Ho Chi Minh City

Widely considered the best banh mi in Vietnam - the bold claim is backed by legendary queues at this tiny shophouse on Le Thi Rieng. The pork rolls are stuffed to almost comic excess with pate, cold cuts, pickled daikon, and herbs. Open from 2pm until sold out.

📍26 Le Thi Rieng Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

The iconic landmark and social center of HCMC - a covered market with 1,400 stalls selling fabric, spices, clothing, lacquerware, and street food. The surrounding Ben Thanh Street Food Market operates at night with dozens of outdoor restaurants. The landmark clock tower is on every postcard.

📍Le Loi Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

HCMC's nightly pedestrianized street festival - from 7pm the Bui Vien strip closes to traffic and becomes a wall-to-wall carnival of street food carts, beer vendors, live music, and fire performers. Chaotic, cheap, and brilliantly fun for solo travelers.

📍Bui Vien Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

The real wholesale market of Cholon (HCMC's Chinatown) - a bustling 1920s covered market with a Chinese pagoda-style tower. Less touristy than Ben Thanh, Binh Tay is where local restaurateurs and traders shop for spices, dried goods, textiles, and Vietnamese-Chinese products.

📍57A Thap Muoi Street, Ward 2, District 6, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

HCMC's Chinatown (Cho Lon) is a layered world of Chinese clan houses, Buddhist temples, herbal medicine shops, and food stalls serving dim sum, braised pork rice, and century egg porridge. The Thien Hau Temple and the narrow market lanes behind it are worth half a day.

📍District 5, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

HCMC's most loved introduction to Vietnamese regional cuisine - a restored French villa where stalls around the courtyard serve specialties from every Vietnamese province. Banh mi from Hoi An, bun bo from Hue, banh xeo from Da Nang - all under one elegant roof.

📍160 Pasteur Street, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

HCMC's famous seafood snail restaurants (quan oc) are a Vietnamese institution - piled-high plates of whelks, clams, sea snails, and oysters cooked in a dozen different sauces. Oc Dao is the best of the cluster on Hoang Sa Street, serving cold beer and fresh shellfish in chaotic, joyful outdoor seating.

📍134 Hoang Sa Street, Ward 8, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

The definitive pho for Ho Chi Minh City - a southern-style bowl with a sweeter, more herb-forward broth than the Hanoi version. Pho Hung has served the same recipe since 1981 at multiple locations across the city. The breakfast crowd at 6am is half the city's office workers.

📍240 Pasteur Street, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

A beautiful, candlelit outdoor restaurant in District 1 set in a tropical garden around an old banyan tree. The menu spans northern and southern Vietnamese classics - com tam (broken rice), ca kho to (clay pot fish), and ca ri ga (chicken curry). One of the most romantic solo dinner settings in the city.

📍17A Ngo Van Nam Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

A weekly outdoor night market in the expat enclave of Thao Dien (District 2) with a strong international food selection - wood-fired pizza, Mexican tacos, Thai curries, and Vietnamese classics all in one spot. Popular with the city's expat families and long-stay digital nomads.

📍Thao Dien Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

An elevated riverside restaurant in District 2 (Thao Dien) with the best sunset views over the Saigon River. Modern Vietnamese cuisine with French-trained technique, a carefully curated wine list, and a terrace that makes every meal feel like a special occasion.

📍38 Nguyen U Di Street, Thao Dien Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam