40 editor picks in Ho Chi Minh City.
40 mid-range places in Ho Chi Minh City, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Ho Chi Minh City food.
Cuc Gach Quan is a Bib Gourmand favourite: an architect's old villa turned into a warm room for home-style Southern Vietnamese cooking and clay-pot braises.
OrderThe clay-pot braised pork and the tofu the kitchen makes in house.
TipThere is no fixed menu; tell the staff your group size and let the dishes arrive family style.
Pizza 4P's is the Vietnam-born chain that makes its own cheese and fires Japanese-Italian pizzas; the Saigon Centre branch is its polished downtown flagship.
OrderThe half-and-half burrata pizza with house-made mozzarella.
TipBook ahead; the chain is hugely popular and the mall branch fills at lunch and dinner.
Maison Marou is the cafe and patisserie arm of Marou, the Saigon bean-to-bar chocolate maker, turning its single-origin Vietnamese chocolate into tarts.
OrderThe dark chocolate tart and a cup of hot chocolate.
TipYou can watch pastry work through the glass; the boxed bars make the best edible souvenir.
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.
OrderA single-origin pour-over from the brew bar.
TipIt is up a rickety staircase off Dong Khoi; the big windows make it a fine spot to work.
Every Half grew from a 2016 personal project into one of Saigon's most respected roasteries, its District 3 cafe drawing coffee people for pour-overs.
OrderA hand-brew of the current competition lot.
TipThe baristas here are serious about extraction; ask to try whatever they are dialling.
Drinking and Healing is one of Saigon's most sought-after cocktail bars, a dim speakeasy where the drinks lean on Vietnamese herbs and spirits.
OrderA cocktail built on local ingredients from the seasonal list.
TipIt takes the top floor of a historic building, with two small neon-lit smoking terraces looking straight at the Bitexco Tower.
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.
OrderThe coconut coffee, blended thick over ice.
TipThe entrance is up an alley off Dong Khoi; look for the small sign and climb the stairs.
Bosgaurus is one of Saigon's most serious roasters, working Vietnamese highland beans alongside imported single origins in a striking multi-storey cafe.
OrderA pour-over of the roaster's Vietnamese Cau Dat lot.
TipThe riverside Ton Duc Thang space is the flagship; ask the baristas what they just roasted.
Snuffbox is a hidden speakeasy on Ton That Dam in Saigon's District 1, open since late 2015 and pouring Mint Juleps and other jazz-era classics.
OrderA well-made classic or the bartender's choice off menu.
TipThe entrance is deliberately discreet inside an old apartment block; live music plays on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Layla is a buzzy cocktail bar and eatery in a colonial apartment block off Dong Du, with one of the city's longest bars, floor-to-ceiling windows.
OrderA signature cocktail with a plate from the kitchen.
TipIt is the bigger sister of Summer Experiment; the eleven-metre bar is the seat to grab.
Pasteur Street opened in 2014 and helped start Saigon's craft-beer boom, brewing American styles laced with Vietnamese ingredients like passion fruit.
OrderThe Jasmine IPA or the Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout.
TipThe original taproom is up an alley off Pasteur; the tasting flight is the way to sample widely.
Heart of Darkness is one of Saigon's most ambitious breweries, its Ly Tu Trong taproom pouring 20-plus taps of experimental beers under Conrad-inspired names.
OrderA flight across the rotating experimental taps.
TipThe 20-plus taps rotate fast; the shaded patio is the seat to grab on a hot afternoon.
Secret Garden hides on the rooftop of an old apartment block off Pasteur, serving home-style Southern Vietnamese cooking on a breezy open-air terrace.
OrderBanh xeo and the fresh spring rolls with boiled pork.
TipIt is up several flights inside an old building; look for the small sign and keep climbing.
Ba Co Loc Coc is a Michelin Selected room for traditional Southern Vietnamese home cooking in District 3: grilled meats, clay pots and market vegetables.
OrderThe grilled dishes and a clay-pot braise to share.
TipIt fills fast with local families at dinner; go early or book ahead on weekends.
Hoi An Sense is a Michelin Selected restaurant bringing central Vietnamese cooking to a garden villa in Da Kao, from cao lau to white rose dumplings.
OrderCao lau noodles and the white rose shrimp dumplings.
TipThe garden courtyard is the seat to request; there is often live traditional music at dinner.
Dim Tu Tac is a Bib Gourmand Cantonese house in Cho Lon known for its trolleys of dim sum and its Peking duck, a fixture of District 5 banquet dining.
OrderThe dim sum spread and the Peking duck.
TipGo with a group for the duck and a full round of dumplings; weekend lunch is the liveliest.
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.
OrderA flat white with the eggs benedict from the all-day menu.
TipThe cafe hides behind the boutique; walk through the shop to reach the tables.
Lacaph is a coffee experience space and roaster devoted to Vietnamese beans, its exposed-brick District 1 room built for tastings of phin-brewed coffee.
OrderA guided tasting flight of Vietnamese single origins.
TipBook the tasting flight to compare phin, filter and espresso brews of the same Vietnamese bean.
Stir is a hidden cocktail bar tucked inside a District 1 residential block, a warm room of seasonal signature drinks that rewards anyone who finds it.
OrderOne of the seasonal signatures built around local produce.
TipIt hides inside a residential building; look for the unmarked stairwell off Le Thanh Ton.
Nhau Nhau is the rooftop bar atop Anan Saigon, a narrow perch over the Ton That Dam wet market that riffs on Vietnam's nhau drinking culture with cocktails.
