TL;DR
Best vegan Vietnamese in Minneapolis: iPho Saigon (Frogtown St Paul, mushroom-broth pho and tofu banh mi are the standouts), Hai Hai (Northeast Minneapolis, tropical cocktails and vegan-friendly menu), Ngon Vietnamese Bistro (Cathedral Hill St Paul, best upscale vegan Vietnamese option in the metro), Quang Restaurant (Eat Street, long-running spot with tofu and vegetable options). Vietnamese cuisine is highly adaptable — the main watch-outs are fish sauce (nước chấm) and shrimp paste.
Vegan Vietnamese Food in Minneapolis: Where to Go
Vietnamese cuisine is built around fresh vegetables, herbs, rice, and noodles — a naturally accommodating structure for plant-based eating. The complication is fish sauce, which appears throughout the cuisine at a structural level: in broth, dipping sauces, marinades, and the fermented condiments that give Vietnamese food its characteristic depth.
Several Minneapolis Vietnamese restaurants handle this well, either by offering dedicated vegan preparations or by accommodating requests with real knowledge. Here is where to go.
iPho Saigon — Frogtown, Saint Paul
iPho Saigon on University Avenue in St Paul's Frogtown neighborhood is the best Vietnamese restaurant in the Twin Cities for vegans. The mushroom-based pho broth is rich, properly fragrant with star anise and cinnamon, and satisfies in the way that a well-made meat broth satisfies — the kind of thing that makes you wonder why all pho isn't made this way.
The tofu banh mi is equally strong: properly charred tofu, pickled daikon and carrot, fresh cucumber and cilantro, jalapeño, and a vegan-friendly spread on a baguette with real crunch. It's one of the better sandwiches in Minneapolis regardless of dietary category.
The vegetable summer rolls (gỏi cuốn) with rice paper are naturally vegan — order extra peanut sauce on the side, which at iPho is made without fish sauce.
What to order: Mushroom pho, tofu banh mi, vegetable summer rolls.
Address: University Ave, Frogtown, Saint Paul | Lunch and dinner daily
Hai Hai — Northeast Minneapolis
Hai Hai is technically inspired by the street food of Southeast Asia broadly — Vietnam, Thailand, Laos — rather than specifically Vietnamese. But the menu draws heavily on Vietnamese flavors and the restaurant is worth knowing about for vegans because of how well it handles plant-based eating.
The cocktail program is exceptional — creative rum and gin drinks that make this a strong date night option. The food menu has clear vegan markers, and the kitchen is accustomed to vegan requests. The rice paper rolls, tofu-based dishes, and herb-forward salads are the vegan sweet spots.
The atmosphere — open, plant-filled, vibrant — makes it one of the more enjoyable dining rooms in Northeast Minneapolis.
Address: 2121 University Ave NE | Dinner nightly, weekend brunch
Ngon Vietnamese Bistro — Cathedral Hill, Saint Paul
Ngon ("delicious" in Vietnamese) is the upscale Vietnamese option in the Twin Cities. Located in Cathedral Hill near J. Selby's, the restaurant takes Vietnamese cuisine seriously — the broths are made from scratch, the herbs are fresh, and the technique shows.
For vegans, the key is the dedicated vegetarian menu section, which includes mushroom pho, vegetable curry, and tofu preparations made with vegetable broth rather than animal stock. This is the choice for a sit-down Vietnamese dinner with real attention to the vegan options.
What to order: The vegetarian pho is the reference point — order it and see what a well-made mushroom broth can do.
Address: Cathedral Hill, Saint Paul | Dinner nightly, lunch weekdays
Quang Restaurant — Eat Street, Minneapolis
Quang is one of the longest-running Vietnamese restaurants in Minneapolis, located on the Eat Street corridor on Nicollet Ave. The menu is extensive, and the kitchen has been handling vegetarian requests for decades.
The tofu preparations and vegetable noodle soups are the vegan entry points. The spring rolls and rice plates with tofu are reliably available. It's not a dedicated vegan restaurant, but it's a well-run kitchen that knows what it's doing.
Address: 2719 Nicollet Ave S, Eat Street
Tips for Ordering Vegan at Vietnamese Restaurants in Minneapolis
Ask about the broth. This is the most important question at any Vietnamese restaurant. Pho broth is almost always beef-bone based; ask if they have vegetable or mushroom broth. Many restaurants have it — they just don't advertise it prominently.
Fish sauce is in most sauces. The dipping sauce (nước chấm) that comes with spring rolls and banh mi is fish sauce-based. Ask for a substitute — good restaurants will offer you hoisin, peanut sauce, or soy-vinegar dipping sauce.
