I don’t quite remember which was the first coffee shop I tried first in Ho Chi Minh, but it was most likely a Trung Nguyên Legend Coffee, the one in district one, next to Maruku Udon. It was the usual hot Bạc Xỉu they serve. Strong and mildly sweet, just the way I like it. Beyond the larger coffee chains Highlands, Phuc Long and Trung Nguyên there are plenty unique and interesting coffee spaces to be found in Ho Chi Minh city. Plenty of blogs and vlogs can be found online regarding the coffee scene over here. Sometimes I wandered, sometimes I googled, and discovered great coffee within varying atmospheres. Themes are probably secondary to the Vietnamese coffee experience. Some breweries attracting certain crowds more than the others. The following list is in no particular order. Lets go!
1. Phuc Long coffee & tea
In my entire time in Hanoi, and the first week or so of being in Ho Chi Minh, I always avoided Phuc Long. The branding and the fact that they also sold tea made me think it would not really for me. One morning, in the spirit of exploring new things, I paid them a visit and tried their tea first. I just went along with the “best selling” label and bought an Earl grey milk tea. Its the closest thing to a “Chai” I have tasted in Vietnam. Even the Indian restaurant here doesn’t serve chai the way it is supposed to be. Osmanthus oolong milk tea is another great floral tasting tea I like. The Oolong milk tea is a bit bitter for me, and the Phuc Long milk tea, terrible. I don’t know why anybody would want to drink that particular tea.
Phuc Longs are also a hub for a lot of freelancers and students to sit down with their beverages and work or study. Also a great place to strike up conversations with the young locals. To my surprise, some of the youngsters speak and understand a decent amount of English. Some even speak in a North American accent.
Its a normal, contemporary themed cafe. Nothing too special about it’s theme.
2. Cheese coffee
Pasteur street
There are a few of them in the city and I wish I had discovered them sooner. I was on Co Giang street, sauntering aimlessly, observing and making mental notes. From there I wandered onto Pasteur street. The two stunningly gorgeous women, fashionably dressed, caught my attention, busy with their phones on the outdoor chairs of the coffee shop. After making a point to later visit the other coffee shop down the street, I ventured into this shop. A dimly lit victorian era theme. This branch on Pasteur Street is particularly significant because its design is inspired by the botanical institute of the famous scientist Louis Pasteur. The choice of location and the architectural style pay homage to Pasteur’s contributions to science and his influence on modern microbiology. This cafe has various chemistry apparatus and other vintage knick knacks adding to the decor. In the middle of the upper floor is a glassed up exhibit of what seems a taxidermy of a peacock and some vintage or ancient books laid open. It can get a bit noisy for a cafe. Young, old, students, freelancers, expats, it attracts people from all walks of life. Once in a while you will see pretty young women come over in a group to do a professional photoshoot in their lovely dresses, looking nothing less than a Maxim model.
I found the cold Bạc Xỉu with an added Ban Flanh to be the best. A perfectly balanced coffee which can be enjoyed with bites of the soft and sweet Ban Flanh. Think of it as a less dense, softer, sweeter version of Paneer.
3. Tia To artbook
15bis Đ. Nguyễn Phi Khanh
By far the most cutesy, femenin cafes on the list. It also features a victorian era theme, but brighter, more cute and childish with several wall portraits featuring bunny rabbits, floral wallpapers, and genteel piano music. Sometimes little girls and most often teens and young adults flock to this cafe, but not really for the coffee. A arts workshop is the primary attraction with the occasional visits from the in-house cats. Create your own scented candle, sew a scented teddy bear, fill colours in a cute drawing and much more, albeit all simple and relaxing activities. Many young couples love the slow hands-on experience. Good for bonding with that special person. I only once tried the chocolate waffle with ice cream and oh my, it was delectable. Too bad I cant eat it too often. The only coffee I liked was the roasted almond coffee topped with marshmallows. Funnily, the shop on Phường Nguyễn Thái Bình, Quận 1 didn’t offer me marshmallows for the same roasted almond coffee. Tia To are also one of the quieter coffee shops. You wont find remote workers, tourists, and older crowds frequenting these cafes.
I visited both branches in district 1. There is a third one in Binh Than, far north of the touristy places.
