We’re constantly asked about the best places to eat and drink in Saigon. So, we’ve compiled a list of all our favorites – from chic Saigon cocktail bars, to design-conscious cafes, and the best restaurants. Read on to discover the best places to eat and drink in Saigon right now according to The Dot Magazine team, plus some extras, like where to stay and what to do.
Đọc bài viết bằng Tiếng Việt
Since 2019, The Dot Magazine has become one of the most trusted sources of what to do in Saigon and beyond. Here, we’ve drawn on those years of hunting for the coolest things to do in Saigon into an all-in-one place list, first published in August 2022 and last updated in November 2026. And why incomplete? Because things change so fast. And we’ve probably missed a place or two. So, we’re going to constantly update and edit this incomplete list to keep it fresh. Next time someone asks, “What should I do in Saigon?” send them this.
Where To Drink Cocktails In Saigon
Hybrid
Hybrid Saigon, formerly at 121/30 Le Thi Rieng, District 1, has moved right opposite the Notre Dame Cathedral (57 Nguyen Du, District 1), down a modest alley. It’s a creative, clay-walled haven of modernist cocktails.
Before all this, founder ‘Liam’ Lam Duong decided to open the first Hybrid in his hometown of Nha Trang. Still, despite the obscure location, he featured in Asia’s 50 Best Bars extended 51-100 list in 2021.
Now, Hybrid Saigon, at its second location, looks likely to scale the heights of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, and Liam to reclaim his crown as the city’s most mesmerizing mixologist.
Enigma Mansion
Enigma Mansion (5H Ton Duc Thang, District 1) is another second coming. Originally, the bar shimmered into view, like a spaceship landing in downtown District 1. They’ve since shifted a few blocks over, at the corner where the nightly cacophony of coffeeshops meet the traffic-heavy street of Ton Duc Thang. The menu has page after page of classics, arranged by era — one for bartenders and industry insiders — and a plant-based menu full of modernist concoctions like their complex milk punch Kombu. In 2026, it climbed to No.55 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars extended list.
Olivette
The Enigma Mansion team has opened a second bar a couple of hundred meters away. Olivette Fine Drinking Cocktail Bar (6th Floor, 6 Nguyen Sieu, District 1) is in the old Fafilm building. It might be a little dusty, but it’s coming back to life. Downstairs, the Chào Show plays 12 chapters of folk music on 30 traditional instruments.
Upstairs, some of the Enigma Mansion team double-time between the two venues. The Mansion is dark and mysterious. Olivette looks out at the modern city instead, with the Nexus building and IFC Saigon Tower lit up in neon beyond the windows.
Founder Will brought the idea back from Paris and Milan two years ago, where the Art Nouveau buildings stayed with him. A night at Rémy Savage’s Bar Nouveau in Paris settled it. The result is curved wooden screens, bellflower chandeliers and gold swirls painted on the walls. A long marble bar runs down the room, and a window counter faces the skyline.
The name has a past. The ‘Olivette’ first turns up in ‘Applegreen’s Bar Book’ in 1904, then again in Harry Craddock’s ‘The Savoy Cocktail Book’ in 1930. Olivette’s version mixes Lady Triệu gin with St-Germain and dry vermouth, finished with an olive. Get the anchovy olives on the side.
The night opens with the house fizz, a seven-day ferment of apple-based wines and Charles Mignon Champagne. The ‘Champagne Colada’ comes next, a Piña Colada riff made with Vietnamese Sampan rum. Local spirits like Sông Cái find their way into the classics too.
RAW + Atelier
Some bartenders chase fame. Others let it find them. Jimmy Nguyen — dashingly handsome, unapologetically introverted — has traded his ‘Healers’ pharmacist whites from Drinking & Healing for something entirely his own: an atelier where imperfection becomes art. That’s RAW + Atelier (2nd Floor, 97B Ly Tu Trong, District 1).
This moment didn’t arrive by accident. “Nearly every bartender I’ve spoken with, every bar I’ve visited—each has played a role in shaping what RAW + Atelier has become,” Jimmy reflects, his voice carrying the weight of someone who’s been consciously collecting influences like rare spirits.
The result defies easy categorization: a three-in-one concept spanning two floors, featuring the intimate Room No.5, with three distinct menus and three entirely different moods. It’s ambitious in the way only truly considered ventures can be.
Central to everything is wabi-sabi, the Japanese philosophy of embracing imperfection and impermanence. Here, cocktails prioritize experience over expectation, each drink shaped as much by atmosphere as ingredients. “What arrives in your glass may not match what you read on the menu — and that’s intentional,” Jimmy explains. “Each cocktail exists uniquely in that moment, influenced by where you sit, how you feel, what the evening holds.”
The opening menu, ‘Off The Script,’ delivers on this promise through twisted classics that sound like heresy but taste like revelation: Fizzy Manhattan, Shaken Old Fashioned, drinks that challenge orthodoxy while honoring tradition. No high-tech wizardry here—just obsessive attention to Vietnamese ingredients and flawless execution of fundamentals.
Jimmy maps the ideal journey: “Begin with an Espresso Martini downstairs, ascend to the balcony for a Dirty Martini Sour while the city settles into evening, then retreat to Room No.5’s intimacy with a Vintage Manhattan and neat whisky.” It’s less recommendation than ritual—a carefully choreographed descent into the night, guided by someone who understands that the best experiences can’t be rushed, only revealed.
Me Drink & Chill
In a gloriously ramshackle old building, accessed up a dark staircase is Me Drink & Chill (2nd Floor, 33 Nguyen Trung Truc, District 1), also known as Tamarind Hidden Cocktail Bar.
It’s perfectly located for a bar crawl, with Raw + Atelier, Summer Experiment, and The Loser all within staggering distance.
But thoughts of adventure may quickly disappear once you settle in at the bar.
There are music nights but the cocktails are the real attraction. The team does Campari-based classics, Negronis and Americanos to perfection, and they’re always playing around with something new. “I’ve just perfected the hay-smoked olives they serve at Bar Leone,” they told us last time we met.
There’s also the kind of expansive collection of spirits you’d expect from one of the city’s most passionate bar teams. Drink and chill here, and maybe it will be your first and only stop of the night.
Tủ Bar
Down a nondescript Binh Thanh alley, you’ll find an anonymous brown wooden door. Push it open and suddenly you’re engulfed in jackets hanging from a clothes rail. Once you’ve gathered your bearings, you discover another door at the back of the wardrobe that leads into the small, 15-seat Tủ Bar (160 Ngo Tat To, Binh Thanh). Inside the talented young bartenders ensure it’s not all gimmick and that drinks match the drapes in terms of quality. Then there’s a fancy snack with each drink, just to top it off.
The Arth
The Arth (1st Floor, 222 Nguyen Cong Tru, District 1) is one of the best reasons to head to Nguyen Thai Binh Ward. The bar’s design details are striking and have put the cocktail bar on the map, earning it the runner-up for Best Bar Design award at The B.A.R.s.
Notable features are the grand art deco back bar, the skylight for stargazing, and the large railway station clock on the wall. Serving up live music, like soothing saxophone and jazz, and the kind of classic cocktails, it all feels very befitting of this kind of era-evoking decor. And The Arth recently reopened after a refit.
Drinking & Healing
Drinking & Healing (25 Ho Tung Mau, District 1) was one of the first truly local cocktail bars to break big. Find it on a majestic corner along downtown Saigon’s main thoroughfare, Ham Nghi (look up for the ‘Nasty’ neon sign on one of the bar’s balconies). But at Drinking & Healing a talented crew of ‘Healers’ mix cool cocktails served in inflatable unicorns and glass boxes filled with smoke. Booking required.
ÔMM
Further along Ho Tung Mau is ÔMM Mixology (1st Floor, 63 Ho Tung Mau, District 1). It’s named after a Tien Cookie melody. It’s a cocktail bar and an art gallery in one. And there’s an ant projected onto the back bar.
Tokyo mixologist Shuzo Nagumo created the menu, and it’s built on tea. The Lishan Nectar puts Taiwanese high-mountain tea into white rum. The Roasted Newton Fizz has hojicha and white chocolate espuma. The Primitive has artichoke tea and a house amaro.
