From precision-cut steaks to smoke-led cooking, Vietnam’s grill culture is becoming more confident, expressive and diverse. The Best Steakhouse Restaurant and Best Grill & Barbecue Restaurant nominees celebrate kitchens where fire, technique and quality ingredients shape some of the country’s most compelling dining experiences.
Some meals begin with a cut of beef. Others begin with smoke.
The sizzle of meat meeting heat, the aroma of charcoal, the first slice revealing exactly the right temperature. Few styles of cooking feel as immediate as grilling, yet behind that apparent simplicity lies control, patience and an instinct for timing.
El Gaucho Steakhouse
Following a successful first season, Gourmet Vietnam Awards returns in 2026 for Season 2, continuing its celebration of the people and places shaping Vietnam’s culinary and hospitality landscape.
Within that story, steakhouse and barbecue dining are developing identities of their own.
Cees Eatery
Across Vietnam, steakhouses are becoming more attentive to provenance, ageing, cuts and precise cooking, while grill and barbecue restaurants are exploring a wider spectrum of fire-led traditions, from wood-fired cooking and Texas-style barbecue to beach grills and Japanese techniques.
What connects the strongest among them is restraint: knowing when to season, when to sear and when to let the ingredient speak for itself.
NOI
The Best Steakhouse Restaurant 2026 nominees are:
Livin · Mad Cow Wine & Grill · Sear Steakhouse · Steakhouse The Fan · Stoker Woodfired Grill & Bar · Rico South American Steakhouse · Cees Eatery · B3 Steakhouse · El Gaucho Steakhouse · El Toro · Prime - Steak Boutique & Chill · Mad Cow Saigon
Mad Cow Wine & Grill
The Best Grill & Barbecue Restaurant 2026 nominees are:
Livin · Lumiere Texas BBQ & Craft Beer · Hang Ten Beach Bar & Grill · NOI · Sushi Ichi
Together, these nominees show how differently fire can be interpreted, from polished steakhouse rituals to smoky, open-flame dining.
El Toro
For us at Epicure Vietnam, the best grill experiences are never defined by heat alone. They are shaped by sourcing, timing, technique and the confidence to keep things simple. Because sometimes, the most memorable flavour begins with fire.
GOURMET VIETNAM AWARDS 2026 SEASON 2
The story continues.