I spend a lot of my time drifting between the different cafes of the city when I'm in Saigon. They're great places to work, read and meet. They're great for travellers too - providing an escape from the madness of the city streets.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Workshop Cafe, Saigon
In a city where public spaces, culture, sport and art, struggle for air, these cafes are the places where a lot of young Vietnamese live their lives. It sounds very serious - but it's true.
I love the fact that so many Saigon cafes have a sense of heritage too. The young owners seek out funky old apartment blocks. And inside, they fit them out with mismatched retro and industrial clutter. Sure, there's plenty of imitation, but the best cafes also have flourishes of original character.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Sheryl Sandberg gets a run in a Saigon cafe
Saigon's young people are voting with their feet. They like the city's old heritage buildings. They love their cafes.
These are the same buildings that the city’s leaders can’t demolish fast enough.
The cafe has become an essential part of the Saigon experience. And cafes are everywhere. I’d hazard a guess - and it is only a guess - that the city’s downtown District 1 area allocates more space to cafes than most cities in the world - at least business centres.
And in addition to their famed coffee, they serve a good range of teas, juices and a few stiffer refreshments. Some have decent, inexpensive food too. Take note though, the Vietnamese have a very high tolerance for sugar in their drinks and unless you tell them, they'll probably assume you do too.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Bang Khuang Cafe, Saigon
Vietnamese coffee has been a huge part of local life for as long as I can remember. The first to channel this coffee obsession into national businesses were the people behind the Highlands and Trung Nguyen local cafe chains. That was well over a decade ago. And if visibility is the measure of success, these guys are doing fine. International players like Starbucks arrived later and joined the battle for the most prized cafe spaces in the city.
Prime real estate doesn’t come cheap in Saigon. It’s up there with some of the most expensive cities in the world. But local coffee shops seems unperturbed. The city’s appetite for coffee seems to know no bounds.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Mockingbird Cafe, Saigon
Photo: Mark Bowyer Old and new Saigon
While the big coffee players seize the prime real estate, what’s most interesting and unique about Saigon’s cafe scene, are the tiny hidden places owned by young local entrepreneurs. New spots are opening all the time. We can’t keep up.
Make sure you take some time explore Saigon’s hidden cafes too.
Click here for a list that introduces some of our favourite cafes in the downtown District 1 part of town. There's a broad range - including some of the hidden gems I mention in the blog. But there are plenty more.
You can check out our favourite specialty coffee houses in Saigon here.
If you see a cool looking old apartment block, fair chance someone has created a groovy little cafe inside. Pop up for a look. You'll probably get a little journey into Saigon's architectural past thrown in.
In 2016, we opened our own little Saigon cafe, The Old Compass Cafe, right in the heart of Saigon. Come by and say hi. You can read more about The Old Compass here.
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