Ủ Bar
It’s tough, paying respect to the past while modernizing it. Ủ Bar (2nd Floor, 50A Dang Dung, District 1) manages the balancing act perfectly. There’s the dapper ao dai, shelves of mysterious vitrines that look lifted from an antique store, and a bar that glows as golden as Saigon’s ephemeral era of the 1950s and ’60s.
But, just as it should be, any great bar stands on the quality of its drinks. All the rest is beautiful noise. At Ủ Bar, that means classic with a local twist and lots of fermentation because the ‘Ủ’ means to age or ferment. There are bar snacks too, full of local flavor.
Oculus
Few bars are shaped like a human eye. Oculus (54 Vo Van Tan, District 3) is. But these days the real draw is chef Anh Khoa, formerly of the enigmatic private kitchen Project Arrow.
His food is all familiar concepts seen through a different lens. Daikon becomes a caviar vessel, uni toast gets reimagined, and even humble waffles with butter transform into something more considered. Dishes arrive either as thoughtfully curated pairings or individually, for those preferring to navigate their own sensory journey.
The anatomy of vision becomes architectural theater. A curved glass facade mimics the cornea’s gentle sweep, while an temperamental automatic door contracts and expands like a pupil adjusting to changing light. But it’s the circular bar at the center — the lens of this optical illusion — where the magic happens.
The cocktail program is still as sharp as the design. Under calculated spotlighting, backlit shelves of spirits create a glowing retina, revealed theatrically when curtains part like eyelids opening.
Le Foyer
Le Foyer Bar (220/9/33 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Binh Thanh) keeps Pham Hong Toan’s obsession with odd locations alive. It’s beside a wet market and almost unmarked. Inside, it’s a classic counter bar, darkly lit and moody, and nothing distracts from his theatrical, precise cocktail making, with more than a hint of Japanese style.
ASMR
The name ASMR (15 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien) references the tingling sensation triggered by sensuous sounds but also here ASMR describes sections of the cocktail menu. There’s A for acid, with sour and fermented flavors, S for sweet and sour, with honey, chocolate and citrus flavors, M for molecular, with foam, bubbles and smoke, and finally R for rich, with milk, oils and butter. And they’re served up by two local industry leaders, former World Class Vietnam winner Vu Ngoc Will and Vien Du, formerly of Drinking & Healing.
Stir
Among the wave of Saigon speakeasies that opened around the same time, Stir – Modern Classic Cocktail (136 Le Thanh Ton, District 1) really stands out. Two local bartending forces, Thep Dinh and Lam Duc Anh, joined together and at Stir – Modern Classic Cocktail created a cocktail menu written in Vietnamese, incorporating lots of ideas from the street food and drinks served right outside. Plus there’s a Truffle Martini that’s worth the trip up the stairs on its own. Stir – Modern Classic Cocktail has made Asia’s 50 Best Bars extended list several times since 2022 – most recently at No.84 in 2026.
Nê Saigon
Nê Cocktail Bar is a Hanoi original. The team there birthed the pho cocktail, and made Asia’s 50 Best Bars extended list at No.76 in 2021. Now there’s Nê Saigon (109 Le Thanh Ton, District 1), on the same street as Stir.
It doesn’t copy the original. There’s a winding staircase, backlit shelves and a long counter. The menu moves from ‘opening notes’ to ‘deep structure,’ with stocks, infusions and umami-led drinks, and ends on ‘lasting impressions.’ The pho cocktail is still on it.
Madam Kew
You could spend a whole evening eating and drinking through District 1’s Nguyen Thai Binh Ward. Places like Madam Kew. Upstairs from Quince, Madam Kew (37bis Ky Con, District 1) is a stylish, chinoiserie-chic take on a modern cocktail bar, with a long counter and booths and sofas to enjoy their fun, flavorsome renditions of Chinese cuisine, like their justifiably famous eggplant mapo tofu, or their regular DJ sets and live music.
The cocktails, served by their effervescent bartenders, like their Rock Me Up with Elijah Craig Small Batch, Appleton, Fernet Branca, Campari, Honey, Ginger Syrups and Lemon, are formidable too.
Lost Birds
True to the name Lost Birds Cocktail Bar (24A Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien) is modestly tucked away, a cocktail bar for the lost souls, in a space with crumbling walls and an industrial edge to its design – something like a dimly lit Berlin dive bar. Instead of a backbar, the outer perimeter of the bar is lined with bottles, allowing you to reach out and read a label or two, while the bartender stirs up one of the best Negronis in town.
The Pi
The Pi (39 Nguyen Van Thu, District 1), a few streets from its old home on Huynh Khuong Ninh, is our favorite neighborhood hangout. The team love striking up conversations as much as they do experimenting with twists on classic cocktails. Watch out for their regular, female-bartender focused pop-ups.
Nhau Nhau
Life hack alert. Nhau Nhau (89 Ton That Dam, District 1) is a Saigon ‘60s inspired bar in the same building as Anan Restaurant, and run by the same team. Although here it’s cocktails first, you can order many of the items on the Anan restaurant menu in chic-er surroundings. Plus Nhau Nhau’s coconut worms shots are probably the most Instagrammable drink in town.
The Triệu Institute
The Triệu Institute (10 Mac Thi Buoi, District 1) added a splash of local color to downtown Mac Thi Buoi Street when it opened in 2023. The street has been a foodie destination for a while now: on one side is Monkey Gallery (see below) and beside it a branch of Marou, and on the other side, there’s the speakeasy, Firkin. And a couple of doors down Thai flavors at Racha Room. But The Triệu Institute is all about the botanicals, especially the ones in the gin brand behind it, Lady Triệu Gin.
Over two floors, the team create cocktails inspired by the heroine herself, and the cultured cuisine incorporates the same botanicals as the gin. Watch out for tastings, and guests shifts, and more.
Summer Experiment
Summer Experiment (2nd Floor, 77-79 Ly Tu Trong, District 1) was another game-changer when it opened. After the heady success of their first bar, Layla, Jay Moir and team explored a cocktail bar-as-garden concept at Summer Experiment. Drinks are served in watering cans. There’s spherical watermelon vodka shots. And lots of sustainability-minded concoctions. And there’s some fittingly lush greenery out on the small terrace of this eco-conscious Saigon bar.
CỘI Saigon
Downstairs from Summer Experiment is CỘI Saigon (1st Floor, 77-79 Ly Tu Trong, District 1), a cafe-bar-jazz-club where the musicians play everything from Latin-jazz to funk. They set up by the window most nights, and jam out in the warm and convivial surroundings – be sure to check the schedule to see what’s on.
Du Bar
And, for a unique Saigon bar crawl you need only spill around the corner, and stumble past a few cafes and a pool hall until you reach Du Bar (36bis Huynh Khuong Ninh, District 1). Here, the spirited beverages are inspired by perfumes, served from an elegant bar. The young bartending team usually love a chat, as do the artsy regulars who drift by. Plus, The Pi is a few streets away for an end-of-the-crawl nightcap.
Pham Viet Chanh
Another great neighborhood for a drink or two, or even a bar crawl, is Pham Viet Chanh. The street, and increasingly its side streets, is lined with bars and restaurants. Birdy is an ever-popular dive bar and opposite it is Khoai, a craft beer oriented spot. Further along, as the alley gets ramshackle and run down, is the glimmering and great Legato (126 Pham Viet Chanh, Binh Thanh), a must-visit jazz bar even when there’s no jazz on (although there usually is).
Le Café des Stagiaires
Le Café des Stagiaires (10 Street 54, Thao Dien) which opened first in Shanghai and then Bangkok, is a riverside bar and restaurant on a new entertainment strip in Thao Dien. While upstairs is a funky room and French-Belgian bar with a DJ booth at one end and some great food, craft beers and cocktails, most guests gravitate to the expansive rooftop with its uninterrupted views of the Landmark81 building. Plus, DJs often set up there too for a rooftop session.
