Renaissance Riverside puts you within reach of some of District 1’s best Vietnamese cooking — from a 1945 breakfast-only pho shop to rooftop gardens serving home-style regional dishes. This guide covers six restaurants near the hotel, spanning classic street food, a modern seafood hall, and refined dinners in colonial-era spaces. Whether you want a fast bowl of pho or a proper sit-down meal, start here.
Phở Minh
Phở Minh sits in an alley at 63/6 Pasteur, District 1. This Ho Chi Minh City restaurant specializes in beef noodle soup. It has served traditional Northern Vietnamese phở since the 1940s. Two small, simple dining spaces house the operation. They stand nearly opposite each other within the alley. A family runs this establishment. The founder’s third generation currently manages it.
Founder Trần Minh, a Hà Đông native, started the restaurant. He began selling phở from a pushcart around 1945. Later, he established the Pasteur Street location. The restaurant maintains its original dish approach. It has done so for several decades. Phở Minh earns recognition in the Michelin Guide. Its quality and value increased its visibility. This attracts both local and international diners.
The menu focuses on beef phở. It offers various cuts. Diners choose from rare tenderloin or well-done brisket. Other options include flank, gầu (fatty brisket), and gân (tendon). The broth features a clear, delicate flavor. The recipe omits star anise or cinnamon. Many Southern Vietnamese phở variations use these. Instead, the kitchen uses grilled ginger and lemongrass. These create a lighter, distinct aroma. The restaurant also serves freshly baked pâté chaud. This is a savory, meat-filled puff pastry.
The setting is simple and functional. It features basic wooden tables and chairs. The two shopfronts provide limited seating. Phở Minh serves customers only in the morning. It closes when the daily broth supply finishes. The restaurant does not accept reservations. Its location is down a narrow, U-shaped alley. This alley connects to Pasteur Street.
63/6 Pasteur, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam