In this, our latest curated cheat sheet of the coolest new bars and restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City we’ve slid up to the counter in a District 1 whiskey den and yelled “kanpai” over local sakes on Nguyen Hue Walking Street. We got bougie in a Boudoir, and we found our Mamacita. And we’re just in time. As Saigon simmers under the pre-rainy season heat, it’s good to cool off or to simply embrace the moment and feel the heat in one of the places in this list.
The feverish temperatures mirror the frenzy over the hottest new places to eat and drink in Ho Chi Minh City, better known as our beloved Saigon. There’s a queue down the street at Chan Chan Noodles, the new vegan noodle joint fromNgo Thanh Van and Huy Tran. And, once dinner is done at Mamacita the volume increases and there’s heat on the dancefloor. Likewise at The Sake where the nightly entertainment includes flirtatious geishas and decadent DJs.
That’s not to say you can’t find respite from the heat. I Hate Monday, with its white ceramic tiles and hand-scrawled menus is as cool as it gets. And, for whisky connoisseurs (or simply enthusiastic amateurs) Whiskey Lane is a shimmering, chic apparition in downtown Saigon.
Discover pastries, pasta with Cheetos, perfect whiskey cocktails, and more in this, our list of the best new bars and restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City.
Whiskey Lane
Whiskey Lane (15 Phan Van Dat, District 1) joins a host of denizens of cocktail and whisk(e)y culture crowded around Mac Thi Buoi Street in downtown District 1. But, its scintillating design and superior service sets it apart.
The enigmatic, intimate space by David Hodkinson’s Noor Design – whose office is around the corner – provides a refuge from the chaos outside.
Out there, the Vietcombank Tower – the sixth highest building in Vietnam – looms and the newly opened 40-floor Hilton Saigon Hotel puffs out its chest, and Whiskey Lane clearly has business travelers from both on its guest list. There’s hotels all around too with thirsty guests looking for a drink beyond the doors of their residence.
And so, Whiskey Lane is already a draw for locals and interlopers alike, at least the ones that have a penchant for single malts, or a well-made Manhattan.
That’s because Whiskey Lane, the second project from the group behind Victory Bar in Pham Viet Chanh, is perfect for conversations and catch-ups, with lots of conversation-starting bottles in the cabinets and on the shelves around the bar.
For example, there’s a bottle of Macallan 52 Year Old Select Reserve 1946, a vintage, unusually for Macallan, made with peated malt. Or another Speyside whisky, the Linkwood 1981 – one of only 701 bottles produced – that was matured in Pedro Ximenez/Oloroso seasoned American oak casks.
But Whiskey Lane has an eye for new world whiskies too – like the selection of expressions from Tasmania’s Sullivans Cove, a distillery that was awarded the World’s Best Single Malt Whisky in 2014 for its Sullivans Cove French Oak at the World Whiskies Awards, with more accolades in 2018 and 2019.
Besides there are signature and classic cocktails, most of which, as you’d expect, are whisky-based, like their refined Rob Roy.
And like any self-respecting high-end establishment, the bar staff whip it from its coaster and into the fridge the second you step away from your seat, returning it the moment you return too.
That’s thanks, in part, to the input of bar consultant Pierluigi de Angelis, the former bar manager of Nobu Hotel London Shoreditch, who also worked at Nobu’s other London locations, Nobu Warsaw and Nobu Ibiza, bringing the same level of five-star service to this new District 1 whiskey bar.
The Sake
The Sake (75-77 Nguyen Hue, District 1 & 98 Ho Tung Mau), like Vietnamese tube houses, has a narrow entrance on Saigon’s Nguyen Hue walking street, and an interior that seems to go on and on forever until it hits the exclamation mark of six glowing refrigerators at the back.
Mercurially, they’re the backdrop to a square stage, a hint that at The Sake, the team behind riotous beer club The Gangs – famous for its crazed conga lines and contagious atmosphere – aim to add the same kind of atmosphere to izakaya culture in Saigon. “Expect daily performances with geisha and samurai dances,” The Sake team promises. They’re adding an ‘E’ to F&B, to make it “food, beverages and entertainment.”
