Best Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

The coffee scene across Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, centers on distinct brewing lineages, spanning single-origin arabica roasteries, historic heritage establishments, and regional creations like salted cream or egg coffee. For manual pour-overs, start at early specialty pioneer The Workshop or roasters like Là Việt Coffee and Aramour Coffee Roasters Garden. Those seeking regional styles can try salted cream coffee at Hue Cafe Roastery, authentic egg froth at 3T Cà Phê Trứng, or honey-processed robusta near Bến Thành Market.

By Mr.Pin Last reviewed

Nhà Ba Teria, Craft Matcha & Coffee, Saigon - PinGuide
All Chinese Cuisine Cocktail Bar Coffee Dental Clinic Desserts Pastry Film Photography Gay Friendly Hotel Indian Cuisine Jazz Bar Landmark Metro Nightlife Restaurant Sandwiches Burgers Shopping Streets Vietnamese Cuisine Vintage Store Wine Bar

Our top picks

These selected cafes highlight the premier roasteries and signature regional brews available across central districts.

Best for vintage Saigonese atmosphere and specialty blends

Café Linh

This two-story District 3 cafe prepares traditional Vietnamese coffee alongside signature salted coffee and coconut coffee ice blends in a retro-styled space.

📍 District 3

Best for single-origin Arabica pour-overs

XLIII Specialty Coffee

This three-story cafe serves lightly roasted international beans with an open brewing counter and zero added sweeteners.

📍 District 1

Best for modern interpretations of Vietnamese coffee

Lacàph Coffee Bar

This shop serves espresso-based and filter drinks using beans sourced directly from farms across Vietnam to showcase the country's coffee heritage.

📍 District 1

Best for historic heritage coffee

Cheo Leo Cafe

Founded in 1938, it is one of the city's oldest coffee establishments and serves drinks brewed in a traditional style.

📍 District 3

Best for third-wave manual brewing

The Workshop Coffee

Regarded as one of the city's earliest third-wave coffee venues, it roasts its own beans and serves single-origin coffee via pour-over, siphon, and Aeropress.

📍 District 1

Best for on-site roastery watching

% Arabica Ho Chi Minh City Roastery

Adjacent to the Saigon Central Post Office, this venue roasts its coffee beans on-site within a dedicated glass-enclosed room in full view of customers.

📍 District 1

Best for authentic Hue salted coffee

Hue Cafe Roastery

Originating in Huế, this roastery introduced the central Vietnamese tradition of slow-dripped phin coffee topped with salted cream to local drinkers.

📍 District 2

Types of coffee in Ho Chi Minh City and where to drink them

Organizing cafes by brewing philosophy and signature drinks helps navigate the city's diverse coffee styles.

Egg Coffee

Cà phê trứng

Whisked egg yolk foam is poured over intense robusta coffee to form a thick, dessert-like custard layer. It tastes sweet, velvety, and rich, balancing the bitter roasted coffee base beneath.

Best at 3T Cà Phê Trứng

Also Po Cafe, Soo Cafe

Salted Coffee

Cà phê muối

Originating in Huế, this drink tops slow-dripped phin coffee and condensed milk with a blanket of salted cream. The light savoriness cuts through the dark roast bitterness and softens the sweetness.

Best at Hue Cafe Roastery

Also Café Linh, The Melbourne Cafe

Coconut Coffee

Cà phê cốt dừa

Espresso or concentrated dark coffee is blended or layered with frozen sweetened coconut cream. It offers an icy, silky texture with fragrant tropical fat cutting the coffee roast.

Best at Cộng Cà Phê Xuan Thuy

Also Ollin café

Specialty Pour-Over

Cà phê pha thủ công

Baristas brew lightly roasted single-origin Arabica beans by hand through paper filters, siphons, or AeroPress setups. The resulting cup is clean and tea-like, emphasizing bright fruit and floral notes.

Best at The Workshop Coffee

Also GRANDMUM CAFE, XLIII Specialty Coffee

Heritage Filter Coffee

Cà phê phin truyền thống

Dark robusta grounds brew drop by drop through a metal phin or traditional cloth filter, served black or poured over sweet condensed milk. The drink is heavy-bodied, intensely bold, and smoky.

Best at Cheo Leo Cafe

Also Robusta Honey Coffee Company, Chất Coffee

Garden Coffee

Cà phê sân vườn

Expansive outdoor venues arrange seating around shaded courtyards, running streams, and lush foliage. Drinks focus on refreshing iced coffees, blended beverages, and tea served in open-air greenery.

