Ho Chi Minh City Restaurant Tips by neurochic

Restaurant Name: Bo Tung Xeo

This is an awesome restaurant if you want to go somewhere in Vietnam where a lot of locals eat as well as tourists. It is famous for the dish the restaurant is named for Bo Tung Xeo which is a bbq beef dish that you get to cook yourself after the waiters bring a little stovetop contraption to your table. It reminds me a lot of bulgolgi (the Korean bbq beef dish). One order is definitely enough for 2 to share. Very tasty beef that is marinated in a soy and garlic sauce prior to being bbq.

If you are a little more adventuresome, since this is a restaurant that caters to a lot of the locals as well as tourists, there are many outrageous dishes that you can order from too. I finally know where they came up with some of the eating options on the show Fear Factor. I so wished I had my camera while I was in the restaurant so that I could take a picture of a sign that hangs on the wall with a menu for scorpions, cow and goat johnsons, field rat (I guess as opposed to city rat), and worm. My husband and I imagined if we had too of the dishes listed which would we be willing to try first.

Favorite Dish: The Bo Tung Xeo is very tasty and one order has a lot of beef. Definitely enough for a couple to share. I also loved the garlic rice. The rice was fried rice really done Vietnamese style. Be careful though, it isn't like the typical fried rice that you get in a Chinese Restaurant and if you don't like garlic don't order it. Their fried spring rolls were good too.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: 81 Ly Tu Trong Street

Restaurant Name: Lemongrass

Lemongrass if one of the fancier Vietnamese Restaurants in Saigon. Its a nice place to spend a quiet evening with your significant other. Its a small place, dimly lit with candles and small intimate tables. Its located in one of the more expensive areas around the Sheraton Hotel. The service is impeccable and the waiters will show you the proper Vietnamese way to eat the dishes you order.

The food is very good but like the rest of the restaurant the dishes are fancier. No real pho or vermicelli dishes here. This is Vietnamese fare presented with high class here.

Favorite Dish: We had Lemongrass Chicken which was very tasty. We also had a soup that was much like Thai Tom Yum soup but less spicy and much sweeter. I can't exactly remember the name but I think it was called their seafood soup. It was chucked full of wonderful seafood like clams and white fish, shrimp, crab, and oysters.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (84-8) 822 0496
Address: 4 Nguyen Thiep
Directions: District 1

Restaurant Name: Rex Hotel

Having dinner at the Rex Hotel is quite a nice way to end a busy day in Saigon! It's quite a romantic venue to spend with your significant other and its crazy to think that it used to be the spot where reporters and military personnel used to have dinner during the war. Eating dinner at the restaurant on top of the hotel was wonderful because you could see awesome sights of nightime Saigon with all the streets and buildings lit up. The food is ok, overpriced, but you can't beat the nostalgia.


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Theme: French
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter

Restaurant Name: Pham Ngu Lao Area

In the Pham Ngu Lao Area you can find so many restaurants serving anything from Vietnamese Spring Rolls to Pizza and all of them are competing for your business so the price of food is pretty cheap. Also there are street side vendors selling pho and bread and even corn on the cob.


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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average

Restaurant Name: Allez Boo

Ok I don't understand why this restaurant is always packed. The service here is lackluster and very slow. The food is nothing to write home about and the prices are high. Furthermore, the restaurant being located on the corner of a busy street, if you attempt to try and sit next to the window you will be harassed by street vendor after street vendor.

The restaurant does stay open quite late to service the backpacker crowd and they do have a full service bar. Also the majority of the food on the menu is of Western fare so if you are looking for nonasian food this is your place. My Italian dad just had to have spaghetti while we were in Vietnam.

Favorite Dish: The fried spring rolls are very good. I also tried the Vietnamese curry dish which was ok and nothing like Vietnamese fare. Tasted more like a Thai dish.

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Theme: American
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: 187 Pham Ngu Lao St.
Directions: Located adjacent to Liberty 3 Hotel

Restaurant Name: Vietnam House

The Vietnam House is a restaurant we just so happened to come across when we walking around the area of the Sheraton Hotel. It is a nice restaurant with many windows and open air fill and a nice breeze that comes through. If you do eat here ask to sit upstairs because the restaurant is less busier up there and less stuffy. The feel is more intimate upstairs. The food is ok. The restaurant caters to a lot of the tourists that stay in the surrounding area. I felt the dishes were more westernized than traditional Vietnamese fare since many of the dishes on the menus were stir frys. Also the prices are a bit steeper than other restaurants. As you are walking up the stairs of the restaurant you will see pictures of famous people that have frequented the restaurant. My family and I were surprised to see that George Bush, Sr. had eaten here. We wanted to tell the restaurant that for Westerners that is not a good selling feature for the restaurant.

Favorite Dish: I had Pineapple Beef which was tasty. I never had pineapple with beef before but I was pleasantly surprised by the combo. The pineapple just offered a tad bit of sweetness to the grilled beef without being overpowering like the sweet and sour sauce that you often find in Chinese dishes.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: 95 dong khoi, saigon
Directions: Near the Sheraton Hotel

Restaurant Name: Gallery Deli

The Gallery Deli is a good place to stop and have a dessert or fruit drink or milk shake. What is unique about this restaurant is that it has artwork all over hanging on the walls and in the menu that you can actually purchase. Nice little joint with a swanky atmosphere.

Favorite Dish: I had Mango Cheesecake which was very tarty but if you like mangos its a must try.

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Theme: Dessert
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Directions: Near the Sheraton Hotel