Vietnam’s hospitality industry has been on a tenacious trajectory over the last year or so. Coming out the other side of the pandemic (we’re not still talking about that are we?) and now springing off the solidifying foundations of a country on the wobbly way up, there has been little time wasting, and new places to eat and drink have opened at a truly exhaustive rate. 

Đọc bài viết bằng Tiếng Việt

On the restaurant front, we’ve seen the arrival of more fine dining with Sam Aisbett’s Akuna in Saigon, and the reopening of Summer Le’s, Nen in Danang, but also plenty of fun, with Italian restaurant-meets-club Bambino, and the Vegas inspired PRIME Steak Boutique & Chill. The bar’s this year have brought us a firm and refreshing nod towards sustainability, see USE Bar, Xao Xac and Germination, but more noticeably a strong focus on design – Tu Bar, The Arth and Pillowtalk are all worth a visit for the atmosphere alone. 

The list we’ve gathered below for 2023, like the year before, only goes to prove both the quantity and quality of Vietnam’s hospitality industry. Featured are names we are sure you’ll find familiar (having received recognition from the likes of MICHELIN, 50 Best and The B.A.R. Awards who’ve been circling around this year at the scent of a country full of fresh talent), but also some proper newbies, yet to be discovered by the bigwigs.

The Best New Restaurants 

Akuna 

As former chef-owner of Whitegrass in Singapore, Sam Aisbett’s Akuna (Le Méridien Saigon, Level 9, 3C Đ. Ton Duc Thang, Ho Chi Minh City) opened to great excitement back in July. Taking over a space in Le Meridien Saigon, Akuna is a place to “expect the unexpected” while also, of course, expecting some exceptional cooking. The menu still has the modern-Australian trappings that brought Sam a MICHELIN star in Singapore and a place in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2018. There’s a dish with saltwater crocodile from Hoa Ca Farm that bathes, sleepily like a croc in the shallows beside a riverbank, in a roasted crocodile and seaweed sauce. And a beef dish that uses David Blackmore’s full-blood Australian Wagyu. You’ll also find an all-Australian, lo-fi wine pairing. 

Bambino

The brand-new-retro Bambino (31 Tôn Thất Thiệp, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 700000) is an Italo, disco-inspired restaurant with an imperceptible dusk-till-dark transformation into a night club. It’s the first project from The Leftovers, the wryly named group of former colleagues – led by CEO, Ryan, and F&B Director, Thomas –  that banded together to flip a middle finger at the past and propel Saigon’s dining scene forward. 

On Fridays chefs Josh Fry and Jun Macho, run a supper club serving up a kitschy-cool Italian menu followed by drinks and dancing until 2:00am.

Capos Hanoi

Having already slayed in Saigon’s food scene with Octo Tapas Restobar, Chef Kike Gallardo took his tapas North, opening up Capos in Hanoi (12 – 14 P. Ấu Triệu, Hàng Trống, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội) earlier this year. 

Terracotta-toned tiles and a drinks menu offering Spanish wine, sherries and sangria, mean it feels as if you’ve peeled off the streets of Spain rather than the bustling center of Hanoi. The focal point of the space is a 360-degree open kitchen, from which guests can watch dishes of carefully cooked Spanish classics fly from skilled chefs hands to the pass and onto their table. 

La Fontaine French Bistrot

Brilliant but somewhat of a commitment, La Villa continues to impress with its tasting menus over ten 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 (170 Nguyen Van Huong), 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. As you tuck into them, you’re watched over from a wall full of famous French people, including La Fontaine himself, the French author, Jean de la Fontain, famous for his fables that are as fantastic as Thierry’s cooking. 

Little Bear

There’s already a noticeably playful energy emanating from this new and exciting natty wine bar and restaurant in Thao Dien (36 Nguyễn Bá Huân, Thảo Điền, Thủ Đức, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh). From two of the NOSH Young Guns chefs: Chef Duy and Chef Truong Hiep, 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 chefs serving up a five-course set menu, a la carte and daily specials, alongside a funky, natural and low-intervention wine list. 

Lüne Restaurant & Bar

The Lyon-born Adrien Guenzi, has already had an impressive career cheffing across many countries. He’s worked at L’Arc En Ciel, at the two-star La Rotonde and at Flocon Village in France, at Le Floris, the one-star Swiss restaurant, and Babylon At The Roofgardens and Sketch, in England. 