86 Proof And Mámi
Near to their sister project, 86 Proof Whiskey Bar (109 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien), that, since a move across the street, is packed every evening (and beyond) with the cosmopolitan mix of expats who inhabit the area, you’ll also find Mámi Cocktails – Tapas & Bar (97a Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien), where guests gather around the open kitchen, or in the space upstairs, the team promise upbeat vibes, personable service, fantastic tapas – like king fish ceviche tostada and manchego cheese stuffed croquetas – and amazing cocktails (the reason they’re in the bars section of this list) that brush off the low ABV movement, with drinks like their incendiary Hypeball with mezcal, chili and canteloupe, or their Bushmills-based, fig-infused Notorious F.I.G. And the expansive four-hour daily happy hour, from 4-8PM is a great time to enjoy it all.
Angels’ Share
Angels’ Share (Alley 178, Pasteur Street, District 1) has remakes of Edward Hopper’s work on the walls, and, although the bar is dedicated to whiskey there’s plenty of cocktails to muse artily over. However, in case there was any doubt of this bar’s first love, then be reminded that even the name is a tribute to the ephemeral escape of spirit that evaporate while aging.
PK Maltroom
Right beside or across the street from the timeless family-style restaurant Cuc Gach Quan – depending which of Cuc Gach Quan’s two dining rooms you visit – is PK Maltroom (8A Dang Tat, District 1), a bar, opened in 2017, that’s designed like an opera house (the proprietor, Khanh, is a classically trained opera singer) and opened by two friends, Phuong and Khanh himself (hence the PK in the name) that has a mesmerizing selection of whiskies, but also some interesting rums, and a great line in classic cocktails. With Esta Eatery around the corner, and Tan Dinh becoming a low-rise bar and restaurant enclave, PK Maltroom has become an unofficial after hours spot for the F&B industry. They, after all, know a good cocktail when they taste one.
Kohei’s
The endangered block at 151 Dong Khoi is an OG entertainment complex that’s been through endless evolutions. Of the many cafes, bars and restaurants in the building, our pick is Kohei’s (151 Dong Khoi, District 1).
And Kohei Yamamoto is on-hand most nights to regale you with wild stories of his years in the Shanghai bar scene. The cocktails are constantly on-point, and there’s cigars too. Next door, Lacàph serves coffee for the curious, and on the other side, Brothers Saigon Men’s Boutique Salon provides some of the best men’s grooming in Saigon.
Lost & Found
Lost & Found (19/6 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1) is dedicated to the discarded. There’s all kinds of signs and signifiers of Saigon past gathered together there, and the mix of guests that breeze through get the same warm welcome from proprietor, Tyler Maurice Kooy, from Monday to Saturday, 5pm till the last one leaves. The drinks stick to well-made classics, a solid Sazerac, a perfectly appointed Pisco Sour, with the occasional ode to the city, like Tyler’s Lost In Saigon with rye whisky and elderflower liqueur.
House Of Irori
Down another alley off Nguyen Thi Minh Khai is House Of Irori (17/3 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1), from the people behind House Of Merlin. An irori is a Japanese sunken hearth. There’s one in the middle of the room. And there’s a hot towel at the door and miso soup on the way out, both lifted from ryokan custom.
Sake casks hang from the ceiling beams. The counter is a single long piece of tamarind wood. Head bartender Nhut’s Irori Manhattan swaps rye for Wild Turkey 8 Year Old, with mirin and Dolin Rouge. The bestseller is the Lullaby of Life, with chamomile rum, fino sherry and Scarlet Menta amaro. And late at night, bartender Khoi takes a seat at the piano.
The Hammond
The Hammond (279 Hoang Sa, District 1) opened its doors in October 2023, exuding the charm of a vintage drinking den reminiscent of yesteryears, only this one has rooftop views of the curving canal. This area is ripe for some elevated bar and restaurant projects, to sit primly amidst the chaotic canal-side nhau joints.
Maybe The Hammond is the start of it, because stepping inside feels like climbing into grandpa’s locked study, with soft, brown leather sofas creating cozy nooks, and an eclectic mix of lamps, a model sailboat resting on an intriguing old trunk, and a grand gramophone adding to the nostalgic ambiance. However, it’s not just the decor that steals the show; the bar takes center stage with its impressive collection of spirits, each displayed like a treasured possession against the backlit bar. The service is personable and the classics are on point.
419
Easily one of our favorite speakeasies, 419. Bar – Restaurant (158/6 Nguyen Cong Tru, District 1) is hidden behind a cafe and a cabinet containing vintage cameras. Discover the entrance, and inside it’s an Alladin’s Cave meets izakaya. And the cocktails are brilliant.
Vesou
Vesou Saigon (150/7/3 Nguyen Trai, District 1) is a subterranean rum bar, the sort of space Saigon does especially well. Nondescript entrance. Uncertain stairs down. Then, you’re in a magical basement bar with a penchant for sugar-cane spirits.
The kindly team, led by Remy, offer tasters of rare and unusual bottles, and there’s an admirable assortment of rum-based cocktails – in fact they promise “rum from every corner of the world” and, glancing up at the back bar, you’ll be inclined to believe them. It’s a small space, so it’s worth messaging to book ahead for a seat at the counter, but it’s well worth seeking out.
Blanc de Blancs
In a very Soho House-esque manner, Blanc de Blancs has taken over an enormous patch of prime real estate on Nguyen Hue (85 Nguyen Hue, District 1). Occupying the entire building, you enter downstairs to a bar and swanky booze shop, whilst upstairs you’ll find a myriad of rooms, alcoves and even an art exhibition. Each space offers you a different place to sit, drink, chat and admire the chic surroundings whilst keeping a beady eye on who else is there. It’s open from late afternoon until late.
Where To Eat In Saigon
Quince
As much inspired by Quincy Jones as the aromatic golden-yellow fruit, at Quince Eatery Saigon (37bis Ky Con, District 1) award-winning Chef Julien Perraudin riffs on BBQ-licked Middle Eastern-inspired dishes. Ingredients are sustainably-sourced and seasonal. But it’s always flavor first at Quince Eatery Saigon, which is why it’s a perennial #1 for casual fine dining in Saigon.
aum.
aum. (2nd Floor, 71-73-75 Hai Ba Trung, District 1) is Julien Perraudin and the Quince team’s love letter to Thai cooking. He’s run the kitchen at Quince since it opened in 2018. But his wife’s family is from Udon Thani, in Isaan, and aum. is, as he puts it, the “Thailand chapter I dreamed of twenty years ago.”
The name is pronounced “am,” the sound Thai parents make when spoon-feeding their kids. The logo is a duck, and little yellow ones sit on the shelves – a nod to Udon Thani’s giant rubber ducks, and to Julien’s dad, who has collected them all his life.
Torinoa
Upstairs in the same building is Torinoa (6th Floor, 71-73-75 Hai Ba Trung, District 1), the Saigon offshoot of Chef Daiki Kondo’s MICHELIN-listed Torisawa22 in Bangkok. It’s a 15-course yakitori omakase built around chicken, using more than 30 parts. The tare has been fermented for over 12 years. Look out for the Chochin, an unlaid egg yolk that melts on the tongue.
Anan Saigon
One of the great joys of eating in Saigon is going from a one-dollar banh mi to a one-hundred dollar fine dining experience in the space of a meter or two. That’s literally true at Anan Saigon (89 Ton That Dam, District 1). Opened in 2018, Chef Peter Cuong Franklin put together a 100-dollar sandwich as a dare from a YouTuber. He still sells one or two of those, or his 100-dollar pho, everyday.
Beyond the sensationalism, award-winning Anan Restaurant creates unmissable modern Vietnamese cuisine, or what Peter calls, “New Vietnamese Cuisine”. At Anan Restaurant there’s a breezy rooftop, two floors of the main restaurant below, and a hip bar in the same building called Nhau Nhau focused on locally-accented cocktails and coconut worm shots, and serving some of the same dishes as Anan.
