Ho Chi Minh City, also known by their old name “Saigon,” has good food in back alleys and dark cul de sacs, so be brave and go against the advice given to tourists of not entering dark alleys. I cross checked many lists and did several hours of research to get this. The food and drinks are around this area (look at map below), so try to stay here. I stayed at Novotel Saigon Central, which has a great location (across from it are (a) a convenience shop and (b) a pharmacy at the gas station).

Street Food

1. Bánh Mì Bảy Hổ (19, Huỳnh Khương Ninh/148 Đ. Nguyễn Văn Thủ, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam, 5.30am – 11am, 12pm-7pm)

I love Bay Ho so much. The boss is honest and friendly. They have a sitting area two shops away from the food preparation around. You can order coffee and other beverages but they gave me a free iced jasmine green tea. The sandwich is about 20K but if you want the sandwich stuffed, it can go up to 40K. The baguette is very crusty. They don’t have any sauce in the baguette so it may come across as slightly dry but the flavours are fantastic.

2. Pho Le (415 Đ. Nguyễn Trãi, Phường 7, Quận 5, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam, 6am to 12am)

The beef pho that locals eat. They have different combinations of beef cuts you can order but since I was there for probably only once in my life, I ordered the bowl with everything at about 100K. The soup is robust and the beef is barely cooked, a good thing.

3. Bún Riêu cua ốc Phan Rang (66 Đ. Nguyễn Thái Bình, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bình, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam, 7am – 9pm)

I wanted to eat something I hadn’t tried before. Bun rieu is a crab vermicelli tomato-based soup. It has a fresh sour flavour so it’s good for hot weather. The crab is pounded into a paste, and then strained. The liquid from the straining is added to the soup. It’s served with crab paste and I added snails.

Restaurants

I crowd-sourced from my followers what to eat in Ho Chi Minh City and these two restaurants are the most recommended:

1. Cuc Gach Quan Restaurant (10 Đặng Tất, Phường Tân Định, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam, 9am – 11.30pm)

Cuc Gach Quan is a family-styled Vietnamese restaurant serving Vietnamese czechar or stir-fry. I feel that it’s a bit of tourist trap but the food is delicious, the service is great, and the restaurant setting is super comfortable. Their signatures include the homemade tofu, soft shell crab, and stewed fish in claypot.

2. Pizza4ps (multiple locations)

Pizza4ps is everywhere in Vietnam and is so successful that it has franchises overseas in Japan and India. But, I mean, it’s kinda crazy to go to Vietnam and eat pizza, right? Since my followers recommended it, I decided to go and it was great. Service, food, and ambience are all 10/10.

Bars

1. Yugen Bar (95 Đ. Lê Thị Riêng, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam, M-Th 6pm – 1am, F & weekends 6pm – 2am)

This is my favourite and most expensive bar on the list but it’s not for everyone. It’s cosy, small, classy, and quiet. It’s a Japanese bar that serves only classic cocktails. And the cocktails are super delicious and potent. I got a negroni using their in-house shochu. I love the place so much that I ordered bar grub, a goose brisket.

2. Summer Experiment (Second Floor, 77-79 Lý Tự Trọng, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam, Sun-Th 4pm-1am, F&Sat 4pm-2am)

What a lovely bar. It’s like a postapocalyptic garden bar, cosy with lots of plants in a concrete setting. The people are friendly and sweet. And the drinks are relatively affordable. I had a dragonfruit guava cocktail, a cocktail made from Vietnam’s national fruits. It was awesome.

3. Stir (136 Đ. Lê Thánh Tôn, ward, District 01, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam, 4.30pm – 1.30am)

This is kinda serious bar, with very serious cocktails that offer many complex flavours. And the prices reflect that seriousness. I like a more playful, relaxed kind of vibe. This one isn’t for me but I can see why cocktail aficionadoes will like it.

4. Layla Eatery & Bar (Second floor, 63 Đông Du, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, 700000, Vietnam, Sun 1pm-1am, M-Th 4pm-1am, F&Sat 4pm-2am)

This is my least favourite of the 4 bars I went. And the most crowded. It has no character like any other bars and feels like a factory. It’s so much like a factory that they even have cocktails on tap. I ordered their recommended raspberry cocktail and there is hardly any alcohol in it. In and out of the place in 20 minutes.

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.