Best at Thiên Cảnh Viên

Also Tiệm cà phê Noọng Ơi, Oasis Cafe

118 places, by area

Use this comprehensive roster of coffee venues to find dedicated brewing counters by neighborhood.

See full map →

Area

Good for

District 1 46 All of District 1 →

Au Parc Café 23 Hàn Thuyên, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
🧒⛅🅿️
Ghé Coffee 39/10 Mạc Thị Bưởi, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Gióng Cafe 57 Nguyễn Du, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 70000, Vietnam
GRANDMUM CAFE 86B1 Hẻm 82 Võ Thị Sáu, Tân Định, Hồ Chí Minh 70000
Hoff Coffee Brewers Lầu 1, 42bis Lý Tự Trọng, Phường Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Inflow Cafe 91 Nguyễn Du, Phường Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Lacàph Coffee Bar Lầu 1, 151 Đồng Khởi, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Linh Coffee 118 Bùi Thị Xuân, Bến Thành, Hồ Chí Minh
Meraki cafe Chung Cư 42 Nguyễn Huệ, Phường Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
OKKIO Caffe Lầu 2, 151 Đồng Khởi, Phường Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Po Cafe Lầu 8, 42 Nguyễn Huệ, Phường Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Soo Cafe 35 Phan Chu Trinh, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
SOSO Coffee Zen Plaza, 54-56 Nguyễn Trãi, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
Tám Coffee 31 Đ. Mạc Thị Bưởi, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
The Workshop Coffee 27 Ngô Đức Kế, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

District 2 23

HÔM 59 Trần Ngọc Diện, Thảo Điền, Thủ Đức, Hồ Chí Minh
Phúc Long Công viên bờ sông, Nguyễn Thiện Thành, Khu phố 2, An Khánh, Hồ Chí Minh

District 3 18 All of District 3 →

Café Linh 26a Phạm Ngọc Thạch, Phường Võ Thị Sáu, Quận 3, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
Cheo Leo Cafe 109/36 Nguyễn Thiện Thuật, Phường 2, Quận 3, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
🤫🔼
NEO- 393/7 Hai Bà Trưng, Xuân Hòa, Hồ Chí Minh
ngâm CAFE 193/19 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, Phường Võ Thị Sáu, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh
tapri vietnam Trần Quang Diệu, Nhiêu Lộc, Hồ Chí Minh 70000
The Melbourne Cafe 137 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Phường Võ Thị Sáu, Quận 3, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

District 4 6 All of District 4 →

Ngọt Cafe 47 Đường số 41, Phường 6, Quận 4, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

District 5 3 All of District 5 →

Chất Coffee Đ. Lão Tử/2B Hẻm 10, Khu phố 5B, Chợ Lớn, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Thủ Đức City 3 All of Thủ Đức City →

Phú Nhuận 2 All of Phú Nhuận →

MELLOW Bar & Café 152/1 Nguyễn Trọng Tuyển, Phường 8, Phú Nhuận, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

Bình Thạnh 2 All of Bình Thạnh →

Trap Space 12/67 Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, Thạnh Mỹ Tây, Hồ Chí Minh 700000

Gò Vấp 2 All of Gò Vấp →

Oasis Cafe 26/14 Phạm Văn Đồng, Phường 3, Gò Vấp, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam

District 10 2 All of District 10 →

District 11 1 All of District 11 →

Bình Tân 1 All of Bình Tân →

Other areas 9

Phuc Long Coffee & Tea L1-01, Somerset Chancellor Court Ho Chi Minh City, 21-23 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, Sài Gòn, Hồ Chí Minh

Seen on YouTube

66 of these 118 places appear in travel videos on YouTube. Each clip starts at the moment the place is on screen.

The chains

While independent roasters offer artisanal nuance and hidden charm, commercial chains serve as dependable urban utility points with reliable air conditioning, ample seating, and standardized iced classics on nearly every major boulevard.

Highlands Coffee

Known for Traditional phin-dripped robusta drinks, signature crushed-ice Freezes, and an omnipresent presence in shopping malls and office plazas.

Go if You need a fast, predictable cà phê sữa đá and a dependable air-conditioned stop between sightseeing stops.

Phúc Long Coffee & Tea

Known for Extremely bold, tannin-forward teas and punchy, high-caffeine Vietnamese coffee brews.

Go if You want intense, concentrated flavors where the tea and coffee notes cut sharply through sweet milk.

The Coffee House

Known for Bright, spacious layouts equipped with ample power outlets, stable Wi-Fi, and generous work tables.

Go if You need a comfortable, laptop-friendly workstation to catch up on remote tasks for an afternoon without feeling rushed.