Pot Au Pho 2.0
Next door to Anan, Peter and designer Sean Dix have reunited for Pot Au Pho 2.0 (91 Ton That Dam, District 1). The name nods to pot-au-feu, the French stew some historians credit as pho’s ancestor. There are green tiled walls with soup spoon motifs and a horseshoe counter around the open kitchen. Try the molecular pho spheres and the black chicken pho. Finn keeps the drinks coming.
Akuna
At Akuna (9th Floor, Le Méridien Saigon, 3C Ton Duc Thang, District 1) the modern Aussie Sam Aisbett, formerly of Whitegrass Singapore, employs the kitchen smarts he learned from Peter Gilmore at Quay Sydney and from Tetsuya Wakuda at his eponymous restaurant, and adds in some local ingredients, like crocodiles from nearby Hoa Ca Farm, into menus he describes as ‘cooking without boundaries.’ But the Australian influence is inescapable – there’s even an Australian wine pairing with the 5 or 7-course set menu. “I mean, look at me. I am modern oz!” the chef, who seems calmer and more content than ever before, told us after opening.
Le Corto And P’ti
Sakal Phoeung is a true original. The Cambodian-born chef has been serving fine French cuisine at his restaurant Le Corto (5D Nguyen Sieu, District 1), after leaving the loving arms of the Sofitel, since 2015 – the same year he welcomed French president, François Hollande, to the restaurant.
The name comes from the French comic, Corto Maltese, and its protagonist, Corto, a kindly, free-spirited sailor. And gets get the same warmth and generosity at Le Corto – sometimes literally as restaurant manager Mickael Carval flambés some beef fillet in a rich pepper sauce beside the table. And like the adventurous Corto, Sakal opened P’ti (52 Ngo Quang Huy, Thao Dien) in deepest District 2, his ode to the south of France, with fine wines, a terrace and a cigar lounge, and seafood-centric, Provençal takes on lobster and calamari, with stewed Wagyu beef cheek and Beef Wellington for the carnivores.
Cabri
Romain Phoeung is 22. “French by paper, Khmer by blood,” he smiles. His father is Sakal, and Romain spent most of his life trying to stay out of the industry. But here he is anyway, at Cabri – Wine & Eatery, a French bistro built inside a bar, Baeta, in Thao Dien.
‘Cabri’ is French for a young goat. It’s a small team, a small menu, good homemade food and decor pulled from 80s and 90s pop culture. Take the couch by the projector and order the smash burger – “good for inducing food comas,” Romain says.
PRIME
PRIME Steak Boutique & Chill is inspired by the steakhouses of Las Vegas, everything here is big. The building itself is a hulking, three-floor, 900 meters squared space on District 1’s Pasteur Street (138-142 Pasteur, District 1) and houses a gigantic red-eyed bull sculpture at the entrance and a whole lot of steak (in the dry-aging room, they can age around 1,000kg of meat). The open kitchen is helmed by co-founder and chef, Khai Vu, and from the counter seats guests can watch him work away at the grills.
ST25 By KOTO
Award-winning rice ST25 proudly proclaimed the quality of homegrown Vietnamese produce. Now, ST25 by KOTO (2nd Floor, Sofitel Saigon Plaza, 17 Le Duan, District 1) is doing the same at the increasingly creative and collaboratively-minded Sofitel Saigon Plaza, both for ingredients and people.
That’s because the staff are provided by the not-for-profit social enterprise KOTO, the company that gives street kids a chance to work in restaurant kitchens or front of house. And the menu comes from local luminaries Heath Gordon, former executive chef of Park Hyatt Saigon, and Bao La, the itinerant chef whose cuisine has added some finger-licking flavor to places like Que Kaarem and Madam Kew, as well as lots of international events on his global travels.
Ö By Hoang Tung
Hoang Tung is a gamechanger in the restaurant scene in Vietnam. The “constantly innovative, occasionally rebellious chef” was the first to introduce tasting menu-only evenings to guests at his first restaurant, T.U.N.G Dining in Hanoi. Now, at A By TUNG (31-33 Dang Dung, District 1), he’s doubled-down on his philosophy of combining Nordic-style cuisine that contains the freshest, locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients beneath a simulated aurora-sky. Set aside two or three hours for A By TUNG’s elaborate tasting menus. In August 2026, after six years, Å by TUNG became Ö by Hoang Tung, in the same space.
Tales By Chapter
Quang Dung took Chapter Dining and Habakuk in Hanoi to MICHELIN Selected status. His first Saigon project, Tales by Chapter (10 Nguyen Thanh Y, District 1), opened with ZERO, a 14-course plant-based tasting menu that uses every part of the plant. Carrots are fermented with koji. Beetroot comes in five forms, root to peel.
Tales is now a chef’s table. The main room has become Cela, from the same team – Japanese-inspired vegetarian cooking with an à la carte menu. The sushi tacos have a cult following.
NÔM Dining
Chris Fong made his name at Oryz, hunting down Vietnamese-Chinese dishes from specific Saigon neighborhoods. At NÔM Dining (53 Tran Nhat Duat, District 1), next door, his tasting menu moves through Vietnam from north to south – Hồng Hà for the North, Kim Long for the Center and Lục Tỉnh for the South. MICHELIN named it Opening of the Year in 2026.
And now there’s SÂM, NÔM’s new bar.
An’s Saigon
There’s a lot going on at An’s Saigon (5A Tong Huu Dinh, Thao Dien). First off, down the long drive off Tong Huu Dinh Street there’s the tropical garden with sofas and seats and a grand espresso machine for a tranquil breakfast and brunch. Upstairs is a perfectly appointed spa. But we’re here, at An’s Saigon, for Chef Cuong’s chef’s table, one of the city’s most unique dining experiences.
The themed menus are delicious and don’t overstay their welcome by being overlong. The natty L-shaped table converts to match the theme. And Chef Cuong warmly presides over it all in a room full of warm wooden decor, jars full of fermentation and striking art works.
Yakiuo Ishikawa
The Maguro Studio team have brought us another welcome addition to Ho Chi Minh’s hospitality scene, Yakiuo Ishikawa Saigon (38 Thai Van Lung, District 1). Restless fish mogul Lanh Phan spent years supplying Saigon’s elite Japanese kitchens before flipping the script with Maguro Studio—that “funky and fresh” omakase joint we raved about in 2022. When Shoku, his izakaya-inspired spot, opened blocks away, Phan typically let chef Lam bask in the spotlight.
But at Yakiuo Ishikawa, Phan has seized center stage (temporarily, at least), delivering a bravura performance of theatrical fish service—swaggering tableside with massive platters of premium cuts, strategic Dassai pours, and an almost forensic approach to the grill, torch in hand, eyes locked on each fillet’s transformation. He’s calling it “meat-free yakiniku”—the grill concept typically reserved for beef now hijacked for substantial fish cuts, including slabs of tuna begging to be egg-dipped like you would A5 Wagyu. It’s culinary appropriation at its most delicious. And there’s now a second Yakiuo Ishikawa, at 79 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien.
Monkey Gallery
Monkey Gallery DINING (3rd Floor, 91 Mac Thi Buoi, District 1) is as downtown as it gets, set right on Mac Thi Buoi as it brushes against Nguyen Hue Walking Street. Downstairs is a dessert bar and upstairs Danang-born Head Chef Hau Tran serves cutting edge Vietnamese cuisine in the large open kitchen with counter seating, in a loft space that feels like an art studio.
Muội
Muội Seafood & Wine Bar is inside The Triệu Institute (10 Mac Thi Buoi, District 1). It’s from Thomas Ho, who was behind Bambino and Bah Thai. The squid linguine applies Italian pasta technique to Saigon-style hủ tiếu mực. Start with the sardine boquerones, cured in salt, sugar, vinegar and fish sauce. Then the tiger prawns, braised kho tàu style.
Noriboi
Trying to pinpoint Saigon’s culinary epicenter is like tracking a moving target. During lockdown, Thao Dien transformed into a quarantine-fueled petri dish breeding some of the city’s most ambitious restaurant concepts.
Noriboi Omakase (31 Pho Duc Chinh, District 1) was among the boundary-pushers, serving decadent omakase sets from their architectural fever dream off Thao Dien’s main drag. Now, as if suffering FOMO for downtown’s energy, they’ve packed up their knives and relocated to District 1’s character-rich Nguyen Thai Binh Ward.
