While we were in Ho Chi Minh City we found some really great restaurants and cafes. Here are the ones that made our list!
If you’re interested in our list of the best restaurants in the beach town Nha Trang, Vietnam click here.
CUC GACH QUAN
Waseem and I kind of stumbled upon this Vietnamese restaurant while exploring a neighborhood and I’m really glad we did. From the outside it looks like a home and once you go inside you understand why. This restaurant has two buildings, across the street from each other. The buildings used to be home that have now been converted into restaurants. The menu was extremely long so we asked our waiter for some help with what to order and she recommended some really great dishes. Nothing disappointed. You basically order a big bowl of rice and a few dishes to mix with the rice. Definitely worth checking out. A little on the pricier side for Vietnam but we’d go again.
Price: $$$
Must Try Dish: Egg Tofu
High Chair: Yes
Staff Loves Kids: Yes
RICO TACO
This is a really really adorable (and delicious) Mexican restaurant! The food is so fresh and colorful. Basically exactly what you would picture a good Mexican restaurant to be. They have happy hour daily with some discounted dishes and drinks and they give you a bowl of popcorn! We will definitely be visiting this place again before we leave this city. So worth it.
Price: $$
Must Try Dish: Fish Burrito
High Chair: Yes
Staff Loves Kids: Kind of
PHO 24
Pho 24 is a chain that you’ll see pretty readily all around the city. When you’re a tourist I think it’s a bit harder to try the Pho from the little Mom and Pop restaurants with the plastic chairs on the side of the road. This place is a good option if you’re looking to test our some Pho. Their soups are pretty flavorful and affordable. It’s also good to know the flavor will be consistent at any of their branches. Maybe one day we’ll get the courage to try some street-side Pho but until then this is a great option. Oh, and we had it for breakfast.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Beef Balls Pho
High Chair: No
Staff Loves Kids: No
THE VINTAGE EMPORIUM
Great little place for breakfast. The decor is really unique with a vintage feel, and very pretty tiles on the ground. The food was delicious. We had the shakshouka and the french toast. Oh and definitely try their hot Vietnamese milk coffee, it comes to the table in their traditional coffee making pot and is brewed right in front of you.
Price: $$
Must try Dish: French Toast
High Chair: No
Staff Love Kids: Yes
KING KEBAB
For a quick, delicious, on the go meal, check out King Kebab. It’s in the Backpacking district so there’s lots of action in and around this area. From the outside this doesn’t really seem like a place we would have been interested to try out, but the food definitely makes up for the less than exciting interior. They have plates and sandwiches too. This is another place we’ll probably visit before we leave, especially since you don’t really see kebab places so often around here.
Price: $
Must try Dish: Beef Kebab Sandwich
High Chair: No
Staff Love Kids: No
CAU BA QUAN
Waseem and I heard about this restaurant after watching the show Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. We thought we may as well check out the places he visited on the show especially this one cause the food just looked so good! Well, we’re really glad we did. If we didn’t see this place on TV we would have never checked it out. The place looks very ordinary from the outside with the typical Vietnamese restaurant plastic tables and chairs but the food definitely makes up for the boring cub appeal. We ordered exactly what Phil did on the show and it was all really good. The Cajun shrimp platter was so flavorful and the happy salad was unlike any salad we’d ever tried before. Oh, and every time we saw a foreign couple sit down, we knew they definitely Netflix-ed and Chilled haha Give this place a try, you won’t be disappointed!
Price: $
Must try Dish: Cajun Shrimp Platter & Happy Salad
High Chair: No
Staff Love Kids: No
THE SNAP CAFE
We checked this place out because we wanted to see what District 2 was like. We stopped by here for breakfast before checking out the Vincom mall that’s just around the corner. I have to say the English muffin egg sandwich was a bit tasteless and disappointing but the coffee was pretty good. I usually wouldn’t put a place like this on my list since I didn’t really enjoy the food but they had an extensive menu so I’d be willing to give it another try and also I think this place is worth checking out if you have kids. It’s actually very nicely done with a small village feel and lots of little shops in the entryway to the restaurant. But the main reason I’d go back to this place is the really nice sized playground they have in the back. You can sit at a picnic table and do some work or just enjoy a coffee while your kids play on the jungle gym right across from you. Great little place to check out, just skip English muffin egg sandwich!
