Where to Drink Artichoke Tea in Da Lat (And What to Order)

Da Lat sits at around 1,500 metres and grows the bulk of Vietnam (베트남 / 越南 / ベトナム)'s artichoke supply. That agricultural fact has quietly shaped an entire local tea culture — "tra atiso" (artichoke tea) is as normal here as ca phe sua da is in Saigon. It's earthy, slightly bitter, faintly sweet, and — detox marketing aside — genuinely pleasant on a cool Da Lat afternoon.

What You're Actually Drinking

Artichoke tea in Da Lat (달랏 / 大叻 / ダラット) comes in a few forms. The most common is a brewed tea from dried artichoke flowers and stems, served in a clay pot with small ceramic cups. Some shops add a sliver of dried tangerine peel or rock sugar. A second version uses fresh artichoke hearts simmered in water — closer to a broth than a tea, and softer in flavour. A third is the bottled or boxed take-home version, which you'll find everywhere but is mostly for gifting. For sitting down with the family, you want the clay-pot version.

Foods that pair well here are "banh mi" with Da Lat-style fillings, "nem chua" (the Central Highland variant is less sour than the Hue kind), or local strawberry jam on toast — a combination several of the spots below offer on their menus.

Where to Go

Tra Atiso Tran Hung Dao

The most visited artichoke tea address in Da Lat, and for good reason — it's well-organised, prices are posted clearly, and the portions are generous enough for kids who aren't sure they'll like tea. Located on Tran Hung Dao street a few hundred metres from Xuan Huong Lake, this place has indoor and covered outdoor seating, which matters when the Da Lat drizzle comes in without warning.

A clay pot of artichoke tea serving two to three people runs around 45,000–55,000 VND. They also sell dried artichoke packets to take home (roughly 80,000–120,000 VND for a 200g bag). The staff are used to tourists and will explain what you're getting without rushing you out.

Lien Hoa Bakery and Tea Room

Lien Hoa on Duong 3 Thang 2 is primarily known as a bakery — one of the older ones in Da Lat — but the tea room at the back has been serving artichoke tea alongside its pastry trays for decades. The setting is quieter than the lake-area spots, the chairs are low and cushioned, and the tea comes with complimentary sesame rice crackers. Good option if you have younger children who need something to chew on while the adults linger.

Tea here is priced at around 35,000–45,000 VND per pot. The "banh mi (반미 / 越式法包 / バインミー)" filled with Da Lat cold cuts is worth adding for around 25,000 VND.

Cafe Tu Quyen — Artichoke Garden Setting

About 3 km from the central market heading toward the flower gardens on Nguyen Thai Hoc, Tu Quyen occupies a converted garden space with actual artichoke plants growing at the edge of the property. It's more of a cafe than a tea house, but artichoke tea is front and centre on the menu, and the setting makes it genuinely easy to explain to kids where the plant comes from before they drink it.

Pots of tea run 50,000–65,000 VND. They also serve fresh artichoke heart soup ("sup atiso") for around 40,000 VND per bowl, which is the mildest and most approachable version of artichoke flavour for children — it reads more like a lightly sweet vegetable broth than anything medicinal.

Cho Da Lat (Da Lat Central Market) — Ground Floor Stalls

If the sit-down spots feel like too much of a commitment, the lower level of Da Lat Central Market on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai has a row of stalls selling cups of artichoke tea to go for around 10,000–15,000 VND each. It's noisy, it's busy, and there's no ambience, but you get to taste before you commit to a restaurant, and the vendors will let you try the dried artichoke products before you buy. Family with restless teenagers: this is probably the better format.

Photo by Theodore Nguyen on Pexels

A Note on the Artichoke Jam

Several shops around Da Lat sell artichoke jam alongside the tea. It's unusual — slightly floral, more savoury-sweet than fruity — and worth picking up as a souvenir. Expect to pay 60,000–90,000 VND for a small jar. It works well on the local bread, which is softer and slightly sweeter than a standard baguette due to Da Lat's cooler fermentation conditions.

Photo by Nguyen Truong Khang on Pexels

Practical Notes

Most artichoke tea spots in Da Lat open between 7am and 8pm; the market stalls run until around 9pm. Prices listed here are 2024 benchmarks — expect minor variation by season. If you're visiting Da Lat as part of a longer Central Vietnam loop, the tea culture here is worth at least one slow afternoon, especially when the weather closes in.