Cuca’s Picks: HO CHI MINH
Over the years we have shared countless times with Cuca’s customers our favourite restaurants from every city we know. The truth is that people in search of the tastiest food from around the world seem to trust chefs’ picks when choosing food, and since everyone asks our humble opinion, we have decided to start a proper “Our Picks” section where we give you our recommendations on where and what to eat. Go ahead, try for yourself and share these lists as you please, but just because we may help you find a new favourite, please don’t forget about your first love, Cuca!
What can I say… Ho Chi Minh City doesn’t whisper, it hums, honks, steams, and sizzles all at once. This is a city where food happens fast but traditions run deep, where plastic stools become front-row seats to generations of recipes passed down without ever being written. French influence lingers in bread and coffee, southern Vietnamese generosity shows up in herbs and sweetness, and every shop seems to specialize in just one thing done extraordinarily well. Meals spill onto sidewalks, conversations stretch long after the last bite, and the best dishes often come from places that look the most ordinary. What remains are places shaped by memory, routine, and obsession, each one offering a small window into the rhythm of Saigon life. Below is a small selection of spots we kept returning to, not because they were trendy, but because they felt unmistakably local and delicious.
List updated on March, 2026
Bếp Mẹ Ỉn (Lê Thánh Tôn Street)
Walking into Bếp Mẹ Ỉn feels like stepping into someone’s carefully preserved Vietnamese home: lanterns glowing softly, nostalgic décor everywhere, and dishes arriving meant for sharing. It’s comfort food presented with just enough polish to make visitors understand the depth of southern Vietnamese cooking without losing its soul. Portions are generous, flavors familiar yet vibrant, and it’s the kind of place that quietly teaches you what a proper family meal in Vietnam feels like.
Price: $$
What to order: Bánh Xèo Tôm Thịt, a golden, crispy Vietnamese pancake filled with pork and shrimp, wrapped in fresh herbs and dipped before every bite.
Ốc Đào (District 1)
If you want to understand Saigon nightlife, start with snails. Ốc Đào is loud, crowded, slightly chaotic, and absolutely essential. Tables fill with plates of shellfish cooked every imaginable way: grilled with scallion oil, tossed in butter, drenched in chili salt. Friends gather here to talk, laugh, and slowly pick through piles of shells while iced beer sweats in tiny glasses. It’s messy eating in the best possible way.
Price: $$
What to order: Garlic butter snails and grilled scallops with peanuts.
Bột Chiên Đạt Thành
This is pure street food obsession. Cubes of rice flour are fried until crispy, then cooked with egg, green onions, and served with papaya and soy-chili sauce. It’s greasy, slightly chewy, slightly crispy, and weirdly addictive. Best eaten standing, slightly burned fingers, zero patience.
Price: $
What to order: Bột chiên with egg.
Phở Việt Nam (District 1)
Phở here arrives without drama, just a steaming bowl placed in front of you with quiet confidence. The broth is clear yet deeply aromatic, simmered long enough to feel restorative rather than heavy. Locals customize instinctively: herbs first, lime second, chili last. Sit long enough and you’ll notice how seriously everyone takes their bowl; this is breakfast, ritual, and comfort all in one.
Price: $
What to order: Classic beef phở.
Đông Phố
A longtime favorite for traditional Vietnamese dining, Đông Phố leans into elegance without losing authenticity. White tablecloths, attentive service, and dishes designed for gathering make it feel celebratory — the kind of restaurant locals choose when family visits or something important needs marking. The cooking respects tradition, letting clean flavors and careful technique do the talking.
Price: $$$
What to order: Crispy roasted chicken and claypot seafood.
Little Hanoi Egg Coffee
Egg coffee isn’t just a drink, it’s a ritual, and Little Hanoi treats it that way. A small cup arrives crowned with a thick, velvety foam made from whipped egg yolk and condensed milk, floating over strong Vietnamese coffee. The staff will tell you not to stir immediately. First, sip the creamy top like dessert, then slowly mix as the bitterness and sweetness meet. We learned the hard way by mixing too early and yes, they were right. Patience makes all the difference.
Price: $
What to order: Egg coffee, exactly as instructed.
Bánh Mì Hồng Hoa
No ceremony, just one of the city’s most beloved sandwiches assembled at lightning speed. The baguette shatters lightly when you bite, revealing layers of pâté, cold cuts, pickled vegetables, herbs, and chili balanced with surprising precision. It’s portable perfection, best eaten standing nearby while scooters whiz past or at the mini chairs just in front.
Price: $
What to order: Special bánh mì (everything inside).
Chè Mâm Khánh Vy
This is the kind of place that feels chaotic at first, trays of small glasses filled with every shade of green, yellow, and brown, but it quickly becomes addictive. Chè is Vietnam’s answer to dessert, but less refined and more playful: beans, coconut milk, jellies, sticky rice, sometimes all in one sitting. You don’t order one thing, you order a tray and try everything.
Price: $
What to order: Mixed chè tray (multiple small desserts).
Cô Liêng
Simple, humble, and deeply local, Cô Liêng is the kind of place you might walk past if you didn’t know better. Regulars come for honest cooking that tastes like it hasn’t changed in decades: broths simmered patiently, seasoning guided by memory rather than measurement. There’s no performance here, just food that feels grounding after a long day in the city.
Price: $
What to order: House noodle soup and whatever the owner recommends that day.