But, to bring out the ninja in you, there’s another entrance at the back, at 98 Ho Tung Mau Street (as there is for The Gangs too).
And in those fridges bottles of the locally-made MÙA Craft Sake sit beside bottles of premium IWA 5, a “sake brought to life by a constellation of passionate and creative minds” including the fifth chef de cave for Dom Pérignon Champagne, Richard Geoffroy. “We also serve the KID Muryozan Junmai from Heiwa Shuzou, Japan,” they continue about the prize-winning sake that was selected as the world’s best in 2020.
But even for that eminently affordable local MÙA Craft Sake (at 75K for a glass and a bottle for 490K), the staff bring out a tray of elegant glasses to choose from.
Elsewhere, the menu has all the izakaya standards – combo yakiniku (5 pieces for 140K), California and spicy seafood rolls (145K) and sashimi sets (375K for 5 kinds). And there’s lots of seating options to enjoy them at, high tables, and sunken tables, and private rooms upstairs.
“We love to introduce original new concepts that have never been seen in the market,” they add, finally. And The Sake is the latest one.
Mamacita Restaurant
Scoot past Mamacita too quickly and you might, understandably, conclude that there’s a feminine hand behind Mamacita Restaurant with its colorful terrace at 80 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien. But, in fact, this new Latin restaurant comes from macho Mexican chef Julio Gomez – formerly of Tomatito and Mia Saigon – Luxury Boutique Hotel.
“You can’t call yourself a Mexican, if you’ve never eaten tacos in the chaotic streets of Mexico City,” Julio tells us brusquely, before revealing his softer side. “But the best place for me was always to eat at home. We could feel the love and passion in everything my mom made in the kitchen – which is why I became a chef in the first place.”
And just as mom would want it, Julio’s Mamacita is about welcoming guests in as if it were their own home. “The vibes are fun, friendly without forgoing a bit of elegance,” he nods.
Adding to that energy, the food is made to share. Think fun, fresh flavors with a Latin twist.
Many of the mains get a lick of char and smoke on the grill. There’s some sexy throwbacks too – like Julio’s remake of the classic Tomatito Salmon Bomb. And the tangy Ceviche Mamacita comes loaded with wild sea bass and tiger prawns. And they’re all accessibly-priced to keep the foodies of Thao Dien and beyond coming back for more.
“Start early on the terrace,” Julio recommends, “then head inside for dinner, and stick around till later if you like when we turn up the volume and you can let your Latin dance skills help you find your mamacita.”
No need, we remind him. We already found our Saigon Mamacita at 80 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien.
Robin Mouquet’s Pastry Shop
Make no mistake. This is Robin Mouquet’s month too.
Robin, who was born in Toulouse, first trained in hospitality before focusing on becoming a pastry chef. With his goal set, he went on to graduate from Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse in Monaco.
After that, he worked under Michel Sarran – a culinary legend in Toulouse – at his eponymous Restaurant Michel Serran.
Then, he headed to Paris. There, in the French capital, he worked under Alain Passard, at his three MICHELIN-star l’Arpège and then under Pierre Gagnaire – a year or two before the chef was voted the world’s best in 2015 – at his flagship restaurant, Pierre Gagnaire at the Hôtel Balzac on the Champs-Elysées, Paris. And finally, he had a spell at a branch of Pierre Hermé Paris, at Le Royal Monceau Hotel.
This Thao Dien outlet of his Robin Mouquet’s Pastry Shop (204/20 Nguyen Van Huong, District 2) is Robin’s second pastry shop (he first opened in District 10) in this city he calls “a big playground for creativity.”
Here, he shares the space – open Tuesday to Sunday from 7:30 to 20:00 – with Chef Hervé’s MaSa, the perfect host who, Robin says, shares his passion for the profession, and a background in the French MICHELIN-starred culinary scene.