The upgrade is predictable given proprietor Dani Phuc Nguyen’s pathological perfectionism (she’s the mastermind behind Soko Group’s growing empire, including a Thao Dien branch). The new space elevates everything—starting with a zen-inducing tea room where the gentle soundtrack of flowing water foreshadows the menu’s aquatic obsessions. Their tasting experience performs a high-wire act between hyperlocal and far-flung ingredients: Hoa Loc mangoes and lotus blossoms share billing with bluefin tuna belly, Mie oysters harvested from Ise Bay, and Amadai fish straight off Tokyo flights. Even the presentation veers toward performance art—desserts emerge from miniature temple dioramas while petit fours arrive in vintage suitcases, everything liberally shellacked in gold spray because, well, subtlety is overrated.
Omakase Tiger And Hachibei The Penthouse
Introducing Omakase Tiger & Hachibei The Penthouse. We’ve been raving fans of the standing sushi concept Sushi Tiger since it threw a splash of yellow color across Saigon’s Japan Town. What’s more, Hachibei, along Pham Viet Chanh, has been our go-to for yakitori for just as long. Both are affordable and outrageously fun.
Now, while the two original restaurants continue to be packed out every night, their founders, Shozo (also behind restaurants like Fume: Modern Japanese Cuisine and the house of Umeshu, Umenomoto) and Nikichi (behind places like Fujiro, and Ramen Danbo), have taken an elevated location just of the main street of Pham Viet Chanh and turned Tiger into a 10-seat omakase concept and Hachibei into a penthouse with 180–degree views of Saigon’s sprawling skyline (both 8F, 85/9 Pham Viet Chanh).
The Deck
Honestly? We’ve slept on The Deck (38 Nguyen U Di, Thao Dien) of late. However, it is a genuine original in Saigon’s fine dining scene, and maybe we tuned our sights to all that’s new and forgot to check in once in a while. Our bad.
Now we have, it makes the list. What a setting. The river twinkles a meter from the table as the ceiling fans whir and the attentive staff busy themselves around you. With this view you really could be anywhere – Thailand maybe or Indonesia. But this is Saigon’s District 2.
Wisely, they’ve changed the layout. Now you file in past the bar rather than straight into the restaurant. The concierge does their best to get you a coveted river side table (booking is highly recommended), where you settle in with a Martini or a Bloody Mary, if this is lunchtime and you’re nursing a hangover, then dive into the seafood-focused menu – sea bass ceviche, pan seared scallops, miso black cod – that has enough alternatives to please everyone – steak and ribs, and an entire vegetarian menu.
Roka Fella
Roka Fella (44 Nguyen An Ninh, District 1) is a real discovery among the halal restaurants and two-star hotels on this touristy street beside Ben Thanh Market. Downstairs at Roka Fella there’s omakase served around an L-shaped counter, and upstairs one of the hippest, most style-conscious bars in the city. There’s a DJ booth backed by shelves of vinyl. And around the side an eight-seat bar, and around again there’s a room, where you can enjoy some of Indonesian bartender Aris’ brilliant concoctions.
Pizza 4P’s
It’s rare to see a restaurant chain get namechecked in best-restaurant awards, but Pizza 4P’s (8 Thu Khoa Huan, District 1, 44 Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien and citywide) keep achieving it. Founders Yosuke and Sanae Masuko have a relentless desire to make the world smile for peace through pizza. And with an ever-expanding range of natural wines, and even a natural sake, and a range of dishes that now goes well beyond pizza to include hanger steaks and burrata salads, they deserve all the acclaim they get.
Ngoc Suong
Ngoc Suong has been doing this since 1955 – serving the freshest seafood to their guests. Now, third-generation chef Vinh Q. Le has added modern techniques and finesse to their fine seafood. Ngoc Suong Seafood & Bar (8D Nguyen Sieu, District 1) is a breezy homage to old-school nhau joints, brought right up to date. The upstairs private dining rooms are perfect for groups. But downstairs at the tables or booths is the best place to plow through a plate of oysters or an overflowing seafood platter. At Ngoc Suong Seafood & Bar frequent live music, and the occasional after dinner DJ set on weekends.
Mangetsu
There’s a lot of great izakayas around here, like Izakaya Ten and Hanakaruta, but Mangetsu (15/3 Le Thanh Ton and 27 Thai Van Lung, District 1) is still our favorite. That’s because every dish on their menu, from their kushiyaki to stewed aburai pork, is perfectly cooked, and the sake and shochu comes in a range of pocket-friendly prices, with lots of attractive seasonal sales. Of the two Mangetsu locations, Thai Van Lung is newer, and more design-conscious. But both izakayas, probably 400m apart, are packed every night. Book ahead.
LUPIN
In a city where French influence permeates everything, genuinely solid bistros remain strangely elusive. Enter LUPIN Bistrot & Vins (17 Nguyen Cu, Thao Dien)—a sharp, contemporary take on the classic bistrot where tradition collides with calculated irreverence. Here, dishes like Artichauts à la Grecque orchestrate a delicate tango between tender artichokes and luxurious stracciatella, while nutty buckwheat and semi-dried tomatoes provide textural counterpoint, all slashed with bright salted lemon vinaigrette.
The place comes with heavyweight DNA—conceived by El Willy Fun F&B Group and French wine evangelist Gilles Faëlens. “Papi Tomatito has been running things while his boys Bandido and LUPIN are the young new additions to the family! Two little bandits that enjoy life and fun,” quips Martijn, one of the group’s founders.
The wine program, Faëlens’ personal crusade, reads like a manifesto for Southern French viticulture. “Wines with the personality of their birthplace and the soul of those who made them,” he declares with characteristic intensity.
These bottles—available alongside that impeccable rôtissoire chicken in-house or as sophisticated takeout paired with select dishes—are exclusive LUPIN imports that channel sun-scorched vineyards and Mediterranean coastal air, each strategically selected to amplify the kitchen’s modern spin on French classics.
“Or dine on our Confit de Canard with a bottle of Pouderoux, Terre Brune, Roussillon 2019,” Martijn suggests, directing guests either to Gilles’ Table des Amis near the entrance or, for the true gastronomic adventurer, to LUPIN’s Table des Chefs—a semi-clandestine dining space tucked behind the kitchen on the second floor. At LUPIN Bistrot & Vins, the French bistrot tradition isn’t merely preserved—it’s weaponized.
“We’re simply dedicated to delivering an authentic, rustic experience of the French terroir, working with small suppliers in France and embracing traditional, time-honored recipes,” Martijn concludes, understating the ambition that pulses through every corner of this operation.
Nephele
At Nephele (125/12 Nguyen Cuu Van, Binh Thanh) rising star Chef-Patron Francis Thuan has commandeered a Binh Thanh villa, transforming the ground floor into Ethereal—a vinyl-spinning, Martini-stirring cocktail den with serious swagger.
Upstairs, the impossibly suave Paul Vo ushers you into a curious dining space—recycled paper canopy overhead, open kitchen commanding one end—where you’ll sit transfixed as plate after ambitious plate validates all the buzz about this young chef.
Masterful yet restrained, Francis and his brigade are diving headlong into ancient cooking techniques, resurrecting forgotten culinary artforms while showcasing hyper-local ingredients plucked from their on-site herb garden and mushroom laboratory. His coal-fired obsession remains, but the smoke-heavy dramatics have evolved into something more nuanced—allowing each element’s complexity to surface without the pyrotechnics drowning them out.
“Think of Nephele as your closest friend’s home rather than just another restaurant,” Francis insists. “In Greek mythology, Nephele was a cloud nymph and the goddess of hospitality, generosity, loyalty and peace. That’s essentially our manifesto,” he adds with the self-assured smile of someone who knows exactly what he’s building.
