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Dining & RestaurantsArticle

International Restaurants in Fayetteville, NC: Food Trail (2026)

By FayettevilleNC.net Editorial Staff•••990 words

Fayetteville, NC has a wide range of international restaurants, largely because military families from around the world have settled near Fort Bragg. Yadkin Road and Bragg Boulevard hold the densest mix of Vietnamese, Thai, Lao, Filipino and Puerto Rican restaurants. Downtown has Taste of West Africa, the west side has German and Indian kitchens, and the south side adds Filipino, Jamaican and Mediterranean food.

Fort Bragg has shaped Fayetteville's food more than any other single factor. Soldiers come home from tours in Korea, Germany, the Pacific and the Middle East, often with spouses from those countries, and many families stay. The result is a city where a Lao restaurant, a German bakery and a Yemeni kitchen can all be a short drive apart.

This guide is organized by cuisine and by part of town, so you can plan a route. Every restaurant listed showed as operating on its Google Maps listing in October 2026. Hours change often at small family restaurants, so check before you drive across town.

The trail at a glance

CuisineRestaurantAddressArea
West AfricanTaste of West Africa116 Person St.Downtown
YemeniCrispy House Yemen Kitchen7071 Raeford Rd.West side
Mediterranean / Middle EasternPharaohs Village2425 Hope Mills Rd.South side
VietnameseSaigon Bistro1040 Bragg Blvd.Bragg Boulevard
VietnameseGrilled Ginger5052 Yadkin Rd., Suite 101Yadkin Road
VietnameseVietnam Kitchen400 Westwood Shopping CenterWest side
ThaiThai Lanna1342 Bragg Blvd.Bragg Boulevard
Lao2 Rim Khong6451 Yadkin Rd., Suite CYadkin Road
Korean barbecueGangnam Korean BBQ + Hotpot1800 Skibo Rd., Suite 300Skibo Road
KoreanE Tae Won Express594 S. Reilly Rd., Suite 100West side
FilipinoKusinera Filipino Cuisine3047 Legion Rd.South side
FilipinoPhilippine Store and Cuisine4902 Yadkin Rd.Yadkin Road
GermanMax & Moritz Bakery & Restaurant5945 Cliffdale Rd., Suite 1104West side
IndianTandoori Bites1916 Skibo Rd.Skibo Road
IndianBombay Bistro5945 Cliffdale Rd., Suite 1101West side
JamaicanSimLo's Island Cafe3057 Boone Trail Ext.South side
TrinidadianDhan's Kitchen on the Go432 Chatham St.Near downtown
Puerto RicanDesde Mi Balcón5115 Bragg Blvd.Bragg Boulevard
Puerto RicanLatin Flavours Street Cuisine3455 Cumberland Rd.South side
SalvadoranEl Salvador Restaurant155 Bonanza Dr., Suite 105Bragg Boulevard area
Mexican (Nayarit)La Perla Cuisine of Nayarit310 Glensford Dr.West side

Yadkin Road and Bragg Boulevard: the Fort Bragg corridor

The roads that run toward Fort Bragg's gates have the densest mix of international restaurants, a pattern that follows the military population.

Lao. For Lao food, which shares sticky rice, larb and grilled meats with northeastern Thai cooking, try 2 Rim Khong on Yadkin Road.

Vietnamese. Saigon Bistro on Bragg Boulevard and Grilled Ginger on Yadkin Road each have hundreds of Google reviews. Pho, rice plates and banh mi are the usual starting points.

Thai. Thai Lanna on Bragg Boulevard serves Thai and Chinese dishes and advertises a Thai buffet on its website.

Filipino. Philippine Store and Cuisine on Yadkin Road is a grocery that also serves food, useful if you want to take home ingredients as well as lunch.

Puerto Rican and Salvadoran. Desde Mi Balcón on Bragg Boulevard is the most-reviewed Puerto Rican restaurant we found, and El Salvador Restaurant on Bonanza Drive serves Salvadoran food.

The west side: Skibo, Cliffdale and Raeford roads

The newer commercial strips on the west side, near Cross Creek Mall and along Cliffdale Road, add several cuisines that are hard to find elsewhere in the region.

German. Max & Moritz Bakery & Restaurant on Cliffdale Road is, as the name says, both a bakery and a restaurant, so it works for a morning stop as well as a sit-down German meal.

Indian. Bombay Bistro is in the same Cliffdale Road shopping center as Max & Moritz, and Tandoori Bites is on Skibo Road. Our Asian restaurants guide covers more options.

Korean barbecue. Gangnam Korean BBQ + Hotpot on Skibo Road is a cook-at-the-table restaurant that suits groups. For quick Korean food, E Tae Won Express on South Reilly Road is the faster option.

Yemeni. Crispy House Yemen Kitchen on Raeford Road serves Yemeni rice and meat plates.

Mexican, regional style. La Perla Cuisine of Nayarit on Glensford Drive cooks food from Nayarit, a Pacific coast state, a cuisine known for seafood and quite different from the Tex-Mex at most chains. The Mexican restaurants guide lists more.

Vietnamese. Vietnam Kitchen at Westwood Shopping Center is the west-side choice for pho.

Downtown and near downtown

West African. Taste of West Africa at 116 Person Street is the anchor of the downtown leg. The county visitor bureau notes its roots in Ghana. It pairs well with a museum visit or a walk to the Market House.

Trinidadian. Dhan's Kitchen on the Go on Chatham Street serves West Indian and American dishes.

The south side: Hope Mills Road, Legion Road and Cumberland Road

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean. Pharaohs Village on Hope Mills Road is the most-reviewed restaurant on this list.

Filipino. Kusinera Filipino Cuisine on Legion Road is a highly rated sit-down Filipino restaurant.

Caribbean. SimLo's Island Cafe on Boone Trail Extension serves Jamaican food, and Latin Flavours Street Cuisine on Cumberland Road covers Puerto Rican street food.

How to plan a food trail day

  1. Pick one corridor per meal. Fayetteville is spread out, and cross-town drives at lunch hour add up.
  2. Start early at small places. Family-run restaurants may sell out of popular dishes or close between lunch and dinner.
  3. Bring a cooler for groceries. Sun Asian Supermarket on Santa Fe Drive and the Filipino market on Yadkin Road carry ingredients you will not find in chain supermarkets.
  4. Check hours the same day. Many of these restaurants close one day a week, and holiday hours vary.
  5. Come during the International Folk Festival. Each fall the festival brings food and performances from many cultures to downtown. See the International Folk Festival guide.

Sources

Details checked October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Fayetteville, NC have so many international restaurants?
Fort Bragg brings soldiers and families from around the world, and many stay after their service. That is a big reason the city has Korean, Filipino, German, Puerto Rican and Lao restaurants within a short drive of each other.
Where is the best area for international food in Fayetteville?
Yadkin Road and Bragg Boulevard, the corridors toward Fort Bragg, have the densest mix, including Vietnamese, Lao, Thai, Filipino, Puerto Rican and Salvadoran restaurants. The west side along Skibo and Cliffdale roads adds German, Indian and Korean barbecue.
Is there African food in Fayetteville, NC?
Yes. Taste of West Africa at 116 Person Street downtown serves West African food, and the visitor bureau notes the restaurant's roots in Ghana.
Is there a German restaurant in Fayetteville, NC?
Yes. Max & Moritz Bakery & Restaurant is at 5945 Cliffdale Road on the west side and serves both baked goods and German meals.

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