Yangon is one of the most rewarding food cities in Southeast Asia, yet it is also one of the least written about. Its kitchens reflect centuries of trade along the Irrawaddy delta: Burmese curries cooked slowly in oil, Shan noodles from the eastern hills, Indian biryani and chapati from the old port quarter, Chinese dumplings and barbecue, and the sweet, strong tea that keeps the city’s tea shops busy from dawn.
This guide replaces our earlier list of Yangon restaurants. A lot has changed since we first wrote it, and we did not want to send readers to places that may have moved or closed. So we have taken a more careful approach for 2026: we name a restaurant as open only where we could find recent public evidence that it is operating, and we mark everything else clearly as “check before you go”. The rest of the guide focuses on what does not change: the dishes worth trying and the neighbourhoods where Yangon eats.
A short note on travel. Metta Voyage plans private Myanmar trips again. Routes are adjusted to current travel advisories, focusing on areas currently open to visitors, and we confirm each itinerary before booking. Several governments still advise against travel to all or parts of Myanmar, so please read your own government’s advice first and check that your travel insurance covers the trip.
How we chose (and what we left out)
Restaurants in Yangon open, close and move more often than guidebooks can keep up with. For each place below we looked for recent signs of life, such as the venue’s own website or reviews and reports dated 2025 or 2026. Two places passed that test clearly. A few long-standing favourites are mentioned with a “check before you go” note, because we could not confirm their current hours from recent sources. We have not included ratings, prices or opening times, as these change quickly.
Restaurants confirmed open in 2025–2026
The Strand Hotel: Strand Café, The Strand Restaurant and Sarkies Bar
Area: Strand Road, downtown, facing the river
Style: colonial-era hotel dining, afternoon tea, Burmese and international dishes
The Strand has stood on Yangon’s waterfront since 1901, and its white facade is still one of the landmarks of the old downtown. The hotel’s official dining page lists all three outlets; it does not publish current opening hours, so confirm with the hotel before you go. The Strand Café is the place for a long, quiet afternoon tea under high ceilings and slowly turning fans, a gentle way to rest after a morning in the busy streets around Sule Pagoda. The Strand Restaurant is the more formal room, and Sarkies Bar, named after the Armenian brothers who founded the hotel, is a classic spot for an evening drink.
For travellers who like a little history with their meal, this is the easiest introduction to colonial Yangon. Ask about the Burmese dishes on the menu as well as the international ones; a hotel kitchen is often a comfortable first taste of tea leaf salad or a mild curry before you try the street versions.
Official source: The Strand Hotel – Dining (lists The Strand Café, The Strand Restaurant and Sarkies Bar). Checked 24 October 2026.
Seeds Restaurant & Lounge
Area: Mayangone township, on the shore of Inya Lake
Style: contemporary fine dining with a lakeside setting
Seeds sits in a quiet garden by Inya Lake, a world away from the traffic of downtown. It is a restaurant for a special evening: carefully composed tasting-style dishes, a lounge for a drink before dinner and a view over the water as the light fades. The restaurant’s own website and visitor reviews from 2025 and 2026 show it operating. Book ahead, and allow time for the drive from downtown, which can be slow in the evening.
Seeds works well on the last night of a journey, or as a calm dinner after a full day at the Shwedagon Pagoda.
Official source: Seeds Restaurant & Lounge website (Mayangone Township, Yangon; reservations through the website). Checked 24 October 2026.
Long-time favourites: check before you go
The places below have been loved by locals and visitors for years. We could not find enough recent public evidence to confirm their current hours, so please check their own channels or recent reviews before making a special trip.
- Rangoon Tea House (Pansodan Road, downtown). A modern take on the Burmese tea shop, in a colonial building in the old business district, known for mohinga, tea leaf salad and a long list of teas. The Yangon-founded brand opened a branch in Bangkok in late 2025, which shows the company is active; check the Yangon outlet’s hours before you go.
- 999 Shan Noodle Shop (downtown, near Sule Pagoda). A small, simple room long popular for Shan noodles and tofu dishes at breakfast and lunch. Check before you go.
- Feel Myanmar Food (Dagon township). Famous for a counter of ready-made Burmese curries and salads where you point and choose. Popular dishes can sell out early. Check before you go.
- 19th Street, Chinatown (Latha township). In the evening this narrow street has long filled with small barbecue stalls and plastic stools: pick skewers from the display, and they are grilled while you wait. Stalls change often, so treat it as an area to explore rather than a fixed address, and check locally before you go.
Seven dishes to try in Yangon
Even if your favourite restaurant has moved, these dishes are everywhere in Yangon, from tea shops to hotel menus. They are the best way to understand Burmese food.
1. Mohinga
Often called Myanmar’s national dish, mohinga is a breakfast soup of thin rice noodles in a fish broth thickened with toasted rice flour and flavoured with lemongrass, ginger and banana stem. It is finished at the table with crispy fritters, a boiled egg, lime and chilli. Locals eat it early, so look for it in the morning.
2. Lahpet thoke (tea leaf salad)
Myanmar is one of very few countries that eats tea as well as drinking it. Fermented tea leaves are mixed with crunchy fried beans, peanuts, sesame, tomato, cabbage, garlic and lime. The result is sour, salty, bitter and crunchy all at once. In Burmese homes it is also offered to guests as a sign of welcome.
3. Shan noodles (Shan khao swè)
From Shan State in the east, these rice noodles come with a mildly spiced tomato and chicken or pork sauce, pickled mustard greens and a little broth on the side. They can be served “dry” or in soup. Shan noodle shops are often the easiest place for a quick, light lunch.