Coucou
Dutch chef Kelvin Lin came to Saigon for a two-week holiday. His Airbnb was opposite a quiet Thao Dien wine bar, and on his last day he got chatting with the owner, Thi. Three and a half weeks later, Coucou (39 Nguyen Cu, Thao Dien) opened. Kelvin made his name with a dry tom yum at Nayolie in the Netherlands. Here, try the Tom Kha Kai 2.0, a deconstructed take on the chicken soup.
Little Bear
There’s a noticeably playful energy at the natty wine bar and restaurant Little Bear (36 Nguyen Ba Huan, Thao Dien).
From Chef Duy, MICHELIN’s Young Chef of the Year in 2024, we’d expect no less. Inside it’s cozy and casual, with moody lighting, and a little garden for alfresco dining and drinking. You can find the team serving up a five-course set menu, a la carte and daily specials, alongside a funky, natural and low-intervention wine list.
Upstairs Tasting Room
Hiep Truong helped Duy towards his MICHELIN Young Chef award at Little Bear. Now he has his own place, literally upstairs. Upstairs Tasting Room (1st Floor, 36 Nguyen Ba Huan, Thao Dien) is tasting menu only, and it won a MICHELIN star in 2026.
Hiep is from Hue, and the menu shows it – Hến Xúc Bánh Đa, inspired by Hue’s baby-clam cơm hến, and a take on Quang Nam’s Mì Quảng. The carved wooden plates have Vietnam’s highlands, rice fields and delta cut into them. Sommelier My Tran handles the pairings.
Tí Nỵ Bar
Thao Le, who also runs Saigonese Eatery in Phu Quoc, has filled Tí Nỵ Bar (61 Nguyen Ba Huan, Thao Dien) with natural wines and small plates. It’s at the end of the street, in the same building as her kombucha brand, Fuwok Chà, with crumbling brick walls and a wooden counter.
Sommelier Viet Anh’s list is mostly French – organic, biodynamic and natural – with lots by the glass from VND 150K. The one-page menu is all punchy small plates: yellowback seabream sashimi, market fish ceviche with tomato jelly, grilled mackerel with Nduja butter.
Yazawa
Yazawa Saigon (219 Dien Bien Phu, District 3), part of a group with outlets in Tokyo, Kyoto, Singapore and Beverly Hills, presents a delicately grilled or occasionally raw beef menu omakase-style with the best produce flown in fresh from Japan. At Yazawa Saigon, the 07Beach-designed restaurant is like a Japanese castle with winding alleys and entrances over two floors, and inconspicuous private dining rooms. Yazawa Saigon is a premium experience, but an essential one.
The Brix And Clay
The Brix and Clay are two nearby Thao Dien restaurants from the same group. The Brix (26 Tran Ngoc Dien, Thao Dien) is an open-air restaurant beside their private pool, which you can take a dip in during the day time. During brunch or dinner The Brix restaurant takes the spotlight, serving modern French-influenced cuisine to the occasional backing of a DJ set. Then there’s riverside Clay (18 Street 6, Thao Dien), an ambitious restaurant, rooftop lounge and mixology bar. At Clay the food is Asian-inspired and wood-fired.
WKND
Jay Moir and team are some of the shrewdest bar and restaurant brains in the city. The longevity of Layla, their first cocktail bar, is remarkable, and so is the success of Summer Experiment, their second, which even graced the upper echelons of the Asia’s 50 Best Bars extended list.
So, when they announced they’d taken over the ground floor of a building on a Thao Dien side street, and intended to turn it into a buzzing brunch spot, no one doubted it for a second. And so immediately after it opened WKND (27 Tong Huu Dinh, Thao Dien) was begging-for-a-seat busy, from its long interior, to the balmy garden out back. True to form, the menu – both drinks and food – was all-killer no filler too.
Hachibei
Pham Viet Chanh, a Binh Thanh Street near the Landmark81 building and City Garden apartments, is a scene. There’s cocktail bars, craft beer spots, Japanese-Italian cuisine, fiery tacos, fish and chips, omakase and much more. We’ve chosen Hachibei (83 Pham Viet Chanh, Binh Thanh) as our pick of the best. Even though that changes almost weekly. At Hachibei expect perfectly grilled kushiyaki around the counter or tables, highballs, and glasses of natural sake. Packed with just-finished-work Japanese, book early or try your luck around 8.30pm when things quieten down.
Tomatito Saigon
Chef Willy is gyrating beside the oversized paella pan, Tito Puente’s ‘Oye Como Va’ is blasting from the stereo, and the sangria is flowing. Few places in the region have the energy Willy Trullas Moreno can conjure up. And besides the energy, there’s the impact, because, as Esquire rightly pointed out. Chef Willy introduced China to Spanish food. After the success of El Willy, which opened in Shanghai in 2008, the chef expanded with a fun new concept, Tomatito, in the same city. And this is the Tomatito Saigon (171 Calmette, District 1).
The building offers a myriad of delights too. You could start at ground level, with a hot chocolate at Marou, then head upstairs for a dazzling dinner at Tomatito Saigon. Or try any variation of the above. Added to that District 1’s Nguyen Thai Binh Ward has some of the city’s coolest cocktail bars, retail stores and restaurants.
Back at Tomatito Saigon, although Willy only pops in occasionally (and make sure you’re there if he does), the place is imbued with his irrepressible energy, which may, in part, be thanks to the brilliant design by his brother Max, which features a toreador costume, a Diego Maradona shirt (during his Barcelona years, obviously) and a hundred more touches that bring the place to dazzling Catalan life. The food pops too. Try the signature salmon TnT, or the paella. Add a jug of sangria. And life, for a while at least, is perfect.
And if you’d like to head even further west (or east, depending on your orientation) the same team have the banging tacos and burritos spot, Bandido a five-minute drive away (see below).
Lửa
Nowhere typifies modern Thao Dien more than Lửa (2 Street 11, Thao Dien). Japanese-Filipino chef Mark Shimmori digs deep into seasonal ingredients to create all the restaurant’s dishes from scratch, including the unmissable homemade cold cuts charcuterie plate and roasted root vegetables. Pair them with one of Lửa’s organic, biodynamic and natural wines, served up with flair, by Yu-san the sommelier (who, happily, won MICHELIN’s Sommelier of the Year 2023). There’s even a little garden out back to stare at until the food arrives.
Lüne
The Lyon-born Adrien Guenzi, has already had an impressive career cheffing across many countries. But it’s here in Saigon, at Lüne (17/14 Le Thanh Ton, District 1), where he plates up his playful flair on classic French cooking. You’ll find him in the kitchen, working on new dishes, or deep in creative collaboration with guest chefs.
Nam Mê
Nam Mê Kitchen & Bar (7 Tran Van Sac, Thao Dien) is the kind of neighborhood spot Thao Dien does best – an old villa, clinging to the edge of a compound, reimagined into a poolside retreat with Vietnamese cuisine focused on the Mekong region with lots of modern twists, kombucha and coffee, and, in the tranquil yard, the feeling that the city might be a million miles away.
Maison Des Reves
True to the name, Chef Thao Na’s Atelier des Reves was distant and dreamy. The restaurant, in a nondescript alley in District 3, served up elevated French bistro cuisine at an accessible price-point in a warm and welcoming space. When it closed, Thao Na appeared at pop-ups and places all over town. But now, she’s back where she belongs – the same space with a name that suggests this really is a homecoming, Maison des Reves (20/5 Ky Dong, District 3).
Taco Del Sol
Sol Kitchen & Bar moved 100 meters down the street to a brilliant block with Pasteur Street Brewing on the ground floor, Yuzu omakase upstairs, and on the top floor Sol Kitchen’s proprietor, Adrian Chong Yen’s Taco Del Sol (110-112 Ly Tu Trong, District 1). When it first opened at 115 Ly Tu Trong, Sol Kitchen & Bar joined a nascent foodie scene around Ben Thanh Market, near to a Pizza 4P’s and Summer Experiment.
This upstairs tex-mex restaurant delivered a mezcal-infused cocktail program and some of Chef Adrian’s always-flavorsome dishes – braised beef cheeks and slow cooked ribs with salsa roja. And Saigon instantly fell in love. Now, the new space has fulfilled the promise of the original, with a generous counter and kitchen to sit around, and the same cactus and whitewashed stucco walls – perfect for dates and small gatherings of your besties.
