Must-see restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City

  • Old Compass Cafe

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This cafe/cultural centre is a gem. It's tricky to find: off busy Ð Pasteur, along an alley and then up steep stairs in a somewhat rundown apartment…

  • Padma de Fleur

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This wonderful florist-cafe is run by an artistic owner who takes as much care with her bouquets as she does with her cooking. The food is healthy,…

  • Quan Bui

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Stylish Indochinese decor features at this slick place where the focus is on authentic local cuisine. Many dishes feature the more hearty flavours of…

  • Bep Me In

    Ho Chi Minh City

    At the rear of a nail-bar alley near Ben Thanh Market, this superb resto offers rustic, honest dishes from rural Vietnam in hip surrounds. On the ground…

  • Chay Garden

    Ho Chi Minh City

    When you need a respite from Saigon's teeming streets, this lovely vegetarian restaurant is the perfect choice. Tucked down a quiet lane near the War…

  • Blanc Restaurant

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Housed in a beautifully restored French colonial-era building, Blanc serves refined Vietnamese fusion amid an eclectic collection of antiques and artwork…

  • Noir, Dining in the Dark

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Does food taste the same when you can’t see it? That’s the question Noir, Dining in the Dark, aims to answer. Choose between an Asian, Western or…

  • Single-origin hot chocolate at Maison Marou

    Maison Saigon Marou

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This stylish and colourful cafe is home base for Marou, an artisan chocolate producer. Watch Marou's skilled team tempering and moulding chocolate crafted…

  • Quince

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Saigon's hottest ticket is a resolutely urbane, happening space with an open kitchen, distressed brick walls, cool tunes and a slightly edgy location…

  • Jardin des Seins

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Opened by three-Michelin-starred twin chefs Jacques and Laurent Pourcel, this heritage villa in the city centre offers Mediterranean French gastronomy…

  • L’Escale by Thierry Drapeau

    Ho Chi Minh City

    A slice of the French countryside in Ho Chi Minh City, L’Escale faithfully recreates the menu of two Michelin-starred chef Thierry Drapeau, featuring…

  • Hum Vegetarian Cafe & Restaurant

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This serene and elegant vegetarian restaurant requires your attention. Everything – from the charming service to the delightful Vietnamese dishes and…

  • Cuc Gach Quan

    Ho Chi Minh City

    It comes as little surprise to learn that the owner of this place is an architect when you step into this cleverly renovated old villa. The decor is both…

  • Secret House

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Secret House offers a stylish take on home-style Vietnamese cooking close to Ben Thanh Market. The main dining room features mud-and-straw walls and…

  • 500px Photo ID: 83172141 - Vietnamese rice noodles are served with beef, lime, hoisin sauce and chili sauce and ready to eat..Lens: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon

    Secret Garden

    Ho Chi Minh City

    You pass through a motorbike parking lot then negotiate the stairs of a faded HCMC apartment building to reach this wonderful rooftop restaurant. Rogue…

  • Nha Hang Ngon

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Thronging with locals and foreigners, this is one of HCMC's most popular spots, with a large range of the very best street food on offer in stylish…

  • Entrance to Xu Restaurant Lounge

    Xu

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This superstylish restaurant-lounge serves a menu of Vietnamese-inspired fusion dishes. It's pricey, but well worth the flutter for the top service and…

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    Propaganda

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Colourful murals and retro socialist posters brighten up this popular bistro with park views. The menu focuses on street-food classics from around Vietnam…

  • Cake display at L'Usine Le Thanh Ton

    L’Usine

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This elegant cafe is set above a high-end clothing store, with decor combining industrial-style seating and vintage photos of old Saigon. The appetising…

  • Interior of The Racha Room

    Racha Room

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This bar-resto has cool clientele, playlists of lounge and house music and a fine layout with an elongated bar in the heart of the action. The menu…

  • Entrance to Temple Club

    Temple Club

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This restaurant is housed on the 2nd floor of a beautiful colonial-era house decorated with spiritual motifs and elegant Chinese characters. It has a…

  • Croque Monsieur at The Refinery

    Refinery

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Formerly an opium refinery, this lovely bistro and wine bar has winning cocktails and appetising food with a French and Mediterranean accent. Menu…

  • Entrance to Jaspas Cafe & Grill

    Jaspas Wine & Grill

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Light, uncomplicated, busy and popular, Jaspas serves up Asian and Western favourites in a relaxed setting with an alfresco corner aspect. The grilled sea…

  • Entrance to Hum

    Hum Lounge & Restaurant

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Excellent Vietnamese-inspired vegetarian cuisine in a central garden location. Settle into the elegant space with subtle lighting and classy furnishings…

  • Upstairs dining area at Jake's American BBQ

    Jake's BBQ

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Park yourself at the bar and combine comfort grub and cold brews with US and Canadian sports on the TV. Standouts are the smokey ribs with a rich St Louis…

  • Entrance to Relish & Sons

    Relish & Sons

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Relish & Sons brings a versatile Melbourne vibe to Saigon. Highlights include gourmet burgers and craft beer and cider on tap. Later in the evening try…

  • Ice cream counter at Fanny

    Fanny

    Ho Chi Minh City

    On the ground floor of a lavish French villa, Fanny concocts excellent Franco-Vietnamese ice cream in a healthy range of home-grown flavours. Refreshing…

  • Tikka masala at Tandoor

    Tandoor

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This restaurant's lengthy menu has vegetarian and South Indian sections, but the focus here is mainly on authentic North Indian dishes. The fruit-packed…

  • Rice Restaurant & Bar

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Celebrating all things rice, this cosy neighbourhood restaurant serves up Vietnamese classics with a fusion twist. The sun-dried squid is marinated in…

  • Tomatito

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Just steps from Ben Thanh Market, Tomatito bills itself as a 'sexy tapas bar'. The interior is one big brightly-lit room done up in a retro-Spanish vibe,…

  • Towa

    Ho Chi Minh City

    For astonishing city vistas Towa can't be matched from its perch on the 28th floor. One of HCMC's best Japanese restaurants, this is the natural habitat…

  • Lubu

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Shared tables and a sunny whitewashed interior combine with excellent Mediterranean cuisine at this District 2 favourite. Spanish, Moroccan, Greek and…

  • Mekong Merchant

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Thatched-roof buildings clustered around a courtyard provide an atmospheric setting for this informal but upmarket cafe-bistro-bar. Phu Quoc seafood is…

  • Rice Field Restaurant

    Ho Chi Minh City

    In the shadow of Ho Chi Minh City's tallest building, Rice Field creates a rural atmosphere on its verandah, with rice plants growing against a backdrop…

  • Five Oysters

    Ho Chi Minh City

    With a strong seafood slant and friendly service, light and bright Five Oysters in backpackerland is frequently full of travellers feasting on oysters (25…

  • 5Ku Station

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Hopping with evening diners, this branch of a chain of makeshift-looking alfresco barbecue restaurants is fun, boisterous and outgoing. Grab yourself a…

  • Quan Ut Ut

    Ho Chi Minh City

    With a name roughly translating to the 'Oink Oink Eatery', this casual place with river views celebrates everything porcine with an American-style…

  • MAD House

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Highlights here include an innovative menu blending Scandinavian and Vietnamese influences – MAD House translates to 'Food House' in Danish. There's also…

  • Deck

    Ho Chi Minh City

    Deck is housed in an architecturally impressive pavilion set between an elegant garden and the river. You could happily linger here all afternoon,…

  • Boat House

    Ho Chi Minh City

    This versatile spot features many riverside options: enjoy a leisurely lunch at the outside tables, sit at the bar for a few beers or graduate to…