4. LaCaph coffee experiences space
Upstairs, 220 Nguyễn Công Trứ
One of the only two expensive coffee places on the list. La Caph strives to bring Vietnamese coffee and coffee culture to the world. It is also one of my most frequented coffee shop. I call it expensive because most coffees and drinks start at 80k for a cup or glass. Lacàph also offers coffee workshops which can include a bit of a history lesson, introduction to types of brewing methods, information on coffee strains, live bean roasting, brewing, learning how to make egg coffee and coffee cocktails, etc. Lacàph is an independent coffee brand with a sophisticated approach. Perhaps they have one of the bigger budgets in the independent coffee space. Lacàph claims to source their coffee beans from specific farmers who are featured on informative portraits in the goods section of the store. Some of these farmers have pretty interesting stories. Two which interested me the most were the one man living remotely by himself, cross-breeding coffee strains to create unique flavours, and the other being a coffee farm run entirely by women.
They typically don’t offer hot Bạc Xỉu on the menu, but you could request for it. Only some of the staff know how to make it, and only a young guy Tung makes the best ones. Sierra is still learning, but she makes good Bạc Xỉu too. The “Cloudy cold brew”, an oat milk coffee with sprinkled cinnamon on the top is pretty good too.
Perhaps the most interesting thing on the menu is the coffee skin tea. Coffee is after all a type of fruit. The fruit feel is dried and processed and once you boil that produce in water, you get this sour, slightly sweet, red tea which can be had hot or cold.
Coffee honey is another peculiar and rare item they stock. Bees which extract nectar from coffee plants and made honey…I haven’t tasted it though.
They sell all their coffee beans (Arabica, Robusta, mix, etc.) in 250gm packs or a 1kg pack along with lots of Lacàph branded merchandise. My friend did the math and tried the coffee I bought back for him. His verdict? It was way cheaper and much higher quality than anything you pick up at Starbucks.
A quiet cafe with good ambient music playing in the background, it’s a great place to sit down and work on your laptop. Lacàph is mainly frequented by tourists and expats. Very few locals can be found here.
5. Little Hanoi egg coffee
212 Lê Lai, Phường Bến Thành
Discovered during a cool, relaxing 3AM saunter. Of course, it was closed then, but the “all day breakfast” sign beckoned to me. With no sleep at all, I climbed two floors and entered as the first guest for the day at 7AM. The only cafe I know of right now which serves eggs, four different ways. Scrambled, omlette, poached and sunny side up with a toast, some lovely salad and a smaller portion of fruits. Im not a fan of egg coffee in general, but I tried it all the same and didn’t like it. The cacao egg coffee was what I ordered and I thought, “if only it didn’t have the damned egg in it, it probably would taste delicious”. The after taste of the eggs they use make me a bit queezy. Eggs bought in India usually dont have that peculiar after taste. Its a big deal for me at least.
The outdoor seating is basically a narrow, long balcony facing east. The cafe windows are large and also face east, meaning, mornings here are very bright with lots of natural lighting. The winter coolness and the early morning sun, make for an energetically positive, balmy, start to the day. I’ve not seen a single local here yet. Tourists and some expats are the usual visitors. At the back of the coffee shop is a small shelf with a few dozen books for your perusal. I borrowed a Star Wars comic from Dark Horse creations.
6. Cam coffee
47C Đ. Nguyễn Phi Khanh
I passed by this shop many times. My intrigue only growing larger each time. Its not obvious on the outside, as they have not advertised it, but they also make great tea. Matcha is one of their best sellers. What I love the most is the Pandan leaf tea (cold only) and Oolong milk tea (hot only on request). Both are amazing and so far the best milk tea I’ve had in the city. Another specialty is the Ban Cam. Sweet stuffed wheat dumpling-like things baked to perfection. They are freshly made on order so it will usually but 20 minutes or more before you see your plate of Ban Cam. It comes in 5 options with 4 different types of stuffings. Sweet potato, green beans (no actual green coloured stuffing), pandan (the actually green coloured stuffing), and a fourth option which is purple stuffing. I forget what it is called. Its the least busy cafe on the list. Perhaps because I frequented afternoons. But the owner promises that the cafe is busy during the mornings and late evenings. Its a family run business with a warm and congenial owner.
7. Tung Nguyen
The energy coffee that changes life.