La Lola
La Lola (82 Ly Tu Trong, District 1) takes its cues from Spain to Greece and Italy to Turkey. It’s from Thuy, Wayne and Chef Julio, and it feels a little like being on holiday. Order the gambas al ajillo – “people always come back for it,” Julio says. Then the stracciatella with sardines, and the lamb and beef meatballs with harissa and tzatziki. MICHELIN gave it a Bib Gourmand in 2026.
Bandido
Bandido Tacos & Tequila (24 Bis Dong Du, District 1) is fun. Inside a downtown alley close to the Sheraton and Park Hyatt Saigon, Bandido is a colorful bandits’ hideout with big trays of tacos and grilled meats…and lots of margaritas.
A neon sign in the bathroom implores guests to ‘Eat My Taco’ and who could resist? And if the brilliantly detailed, eclectic decor reminds you of somewhere, it’s probably the team’s sexy tapas spot, Tomatito, created by the same designer.
Maguro Studio
The all-Vietnamese team at Maguro Studio (19 Dong Du, District 1) serves masterful omakase. Formerly fish importers, they decided to open their own outlet and serve the city the freshest cuts of fish directly. Maguro Studio has tuna murals on the walls and the chef dips his soy sauce brush into a skull-faced holder, as a hip hop soundtrack bumps along in the background.
Sushi Tiger
Sushi Tiger (15B/12A Le Thanh Ton, District 1) is a vibe. Inside the entrance to Saigon’s Japan Town, Sushi Tiger serves cheap, but quality sushi in a broom cupboard-sized space with party music on loop. You can also stand outside and eat at the open windows. Sure, the nearby masseurs can be a bit aggressive, but it’s worth venturing into Japan Town for places like Sushi Tiger and Choi Oi Noodles across the alley.
Kyung Bok Gung And Kitchen Seoul
In a list heavy with Japanese cuisine, we’d be remiss not to shout-out Korean food. There’s Kyung Bok Gung (52 Hai Ba Trung, District 1) in downtown Hai Ba Trung. From the outside, Kyung Bok Gung has Korean-museum vibes, but inside it’s rowdy and fun, with lots of BBQ meats and garlicky pigs’ trotters. And over in District 2, Kitchen Seoul (10 Vo Truong Toan, Thao Dien) serves premium Korean BBQ including prime cuts of American beef. Both are strongly Korean approved.
Iberico
Iberico – Tapas & Vino (33 Vo Truong Toan, Thao Dien) is an authentic neighborhood tapas spot dropped into Thao Dien. Chef Pedro is from Marbella so his croquettes at Iberico – Tapas & Vino, a favorite of his hometown, are perfectly done. As are all the dishes here, served inside or on the spacious area out front.
Fume
Shozo Tsuruhara’s Fume (74/7L Hai Ba Trung, District 1) serves elegant, high-end Japanese fusion cuisine featuring fresh ingredients flown in from Japan, with some unforgettable plating – sashimi served in caves of ice and straw-grilled A5 Kuroge Wagyu sat on a nest of hay. Taking the Fume omakase set is easiest, with an optional pairing. Plus, if it’s a birthday, ask Fume to prepare a sushi birthday cake.
La Villa
At La Villa (14 Ngo Quang Huy, Thao Dien) Chef Thierry Mounon has been quietly bringing the best French gastronomy to Saigon. Chef Thierry learned his trade at the famous Christian Etienne restaurant in Avignon. Years later he came to Vietnam, but left his five-star hotel position in Vietnam to open La Villa in 2010, serving fine French cuisine amid the drapes and chandeliers of his French chateau dropped into District 2.
La Fontaine
Brilliant but somewhat of a commitment, La Villa continues to impress with its tasting menus more than 15 years since opening. It is perhaps more suited to special occasions or simply the desire to spend an entire evening in the company of Chef Thierry Mounon and his wife, Tina, who runs the front of the house.
Now, for their many fans, there’s La Fontaine (2nd Floor, River Garden, 170 Nguyen Van Huong, Thao Dien), a bistro-style menu with the same dedication to delicious food, dishes like Thierry’s Burgundy-style snails and seared scallops, duck breast in mushroom sauce and oven baked camembert salad, as well as sharing plates of lamb shoulder and whole roast chicken.
Pickles Eatery
For more casual French- and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, go to Pickles Eatery (83 Nguyen Cong Tru, Binh Thanh). At Pickles Eatery, dive into a menu of flavorsome, local ingredient-focused, bistro-style food, served in a renovated shophouse. The wines, sourced from over ten countries, with lots of natural, biodynamic and organic bottles, are good too, with lots available by the glass.
Okra FoodBar
Okra FoodBar (2 Le Van Mien, Thao Dien) sums up everything good about the neighborhood vibes emanating from Thao Dien, and chef-founder Jamie Celaya is the friendly-next-door-neighbor kind of host.
Okra first opened around the corner on Thao Dien itself before settling into this new, larger location. But, devotees get the same experience: a buzzing counter full of young upstart chefs serving up delicious, ingredient-driven dishes, and some great wines, sake on tap, and the all-round good vibes are complimentary.
Chị Mơ
Chef Huynh Chi Khang already runs Chico’s Pizza and Roast & Smoke in Thao Dien. At Chị Mơ (23C Le Van Mien, Thao Dien) he’s taken on pho. He spent months in Hanoi and Van Cu village, pho’s birthplace. Now the bones roast for 24 hours, and there are three broths – a clear Northern Bắc Trong, a rich Bắc Đậm and a Southern Nam.
It’s set in a 1940s village house with a garden. There’s banh mi with house-made pâté, and cocktails based on Vietnamese desserts. MICHELIN gave it a Bib Gourmand in 2026.
Voyage
Jonathan Koh cooks classical French with Japanese precision. At Voyage (51 Le Van Mien, Thao Dien), in a restored French-inspired villa, the menu changes daily with whatever arrives at market. “Vietnam has completely changed the way I think about ingredients,” he says. The sommelier talks to each table before pulling from the cellar. And after the last course, desserts and digestifs arrive in the drawing room.
Where To Drink Coffee In Saigon
Okkio
Another design-conscious brand, Okkio (151 Dong Khoi, 120-122 Le Loi, 41/1 Pham Ngoc Thach, District 3, and 110 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien), serve cold brews, espresso tonics and pour overs in their hip spaces. Each one is different, and worth exploring.
Nguyen Sieu Cafe Street
A whole delirious street of cafes, let’s call it Nguyen Sieu Cafe Street (Nguyen Sieu Street, District 1 at junction with Ton Duc Thang), has sprung up since the road was opened onto Ton Duc Thang in early 2023. Besides the hipper spots, a branch of Okkio and a Bosgaurus, there’s theatre-like branches of Katinat, Passio, and Cà Phê Trứng 3T that, after dark, are packed inside and out front with 100s of people indulging in that very Saigonese pastime of watching the traffic go by.
XLIII Specialty Coffee
Danang brewers XLIII Specialty Coffee, formerly known as 43 Factory Coffee Roaster (178A Pasteur, District 1), take some of the best green beans from around the world and roast them here. Here, they’ve taken minimalism to the next level. There are three choices of coffee: shot, filter and milk base enjoyed in a sleek but eccentric space with an art installation dominating the room, or upstairs in a more traditional coffeeshop setting. There’s a second branch at 19 Street 2, Thao Dien.
Maison Marou
Maison Marou (169 Calmette and 57 Nguyen Du, District 1 and 90 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien plus mall outlets citywide) started off as a bean-to-bar concept, and began opening outlets to deliver their rich chocolates directly to avid visitors. Stores come with a glass-fronted Willy Wonka’s kitchen, the Marou Moca is a perfect blend of espresso and chocolate, and there are shelves of great gifts to take home.
Lacàph
Lacàph already feels like a heritage brand, in the best possible ways. Their passion for Vietnamese coffee sourced from the highlands comes through in every cup. And you can enjoy them at two locations: Lacàph Espresso Bar beside Kohei’s and Brothers (151 Dong Khoi, District 1) and Lacàph Space (220 Nguyen Cong Tru) an experiential venue in Saigon’s grimy but hip Nguyen Thai Binh Ward.