Cộng Cà Phê

Known for Nostalgic mid-century northern retro decor, military-green palettes, and sweet coconut-slush iced coffee.

Go if You want to try the iconic cà phê cốt dừa in a distinct, vintage-themed interior with friends.

Trung Nguyên Legend

Known for Deep, heavily roasted proprietary coffee blends, classic metal drip filter presentations, and an emphasis on Vietnamese coffee heritage.

Go if You want a slow, contemplative phin-brewed coffee experience in a formal, quieter environment.

Katinat Saigon Kafe

Known for Striking multi-story storefronts anchoring major street corners, distinctive takeaway cups, and contemporary iced creations like salted coffee.

Go if You enjoy street-level people watching through panoramic glass windows while sipping modern, trend-driven coffee drinks.

Cheese Coffee

Known for Industrial European bistro styling, creative dairy-forward beverages, and rich, dessert-style coffee concoctions.

Go if You prefer sweet, creamy, indulgent drinks and photogenic spaces popular with the city's younger crowd.

A short history

Coffee transitioned from an exclusive colonial luxury into an egalitarian everyday ritual across the streets and alleys of Saigon. The city pioneered distinctive brewing methods, notably cloth-strainer coffee extracted in clay pots over charcoal embers, before late-twentieth-century economic changes catalyzed nationwide cultivation. Today, Ho Chi Minh City preserves these multi-generational family stalls alongside an expanding landscape of contemporary coffee spaces.

1857: Arabica arrives in northern Vietnam

French Catholic missionaries brought the country's first Arabica coffee seedlings to Vietnam in 1857, cultivating them at church properties in northern provinces including Ninh Bình and Thanh Hóa.

Source

1908: Robusta variety introduced

Agronomists imported the hardier Robusta (*Coffea canephora*) and Excelsa species into Vietnam in 1908, which thrived in the red basalt soil of the Central Highlands.

Source

1930: Plantation acreage expands

By 1930, commercial coffee plantations in Vietnam covered approximately 5,900 hectares, consisting of 4,700 hectares of Arabica, 900 hectares of Excelsa, and 300 hectares of Robusta.

Source

1938: Cheo Leo Café establishes cloth-filter tradition

In 1938, founder Vĩnh Ngô opened Cheo Leo Café in Saigon's District 3, popularizing *cà phê vợt* (stocking-filter coffee) brewed in Chinese medicinal clay pots over a charcoal stove.

Source

1950: Givral opens on Rue Catinat

French pastry chef Alain Portier opened Café Givral in 1950 on Rue Catinat (now Đồng Khởi), turning it into a prominent downtown meeting hub for international journalists, politicians, and writers during the Indochina and Vietnam wars.

Source

5 guides

Consult our focused neighborhood lists to pair your coffee walk with nearby landmarks and historic blocks.

Mr.Pin Mr.Pin

A 2026 Guide to Ho Chi Minh City’s Coffee Culture

Mr.Pin Mr.Pin

Saigon Post Office Cafés: 6 Picks by Coffee Style

Mr.Pin Mr.Pin

Coffee Near Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon

Mr.Pin Mr.Pin

Coffee Near Vinh Hoi Apartment, District 4 Saigon

Mr.Pin Mr.Pin

Coffee Near Sheraton Saigon: Best Cafés on Dong Khoi

What other coffee guides agree on

Based on the top 29 Google results for Best Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City checked

Across Ho Chi Minh City in 2026, guides show that coffee culture is defined as much by location and daily ritual as by the brew itself. Independent spots heavily cluster inside repurposed residential apartment complexes, deep residential alleys, and breezy courtyards rather than standard storefronts. While roadside stalls and sidewalk stools offer rapid, affordable morning staples, multi-story indoor venues cater to long, relaxed stays with expanded creative menus.

On PinGuide and recommended by these guides

Many independent venues hide inside residential blocks and side alleys

Finding a table often means walking down quiet residential alleys or climbing exterior stairwells in aging residential blocks. Across multiple stories, rooms and former living spaces have been remade into independent venues featuring small balconies and tranquil indoor layouts.

+7 said by 11 of 29 sources

Complimentary iced tea is standard alongside coffee orders

Most traditional establishments and neighborhood spots automatically bring a free glass of cold, unsweetened tea with every coffee. Baristas also default to serving drinks over ice to match the tropical heat, requiring specific requests if a hot beverage is wanted.

H+1 said by 5 of 29 sources

Drink prices scale sharply between street carts and seated venues

A quick curbside cup bought from a mobile vendor or sidewalk stool generally costs between 13,000 and 30,000 VND. Seated venues, specialty modern roasters, and upscale heritage spots charge from 50,000 VND to well over 90,000 VND per drink.

