Not so long ago, the idea of eating Vietnamese home-style cuisine in a restaurant, made no sense to Vietnamese. If they were going out, they’d want to eat something different to what they eat at home. Vietnamese restaurants served up menus that were focused on being different - many concocting special menus for locals, or menus for tourists that only vaguely resembled Vietnamese food.
As city life changes and Vietnamese find themselves eating out more and more, suddenly the home-cooked meal is enjoying a mini-revival. Locals are eating home-style cuisine in restaurants and travellers are getting a chance to enjoy these dishes too.
For the most part, these restaurants are owned by young local entrepreneurs - and they’re proving a big hit.
So what is home-style Vietnamese cuisine?
The Vietnamese family meal is a shared experience where a main course (mon man) is served with canh (soup - mainly vegetable with a little meat) and rau, vegetables. Everything is accompanied by the usual multitude of sauces.
Mon man literally translates as “salty dish” - but the meaning in this context is more like a meat dish or a protein dish. It will usually be meat of some kind.
The meal wraps up with traditional che dessert or fruit.
Here are three Saigon places we’ve been spending a lot of time of late.
Quan Bui Ngo Van Nam St
Danh from Quan Bui was among the first to see an opportunity in serving up tasty Vietnamese family food in a cool environment.
After quitting as a waiter at Au Parc cafe in Saigon, he opened a little eatery just outside of downtown Saigon. He found success both with locals and expats and soon after opened up a much bigger space in the centre of town.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Danh from Quan Bui restaurant.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Vietnamese family cuisine, Quan Bui downtown
Quan Bui is now one of the city’s most popular Vietnamese restaurants. The feel is relaxed and the food's great.
There’s a pretty good chance Danh will be on the floor when you visit - making sure the food and the service are right.
Address: 17A Ngo Van Nam St, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
You can read more about Quan Bui here.
Secret Garden
Secret Garden sits on top of an old Saigon apartment building. You’ll feel like you know the building well after you’ve climbed five flights of stairs. The lift hasn’t operated since the 1970s. Check out the pre-1975 Saigon letter boxes as you come in.
The rooftop is comfortable and cool - rough timber tables and chairs, cushions with a herb garden thrown in. The view is definitively Saigon - gleaming towers and crumbling apartments.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Huy and Nhu, owners, Secret Garden Restaurant
Photo: Mark Bowyer Secret Garden Restaurant, Saigon
The menu is concise and well-priced.
Owners Huy and Nhu are both young marketers working for large companies - but they seem to know what they’re doing on the food front too.
Address: Rooftop, 158 bis Pasteur St, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Read more about Secret Garden here.
Padma de Fleur
Padma de Fleur - a florist turned lunchtime eatery - might be the quirkiest eatery in our list.
Old friend Quynh Anh opened up her florist to lunchtime diners late in 2015. She serves a set menu each day that resembles the Vietnamese family meal - with a little experimentation. There’s only one set on offer.
The setting is magical - in a an old shophouse featuring Quynh Anh's floral handiwork inside.
Address: 55/6 Lê Thị Hồng Gấm, Nguyễn Thái Bình, Hồ Chí Minh City
You can read more about Padma de Fleur here.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Quynh Anh from Padma de Fleur
Photo: Mark Bowyer Padma de Fleur lunch
Photo: Mark Bowyer Padma de Fleur lunch
Ollie’s Kitchen
Ollie’s Kitchen opened in late 2015 and is the most recent arrival in the home-style space. Ollie’s a local fashion designer - and now restaurateur. His place is hidden away above a downtown fashion boutique. Blink and you’ll miss it. It’s tiny too - overflowing into a nearby cafe, Ollie’s Cafe.
Photo: Mark Bowyer Ollie's Kitchen, Saigon
Photo: Mark Bowyer Ollie's Kitchen, Saigon
I love the concise menu - you don’t get too many choices when you eat in a family home either. Everything tastes fresh and, well, home-cooked.
Address: 1st floor 86 Nguyen Hue, 1st Floor, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Read more about Ollie's Kitchen here.
You can check our complete handpicked selection of Saigon's best restaurants here.
Disclosure
Rusty Compass recommendations are always independent. We handpick and list the places we think you should know about. That's it. We've always paid our way at all of the eateries listed here and none of the restaurants listed paid for inclusion in this list.
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