Where to sit, sip and slow down in Ho Chi Minh City.
Coffee shops, bakeries with seats and the places Ho Chi Minh City lingers in over a cortado.
The Workshop was among the first cafes to take specialty coffee seriously in Saigon, a light-filled heritage loft up a staircase off Dong Khoi.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Order: A single-origin pour-over from the brew bar.
Tip: It is up a rickety staircase off Dong Khoi; the big windows make it a fine spot to work.
Okkio is a design-led Saigon coffee brand whose Dong Khoi flagship, up an alley and a flight of stairs, is a local favourite for coconut coffee.
Signature drink: Coconut coffee
Order: The coconut coffee, blended thick over ice.
Tip: The entrance is up an alley off Dong Khoi; look for the small sign and climb the stairs.
L'Usine is a cafe, all-day kitchen and concept store rolled into one, its Le Thanh Ton branch a bright colonial-loft spot for Western brunch.
Signature drink: Flat white
Order: A flat white with the eggs benedict from the all-day menu.
Tip: The cafe hides behind the boutique; walk through the shop to reach the tables.
Cheo Leo is one of Saigon's oldest cafes, open since the late 1930s, still brewing robusta over a charcoal fire and keeping it warm the old way.
Signature drink: Charcoal-brewed ca phe
Order: The old-style ca phe sua da, brewed over charcoal.
Tip: It hides down an alley off Nguyen Thien Thuat; this is a coffee ritual, not a laptop cafe.
Runam is a lavish multi-storey cafe in a French-style mansion facing the cathedral, pouring Vietnamese egg coffee and hot drip alongside a full breakfast.
Signature drink: Egg coffee
Order: Egg coffee, Saigon style, with a banh mi to follow.
Tip: It faces Notre Dame Cathedral; the upstairs rooms are quieter for a slow breakfast.
Cong Caphe is Vietnam's most recognisable cafe brand, styling its rooms in nostalgic wartime bao cap decor, famous here for its coconut coffee.
Signature drink: Coconut coffee
Order: The coconut coffee smoothie, thick and cold.
Tip: It is inside the Cafe Apartment on Nguyen Hue; take the lift or the stairs to find it.
Partea is an English tearoom inside the Cafe Apartment on Nguyen Hue, serving a long list of loose-leaf teas in vintage porcelain in a chintzy room.
Signature drink: Afternoon tea
Order: A pot of loose-leaf tea with the scones.
Tip: It is one of dozens of cafes stacked in the Cafe Apartment; the tea list is the reason to climb up.
The Japanese specialty brand % Arabica occupies the fourth floor of the Cafe Apartment, a minimalist white counter pouring precise espresso downtown.
Signature drink: Kyoto latte
Order: The signature Kyoto latte or a clean espresso.
Tip: It sits on the 4th floor of the Cafe Apartment; go early to beat the queue for a window seat.
Trung Nguyen Legend is the flagship cafe of Vietnam's biggest coffee company, a grand Le Loi space serving the brand's phin-brewed robusta blends.
Signature drink: Vietnamese phin coffee
Order: A phin of the Legend blend, black or with condensed milk.
Tip: It is a polished chain flagship, handy for a downtown coffee break with reliable air conditioning.
Cafe Slow is a calm, greenery-filled coffee shop tucked down a Thao Dien lane, a work-friendly spot for slow-brewed Vietnamese coffee and a quiet morning.
Signature drink: Slow-brew filter coffee
Order: A slow-brew filter of Vietnamese single origin.
Tip: It is down a residential lane in Thao Dien; the garden seating is the reason to seek it out.
Old Compass is a bohemian third-floor cafe and cultural space hidden down a Pasteur alley, a bookish, old-world room for drip coffee, tea and events.
Signature drink: Vietnamese drip coffee
Order: A Vietnamese drip coffee with a slice of cake.
Tip: It is up three flights down an alley by Liberty Citypoint; the entrance is easy to miss, so watch for the sign.
The Vagabond is a patisserie and cafe set in a restored old villa in Da Kao, pairing carefully made French pastries and cakes with coffee in a calm room.
Signature drink: Coffee and French pastries
Order: A French pastry from the counter with a flat white.
Tip: The old-house setting is the draw; the pastry case is best stocked earlier in the day.
The Coffee House is a homegrown Vietnamese chain popular with students and remote workers, its Nguyen Trai branch a bright, reliable spot for iced coffee.
Signature drink: Vietnamese iced coffee
Order: A ca phe sua da or the peach tea.
Tip: It is a work-friendly chain, not a specialty roaster; the upstairs seating is quietest for laptops.
Highlands is Vietnam's biggest home-grown coffee chain, and its Ham Nghi branch is a dependable downtown stop for phin-brewed sua da and freeze drinks.
Signature drink: Phin sua da
Order: A phin sua da and a Vietnamese-style banh mi.
Tip: It is a nationwide chain rather than a specialty spot, but handy and air-conditioned in the centre.