+4 said by 8 of 29 sources

Late mornings and evenings draw distinct social crowds

Sidewalk stands and curbside stools see their heaviest trade early in the morning before the day gets hot. Air-conditioned indoor venues stay quiet until late morning, while evenings draw large social crowds lingering late over iced drinks.

said by 4 of 29 sources

Where sources disagree

Some travel writers maintain that the city's independent scene values visual decor, atmosphere, and seating themes far above cup quality, while specialty coffee journalists argue that local roasters are deeply focused on meticulous brewing and elevating domestic bean varieties. +2

The focus is on apartment blocks and alleyway nooks is well-founded, but visitors often overlook how practical it is to spend several undisturbed hours working on upper floors without pressure to reorder.

Our take — Mr.Pin
Sources
+12 more
  1. 5 Beautiful Cafés in Ho Chi Minh City Worth a Visit baristamagazine.com
  2. The Foolproof Guide to Exploring The Cafe Apartments Ho Chi Minh vietnamairlines.com
  3. 17 Best Coffee Shops to Visit in Ho Chi Minh City - YouTube youtube.com
  4. Coffee - the best of Saigon's cafes - review by Rusty Compass rustycompass.com
  5. Top 7 Old Coffee Shops In Vietnam - BestPrice Travel bestpricetravel.com
  6. 9 Best Ho Chi Minh City Cafes Based on Taste, Value-for-money ... thetravelintern.com
  7. A Beginner's Guide to the best Vietnamese Coffee in Ho Chi Minh ... hungryhoss.com
  8. Vietnam Specialty Coffee Guide I: Saigon and Hoi An doubleskinnymacchiato.com
  9. Sidewalk Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City: Local Guide - Saigon Adventure saigonadventure.com
  10. Drinking Coffee In Vietnam - A Guide To Vietnamese Coffee adventuresofjellie.com
  11. Cà Phê Bệt: Saigon's Street Coffee Scene - Vietnam Coracle vietnamcoracle.com
  12. Top 10 Best Coffee Shops To Visit In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam youtube.com

Questions people ask

Direct answers address common queries regarding historic establishments, regional drink specialties, and specialty roasters across the city.

Where can you find the best egg coffee in Ho Chi Minh City?

Authentic egg coffee is served at specialty venues across District 1 that prepare the Hanoi recipe with whipped egg yolk foam over robusta coffee. Venues like 3T Cà Phê Trứng focus entirely on variations of this style, while other cafes across the central districts offer it alongside regional drinks. Check the Egg Coffee filter above to locate spots preparing it fresh.

Where is the oldest coffee shop in Saigon?

The oldest running coffee house operates inside an alley off Nguyễn Thiện Thuật in District 3's Bàn Cờ neighborhood, dating back to 1938. The venue still prepares traditional brews using classic extraction methods passed down through generations. Explore the Traditional Filter and Heritage Coffee Houses section above for historic locations.

What cafes serve regional salted coffee (cà phê muối) in Ho Chi Minh City?

Salted cream coffee originated in Huế and is widely available at central coffee roasters and regional specialty shops throughout District 1 and District 2. The drink balances rich, dark coffee with condensed milk and a whipped layer of savory salted cream. Browse the Salted Cream Coffee filter above to view dedicated roasters serving this recipe.

Where can you get specialty third-wave coffee beans in Saigon?

Independent roasteries in District 1, District 3, and Thảo Điền stock freshly roasted whole beans, highlighting single-origin Arabica from Đà Lạt alongside processed Vietnamese robusta. Venues like Robusta Honey Coffee Company showcase distinct honey-processed beans sourced directly from domestic growers. Filter by Specialty Pour-Over and Single-Origin Roasters above to browse bean counters.

Which coffee shops have views from The Cafe Apartments on Nguyen Hue?

Multiple specialty coffee shops occupy the upper floors of the residential apartment complex at 42 Nguyễn Huệ, featuring balconies that overlook the pedestrian walking street. Venues such as Po Cafe on the upper levels pair regional Vietnamese drink menus with elevated outdoor views. See the listings above to explore specific floors within the apartment block.

Where can you find authentic coconut coffee in Ho Chi Minh City?

Blended coconut coffee is widely available at specialty establishments and national heritage chains throughout central districts and Thảo Điền. Branches like Cộng Cà Phê Xuan Thuy specialize in this traditional recipe, which blends dark espresso or robusta with frozen coconut cream. Refer to the Coconut Coffee category section above for locations across town.

Save places, build a trip, share one link. No sign-up.