for two at a Ham Ninh restaurant came to about 1.5 million dong; two people ate at the Duong Dong night market for about 680,000 dong; and a kilo of lobster cost one couple 1.8 million dong. Prices rise at Tet and around New Year.
What to order
Choosing from the tanks at a Ham Ninh restaurant. Photo: Blue Fam, via Google Maps
- Ham Ninh crab (ghẹ Hàm Ninh): small blue swimmer crabs, best simply steamed or boiled and dipped in salt, pepper and lime (VnExpress); also stir-fried with tamarind (ghẹ rang me), or in crab fried rice.
- Herring salad (gỏi cá trích): raw herring with grated coconut, onion and herbs, rolled in rice paper with a peanut dipping sauce — the island’s signature dish. See what to eat on Phu Quoc.
- Sea urchin (nhum): grilled with spring-onion oil and peanuts, or in rice porridge.
- Squid: grilled, steamed with ginger, or fried; the freshest are caught the night before.
- Mantis shrimp, clams, scallops and sea snails from the tanks, grilled or stir-fried with garlic, butter or tamarind.
Seasons: the calm months from late autumn to early spring are the main season for crab and squid (SGGP, 2023), and herring is fished from about October to April (Thanh Niên, 2024).
Where to eat seafood
Ham Ninh, on the east coast
The fishing village of Ham Ninh, about 15 minutes from Duong Dong, is the classic place for crab: a row of floating restaurants (nhà bè) on stilts over the water, where you choose live crab and have it weighed (Dân trí, 2026). Most reviewers find prices lower than in town, the setting better, and the cooking simple. Among the most reviewed (Google Maps, October 2026):
- Nhà bè Thảo Nhi — 4.8 from 112; small and friendly, praised for its crab with tamarind and herring salad.
- Nhà bè Hải sản Ngọc Hân — 4.5 from 118; reviewers single out the small oysters.
- Sơn Trang Quán — 4.3 from 95; beachfront, with prices shown up front.
- Thuận Kiều 2 — 4.0 from 567; reviewers recommend its crab fried rice.
- Bè hải sản Tình Biển 2, on the creek at Rach Goc — 4.1 from 809; a bigger choice of seafood, a little out of the way.
The waterfront at Ham Ninh. Photo: Stijn Zaalberg, via Google Maps
Duong Dong and Long Beach
The town has the most seafood restaurants, especially on Tran Hung Dao and Bach Dang Streets. Well-known ones include Lobster Cave (Động Tôm Hùm, Bach Dang; 4.8 from 8,212), Vịnh Xanh (40 Tran Hung Dao; 4.7 from 3,722), MYLA Seafood (98 Tran Hung Dao; 4.9 from 939) and Phuong Hoang (127G Tran Hung Dao; 4.5 from 1,978), where reviewers note the seafood is weighed in front of them. Expect higher prices than at Ham Ninh.
The night markets. The old riverside night market on Bach Dang Street, in the centre of Duong Dong, reached the end of its lease at the end of 2025 and stopped trading after Tet; its stalls were taken down in April 2026. The authorities have said the island will keep a night market and are looking for a new site (Tuổi Trẻ, April 2026), and stalls on the neighbouring streets were still serving seafood in mid-2026, according to Google Maps reviews — check the latest before you go. See the night market. The other night markets:
- Bai Truong night market, on the Sonasea walking street off Tran Hung Dao, Long Beach: 16:00–23:00 every day, seafood dishes 100,000–500,000 dong (VnExpress, January 2026). Mr Seafood there scores 4.8 from 3,399.
- The Sunset Town night market (VUI-Fest Bazaar) in An Thoi, with more than 100 stalls, and the Grand World night market in the north (VnExpress, January 2026).
The south and the north
- Bai Khem and Sunset Town: Ann Seafood on the Bai Khem waterfront (4.8 from 3,934) and Mai Hương in Sunset Town (5.0 from 1,119) are the most reviewed. See An Thoi.
- Grand World and Ganh Dau: Hải sản Cường Kua in Grand World (4.8 from 4,000), Vua Hải Sản on Bai Dai (4.8 from 2,087), and Quốc Thiện at Ganh Dau (4.7 from 1,382). The floating fish farms of Rach Vem also serve seafood over the water.
For more floating restaurants around the island, see floating restaurants.
Buying at the market
The Duong Dong market (Chợ Dương Đông), on the river at Tran Phu Street, has fresh fish, crab and squid from early morning, and dried squid, shrimp and fish sauce to take home; Ham Ninh has its own market by the village. Some markets and restaurants will cook what you buy for a fee per dish — ask first. For edible souvenirs, see souvenirs and fish sauce.
Ratings and visitor comments: Google Maps, October 2026. Prices: Vietnamese press, 2024–2026 — see the sources.