Price: $$
Must try Dish: Vietnamese Milk Coffee
High Chair: Yes
Staff Love Kids: Yes
B.O.C Homemade BBQ
We were heading to another restaurant nearby that ended up not having food that night so we decided to have dinner at this place instead. The food was very good. Unfortunately a couple of the dishes we wanted to order they didn’t have. The outdoor seating, music and overall atmosphere of the place was great though. The BBQ people were eating looked delicious and the place was pretty happening for a Wednesday night at 6:30 (Yup, thank you Zayd haha)
Price: $$
Must try Dish: Mac n’ Cheese
High Chair: Yes
Staff Love Kids: No
BELGO THE BELGIAN BREWERY
Really yummy Belgian restaurant in the heart of district 1. We had Belgian frites, Fish fingers and a Belgian waffle and everything we so so good. The overall vibe of the place is very upbeat and happening. Waseem and I felt like we were out at a nice lounge for the night (even though Zayd was sitting at the table with us in the highchair). The decor is pretty cool too. They’ve got a motorcycle hanging from the ceiling and some top hats as lamp shades. Great interior and great overall feel and really great food! We felt like we went to Belgium for dinner.
Price: $$
Must try Dish: Frites
High Chair: Yes
Staff Love Kids: Yes
PHO THIN HA NOI
This restaurant serves a Northern style Pho from Hanoi. We’re still not sure how the taste differs from Pho that’s from Ho Chi Minh City but it was definitely delicious. The broth was very flavorful and the Beef Steak Pho we ordered wasn’t as fatty as the beef sometimes is. It’s a bit hard to find this place so I’ve linked the location in the heading on google maps. I’ve also added a picture of the front so that it’s easy to spot. It is right next to a supermarket.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Beef Steak Pho
High Chair: No
Staff Love Kids: No
PHO HOA PASTEUR
This Pho place ranks as one of the best places to enjoy Vietnam’s famous noodle soups. It has been run by the same family for generations and the broth recipe is a family secret. The restaurant is pretty big with a two story dining room and ample seating. It’s usually on the busier side and seems to be popular among locals and tourists alike. The Pho was really flavorful and filling as Pho usually is. Not sure I can tell the difference between amazing Pho and really good Pho yet but this place was one we’d have again.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Vegetarian Pho
High Chair: No
Staff Love Kids: No
NONLA GUYS
We stumbled upon this place while walking down an alley in the backpacking district. It’s a very cute little Mexican-Korean fusion restaurant. We ordered some food to take home and the staff immediately stood out as very helpful and attentive. The Vegan Tofu Burrito was very flavorful and not grotesquely huge like typical burritos can be. We’d stop by this place again if we were in the area.
Price: $$
Must Try Dish: Vegan Tofu Burrito
High Chair: Not sure
Staff Love Kids: Yes
MAM VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT
This is a really delicious Vietnamese restaurant with lots of sharing style dishes. We found this place the day we arrives in the city right after dropping our stuff at the apartment. It was down the street from us and luckily also across the street from the must try LA VIET CAFE (great place to pick up an iced Vietnamese coffee after you have lunch here). A little on the pricier end for a Vietnamese restaurant but you won’t be disappointed. They close at 2 pm though so grab some lunch here. On the weekends they are open for dinner and their pretty lanterns outside are lit up at night!
