Ho
Chi Minh City is blessed with fantastic restaurants serving a combination of
French, Chinese, and, of course, local Vietnamese cuisine. It is this
confluence of food cultures that has made Vietnamese food famed around the
world, and brings visitors flocking to sample Saigon’s many fabulous
restaurants.
While
street food and snack stalls are also an inextricable part of a Vietnamese
dining experience, sometimes you need a fabulous restaurant that combines
expertly prepared dishes with a pleasant ambiance, stunning views and diligent
service. Our list of the 10 Best Restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City has them all
to varying degrees so you can rest assured they will provide a dining experience
to remember.
1. QUAN AN NGON
A beautiful design scheme like something out of an exotic fairytale and a range of cooking stations preparing specialities from all over Vietnam keep Quan An Ngon packed out every evening with foreigners and well dressed locals. This is the perfect place to try legendary Vietnamese dishes such as fresh spring rolls, Hue noodles and black pepper crab. Occupying a prime location next door to The Reunification Palace, this restaurant is situated inside a refurbished mansion where guests can dine amid intricately carved teak furniture, lotus ponds and serving staff in classic satin dresses.
- Opening Hours: 11:00 – 23:00
- Address: 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District 1
- Tel: +84 8 3827 9666
2. CAMARGUE
Camargue is a refined French restaurant set in the courtyard of an old colonial-era opium factory. While not exactly fine-dining, the ambiance is sophisticated and the cuisine available is clearly French with a slight Vietnamese touch. Highlights include seabass and squid served with sweet chard, roast lamb with polenta enriched with Phu Puoc pepper, and crispy pork leg marinated in a slight spice and caramelised artichoke. An excellent wine list is available with several options by the glass.
Address: 74/7D Hai Ba Trung, District 1.
Tel: +84 8 3520 4888
3. THE DECK SAIGON
The Deck Saigon sits beside the Saigon River in a delightful al fresco setting 15 minutes taxi ride from downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The romance of this restaurant is unparalleled and the pan-Asian fusion type dishes are very well prepared. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this restaurant has excellent set lunch offerings. Come dinnertime, a la carte dishes run from soft shell crab tempura to char grilled shrimp and rib eye steak. Most of the meat is imported meaning it isn’t the cheapest but quality is assured.
Address: 38 Nguyen U Di, District 2.
Tel: +84 (0) 8 3744 6632
4. MONSOON RESTAURANT AND BAR
With a chic, minimalist dining room and impressive menu spanning the best dishes from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, Monsoon Restaurant is the best choice for a spicy regional dishes like tom yam kung soup and pad Thai, red curry and pork cooked in clay pot. Prices are very reasonable for what is widely considered the finest Southeast Asian restaurant in Saigon.
Address: No.1, Cao Ba Nha, District 1.
Tel: +84 (0) 8 6290 8899
5. THE REFINERY BAR AND RESTAURANT
The Refinery Bar and Restaurant brings a touch of French charm to downtown Ho Chi Minh with a menu of French bistro favourites such as steak frites and creative salads. As a former opium factory, The Refinery is replete with genuine colonial fixtures and has a charming garden terrace that offers the perfect spot for soaking up the cosmopolitan ambiance over a couple of wines. This is popular restaurant is enclosed in a fashionable courtyard next to the Park Hyatt Hotel on Hai Ba Trung Street.
- Opening Hours: 11:00 till late
- Address: 74 Hai Ba Trung, District 1
- Tel: +84 (0) 8 3823 0509
6. LA CUISINE
La Cuisine is unashamedly classic French cuisine, serving many traditional dishes such as steak tartare, foie gras with Provence figs, and pan seared duck with Béarnaise sauce. Plating and execution is stylish and modern, just like the white-washed, bare brick walls, and chunky wooden tables. The owner and head chef is French and has worked all over the world before settling in Ho Chi Minh to open La Cuisine. Look out for the set lunch menu which offers two or three courses for significantly reduced rates for a taste of something fancy at a great value price.
Address: 48 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1.
Tel: +84 (0) 8 222 98 882
7. THE TEMPLE CLUB
The Temple Club is a chic bar and restaurant that is on the itineraries of visiting stars and globetrotters. Located in a converted Chinese Temple in a small alleyway off Pasteur Street, it’s easiest to find by using Saigon Centre Shopping Mall as a landmark, and those that do make the effort will be rewarded with a richly decorated dining room serving Vietnamese fusion dishes and a cocktail lounge with skilled bartenders and tapas style accompaniments. For pure sophistication, The Temple Club is hard to beat.
Address: 29-31 Ton That Thiep St, District 1.
Tel: +84 (0) 8 3829 9244
8. LEMONGRASS
Lemongrass is a fine dining restaurant located in a narrow shophouse in District 1. Serving delectable Vietnamese dishes presented with French flair and providing guests with diligent service, this three floor restaurant is certainly one of Ho Chi Minh’s top restaurants. Choose from the sizeable range of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes on the a la carte menu or trust the chef and choose one of four set menus available at Lemongrass. Soft candlelight adds a touch of romance to proceedings, enhanced by the live music playing in the background.
Address: 4 Nguyen Thiep St., District 1.
Tel: +84 (0) 8 3822 4005
9. NGON RESTAURANT
Nha Hang Ngon is an endearingly popular restaurant serving a complete rundown of Vietnamese dishes in a restored colonial mansion. The menu is as big as a cookbook but all dishes are explained in English. Some might feel the restaurant lacks authenticity, but this is a great option for large groups who want to sample a wide range of Vietnamese food in pleasant surrounds. While this isn’t fine dining, the prices are such good value it is accessible for almost everyone.
- Opening Hours: 12:00 – 24:00
- Address: 160 Pasteur St, District 1
- Tel: +84 (0) 8 3827 7131
10. 4PS PIZZA SAIGON
This Japanese owned and operated pizza and pasta restaurant serves some of the best pizzas east of Napoli. 4Ps Pizza Saigon is an institution with Ho Chi Minh’s expat community serving stone-baked pizzas with inventive toppings that run from flower petals to teriyaki chicken. Despite the hard to find location down an alleyway behind The Sushi Bar on Le Thanh Ton Street, it gets packed on weekends and reservations are highly recommended.
Address: 8/15 Le Thanh Ton, Dist.1
Tel: +84 (0) 120 789 4444
Source: vietnam-guide.com