But it’s here in Saigon, at the recently opened Lune (17/14 Đ. Lê Thánh Tôn, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 70000), where he’s now plating 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.

MaSa Fine Tapas & Wine Saigon

Hervé Rodriguez arrived with a formidable reputation. His Paris restaurant, MaSa, got a MICHELIN Star back in 2013 thanks to his devotion to sourcing the very finest produce. In Vietnam, he opened Hervé Dining Room, which this year also received MICHELIN recognition. And now, he’s opened MaSa Fine Tapas & Wine Saigon (204/20 Nguyen Van Huong, Thao Dien, District 2, HCMC) as a more accessible venture focused on small plates and good wine.

Maison des Rêves

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, HCMC).

Miên Sài Gòn

Miên Sài Gòn (50A Đặng Dung, Phường Tân Định, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 70000) opened up a few months after cousin venue Ủ Bar, and in the same building but the floor below. It’s a chic, single-room space with an open kitchen at the far end and a few counter seats, serving Asian dishes cooked with French techniques. There’s mini crispy ‘bánh pía,’ thiên lý flower tempura, and quail egg with smoked cream… and we’re still only on the amuse bouche. The menu culminates in ‘La Vong-style’ fish, perfectly grilled quail, and juicy chargrilled Wagyu beef and alongside it, a French-focussed wine pairing.

Nam Mê Kitchen & Bar

Maybe this was the year of the neighborhood spot. They seemed to be popping up, off the main drag, of thoroughfares everywhere. And they came with better branding and cuisine more lip-smacking than ever. Nam Mê Kitchen & Bar was another example, an old Thao Dien 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.

Nen, Danang

This year saw the reopening of Summer Le’s flagship restaurant, Nen, in Danang (16 đường Mỹ Đa Tây 2, Khuê Mỹ, Ngũ Hành Sơn, Đà Nẵng 550000). Sister restaurant of the MICHELIN guide listed, Nen Light in Saigon. Recognised too, as one of Vietnam’s best fine dining establishments, Nen once famously welcomed Dominique Crenn, the star chef and owner of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. The carefully curated tasting menus proffer creative storytelling with a focus on hyper-local Vietnamese ingredients. The venue has been welcomed back into the country’s dining scene with open arms. 

Noriboi

Noriboi (35 Ngô Quang Huy, Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) is the latest restaurant brought to us by the young, female entrepreneur, Dani Nguyen – the brains behind the ever-growing SOKOGROUP. Inside this contemporary Japanese restaurant, there’s a sake bar, a horseshoe-shaped omakase counter, a bonsai garden and outside terrace for those looking to dine alfresco. 

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 last year. 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 an 8-seat omakase concept and Hachibei into a penthouse with 180–degree views of Saigon’s sprawling skyline (both 8F, 85/9 Pham Viet Chanh, Ben Thanh Ward, HCMC).

PotAuPhở By Anan

Ever-ambitious, Chef Peter Cuong Franklin, who in March proudly made his way back to Saigon with the city’s only MICHELIN star, finally officially threw open the curtain to his PotAuPhở By Anan (3F, 89 Ton That Dam) concept in the same building as his Anan Restaurant and Nhau Nhau. It’s a space for nostalgia, culinary and personal. That’s because the French dish, pot au feu, is likely a strong influence on modern-day pho – and Peter’s version tips a respectful chef’s hat to Chef Paul Bocuse and his classic take on the dish. 

Added to that, the space harks back to Peter’s first private kitchen in Hong Kong, when the cash-strapped industry novice had to buy furnishings like a Japanese noren-style curtain from IKEA. Here, ten years later, and flushed with recognition, he’s boldly looking to get the venue another MICHELIN star, and anoint his beloved, bastard pho as a culinary masterpiece.  

PRIME Steak Boutique & Chill

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, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 71000) 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. 