You will see at least one of these on your visit to Vietnam. Usually occupying prime real estate spots. Busy junctions, busy roads, tourist hotspots, any place that might have foot traffic. Owned by the Trung Nguyên Group, Trung Nguyên is the largest domestic coffee brand in Vietnam. You could look up the size of this company on google. They are the big fish in this pond by all means. My favourites are the hot Bạc Xỉu and their cold blended coconut coffee. You can find a reel of the same over here.
All their stores are air conditioned and stock a crap ton of coffee. You can buy different types of quality beans by the kilo for affordable prices. Varieties of ground coffees, ready to mix instant coffees, coffee brewing apparatus and expensive coffee gift sets await you. This is a “everybody’s coffee shop”.
Trung Nguyên E-coffee is a related brand and what makes them different is the open air seating on wood stools. No aircon here. The coffee is also cheaper than their larger stores. The coconut coffee is not to be found on their menu, however, they do serve small breakfast options including eggs with bread which cannot be found at the air-conditioned stores.
8. Catfe
119 Đ. Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai
There is practically no emphasis on having any kind of coffee experience. It is about chilling and playing with cats, if they like you that is. For the entry price of 100,000 VND, you can stay there till 10pm if you want. Several cool drinks including teas and juices, and over a dozen type of snacks are included in the price. Best part is free refills on both. There is one coffee they have, but it could do with a little more sweetness and milk. Its mostly black.
Ambience and occasional interactions with cats is the draw for me. Catfe is A prime spot for meeting cute women too. Out of all the places the wifi here is too slow for my personal use.
9. Eggyolk coffee
220 Lê Thánh Tôn
First tried in Ha Noi. This is a rather tolerable egg coffee. The taste of the egg doesn’t overpower me. Still, not my preference. Other beverages on the menu are standard and great quality. But I visit the Ho Chi Minh branch for its ambience. A large store with the orange and beige colours of the brand tastefully done with modern furniture makes some tourists pull out their phones to photograph the decor. I always feel a bit more energized simply because of how the colour psychology plays on me. I usually order the hot chocolate. Staying open till 11pm unlike 9pm or 10pm like all other shops, you might appreciate that extra hour if you stay up later than usual. The one in Ha Noi is small and feels cramped, so this is definitely my favourite of the two. Its on Le Thanh Ton street, an extremely touristy street, so all kinds of visitors frequent this place. In fact, very often you have newcomers to the city enter here and they are studying and observing everything in that “Oh-what-is-this” fashion.
10. Chidori- coffee in bed
191 Đ. Đinh Tiên Hoàng
Im typing this as I sit on my bed sipping on my chocolate macchiato. A contemporary Japanese themed coffee shop where you can very literally have coffee in bed. The one I visited is only 110m from a Tia To cafe. I always passed by this place after 10pm so never got around to visiting it until now.
Flight delayed for several hours leaving you even more tired? Just hit up this shop to catch some quick sleep.
There are half a dozen packages to choose from, which include a minimum one hour stay in small bed as featured in the photos. For longer stays, upto 5 hours, you can book a larger bed with included add-ons.
Around 50k for a coffee gets you access to the common seating space downstairs. Upstairs are the beds which are part of the packages I mentioned. The maximum price at the time of writing being 360k for a long stay package.
95k gets you one of 6 dishes you can order. Yes, you can order actual food in addition to the usual sweet, baked items in a coffee shop. Chicken rice, gyudon, etc. are on offer. Personally, very thoughtful of them to offer food as well.
This is my first visit and will certainly frequent this shop more. This chocolate macchiato is one of the better ones I’ve had. They didn’t just sloppily add in Hershey’s syrup, thats for sure. Extremely quiet, cozy, and private enough (just use the curtains). Funnily, there is a security camera mounted in my private space, so don’t think about getting all undressed and doing “stuff”. Keep it clean. I find it odd that I could be napping soundly while a camera can keep an eye on me. But I’m guessing all the units have one. I’ll update the post as I explore the other options later.
A remote controlled toilet awaits you in the restroom. Just like the ones you find in Japan. The only one I’ve witnessed so far in Ho Chi Minh, in a rather public space.
I am indeed low on sleep and this warm cozy setting is quite inviting to my dreams. But alas, I must do some work before I can relax. Probably next time.
Coffee places that I didn’t like include Highlands and Katinat.