The Flavors Awards 2026 ceremony has officially announced the winners of the Vietcetera Editor's Pick (VEP), a category curated and voted on by the Vietcetera editorial team.
This year, VEP honors standout names across 8 categories, spanning craftsmanship, experience and brand storytelling, as well as pioneering spirit, cultural crossroads, and Vietnamese presence in international markets.
Here's a look at the 8 names honored at Vietcetera Editor's Pick 2026.
The Craft Award: Le Comptoir Đà Nẵng
Le Comptoir Đà Nẵng is honored with The Craft Award for its focus on French culinary craftsmanship and its consistency in practicing the trade.
Led by Chef Olivier Corti, the restaurant builds on classical French techniques, combining them with a modern perspective and seasonal ingredients in a menu that changes monthly. Le Comptoir has also been Michelin Selected for three consecutive years, showing a craft that has been sustained and refined over time.
The Discover Award: Kỷ Vật
Embracing the spirit of Contemporary Heritage Dining, Kỷ Vật is one of the notable new names on Đà Nẵng's culinary map.
The restaurant brings familiar memories and flavors of Central Vietnam into a contemporary expression. Bún bò Huế is paired with lobster bisque, while bánh bò thốt nốt (palm sugar sponge cake) appears in a mango-coconut dessert with salted coconut ice cream and pandan sauce.
Beyond the food, Kỷ Vật has also developed as a resto-bar and designed its menu in 5 languages, aiming to serve both local diners and international visitors.
The Experience Award: NÔM Dining
Dining at NÔM is stepping into a journey of discovering Vietnam through food, space, and cultural stories.
The tasting menu at NÔM takes diners from the North, through the Central region, and ends with inspirations from the South. The restaurant's space continues this journey, with each floor telling different stories about Vietnam's lands and traditional crafts.
In 2026, NÔM was Michelin Selected, and Chef Chris Fong received the Opening of the Year Award for a degustation concept that connects cuisine, history, and Vietnamese culture.
The Storyteller Award: Quán Bụi
Starting as a small office-lunch eatery in Tân Định in 2011, Quán Bụi has spent 15 years building its story around Vietnamese food, familiar flavors, and the feeling of a home-cooked meal.
That story is told not only through the food or the space, but also through the brand's own journey: the trials and errors, the "tuition fees" paid along the way, and the times it had to start over. In 2026, this journey gains a new chapter with Quán Bụi Heritage, a project that took nearly four years to test, revise, and perfect.
After 15 years, Quán Bụi retains the rustic simplicity of its early days but has begun to more actively tell the stories of the people behind the brand. It is this journey, built up over time, that brought Quán Bụi The Storyteller Award at Vietcetera Editor's Pick 2026.
The Pioneer Award: OM Nướng
In a grill restaurant market long familiar with Wagyu, American beef, K-BBQ, and Yakiniku, OM Nướng chose to develop its own direction with Authentic Vietnamese Grill.
Rather than relying on imported ingredients, OM Nướng prioritizes fresh meat and domestic sourcing, combining them with familiar regional seasonings such as mắc khén, chẩm chéo, and chao (fermented tofu).
Beyond the food, the brand also works with suppliers to better control the origin and quality of its meat, step by step building a premium grilling experience grounded in Vietnamese ingredients and culinary culture.
The Crossroads Award: Phirangg
Located in Hội An, Phirangg brings together Indian cuisine and the ingredients of Central Vietnam.
Rather than "Vietnamizing" Indian dishes by toning down their distinctive character, PHiRANGG retains the spice structures and techniques characteristic of Indian cuisine, while using local seafood, vegetables, and ingredients to create an expression suited to the land where the restaurant stands.
The crossroads at PHiRANGG, therefore, is not about placing two cuisines side by side, but about how they find common ground while keeping their own identities.
The Signature Award: Yuzu Omakase
Two years after being honored at Vietcetera Editor's Pick 2024 for its multisensory dining experience, Yuzu Omakase returns with a different mark: an increasingly distinct culinary language of its own.
This is reflected in the "Hội" (Gathering) menu, where Japanese Omakase technique meets Vietnamese ingredients and memories. The chawanmushi may carry a hint of Arabica coffee from Đắk Lắk, while the Wagyu Misuji is paired with hành phi (fried shallots), a staple of the Vietnamese kitchen.
For Yuzu, the goal is no longer to decide whether a dish is Japanese, Vietnamese, or fusion, but to let diners look at it and recognize: "This is the Yuzu way."
The Ambassador Award: Maca Ông Ba
Rather than sending Vietnamese macadamia out into the world as a raw ingredient, Maca Ông Ba chose to develop products under its own brand and Vietnamese origin.
From growing regions in the Central Highlands, the macadamia nuts are deeply processed domestically before reaching international markets. When entering a new market, the brand may adjust its packaging, sizes, and product standards, but it keeps the story of the land and the origin of the nuts.
From Vietnam to a presence in Seoul, the geographic distance keeps growing, yet Maca Ông Ba continues to travel under one name and one Vietnamese identity.
Flavors Awards is Vietcetera's annual awards celebrating the restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, chefs, bartenders, brands, and emerging talents shaping Vietnam's F&Be landscape.
Through the Flavors and Vietcetera ecosystem, the awards also foster meaningful connections across the F&B community, creating opportunities for collaboration, growth, and the continued evolution of Vietnam's culinary culture.