4. Ohn no khao swè
Wheat noodles in a rich coconut-milk chicken broth, topped with egg, crispy noodles, shallots and lime. It is gentler than most curries and a good choice for travellers who prefer mild flavours.
5. Burmese curry and rice
A Burmese curry meal is a spread rather than a single dish. A main curry (chicken, pork, fish or prawn), slow-cooked until the oil separates, arrives with rice and a generous set of side dishes: a sour soup, boiled and raw vegetables with dipping sauces, and small salads. Point-and-choose restaurants make it easy to try several curries at once.
6. Nan gyi thoke
Thick round rice noodles tossed with chicken curry, chickpea flour, fish cake and sliced egg. It is a favourite late-morning snack and a good contrast to mohinga.
7. Tea shop snacks and laphet yay
Yangon’s tea shops are where the city meets: low tables, small stools and endless conversation. Order a cup of laphet yay, sweet milky tea that you can ask for stronger or less sweet, with samosas, steamed buns, palata (flaky fried flatbread) or a plate of sweet sticky rice. Sitting in a tea shop for half an hour is one of the most authentic experiences in the city.
Where Yangon eats: neighbourhoods to explore
- Downtown (Kyauktada and Pabedan). The grid of colonial streets around Sule Pagoda and Pansodan Road is dense with tea shops, Indian biryani houses and street stalls. Walk in the morning, when the noodle vendors are busiest.
- Chinatown (Latha). Dumplings and noodle shops by day, barbecue stalls on and around 19th Street in the evening.
- Bahan and the Shwedagon area. Quieter, greener streets with Burmese restaurants that suit a meal before or after a sunset visit to the pagoda.
- Inya Lake and Golden Valley. Leafy residential areas where some of the city’s more refined restaurants sit in gardens and old villas.
Practical tips for eating out in Yangon
- Eat early. Breakfast dishes such as mohinga are best before mid-morning, and popular curry restaurants can run out of favourite dishes by early afternoon.
- Drink bottled or filtered water, and choose busy stalls where food is cooked fresh in front of you.
- Vegetarian travellers will find plenty of choice: tofu dishes, vegetable curries, tea leaf salad (ask for no fish sauce) and Indian vegetarian thalis downtown. Ask clearly, as fish sauce and shrimp paste are common.
- Carry small notes in local currency for tea shops and street stalls. Larger restaurants and hotels may accept cards, but this varies.
- Book ahead for hotel and fine-dining restaurants, especially at weekends.
- Check before you go. Opening hours change frequently. A quick look at a venue’s own page or recent reviews can save a long drive across the city.
Yangon as part of a longer Myanmar journey
For most travellers Yangon is the first stop on a longer route. If you are dreaming of a future trip, our guides cover the rest of the classic itinerary: the temple plain in our Bagan temples guide, the stilt villages and floating gardens in our Inle Lake guide, and how the four great stops fit together in Myanmar tour: the classic route of Yangon, Bagan, Mandalay and Inle Lake.
Myanmar in 2026: what to know before planning
- Government travel advice (checked 26 October 2026): the UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to Mandalay Region, which includes Bagan, and to southern Shan State, which includes Inle Lake, and against all travel to several other areas; the US rates Myanmar Level 4 and Australia says do not travel. Read the current advice from GOV.UK, the US State Department or Smartraveller.
- Entry: the official tourist e-visa portal, evisa.moip.gov.mm, is online. Regional airlines including Myanmar Airways International, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways fly to Yangon.
- Heritage sites: a joint ICOMOS–UNESCO mission recorded significant damage from the March 2025 earthquake at Mandalay, Amarapura, Innwa, Sagaing and Mingun. Opening hours and venues in Yangon change often; check before you go.
- Our position: Metta Voyage plans private Myanmar trips again. Routes are adjusted to current travel advisories, focusing on areas currently open to visitors, and we confirm each itinerary before booking. Several governments still advise against travel to all or parts of Myanmar, so please read your own government’s advice first and check that your travel insurance covers the trip.
Plan Myanmar with us
Tell us your preferred season, how many travellers and what you would like to see. We will reply within 24 hours with a private itinerary adjusted to current travel advisories, and confirm each itinerary before booking. No payment and no commitment until you confirm. Before planning any trip, please read your own government’s current travel advice for Myanmar.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous food in Yangon?
Mohinga, the rice-noodle and fish soup eaten at breakfast, is the dish most closely linked to Yangon and to Myanmar as a whole. Tea leaf salad (lahpet thoke) and Shan noodles are close behind.
Which Yangon restaurants are open in 2026?
We found recent public evidence for the dining outlets of The Strand Hotel downtown and for Seeds Restaurant & Lounge by Inya Lake. Other long-time favourites may well be open, but please check their own channels or recent reviews before you go.
Is Burmese food spicy?
Generally less than Thai food. Burmese curries are rich and savoury rather than fiery, and chilli is usually served on the side so you can add as much as you like.
Is Metta Voyage selling Myanmar tours now?
Yes. We plan private trips with routes adjusted to current travel advisories, focusing on areas currently open to visitors, and we confirm each itinerary before booking. Several governments still advise against travel to all or parts of Myanmar, so check your own government’s advice and your insurance cover first.
Written by the Metta Voyage travel team. Last updated October 2026. Restaurant status is based on public sources available in October 2026; please check before you go.