Oryz Saigon 

Chef Chris Fong has been building some buzz with his Oryz Saigon (51 Tran Nhat Duat, District 1) in an area that with its own formidable foodie energy – District 1’s Tan Dinh Ward. His unashamed experimentation and embrace of Chinese influences, as well as lots of other East Asian touches, has been drawing satisfied sighs from diners since it opened in early October. The current menu, Oryz’s second of the year, well-priced at VND 1.28M for the 8-course menu – there’s a 10-course option too, features skips between dishes like fresh hamachi and Sichuan salad, with a choice of lamb noodles or kung bao beef cheek, with, appropriately as rice is the symbol of Oryz, a fermented rice dessert to finish.  

Shoku By Maguro Studio 

This year Maguro Studio brought us another welcome addition to Ho Chi Minh’s hospitality scene, Shoku (22 Ngô Văn Năm, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 70000). Helping fill the gap between high-end omakase and more affordable sushi chains, guests can expect the fun and unfussiness of Maguro Studio, with a choose-you-own-adventure a la carte menu – and lots of solid recommendations from Chef Lam:. think almost-toppling-over tuna towers, crispy plates of fried gyoza, and golden brown grilled tuna wings. The neo-industrial decor resembles fish scales and adds to the playful energy of the place. 

ST25 by KOTO

Award-winning rice ST25 proudly proclaimed the quality of homegrown Vietnamese produce. Now, ST25 by KOTO (1F, 17 Le Duan Street, HCMC) 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 Health 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.. Here, they’re guiding the next generation to greatness with fun, flavorsome Vietnamese dishes – fried Wagyu beef cheek spring rolls with a roasted chili ketchup sauce, barramundi roasted in banana leaf, and, of course, some steamed ST25 on the side. 

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, District 2) 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.

Yazawa Hanoi

The brilliant beef restaurant has bravely ventured north with the opening of Yazawa Hanoi (42 Tang Bat Ho, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi). And, true to the Japanese fortress-like original, designed by the brilliant Joe Chikamori and 07BEACH, this time another esteemed Japanese architect, Takashi Niwa, has created a space where cast iron – a reference to the thrilling act of grilling that goes on inside – adds industrial edges to this yellow-walled French villa. The menu follows in the same footsteps as its predecessor too, with an impossibly succulent array of wagyu beef, prepared as sashimi, flash grilled beef tongue, or tenderloin steak – with the occasional respite (as if we needed it) of dishes like grilled Japanese sea bream. 

The Best New Bars

Blanc de Blancs

In a very Soho House-esque manner, Blanc des Blancs has taken over an enormous patch of prime real estate on Đường Nguyễn Huệ (85 Đ. Nguyễn Huệ, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh). 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. Plans are for the venue to remain open all day in a sort of members club mindset, and then turn into more of a nightclub in the evening.  

Cocoon Rooftop

One of the latest rooftop bars to spring up in Ho Chi Minh. Cocoon (105 Cô Giang, Phường Cô Giang, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) gives ‘jungle-rave’ with greenery and white canvas hanging from the rafters, fun, fruity cocktails, fluorescent lights and an impressive roster of DJs on the decks. All round great views and great vibes. 

East West Brewing Co.

Although our lists usually err towards cocktail bars, East West Brewing Co. (1A Vo Nguyen Giap) setting up on Danang beach was big news this year. With deck chairs out front and an opera-house high ceiling inside, the opening was as bold as an IPA. They smartly twisted the menu to include lots of seafood, and the crowd-pleasing beers are surprisingly light for craft beers, meaning you can  happily while away an afternoon here…or the whole night. 

Gemination, Dalat 

From the team behind Dalat’s On The Rocks, Gemination (24 Truong Dinh, Ward 1, Da Lat City) is the kind of ambitious, big city, conceptual cocktail bar you’d expect to find in Saigon or Hanoi. Led by Nguyễn Trọng Tâ, both the drinks and the food menus lean heavily on unexpected local ingredients and produce that result in complex and unique cocktails. There’s the Bell Pepper, which blends three types of Dalat grown peppers with lemon basil leaves, tequila, aperol, plum wine and passionfruit, Min that uses local artichoke, and Soy Milk that is served warmed with a piece of cake.

Gum 

Sliding into the list at the last moment, Gum Thai Beats & Bites (19 Ton That Thiep, Ben Nghe, District 1, HCMC)  is a cocktail-driven gastropub, part of the Social Complex opened by the Zumwhere people in time for Christmas 2023. The idea is simple – give party people  a space to spend the entire night with four concepts across its four floors – on the ground floor is Zumwhere, the izakaya concept taking over the city, up a floor is Ima for wagyu and whiskey, then Gum Thai Beats & Bites, and finally, at the top a hip hop club called bass. We’ve singled out Gum for its flashy neon interior and signature cocktails that come in sharing bottles.

