My saved list for Ho Chi Minh City had almost no Vietnamese food: a fish restaurant by the canal and a street grill with no sign, both with short notes of mine, plus one coffee shop. So I added classics from travel guides and addresses from the Michelin Guide, along with two coffee shops in the centre; later came three more from the same Michelin list: Bếp Mẹ Ỉn, Bánh Cuốn Tây Hồ 127 and the vegetarian Hum Garden. I checked each one on Google: still open, rated 4.2 or higher. Everything without my note is put together from Google Maps reviews.
Prices are Google's average spend per person, valid as of 7 October 2026. Rate: 100,000 ₫ ≈ $3.85.
In short
- Phở for breakfast: Phở Minh, down an alley off Pasteur, is open only 6:30–10:30 and takes cash only.
- Bánh cuốn, also in the morning: Bánh Cuốn Tây Hồ 127 opens at 5:30.
- A Vietnamese dinner: Cục Gạch Quán, in an old house in Tân Định, or Bếp Mẹ Ỉn off Lê Thánh Tôn; book ahead at both.
- No meat: the vegetarian Hum Garden, across the river in former Quận 2.
- A street grill with no sign: 2 Phan Bội Châu — grilled sausages with herbs and rice paper; find it by the address.
- Coffee: specialty coffee at The Workshop, cafés on every floor of The Cafe Apartment above Nguyễn Huệ, and salted coffee at SUA.
Vietnamese food
Phở Minh
Sài Gòn · phở · up to 100,000 ₫ (≈$4) · daily 6:30–10:30
Google Maps · 63/6 Pasteur, down the alley
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 840+): a phở shop in an alley off Pasteur that, according to guests, the same family has run for eighty years. The broth is clear and light, with plenty of beef (rare, brisket, fatty cuts), and the flaky pâté sô pastries get praise too. Anyone expecting a deep, bold broth may find it plain. Cash only, mornings only, and things can sell out by 10:30. The Michelin Guide lists it too (Bib Gourmand).
Bánh Cuốn Tây Hồ 127
Tân Định · bánh cuốn · up to 100,000 ₫ (≈$4) · daily 5:30–21:30
Google Maps · website · 127 Đinh Tiên Hoàng
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 610+): one of the oldest bánh cuốn shops in the city — thin steamed rice rolls filled with pork, mushroom or shrimp, served with chả lụa sausage, fermented pork and plenty of fried shallots. The rolls are praised for being silky and generously filled, and the owner happily shows you how to eat them. The downsides: some guests say that since the Michelin nod prices are about double a regular shop's, and it's hard to pull over on the busy junction. The Michelin Guide lists it too.
Bún Thịt Nướng Chị Tuyền
Cầu Ông Lãnh · bún thịt nướng · up to 100,000 ₫ (≈$4) · daily 6:00–21:00
Google Maps · website · 175C Cô Giang
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 680+): the specialty is bún thịt nướng, rice noodles with grilled pork, crispy spring rolls and sweet fish sauce. The pork is praised for being tender and smoky; the steamed bánh mì with beef is also recommended. Two cramped floors and lots of delivery riders at lunch. Not everyone is a fan: some found it average and pricier than local spots, and there are complaints about ants and a rude waiter.
Cục Gạch Quán
Tân Định · southern Vietnamese home cooking · 200,000–800,000 ₫ (≈$8–31) · daily 9:00–23:30
Google Maps · website · 10 Đặng Tất
According to Google Maps reviews (4.2 from 4,200+): a restaurant in an old house that feels like a Vietnamese grandmother's home, with vintage tiles, reclaimed wood, socialist posters, flowers and a koi pond. The food is simple southern home cooking: reviewers like the garlic soft-shell crab, braised pork and tofu. The downsides: above-average prices, rice and water charged separately, so-so desserts, and a few call it a tourist trap. The Michelin Guide lists it too (Bib Gourmand).
Bếp Mẹ Ỉn
Bến Thành · Vietnamese · 100,000–300,000 ₫ (≈$4–12) · daily 10:30–22:30
Google Maps · website · 136/9 Lê Thánh Tôn, down the alley
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 13,000+): a very popular restaurant of Vietnamese classics down an alley off Lê Thánh Tôn. The crispy bánh xèo with shrimp and pork, the omelette, grilled chicken with green chilli sauce, cơm tấm and bún chả get the most praise, and the staff show you how to wrap things properly. Prices are a little higher than at similar places, and it's split into three outlets (the restaurant, a noodle bar and a bánh mì counter), so you pay separately at each. Book ahead. The Michelin Guide lists it too.
Hum Garden
An Khánh · vegetarian · daily 10:00–22:00
Google Maps · website · 32 Đường Số 10, across the river
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 1,500+): a good-looking vegetarian restaurant across the Sài Gòn river, in what used to be Quận 2, that wins over even committed meat-eaters. Reviewers praise the fried tofu, winged beans, chawanmushi, the long list of alcohol-free cocktails, the presentation and the attentive service. The downsides: some found dishes too salty and the desserts underwhelming for the price. The Michelin Guide lists it too.
Khô Bia Bờ Kè
Tân Định · fish and beer by the canal · 100,000–500,000 ₫ (≈$4–19) · daily 15:00–0:30
Google Maps · 109 Hoàng Sa
A fish restaurant. According to Google Maps reviews (4.8 from 1,400+): a place for groups on the canal embankment, with beer, snacks, good food and a view of the water; the reviews are short and give few details.
2 Phan Bội Châu
District 1 · street grill · no sign
Google Maps · 2 Phan Bội Châu
They grill sausages here with onion, garlic, sugar and black pepper, and bring a separate plate of herbs and vegetables plus rice paper to wrap it all in. The place has no name, not even on Google Maps, so go by the address.
Coffee
The Workshop Coffee
Sài Gòn · specialty coffee · 100,000–200,000 ₫ (≈$4–8) · daily 8:00–20:30
Google Maps · Facebook · 27 Ngô Đức Kế, 2nd floor
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 4,100+): one of the city's best-known specialty coffee shops, a bright loft with high ceilings and big windows on the second floor of an old building. Lots of beans and brewing methods, proper specialty rather than sweet Vietnamese drip, and good food too: breakfasts, a pesto chicken burger. Half the tables are laptops. The entrance is hard to find, and prices are high for Saigon.
The Cafe Apartment
Sài Gòn · a building full of cafés · daily 8:00–23:00
Google Maps · 42 Nguyễn Huệ
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 1,900+): an old apartment block on pedestrian Nguyễn Huệ where almost every flat is now a café, boutique or small shop. The fun is in going from floor to floor and looking down at the street from the balconies, especially in the evening when the building is lit up. Drinks cost more than in ordinary cafés, and the lift charges a few thousand dong, so take the stairs.
SUA Coffee & Cakes
Phú Nhuận · coffee shop · up to 100,000 ₫ (≈$4) · daily 7:00–22:00
Google Maps · Facebook · 1162 Trường Sa
According to Google Maps reviews (4.8 from 260+): a small corner café on the canal embankment, with air-conditioned seating upstairs. Reviewers like the salted coffee (freshly ground, with condensed milk and salty foam), the yoghurt and the view. The reviews are short but almost all five stars.
One last thing
Phở in Saigon is breakfast: Phở Minh closes at 10:30, so start the day there and retreat to a coffee shop when the heat builds. Khô Bia Bờ Kè only opens at 15:00 — keep it for the evening.
More on Ho Chi Minh City: what to see, bars