The Workshop
Downtown speciality coffee originators, The Workshop (27 Ngo Duc Ke, District 1) set up in an airy top floor space in an old building just off Dong Khoi. The Workshop set the standard for lots of the brands (above) to follow.
Every Half Coffee Roasters
Every Half Coffee Roasters is the coffee chain of the moment – modern Vietnamese coffee shops with a touch of retro style. Try the dilapidated villa on Ngo Van Nam, District 1, or the Thao Dien flagship (62 Hoang The Thien, Thao Dien), where they now roast.
Kō Tea House & Sake Bar
Kō Tea House & Sake Bar (Unit 18, Oishi Town, 28 Thao Dien) is a hushed, seven-seat matcha house from Kyōcha founder Hailee Nguyen.
CUR8
CUR8 Saigon Music Cafe Bar (49 Pho Duc Chinh, District 1) – read it as ‘curate’ – has records lining the walls. “We can play any that you want to hear,” says Annie, the manager. It’s an all-day café and bar, with the Sound Lab for DJs at night, and a record shop on the way.
Where To Party In Saigon
Zion Sky Lounge
An airy, Blade Runner-inspired club, Zion Sky Lounge & Dining (87A Ham Nghi, District 1) serves great dishes by Chef Tommy Tran as nightfalls, and then turns up the hip hop into the night, with bottles on tables and beautiful people all around.
Bam
Bam (41-43 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District 1), formerly Bam Bam, took Saigon’s lounge scene to an international level, with a Balinese theme and a drained swimming pool as dancefloor. Balloons and hip hop abound. The same team is behind Salon Saigon and Bodega.
Salon Saigon
Salon Saigon (16-18-20 Thu Khoa Huan, District 1) is a modern Mexican diner done like a memory of Mexico City. Pastel tiles. Vintage TVs playing 80s World Cup matches. Latino music, loud. Chef Alonso and Chef William build the tacos on fundamentals – tortilla, protein and salsa.
There are thirty types of tequila and mezcal behind the bar. Start with the Mezcal Mangonada Slushie, with kaffir and lemongrass shrub, mango, passionfruit and spicy shrimp salt. And there’s a door at the back. “Come have tacos and find out,” says Dixon Ong, the operations director.
Bodega Saigon
Bodega Saigon (2 Thi Sach, District 1) is part grocery, part performance space, mostly party. Splashy hand-painted signage draws you in at this otherwise drab end of Thi Sach. The shelves are stuffed with imported American candies, cheese sticks and Cheetos. Wean Le might be wandering the aisles before launching into a mini show. Or a DJ set might start up at the cashier’s station.
Some nights, the storage door opens onto Tudo – ‘freedom’ in Vietnamese – a lounge out back. “You have to come through and see for yourself,” the team says.
Papi
Papi (123 Le Loi, District 1) is built around a simple idea: people don’t want the same energy all night. There’s a bar for the early hours, sofas for settling in and a dance floor that takes over as the night builds. Tung, the 2013 World Class Vietnam winner, runs the bar. Jason, of Mámi and 86 Proof, is part of the team. Nimbia, an early pioneer of Vietnamese electronic music, handles the music. And it’s walk-in friendly.
Where To Stay In Saigon
Wink Hotel Saigon Centre
Wink Hotel Saigon Centre (75 Nguyen Binh Khiem, District 1) was chosen by CNN Travel as one of the eight hottest new hotels in Vietnam. Sitting alongside luxurious five-star brands like Capella Hanoi and Regent Phu Quoc in the list, Wink Hotel Saigon Centre is an outlier. The hotel brand celebrates urban cool while pioneering affordable luxury across the country.
At the brand’s first hotel, Wink Hotel Saigon Centre, expect a sustainably-minded place to stay, with self-services to the fore. There is a large, hip communal space as a lobby, a coworking space by Toong instead of a dusty old business center, and “space-smart and chic rooms” where the hotel has doubled down on the essentials, power showers, luxury linens and content streamed on demand on TV. We’re biased. But we’re sure you’ll love the vibe at Wink Hotel Saigon Centre too.
Park Hyatt Saigon
Park Hyatt Saigon (2 Lam Son Square, District 1) is timeless. Whether dropping by for a refined afternoon tea, Italian food at Opera, classy Vietnamese and French cuisine at Square One, cocktails at the 2 Lam Son Bar, or a staycation or holiday, Park Hyatt Saigon is still the chic-est choice.
Mia Saigon
For something more tranquil, check out Mia Saigon – Luxury Boutique Hotel (2-4 Street 10, An Phu). This elegant, riverside hotel is the perfect launch pad for nights out in Thao Dien, with easy access back to District 1 and the airport. If you don’t want to leave, there’s Mia Saigon’s endless riverside swimming pool.
Things To See In Saigon
We’ve said it before. But, as a reminder, Saigon is a place to be, and not a place to see. However, you may still want to check a few locations off your travel plan. Fortunately, lots are within walking distance.
Book Street
Book Street (Nguyen Van Binh Street, District 1) is a surprisingly tranquil haven between Notre Dame Cathedral and Hai Ba Trung. And they have an impressive selection of books, at different stores along the street, in Vietnamese and English, plus some tranquil book cafes, for you to dive into a new purchase over a ca phe sua da.
Saigon Central Post Office
Around the corner is Saigon Central Post Office (2 Cong Xa Paris, District 1) designed by Alfred Foulhoux (and not Gustave Eiffel) with its iconic facade clock and inside its domed roof. And in front is Notre Dame Cathedral. After nearly a decade of restoration, the scaffolding is finally coming off, with the work due to finish in 2027.
The Reunification Palace
With Vietnam’s rapid evolution, The Reunification Palace (135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District 1) feels more outdated as an experience as the years pass. That’s even though its historical significance is undeniable. And there’s usually a queue of people snaking out of the ticket office from early in the morning, even though a photograph outside the main gates is probably enough.
Nguyen Hue Walking Street
Nguyen Hue Walking Street buzzes every night with street food stands, skateboarders and tourists enjoying a promenade. The walk gets a bit hot and sweaty, so take a diversion into the Cafe Apartment Building (42 Nguyen Hue, District 1), or enter the 151 Dong Khoi building from this side for cocktails, coffee, haircuts, and more.
Japan Town
Walking through the alleys to Japan Town (Le Thanh Ton, District 1) is like disappearing into Tokyo’s Kabukicho. There’s some of the city’s most fun Japanese food, from noodles at Choi Oi to standing sushi at Sushi Tiger. There’s also 7 Bridge’s craft beer spot at one entrance. Sure, there’s some aggressive masseurs, but it’s worth running the gauntlet.
Bui Vien
Everyone you meet has had a Bui Vien phase. Either as a backpacker when they first arrived, or simply as a drinker seeking ice cold beer and banging vina-hay. Bui Vien is a nightly carnival of inebriation.
Saigon Waterbus
The fun yellow Saigon Waterbus launched in 2017. Round tickets are cheap, and provide a unique riverview of the city as your waterbus buzzes through Thao Dien and Thu Duc. If you’re leaving from District 1’s Bach Dang station, it’s useful to take a taxi as the street gets busy and hard to cross. For something more salubrious, there’s charter yacht and boat companies. The Saigon Boat Company has a convivial wooden boat, and there’s other private companies with luxury yachts.
Xuan Thuy Street
Xuan Thuy Street has become the epicentre of hip Thao Dien Ward, and a stellar foodie and shopping destination. Walking from one end to the other, there’s a Maison Marou, craft stores with Amai ceramics, a Bia Craft and much, much more.
Vinh Khanh Street
Vinh Khanh Street is another nightly carnival of crazy. The street runs both sides of Hoang Dieu Street as is full of delicious oc (or snail) restaurants. Out on the street singers and performers do their thing in exchange for a small tip. It’s a quintessentially crazy Saigon experience. From the many restaurants, try Oc Thao. Our current favorite.