OrderA cocktail built on local herbs and rice spirit.
TipIt shares a building with the one-star Anan; head to the roof for the wet-market view.
Summer Experiment is a sustainability-minded cocktail bar on Ly Tu Trong, growing herbs on its rooftop for a low-waste drinks list served in a warm room.
OrderA garden cocktail made with the rooftop herbs.
TipIt sits above street level on Ly Tu Trong; the rooftop herb garden supplies the bar.
East West is a large modern brewpub on Ly Tu Trong with an on-site brewery and a broad kitchen, the most polished of Saigon's craft-beer halls.
OrderA pint of the Far East IPA with a plate from the kitchen.
TipIt doubles as a full restaurant; the industrial upstairs bar is quieter than the ground floor.
BiaCraft is a homegrown Saigon taproom pouring 50 craft beers on draft, mixing its own brews with guest taps from craft breweries across Vietnam.
OrderA tasting paddle of Vietnamese craft brews.
TipThe Le Ngo Cat branch has the biggest tap wall; pair the beers with the chicken feet.
Oc Dao is a perpetually packed snail house where Saigon comes to eat oc, working through plates of shellfish over cheap beer late into the night.
OrderA spread of snails, scallops and clams cooked to order.
TipOrder several small plates to share; the tamarind and coconut snails are the ones to start the night.
TipPay a small fee for the lift or climb the stairs floor by floor; each landing hides a different cafe.
Au Parc faces the park behind the Reunification Palace, a long-running District 1 brunch spot for Mediterranean and Middle Eastern plates, shakshuka.
OrderShakshuka with the house-baked bread
TipGrab a table on the pavement facing the park; weekend brunch is busy, so come early.
Home Saigon tucks into a quiet alley off Pham Ngu Lao, plating polished versions of family Southern Vietnamese recipes in a set of restored old-house rooms.
OrderThe caramelised clay-pot fish and the pomelo salad.
TipIt sits down a narrow hem; the street entrance is easy to miss, so follow the house numbers.
Bep Me In is a Michelin Bib Gourmand room dressing up Southern Vietnamese home cooking in a nostalgic old-Saigon setting just off Le Thanh Ton in District 1.
OrderThe clay-pot braises and grilled river fish.
TipThe retro decor draws a young local crowd; it is down a lane, so watch the house numbers.
Quan Bui is a polished mini-chain of Vietnamese restaurants, and its Le Duan branch is a reliable, air-conditioned room for Southern home cooking.
OrderThe grilled pork ribs and the morning-glory with garlic.
TipIt is a comfortable introduction to Vietnamese food for first-timers, with an English menu and cocktails.
Baba's Kitchen is Saigon's best-known Indian restaurant, a Bui Vien mainstay for North and South Indian curries, tandoor grills and thali plates.
OrderThe butter chicken with garlic naan, or a South Indian thali.
TipIt is on the backpacker strip; the thali is the value order and the kitchen does mild-to-fiery on request.
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.
OrderEgg coffee, Saigon style, with a banh mi to follow.
TipIt faces Notre Dame Cathedral; the upstairs rooms are quieter for a slow breakfast.
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.
OrderA Vietnamese drip coffee with a slice of cake.
TipIt 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.
OrderA French pastry from the counter with a flat white.
TipThe old-house setting is the draw; the pastry case is best stocked earlier in the day.
Rehab Station is a moody cocktail bar set in a restored old building off Nguyen Binh Khiem, a favourite of Saigon's late crowd for well-made drinks.
OrderA house cocktail from the rotating list.
TipIt sits down a lane near the Botanical Gardens; it hits its stride late in the evening.
Winking Seal is a craft brewery whose District 1 taproom on Dang Thi Nhu pours its own hop-forward and easy-drinking cans and drafts, a relaxed spot.
OrderA flight across the core range of Winking Seal cans.
TipThe beer is brewed south of the city but the Dang Thi Nhu taproom pours the full range fresh.
Vua Cua, the Crab King, is a lively evening seafood joint on Vo Van Kiet where the draw is crab cooked every way, from tamarind to salted-egg, with cold beer.
OrderSalted-egg crab and a plate of butter-fried snails.
TipCome hungry with a group; crab is priced by weight and meant to be shared.
Quan Ngon 138 gathers dozens of regional Vietnamese street dishes near the Independence Palace, cooked at open stalls inside a colonial-era house.
OrderWork through several small dishes; the banh xeo and grilled meats are reliable.
TipIt is busy and touristy but a painless way to sample many regional dishes in one sitting.
Lang Nuong Nam Bo is a rowdy Southern barbecue institution where whole suckling pig and skewers come off open grills across a sprawling District 10 compound.
OrderThe grilled suckling pig and a spread of Southern-style skewers.
TipCome with a group and plenty of beer; the grilled meats are meant for sharing.
Nha Hang Ngon is a bustling institution in a colonial villa on Pasteur, gathering open stalls of regional Vietnamese street dishes under one roof.
OrderA spread of small dishes; the banh xeo and cha gio are reliable.
TipIt is touristy and busy but a painless one-stop sampler of dozens of Vietnamese dishes.
Nha Go is a rustic wood-lined beef hotpot house on Ly Thai To, where groups gather around bubbling pots of lau bo with fresh herbs, noodles and beef.
OrderA shared beef hotpot with the full herb basket.
TipHotpot here is a group affair; go with several people and order a mix of beef cuts.
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