The restaurants below have been classed into four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over US$35)
$$$ (US$15 to US$35)
$$ (US$5 to US$15)
$ (under US$5)
This is for a three course meal per person, including tax and tip but not drinks.
Au Manoir de Khai This very stylish French colonial villa built in the early 1900s now houses an exquisite restaurant serving arguably the finest French cuisine in Saigon. Admittedly not cheap, but worth every penny.
251 Dien Bien Phu, District 3
Tel: (08) 930 3394.
Price: $$$$
Nam Kha This restaurant
has just made the
Conde Nast Traveler’s hot tables (2005). Fine dining in beautiful surroundings.
46-50 Dong Khoi Street, District 1
Tel: (08) 823 8309.
Price: $$$$
Nam Phan Housed in a superbly converted colonial villa right in the heart of the city, the
Nam Phan restaurant offers some of the very best Vietnamese cuisine available in Saigon.
64 Le Thanh Ton, District 1
Tel: (08) 829 2757.
Price: $$$$
Al Fresco’s Good old-fashioned American fare (ribs, burgers, sizzling steaks, tex mex food, pizza, pasta, ice creams, freshly baked cakes and tropical fruits) is served in pleasant surrounding. Reasonable prices.
27 Dong Du, District 1
Tel: (08) 822 7318.
Price: $$-$$$
Qing
Stylish new wine bar and restaurant featuring a short but interesting menu of fusion favorites with strong Thai influences, plus a comprehensive selection of wines from around the world, with many available by the glass.
31 Dong Du, District 1
Tel: (08) 823 2414.
Price: $$
Annie’s Pizza A Saigon classic, the first pizza joint to open in the city. Take-away pizzas, Aussie pies, great burgers and more. Limited seating but a full delivery/take away menu is available.
45 Mac Thi Buoi, District 1
Tel: (08) 839 2577.
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.
197 Pham Ngu Lao, District 1
Tel: (08) 837 2505.
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. There is never any entrance fee to the bars but nightclubs generally charge around US$5. 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. Continually popular place are the
Blue Gecko Bar, 31 Ly Tu Trong, with a pool table and darts board and
Underground in the basement of Lucky Plaza at 69 Dong Khoi, a place to hang out after work. The
Q Bar, 7 Cong Truong, Lam Son Square, has made a welcome return after several years’ absence and it is still stylish, sophisticated and cool but larger than before.
Casinos: Gambling in Vietnam is illegal for Vietnamese people, however, it is allowed by foreign passport-holders. There is only one casino in the north of the country but now gaming centers with slot machines are making an appearance in Ho Chi Minh City; try
Chats Slot Gaming Center, New World Hotel, Le Lai,
Club 21, Omni Hotel, 251 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan District, and
OV Club, Equatorial Hotel, 242 Tran Binh Trong, District 5.
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
Catwalk disco and karaoke bar, in the New World Hotel on Le Lai, is well established. Popular with young Saigonese and ex-pats alike are the techno clubs,
Hazzards on Hai Ba Trung and
Speed on Tran Hung Dao, with its great sound system, and
Mua Rung on Ho Huan Nghiep, which is decorated as an Amazonian rainforest. The largest and most hi-tech club in Vietnam,
Spaceship on Ham Nghi continues to draw the crowds with its spectacular light shows.
Live Music: The
Wild Horse Saloon, 8A1/D1 Thai Van Lung, has regular live music nights from jazz to blues and country. Several of the international 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, the
Equatorial Hotel, Tran Binh Trong, District 5, and
Sofitel Plaza Saigon, Le Duan. It is even possible to find gypsy and flamenco music being performed at the
Carmen Bar, 8 Ly Tu Trong.
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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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