The restaurants below have been classed into four different pricing categories and are listed alphabetically:
$$$$ (over US$35)
$$$ (US$25 to US$35)
$$ (US$10 to US$25)
$ (under US$10)
This is for a three-course meal per person, including tax and tip but not drinks.
Al Fresco’s Good old-fashioned American fare (ribs, burgers, sizzling steaks, tex-mex food, pizza, pasta, ice creams, freshly baked cakes and tropical fruits) is served in pleasant surroundings. Reasonable prices.
27 Dong Du, District 1
Tel: (08) 822 7317.
Price: $$-$$$
Allez Boo A favorite hang
out for travelers and tourists alike, Allez Boo offers good food at reasonable prices in a tropical, bamboo and thatch kind of décor.
187 Pham Ngu Lao, District 1
Tel: (08) 837 2505.
Price: $
Au Manoir de Khai This very stylish French colonial villa built in the early 1900s now houses an exquisite restaurant serving arguably the finest French cuisine in Saigon. Admittedly not cheap, but worth every penny.
251 Dien Bien Phu, District 3
Tel: (08) 827 9153
or 930 3394.
Website:
www.aumanoirdekhai.comPrice: $$$$
Lemongrass Restaurant
A long-established favorite on the Ho Chi Minh City scene, serving Vietnamese food popular with locals and visitors alike.
4 Nguyen Thiep, District 1
Tel: (08) 822 0496.
Price: $$
Nam Kha Fine dining in beautiful surroundings evocative of the imperial court. The sumptuous fabrics and elegant furniture are complemented by the beautifully presented Vietnamese food.
46-50 Dong Khoi Street, District 1
Tel: (08) 823 8310.
Website:
www.namkha.comPrice: $$$-$$$$
Pho 24 Serves hearty, delicious traditional beef noodle soup or ’pho’ in a smart, clean location - one of a chain expanding fast across the city and country.
134 Le Thanh Ton, District 1
Tel: (08) 824 6395.
Website:
www.pho24.com.vnPrice: $
PomodoroA popular Italian restaurant, decorated in warm colors with a tiled terracotta floor, serving hearty pizza and pasta dishes complemented by a good wine selection.
79 Hai Ba Trung, District 1
Tel: (08) 823 8998.
Price: $$
Nightlife:During the Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon as it was known then) was notorious for its nightlife but this changed dramatically after 1975 and venues were forced to close their doors. Now, however, the city is once again awash with clubs and bars, varying from tiny, gloomy establishments to some very upmarket venues. Most of the nightlife is concentrated in District 1, particularly on the streets around Dong Khoi and Hai Ba Trung, although a few good restaurants and bars are found in District 3 and Phu Nhuan District. Bars and clubs should close at midnight but many are open into the early hours of the morning or until the last client leaves.
Imported drinks are considerably more expensive than local ones and alcohol sold in the more upmarket places is even more expensive again. The dress code is generally very relaxed with no restrictions on jeans or trainers. Information on what’s on can be found in
The Guide, published monthly by the
Vietnam Economic Times (website:
www.vneconomy.com.vn).
Bars: Perhaps one of the most famous bars is
Apocalypse Now, 2C Thi Sach. Be warned, it only gets going around midnight. For a quiet drink with great views over the Saigon River, try the rooftop bar at the
Majestic Hotel, 1 Dong Khoi. A warm welcome is guaranteed at
Sheridan’s House Irish House, 17/13 Le Thanh Ton. The
Q Bar, 7 Cong Truong, Lam Son Square, is a stylish, sophisticated and cool place to be seen in.
Clubs: Clubs were slow in appearing in the city but now there is a choice, although they all play a wide variety of music, including techno, pop and retro. The
International Tourist Club disco and karaoke bar, in the New World Hotel on Le Lai, is well established. Popular with young Saigonese and expats alike are the techno clubs,
Gossip Club,
Tran Hung Dao,
Palace Nightclub on Nguyen Hue and
Tropical Rainforest, Huan Nghiep, which is decorated as an Amazonian rainforest. The largest club in Vietnam,
America Discotheque,
An Dong Plaza (website:
www.hotel-windsorplaza.com), has two clubs, the
Pacific playing progressive music and the
New York serving up hip hop and R & B.
Live Music: The
Metallic Bar, 41 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, District 3 has performances of heavy rock music by local bands. Several of the larger hotels stage nightly performances by local and international bands. These include
Caravelle Hotel on Lam Son Square (in the stylish
Saigon Saigon Bar with stunning views over the rooftops), the
New World Hotel, Le Lai, and the
Equatorial Hotel, Tran Binh Trong, District 5. The
Sax n’Art Jazz Club, 28 Le Loi has nightly performances by local jazz musician, Tran Manh Tuan.
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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