Summer rolls are often naturally vegan. Fresh summer rolls (gỏi cuốn) with rice paper, rice noodles, vegetables, and herbs are naturally vegan. Ask that they're made without shrimp (ask explicitly; shrimp is the default protein).
Pho toppings can be added on the side. If you're ordering at a restaurant where the broth question is unclear, ask for the bean sprouts, lime, basil, and jalapeño on the side — you can add them to whatever you're eating.
Neighborhood Context: Vietnamese Restaurants in the Twin Cities
Vietnamese restaurants in the Twin Cities follow a clear geography. Frogtown on University Avenue in St Paul is the historical center of Vietnamese food in Minnesota — a dense corridor with restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores serving the Vietnamese-American community that settled here. iPho Saigon sits in this corridor. Eat Street (Nicollet Ave in Minneapolis) has Quang and several other Vietnamese spots. Northeast Minneapolis has Hai Hai. Cathedral Hill in St Paul has Ngon.
For home cooking exploration, United Noodles on East Lake Street stocks fresh herbs (Thai basil, perilla, saw-tooth herb), rice papers, rice noodles, and tofu varieties that open up DIY Vietnamese cooking possibilities.
Price Range & Ordering Tips
iPho Saigon: Pho bowls $14-$17, banh mi $8-$11, summer rolls $7-$9. The best value is the mushroom pho — large bowl, substantial, properly filling. Add extra bean sprouts and fresh basil at the table.
Hai Hai: Higher price point ($16-$24 for mains), cocktails $12-$15. This is the date night or special occasion choice. The cocktail program is a legitimate reason to visit even if you're not hungry. Reserve on weekends — it fills up.
Ngon Vietnamese Bistro: Mid-range to upscale, $15-$25 for mains. The tasting menu approach (ordering multiple smaller dishes) works well here and shows off the kitchen's range. The vegetarian pho is worth the premium over a standard bowl.
Quang: Among the most affordable on this list, $12-$16 range. The spring rolls are a perennial order and the tofu preparations are reliable. Cash preferred.
Pro Tip
The Pho Broth Test: When you sit down at a Vietnamese restaurant that's new to you, order tea and ask your server directly: "Do you make a vegetable or mushroom broth for pho?" The answer tells you everything. A restaurant that has taken the time to develop a vegetable-broth pho cares about plant-based dining. iPho Saigon and Ngon pass this test — their mushroom broths are built with the same attention as the meat versions.
Vegan Vietnamese at Home
The Twin Cities has excellent Vietnamese grocery infrastructure. Shuang Hur Oriental Foods on Nicollet Ave and Sun Foods on East Lake Street carry everything needed for DIY pho: dried mushrooms for broth, rice noodles, fresh herbs, tofu, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and black cardamom. A proper mushroom pho at home requires about three hours of simmering and is completely achievable with these sources.
For a complete exploration of vegan Asian dining in Minneapolis, see our full vegan Asian restaurants guide. Browse the complete MPLS Vegan directory for all plant-based dining across the Twin Cities. Also see our best vegan restaurants Minneapolis 2026 guide for the full picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get vegan Vietnamese food in Minneapolis?
iPho Saigon in St Paul's Frogtown neighborhood is the top pick for vegan Vietnamese food — they do mushroom-broth pho and tofu banh mi that rival any meat version. Hai Hai in Northeast Minneapolis has a tropical Vietnamese-inspired menu with strong vegan options. Ngon Vietnamese Bistro in Cathedral Hill is the upscale choice. Quang Restaurant on Eat Street is a longtime standby with solid tofu options.
Is pho vegan-friendly in Minneapolis?
Traditional pho broth is made with beef bones or chicken, so it's not vegan by default. However, several Minneapolis Vietnamese restaurants offer mushroom-based or vegetable-broth pho on request or as a dedicated menu item. iPho Saigon and Ngon Vietnamese Bistro both have mushroom pho that's worth ordering. Always ask if the broth is made with animal bones before ordering.
Is banh mi vegan-friendly?
Banh mi sandwiches on their own are vegan-friendly — baguette, pickled daikon and carrots, cucumber, cilantro, jalapeño. The filling is where it varies. Most restaurants offer a tofu banh mi option. The spread is sometimes mayo (not vegan) or can be requested without. iPho Saigon's tofu banh mi is one of the best in the Twin Cities.
Does Vietnamese food use fish sauce?
Yes — fish sauce (nước mắm) and shrimp paste are fundamental to Vietnamese cooking and appear in dipping sauces, marinades, and broth preparations. At restaurants, you can ask for food prepared without fish sauce, but cross-contamination is likely in busy restaurant kitchens. The safest bet for strict vegans is restaurants that have dedicated vegan menu sections or specialize in plant-based Vietnamese food.