Price: $$
Must Try Dish: Stir Fried Beef with Celery and Leak
High Chair: Yes
Staff Loves Kids: Yes!!! (One of the waitresses played with Zayd throughout our entire meal)
SUSHI NHI
This cute little Sushi joint is located in Japantown, an area with tons of great little hidden Japanese restaurants. We heard about this place through a food blog I found and decided to give it a try because it had great reviews and also was supposed to be some of the most affordable sushi in the city. We got there at 5pm and were immediately asked if we had a reservation. We didn’t. Luckily, we arrived as they were opening (They’re only open for dinner) and were able to find a table pretty quickly. We were warned though, that we should definitely make a reservation if we decided to come again. The food was delicious! Really fresh fish and yummy rolls. Waseem and I love Sashimi specifically so we ordered a bunch. The food was so good we kept the menu nearby and kept ordering more food! The best part was getting the bill and having it come up to less than $20! And we had ordered so much food! Needless to say, we went back again before we left Saigon. A must visit if you’re into sushi or Japanese food in general. The menu is extensive with bowl and meats and soups as well.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Tuna Sashimi
High Chair: No
Staff Loves Kids: No
BURGER JOINT SAIGON
This place makes one of the best burgers in Saigon. Each burger is made to order and in my opinion is the perfect size. They have the option of a double patty, a single patty or a patty and a half. The meat is so flavorful. They also have some of the best french fries in the city. Thin and crispy just the way we like them. Zayd had his first burger ever here, he loved it. We went back a second time!
Price: $$
Must Try Dish: Jalapeno Burger
High Chair: No
Staff Loves Kids: Yes
PHUONG MAI VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT
One of the days we were in Saigon it was pouring rain and we needed to grab some food near the apartment we were staying at. Waseem got on his phone and quickly found this vegetarian place down the block from us. The place was pretty busy so we were lucky we found a table. We ordered an assortment of things so we could try it all. Everything we ordered was really great. It’s the best when you find a vegetarian place that has good food and doesn’t make you feel like you missed out on having meat for that meal. The food here is so flavorful and really anything you order on the menu is a hit. We checked it out another time and it was just as good and just as crowded. Also, this place has a meditation room upstairs that’s free and you can check it out before or after your meal.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Pineapple Fried Rice / Beaked Tofu
High Chair: Yes
Staff Loves Kids: No
BANH MI 362
Banh Mi 362 is what I call the “Subway” of Saigon. Except, we don’t really ever eat subway. This place though we had almost every other day on our trip! Something to mention is that it’s a franchise so you’ll be able to find it all over. For anyone who wants to eat Banh Mi Sandwiches but is a bit weary about going the fast food, little old lady street cart route, this is a great option. We loved the prices as well as you can get a sandwich for about $2 bucks. Score! Quick, delicious and budget friendly, you’re definitely speaking our language.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Fried Egg Banh Mi / Meatball Banh Mi
High Chair: No
Staff Loves Kids: Yes
CONG CAPHE
We didn’t know this Cafe was a franchise when we first found it in Nha Trang, Vietnam, there are a few branched around Ho Chi Minh City though. They don’t have their hot coconut coffee in HCMC unfortunately but the cold coconut coffee is really worth a try as well. Although, it feels more like you’re drinking a frappuccino than a coffee. Still delicious and we’d definitely recommend.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Iced Coconut Coffee
High Chair: No
Staff Loves Kids: Kind of
LA VIET CAFE
We found this coffee shop the day we arrived in Saigon and we’re so glad we did because we’d stopped by there almost every day since! The cafe itself is really nicely put together and almost feels like a trendy cafe in Brooklyn with it’s wood, leather and tweed furniture and coffee roaster in the front of the room. It feel very hip and the coffee is so good. They also have some breakfast items that are delicious.
Price: $
Must Try Dish: Iced Coconut Coffee
Highchair: No
Staff Love Kids: Kind of
If you’re interested in our list of the best restaurants in the beach town Nha Trang, Vietnam click here.
Bohemiano Arabiano 