At this new pastry shop, Robin continues to explore Vietnamese ingredients. Currently, he’s enthused about lychees, which just came into season, and can be found, along with Da Lat strawberries, on his Dacquoise Almond Biscuit. Or “very, very interesting” aromatic pandan leaves, that he’s combined with pistachio into a cake.
Boudoir Lounge
Over at the SOFITEL Plaza Saigon, the downstairs lounge has been reimagined as an intimate café and bar space, known as Boudoir Lounge (17 Le Duan, District 1). It’s perfect for meetings in the daytime, or catching up with friends, over coffee.
And, at night, its plush velvet curtains, see-you-later sofas, and dark wooden decorations give it a speakeasy energy – a place to imbibe classic and signature cocktails, or champagne.
During either period, a pastry from Chef Robin Mouquet, is likely to sweeten the deal.
“In the morning, try our ‘Cloud Coffee,’” Robin advises about his riff on Vietnamese milk coffee, cà phê sữa đá, with added peanuts and cacao.
“With friends in the afternoon? The ‘Wild Paradise.’ It’s our take on the classic pecan pie with a blueberry sorbet and a light cream,” he adds. And at night? We wonder. “The ‘Citrus Bliss,’ a lime tart with calamansi, frozen meringue and pound cake with citrus jam, which can be enjoyed at the bar, as the bartender shakes a cocktail for you.”
The Gallic-souled SOFITEL Plaza Saigon sees the project as another way to bridge French and Vietnamese culture, and further forge “the interaction of two rich culinary traditions.”
Robin, who says the SOFITEL team trustingly handed him the keys to their Pâtisserie LAB, sees it as a “very interesting project, which will continue to evolve.”
And we see it, more selfishly, as a way to snarf down one of Chef Robin’s quintessentially French desserts without the trip to Thao Dien (or calling their first pastry shop, in District 10, for a delivery).
Chan Chan Noodles
More used to fluttering around movie sets or photo shoots, Ngo Thanh Van and Huy Tran glance up, for a moment, at the growing line of people on the stools at the entrance to Chan Chan Noodles (25A Ngo Quang Huy, District 2) before quickly getting back to work expediting bowls of noodles and plates of bao buns to their hungry customers who have unlocked the level of actually getting a seat at Chan Chan Noodles, their new Thao Dien vegan noodle bar.
It’s refreshing to see movie producer and actress Ngo Thanh Van – who featured in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny – and husband Huy Tran sincerely serving up vegan food while seemingly not missing the celebrity lifestyle at all.
The menu is short and simple, and spicy. There’s Bún Thái with stuffed chili pepper, their vegan phở, Bún Măng with bamboo shoots, and Mì Viên Khô Hong Kong (all 98K), and their rich, chilli-loaded special Miến Trộn Chan Chan (118K).
And side plates like their pandan deep-fried you tiao donuts, spicy perilla salad, battered magic mushrooms, a savory rice pudding and those bánh baos.
Worth the wait.
I Hate Monday
It’s ironic that the two types of guests packing out I Hate Monday (25A Nguyen Duy Hieu, Thao Dien) from the Pigmakers Company team behind Thao Dien’s Dotori Dining are the least affected by the Monday morning blues – teenage girls taking lots of photos and gossiping Korean housewives.
The menu is full of the kind of food you’d attempt to cook for your first girlfriend – seafood pastas, and chicken with couscous. But that’s a testament to the feel-good brand of fun food, drinks and cool, kooky decor I Hate Mondays are aiming for with chipped plaster walls, and a space strewn with vinyl records, skateboards, and flickering TV screens.
The Signature Sodas like their Bling Pink (129K), with housemade berry syrup, lime juice and soda are eye-catching. And the wine list has lots of natural and biodynamic options, with a daily menu from 11AM to 10PM served every day (despite that issue with Mondays).
And to avoid any confusion, a childlike scrawl labels everything. ‘This is a menu’ the menu says. ‘I am a napkin’ it says on the napkin. Even the toilet rolls in the bathroom cry out for attention. ‘Pick me or your week will have 7 Mondays’ one of the 30 tissue rolls on the bathrooms threatens.
Still, no one here seems unduly threatened by Mondays.
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