Food And Drink In Ho Chi Minh – Budget Travel In Vietnam

From street food to world-class restaurants, Ho Chi Minh is a foodie’s paradise.

Whatever food you fancy, you will find it in Ho Chi Minh. Western food and traditional Vietnamese can easily be found, often in the same restaurant. There are great street food options and night markets in Ho Chi Minh, such as the popular Ben Thanh Market (map). You can eat for as little as one dollar at the food vendors that appear on most street corners.

Where To Eat And Drink In Ho Chi Minh

Ẩm Thực Chay Thông Viên

Looking for vegan food in Hanoi? Ẩm Thực Chay Thông Viên fake meat versions of traditional dishes. We went for a tofu dish and a veggie tuna (yes, really) that tasted nothing like tuna but was tasty anyway. The owners were very happy to have us and took photos and even narrated a review that they posted on our behalf on the lucky cow app 🙂 (Map).

Banh Mi Pork Sliders

You will see street vendors all over the city selling these. Crispy baguettes are filled with mini burgers, salad and chilli sauce for the perfect late night snack. There was one right at the end of our street (map) which turned out to be the best, and cheapest, of all that I tried (I had at least one per night, sometimes two). They were cheap and delicious and a great way to soak up the beer!

Bookworm Cafe

Vegan food in Ho Chi Minh! This is the place to go! Managed by an Englishman and his Vietnamese wife, this is a place that truly offers everything. Not only do they offer Vietnamese food and just about every British dish you can imagine (fish and chips, pie and peas, sausage and mash, Sunday roast), but they also offer vegan alternatives to most dishes on the menu. The owner is a fun guy and you can come here and play board games and swap books. We didn’t try the Vietnamese food: instead opting for some western comforts! They have many of the British sauces as well as Heinz beans and Cheddar cheese. (Map).

Cocochin Food Court

This was a great discovery. We were wandering around the city doing a bit of sightseeing and we were feeling hungry just at the right time. Cocochin Good Court is a big place split over two floors with many vendors inside. We got a card when we entered and the cost of anything we bought was added to the card which we settled at the end. This meant we could buy from numerous stalls with ease.

The food was reasonably priced, cooked to order and very tasty. Go upstairs for the aircon! (Map).

La Vang Cafe

Right in the centre of ‘Backpacker Street’ but extremely cheap, this was a cool bar to sit and people-watch from any of its 3 floors. They had a crazy system of paying. The first time we went, they had no idea what we had bought and the second time, they tried to charge me for drinks that I had not yet had. It was a bit annoying when the karaoke was in full swing nearby but, otherwise, it was a cool place to sit and get tipsy. (Map).

Mr 8 Coffee

Now, it might have been that it was coming up to New Year and they were short staffed, but I didn’t really get on with this place. The staff seemed much more interested in playing on their phones and our coffee came in a cardboard cup, even though we were sitting in. They also added on a surcharge for some reason. (Map).

Ong Cao Craft Beer

On our first night in the city, we were tired and I decided to not have a drink. I then walked past this place and noticed they had a beer called ‘Fuzzy Logic’ which I could not turn down (Fuzzy Logic being the title of the debut album by my favourite band, Super Furry Animals). The beer was great and they had many other craft beers at reasonable prices. They were closing for the new year that night so I could only visit the once. They seemed very friendly and I would definitely spent more time there if it was possible. This is the place to go to discover craft beer in Vietnam.(Map).

Phuong Cafe

From the outside, it didn’t look too appealing. It was one of many small cafes on ‘Backpacker Street’ offering cheap food, both western and Vietnamese. However, we came here one evening and we both had tofu dishes that were delicious. If you are looking for cheap, fast and tasty food in the heart of the tourist area, look no further. (Map).

Royal Saigon Restaurant Bui Vien

We came here for lunch on the day of the New Lunar Year and the surcharge was low, compared to other places. The food was great and reasonably priced. (Map).

Snob Coffee

A modern and bright coffee shop that was open 24 hours a day and popular with young people. There are a few in the city; the one we visited was near ‘Backpacker Street’. (Map).

View Rooftop Bar

We came here with a bunch of couchsurfers to see the fireworks from the rooftop bar on Lunar New Year. Unfortunately, the prices were already high and then there was an incredibly high surcharge meaning our beer would cost about 6 times more than in the previous bar. We decided to have one to see the display but the organisation of the bar was so bad that we couldn’t get served anyway, so we left without a drink. (Map).

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