Having enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on one of Hoi An’s beautiful beaches, hungry visitors can satisfy their appetites with dinner at Voulez-Vous restaurant in Hai Ba Trung Street is a favourite site for tourists ending the afternoon with dinner.

The street is so quiet and small with foreign tourists riding bicycle or walking with pack on their back through.

The three-storey restaurant is decorated in a gentle, Parisian style as its romantic name suggests. Its literal translation is a shortened version of the French sentence: Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir (Would you like to sleep with me tonight).

Al fresco dining is also available, with views looking out over the street.

Chef Nguyen Xuan Tuong, 32, says that the signature Voulez-Vous salad is the most popular starter.

It’s a combination of fried chicken, bacon, beans, chips, a boiled egg and olive oil.

“It’s easy and simple to prepare, but it bears the name of the restaurant because it makes the owner nostalgic,” Tuong explained.

The chef says the salad is best served with spicy vinegar sauce, garlic and mustard.

Voulez-Vous also offers roast meat skewers of chicken, pork or beef.

The meat is cubed and marinated in a lemongrass dressing – a favourite among people in the central region.

The chef uses bamboo skews to roast the meat on charcoal stove with tomato, green chili and pineapple.

Huynh Thi Kim Thu, a local foody, says the meat skewers at Voulez-Vous never fail to impress.

“I am married to an expat from the Netherlands, and we often walk to the restaurant at the weekend after riding from the town to Cua Dai beach,” she says.

“We switch between pork, beef and chicken every week, but it’s always one of our selections. The fresh spring rolls and sweet and sour pork are also delicious,” she adds.

Thu recommends the French wine as an accompaniment to any meal, even though it is not always chilled.

The restaurant manager suggests the grilled tuna as a tasty option from the extensive range of mains.

Chef Tuong explains how he wraps the fish in banana leaf to give added flavour.

“Grilled tuna is very popular in the coastal region, but I give a new twist with the infusion of the banana leaves,” he describes.

Seafood is also a favourite in the area because fishermen often dock at Cua Dai beach early in the morning with baskets of fresh lobster, crab and shellfish.

To finish, visitors can enjoy homemade Voulez-Vous ice cream made from apple, white wine and ginger.

The third floor is a great location for a party with its balcony bar and pool tables.

Customers are also free to play chess and listen to music on the first floor while they wait for their food.

Voulez-Vous is a cool place to eat, drink and just generally hang out.

The bar has a great atmosphere, good music and an open balcony area where you can watch the world go by.

Kamila, a female visitor from Perth, Australia, said: “This restaurant is similar to many of the others you will find in Hoi An, with cheap food and beer. But the board games and comfortable layout make it slightly quirkier than the rest.”

Dzine, from New Zealand, also left a message: “We had a nice meal here. Tasted good, nice French white wine too (although it wasn’t cooled!), but the place felt under staffed. The waitresses were not paying attention or busy servicing the boss (I think) and his friends.”

The restaurant offers reasonable prices with the cheapest item on the menu priced at VND55,000 (US$2.6).

Food is available from 6am to 10pm, and the bar stays open until midnight. It welcomes about 100 visitors each day, but the most crowded times are the lunch and dinner sittings.

Like other restaurants in Hoi An, tourists can take cooking classes so they are able recreate a taste of the seaside town when they return home.

Voulez-Vous Restaurant

Address: 631 Hai Ba Trung Street, Hoi An City

Tel: 0510-3927339/0905316008.

Email: hoianvoulezvous@yahoo.com.vn

Hour: 6am-10pm

VNS