% Arabica Cafe Apartment is a cafe in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
The Japanese specialty brand % Arabica occupies the fourth floor of the Cafe Apartment, a minimalist white counter pouring precise espresso downtown.
Editorially verified July 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must 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.
Address: 42 Nguyen Hue Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
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.
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.
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.