Gia bao homestay

Really love this restaurant. Good price for such authentic cuisine here. I ordered fried chicken for lunch and calf with chilli and lemongrass for dinner. Fresh pineapple fruit. They even offered me some more local sweet potatoe buds then some mandarins as dessert. Feeling like being at home and treated politely as family member.

This resraurant is in my list of most favourite things in Ninh Binh. Thank you 😍

Restaurant review: AMAZING, reasonable priced/cheap food, and a good atmosphere. We went here a few times, and were never disappointed. Super nice employees, who also gifted us a couple of bananas before we left. Free WiFi. Lots of people, but in a good way! The menu had many local options, such as goat dishes. I ordered some honey covered chicken, and it was delicious, so was my banana juice/smoothie! Highly recommend this place!

We went here for lunch at least once a day. The yummiest food in Tam Coc. We had hot pot, steamed chicken, sizzling beef, crispy pork and Banh mi! They were all soooo yummy. These chips are the best I’ve ever had!!! Honestly will dream about these chips when I leave. Cold beer and yummy cocktails too as well as everything being a cheap price and great friendly service.

The wonderful staff here helped me when I was in distress. I was waiting outside their homestay for my transfer to the airport but it didn't show. They rang the company and the company promptly sent someone to pick me up. Thanks to the staff here I wasn't left stranded. They didn't have to do this and they wouldn't accept a tip for it either. Genuine helpful people. Thank you!

We can only review the restaurant as we did not stay here overnight.

The place is lovely, people are extremely nice, the food is good and the prices are more than fair. We came here many times during our 4 days in Tam Coc. The family is extremely kind to children and the atmosphere is good. Highly recommended!

Came here meaning to have one drink whilst killing time before night travel. Ended up staying for 3 hours, more beers and a banh mi for the road. Lovely comfy chairs with view of main strip for people watching, reasonable prices (they even told us how to save money by ordering from BBQ then adding to a plain salad bread roll) and wonderful service.

Friendly service, great coffee & reasonably priced food served with a smile. 🙂

Ordered the burger and spring roll both were very yummy. Had takeaway and owner was very friendly and helpful. Sped up the packing and added sauces to our takeaway. Pleasant experience.

Good atmosphere for a few drinks. Cheapest beer in happy hour.

We arrived in Tam Coc a little lost and without much luck finding our homestay. Gia Bao looked like the perfect place to grab a drink while sorting where our accommodation was located. Walking towards the restaurant, Tim from Gia Bao, saw us and intuitively knew we needed a hand. Before we even placed an order he was making phone calls to our accommodation to find out the address and how to get us there.

After we had some drinks and food he walked with me to find the place and even got me on a scooter with a friend of his to ride me around trying to find my homestay. So incredibly friendly and helpful- I couldn't believe it!

These guys are genuinely nice and have a wonderful tourism and such helpful mindset. I will be forever grateful.
Went there yesterday and returned today for another feed and will most probably go back tomorrow as the food is also great!

Delicious food & very warm, friendly and fast service. Comfortable seats & great atmosphere whether to eat / drink. Went there every day we stayed in Ninh Binh. The location is good too. 👍

Nice restaurant with a good offer of local dishes and good prices.
The owner is very welcoming and nice and it is evident is a family-run business.
If you are staying a couple of days in Tam Coc, this is probably one of the best place to taste local cuisine for a good price.

We didn’t stay here only came for the food. After trying other places, we kept coming back to this place as the food was good. Bahn mi was yummy (you need to order one with meat otherwise Banh Mi is just bread). The ginger tea was very generous on the ginger. The service was great and friendly.

Wandered in from the street during a rainstorm and got lots of good tips about what to do around town and had some good egg coffee. The guy working there even noticed our bike tires were low and pumped them! Great people

Easily one of the best experiences from my Vietnam trip! After a few days of solid street food grazing in Hanoi, I was on a quest for some more home-style Vietnamese food, and the family that ran the homestay I'd just checked in to nearby recommended Gia Bao Restaurant. I walked in and explained my dilemma of wanting to eat family-style but as a solo traveller, and, rather than trying to push the usual ala carte menu on me, the owner, Ms. Mai, just totally got it, promptly serving me up a generously-portioned multi-dish spread, exactly as I'd been craving. Mai then offered to show me to another local place for a similar experience if I returned the following lunchtime, which I did and it was great, too (though I think Mai's cooking was still better)...On my last morning in Tam Coc, I got thoroughly soaked in non-stop torrential rain while on the Trang An boat trip, and dropping by Gia Bao on my way home was just the ticket again, warming me up from the inside with the best pho I had during my 10 days in Vietnam! I couldn't help but stop by later that day before leaving to catch the sleeper train from Ninh Binh to Da Nang, and Mai whipped up an absolutely delicious (and huge!) banh mi for me to take on the journey.

Eating always being central to my travel plans, all of the above were unexpected highlights of my trip. But, as is always the way with food, it wasn't just the quality of the dishes that made the experience - it was Mai's welcoming manner and utterly charming personality. Running both the restaurant kitchen and the homestay, she's truly a force to be reckoned with and incredibly busy, but that doesn't stop her treating her guests in the kind of warm, easy-going way that instantly makes you feel at home. It helps (at least until I get to work more on my Vietnamese) that her English is amazing, which allowed us also to have some of the more meaningful conversations I managed with a local anywhere in Vietnam. Although I only had a short time to get to know Mai, her kind face and genuine intentions have been engrained in my memory as a model of humanity at its best.

The only further praise I'd add is that Gia Bao is a true 'homestay' in the way I'd always understood the term. The whole family seems to always be on the premises when they're not off at school, work or running errands; Mai's lovely kids helping out front-of-house, while her own parents welcome guests/diners or otherwise just hang out and contribute their good vibes to the atmosphere of the place. Mai's father (who was thoughtful enough to invite me to drink tea with him when I rolled in on that very wet day) is a particularly jolly character with a very endearing laugh - perhaps where Mai gets some of her natural warmth?

In short, I would consider Gia Bao Homestay and Restaurant a 'must' if staying in or passing through Tam Coc. The food is all freshly prepared and delicious (I gathered from Mai that she also offers more unique local specialties, such as crab soup, though I unfortunately wasn't able to try them on this visit), and, though I can't speak from personal experience on the accommodation, I would happily book to stay without doubts, simply on the basis of Mai's incredible hospitality and sincerity. I will definitely be returning at the next available opportunity!

The family running the restaurant and the food are amazing.

Great food, great ambience! Very amazing coffee.

We went twice to this restaurant: awesome food, but especially the smoothies and the homemade ice tea deserve 5 stars! Lovely and friendly staff :)

We only went there to eat. They have some lip smacking food. I love how Mai served us and made us feel so special. I would definitely recommend everyone to visit this place.

Great spot to veg out while waiting for a bus or hanging out in Tam Coc. Had some lovely fresh spring rolls and a squid and pineapple stir fry dish, was superb. Very friendly staff and nice atmosphere