Ho Chi Minh City Bar Guide
30+ bars across Saigon's drinking neighbourhoods, curated by editors who know the city.
Saigon drinks fast, late, and cheap. The cocktail wave that hit the city around 2018 has matured into a serious scene with World's 50 Best regulars. Vietnamese-coffee Old Fashioneds, sugarcane-rum daiquiris, and pho-spiced negronis aren't gimmicks here — they are the local cocktail vocabulary.
Five neighbourhoods cluster the scene. District 1 is the international-cocktail spine. District 3 north of the centre runs the local-feel cocktail rooms. Thao Dien across the river is the expat-drinking district. Cholon (Chinatown) holds the alley bars. Thi Sach Street is the tiny-bars strip.
Cocktails run 200,000 to 350,000 dong ($8 to $14). Cheaper than Bangkok. Tipping is not expected. Most bars run to 1am, the District 1 rooftops to 3am, the Bui Vien street bars to dawn. Reserve Drinking & Healing and Layla on weekends.
Browse by occasion
Cocktail Bars in Ho Chi Minh City
World-class cocktail rooms
Rooftop Bars in Ho Chi Minh City
Skyline drinks
Date Night in Ho Chi Minh City
Romantic spots
After Work in Ho Chi Minh City
Apéro-hour bars
Live Music in Ho Chi Minh City
Bands and DJs
Craft Beer in Ho Chi Minh City
Microbreweries and taprooms
Hidden Gems in Ho Chi Minh City
Unmarked doors
Sports Bars in Ho Chi Minh City
Watch parties
Top Picks This Week
Drinking & Healing
Saigon's most awarded cocktail bar. World's 50 Best Asia regular. Apothecary aesthetic, Vietnamese-herb-leaning menu, and serious craft. Reserve a counter seat.
Layla
Eatery-and-cocktail-bar with a Mediterranean food menu and a cocktail programme equal to the kitchen. Rooftop seating, sunset cocktails, and a young dressed-up crowd.
Stir
Speakeasy reached through a Vietnamese-coffee shop. Twenty seats. Vietnamese-ingredient-forward menu — coffee, fish-sauce, sugarcane. World's 50 Best Asia regular.
Snuffbox
Tiny eight-seat cocktail bar above a tailor shop on Thi Sach Street. The bartenders rotate the menu monthly. Reservations only. Saigon's hidden cocktail-room ideal.
The View Rooftop
26th-floor rooftop bar above the Hotel Bến Thành. Saigon River and District 1 sunset views. Cocktails are competent. The view is the draw.
Pasteur Street Brewing
Saigon's first craft brewery taproom. Twelve house taps using Vietnamese ingredients — passion fruit, jasmine rice, lemongrass. The Jasmine IPA is the menu's anchor.
Neighbourhood Guide
District 1
The international-cocktail spine. Skybars, speakeasies, and the densest concentration of serious bars in Vietnam. Walk between everything in fifteen minutes.
District 3
North of District 1. Local-feel cocktail rooms, neighbourhood-bar culture, and the most adventurous food in Saigon. Skews late-twenties Vietnamese.
Thao Dien
Across the Saigon River in District 2. The expat district. Riverside cocktail bars, brunch-bar culture, and a more polished slower pace.
Cholon
Chinatown in District 5. Alley bars, herbal-tea-and-cocktail rooms, and the most atmospheric old-Saigon drinking quarter.
Thi Sach Street
Tiny street in District 1 with the highest concentration of small-format cocktail bars in the city. Walk it from end to end.
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