19 editor picks in Ho Chi Minh City.
19 upscale places in Ho Chi Minh City, editor-picked. occasion restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City: destination kitchens for celebrations and visits. All Ho Chi Minh City food.
Esta is a District 1 tasting room where a modern kitchen plates Asian fusion; it has featured in the Michelin Guide and Robb Report Vietnam's top 25.
OrderThe chef's tasting menu, which crosses Asian influences.
TipReservations are strongly recommended; email or call ahead, as the room is small and books out.
Quince is a Michelin Selected wood-fire kitchen open since 2018, where an open hearth of glowing embers drives bold, smoke-kissed modern cooking.
OrderAnything off the wood fire; the menu changes with the market.
TipThe open kitchen counter is the seat to book for the full show.
Stoker is a Michelin-listed three-floor steakhouse in District 1 built around an open wood fire and grass-fed and grain-fed beef dry-aged over 21 days.
OrderA dry-aged steak from the wood fire, plus the bone marrow.
TipThe ground-floor counter around the open kitchen is the liveliest seat.
Le Corto is a polished French room off Dong Khoi, open since 2016, plating pan-fried foie gras, dry-aged Long An duck and Ca Mau crab above a wine cellar.
OrderCorto's Cigar, a dark rum mousse with coffee ice cream, to finish.
TipTwo floors with a wine cellar; the ground floor can only be booked by phone, so call for a table there.
Vietnam House sits in a colonial building on Dong Khoi, where a team under chef Luke Nguyen matches traditional Vietnamese dishes with a modern twist.
OrderThe clay-pot fish and the shaking beef.
TipThe upstairs dining room is grander; lunch is a quieter time to visit.
Hoa Tuc plates refined modern Vietnamese cooking in a former opium-refinery courtyard off Hai Ba Trung, and runs the well-known Saigon Cooking Class upstairs.
OrderThe betel-leaf beef and the pomelo salad.
TipThe courtyard is a calm escape from the traffic; book for dinner outdoors.
Nephele is a Michelin Selected modern Vietnamese room in Binh Thanh, working local herbs and seasonal produce into a quiet, contemporary set menu.
OrderThe seasonal set menu, which leans on the day's market.
TipIt sits down a residential lane in Binh Thanh; booking ahead is the safe move for dinner.
Okra Food Bar is a Michelin Selected Thao Dien room plating modern Vietnamese small plates alongside a serious cocktail list in a compact, design-led space.
OrderA run of the small plates with a cocktail pairing.
TipSeats are limited and the counter is the best view of the kitchen; reserve for weekends.
ST25 by KOTO is a Michelin Selected farm-to-table Vietnamese restaurant on Le Duan, run by the KOTO social enterprise that trains at-risk youth.
OrderDishes built around Vietnam's award-winning ST25 rice.
TipEating here supports KOTO's hospitality training programme; the set lunch is good value.
The Deck is a luxe riverside restaurant on the Saigon River in Thao Dien, plating modern pan-Asian and Western dishes across a broad open deck.
OrderGrilled seafood at sunset with a river view.
TipArrive before dusk for a table on the water; it runs a popular weekend brunch and river shuttle.
The Racha Room is a stylish Thai fusion restaurant and bar on Mac Thi Buoi, plating punchy modern Thai plates and cocktails in a dim, design-led District 1.
OrderThe massaman curry and a lemongrass cocktail.
TipIt turns into a lively bar later; book for dinner if you want a quieter table.
Noir serves a set tasting menu in complete darkness, guided by blind and visually impaired waiters, a District 1 dinner about taste, smell and touch.
OrderThe surprise set menu; choose meat, seafood, vegetarian or mixed.
TipLock your phone away and let the waiters lead; book online in advance.
MAD House is a laid-back garden restaurant in a Thao Dien villa, serving modern European and Vietnamese plates across a leafy indoor-outdoor space.
OrderThe weekend roast and the garden cocktails.
TipThe tropical garden is the reason to come; go for a long lazy lunch.
Social Club sits atop the Hotel des Arts with an infinity pool and one of the city's best skyline outlooks, a polished rooftop for sunset cocktails.
OrderA cocktail by the infinity pool at golden hour.
TipIt is on the roof of Hotel des Arts; come for sunset drinks before it fills for the DJ set.
MAD helped pioneer Saigon's wine-bar culture, a relaxed Thao Dien room with one of the city's deepest lists by the glass, leaning old-world.
OrderA glass of old-world red with a charcuterie board.
TipThe by-the-glass list rotates often; ask the staff to pour you something off the beaten track.
Ngoc Suong is a long-running upscale seafood restaurant in a classic villa on Suong Nguyet Anh, plating fresh fish, prawns and crab in a formal room.
OrderSteamed reef fish and salt-and-pepper prawns.
TipIt suits a group seafood banquet; fish is priced by weight from the tanks.
Saint Honore is a French boulangerie and patisserie in Thao Dien, baking laminated croissants, tarts and gateaux to a high standard for the riverside expat.
OrderA butter croissant and a fruit tart.
TipIt is on the pricier side but the viennoiserie is among the best in the district.
Chill Skybar was Vietnam's first rooftop bar, a sprawling open-air deck on the 26th floor of the AB Tower with 360-degree city views and pricey drinks.
OrderA signature cocktail at sunset over the skyline.
TipThere is a smart dress code; arrive before dark for a table on the open-air rail.
The Refinery is a French brasserie and wine bar in a heritage former opium refinery, a Saigon institution since 2006 with a leafy courtyard.
OrderA glass of French white with the moules or oysters.
TipThe courtyard is a calm escape from the traffic; it doubles as a full brasserie for lunch.
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