Cheo Leo Cafe is a cafe in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
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.
Editorially verified July 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must 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.
Address: 109/36 Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
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.