Lost Birds Bar – Crafted & Seasonal

True to the name Lost Birds Cocktail Bar, you might, earlier this year, have felt a little lost stumbling up to this far end of Xuan Thuy. Not any more, as the street connects to the riverfront and its strip of bars and restaurants. Before that, though, Lost Birds, 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.

Maia 

Venturing back to the beach, Maia (290 Vo Nguyen Giap Da Nang) has added some bamboo-chic beach club-meets-cocktail-bar vibes to Danang. Besides the bamboo design there’s tiki-bar touches to the cocktail menu too, and then there’s the waves lapping dreamy Danang beach a short (slightly drunken) trip down the sand away. 

Mámi Cocktails – Kitchen & Bar

Mámi Cocktails (97A Xuan Thuy) is another one with the paint still wet. Well, the whole Xuan Thuy strip, and its side streets, seems to sing to the sound of construction and whiff of wet paint.

Here, to guests gathered around the Mámi Cocktails 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 flip a middle finger to 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.

Pillowtalk

The latest addition to the Saigon bar scene comes from the aforementioned Dani Nguyen, thriving young female entrepreneur and founder of SOKOGROUP.

As with all the SOKOGROUP sites, Pillowtalk (24-26 Đ. Hồ Tùng Mậu, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bình, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) doesn’t skimp when it comes to design. The industrial space with exposed ceiling is made chic with sleek metal tables, low lighting and a long, backlit bar. The drinks are playful and extravagant, served in Campbell’s Soup inspired cans, popcorn tubs or bespoke glassware. 

The Arth 

This year, The Arth (222 Đ. Nguyễn Công Trứ, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bình, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) added to the up-and-coming 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. 

The Hammond 

Opened in October, entering The Hammond (279 Đ. Hoàng Sa, Phường Tân Định, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) is like you’ve stepped into a drinking den from Grandpa’s day. Soft, brown leather sofas make cozy spots to sit and a jumble of lamps, a model sailboat perched on a mysterious looking old trunk and a giant gramophone add the vintage atmosphere. Yet it’s not all about the decor, the booze is the focal point too, with each spirit displayed like a prized possession on the backlit bar.

Tủ Bar

Down a nondescript Binh Thanh alley, you’ll find an anonymous brown wooden door in. 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 Ng. Tất Tố, Phường 22, Bình Thạnh, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh).  Phạm Hồng Toàn, the 28 year old mixologist behind it all, ensures it’s not all gimmick and that drinks match the drapes in terms of quality. 

Ủ Bar

It’s a delicate balancing act: the playful preservation of culture. Fermentation is an act of preservation too; one that goes back thousands of years. At Ủ Bar (Second Floor, 50A Đặng Dung, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) – ‘Ủ’ meaning to ferment or to age – they wrestle with all these things. Opened towards the start of the year there’s nostalgia in the golden glow of the bar in the dark, minimal upstairs space, and the music segues from dub to nhạc vàng to Ngọt in the space of three songs. The ao dai uniforms of the staff are as trendy and traditional, as the art of fermentation itself. 

USE Bar

The philosophy at USE Bar (55 Ng. Huế, Ngô Thì Nhậm, Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội) is a decidedly sustainable one. In everything they do they aim to respect ingredients and create a positive, meaningful impact. Here cocktails cleverly use the parts of ingredients that would otherwise be discarded. Fruit peel, herb stems and flower petals and more are transformed at the hand of bartenders into something unexpected and delicious, which is a big part of the team’s mission towards reducing waste. 

Xao Xac

Led by one of the city’s best bartending talents, Tam Nguyen, Xao Xac (39/5 Đường số 59, phường Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Thủ Đức, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) is an extension of the airy garden it’s tucked away in, with the luminous green, glass terrarium bar, wooden tables and chairs. In their ode to sustainability, the fresh menu focuses on utilizing local and seasonal herbs and fruits and the green space is made lush with flowers and fruit trees, and is a sanctuary for bees and insects within the metropolis.