First published March 2024 | Words and photos by Luke Digweed
Luke Digweed is a staff writer for Vietnam Coracle. He has been living in Vietnam since 2011, mostly in Huế but also in Đà Nẵng & Sài Gòn. While living in Huế, he ran the Huế Grit Tour & co-organized events & small concerts between 2017-2020. His most recent ongoing project is Festivals of Vietnam which documents ceremonies, rituals & processions around the country….read more about Luke
Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) has a fantastic bar scene and the best nightlife in Vietnam. The bars in this guide are a specific kind: ‘hideaway bars’ are intimate, small, cosy, independent and off-beat. These bars offer refuge from the city but at the same time have deep connections with their neighbourhood and clientele. By definition, hideaway bars are difficult to find – hidden down alleyways, on rooftops or occupying corners of derelict buildings – and getting there is half the fun. This list of 5 hideaway bars in Saigon is subjective and semi-autobiographical: these are bars I’ve found by myself or in the company of knowledgeable friends, where we have shared memorable conversations and casual evenings together.
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5 HIDEAWAY BARS IN SAIGON
Intimate, Independent & Off-beat Drinking Establishments
I’ve deliberately chosen 5 hideaway bars that are located in different parts of the city, all with rooftops offering glimpses of the districts and neighbourhoods surrounding them. I’ve visited each of the five bars in this guide several times and they never fail to make a positive impression. I hope this guide is useful to thirsty visitors and residents of Saigon looking for a rooftop reprieve and a cosy corner of the city for a drink with a view. Click any bar below for details. (For more content like this see Related Guides.)
CONTENTS:
2. Commune Bar
3. NEO- Bar
5. Hừng Hoa Bar
MAP:
5 Hideaway Bars in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
Le’Fê Rooftop Bar:
Address: 198 Bùi Viện, District 1 [MAP] | Open: 17:00-01:00
Bùi Viện, Saigon’s ‘backpacker street’, is the city’s most international area. Like an airport, it’s a crossroads for many different people at many different stages in their travels, perhaps their lives. Le’Fê is in the thick of it all. Occupying the 8th floor of the rundown Meraki Hotel, this rooftop bar is a safe haven towering over the chaos below. Pass through the hotel reception and take the rickety elevator to the 7th floor. If you make it to the top, count your blessings and climb the last set of stairs up to Le’Fê, where you’ll be welcomed by a panoramic view of Bùi Viện and a range of drinks. The bar faces west, so you’ll catch the sun descending over the city’s skyline if you get here when it opens at 5pm.
Le’Fê’s layout and furniture is perfect: the bar never feels empty nor does it ever lose its intimacy, even when crowded. The setting and atmosphere is suitable for all: couples, small groups or solo. A small yet well-trained team of staff, who are on hand but not imposing, make good work of an an essentials-only menu. Cocktail prices start at 160,000đ; canned and bottled lagers and ciders are 60,000đ upwards; and a small selection of Saigon-based craft beers cost around 100,000đ. Shots, juices and carbonated drinks are also available. Music ranges between rock, hip-hop and house depending on staff mood. DJs play every Friday evening and occasionally Saturdays too. Le’Fê is great for anyone who wants to mingle with an eclectic crowd: you never quite know who you will meet or where your night will go.
Commune Bar:
Address: 3rd Floor, 8a/2b1 Thái Văn Lung, District 1 [MAP] | Open: 19:00-late
Saigon has a fascinating neighourhood that many people colloquially refer to as ‘Japan town’. Formed from a migration of Japanese expatriates looking to profit at the turn of Vietnam’s change in economic policy in the early 1990s, the area’s aesthetics feel closer to Tokyo than to Ho Chi Minh City. Commune Bar is in the heart of ‘Japan Town’ and makes for a great stop-off while exploring this unique area. Hidden on the 3rd floor of an undistinguished building, it takes some work to find the entrance. Once you’re inside and have taken the elevator, you’ll find a tiny, intimate club and a neon-lit staircase that takes you up to Commune Bar.
Opened in 2021, Commune is, as the name suggests, more of a makeshift den than an upscale cocktail bar. Its dimly lit aesthetics conceal the shabby furniture that just about holds the room together. Murals, skateboarding stickers and outdated flyers decorate the walls. An outdoor lounge area greets arriving customers and behind it several stools line up along the indoor bar. Commune is cosy: there’s enough room to keep to yourself but also enough for groups to bump into each other and for conversations to merge. The bar gets busier as the night goes on. Here, it’s easy to lose track of time and let the night slide by. The perfect hideout bar.
The Japanese owner’s influence really plays into the bar’s aesthetics: there are vinyl records for sale and bar logo stickers to take home. Music ranges from ‘good’ to ‘really good’ – jazz, house, hip-hop and break-beat play into the night. The staff here are great and I always enjoy talking to them. Clientele is transnational and made up mostly of Vietnam residents rather than short-term visitors. Commune’s location and ownership means that Japanese guests, in particular, feel at home here.
Prices aren’t cheap but neither are they expensive by the standards of downtown Saigon. Beers are 100,000đ upwards; cocktails are 175,000đ and higher; soju ranges from 100,000đ-150,000đ; spirits are 120,000đ; juices and teas are also available and champagne can be arranged.
NEO- Bar:
Address: 393/7 Hai Bà Trưng (1/15 Nguyễn Văn Mai), District 3 [MAP] | Open: 17:00-23:30
Opened in 2022, NEO- is a bar-cum-cafe that puts contemporary Saigon subcultures at the forefront of its operation. The bar is very proactive in getting involved with events around the city, as well as hosting its own at the bar, including art exhibitions, design workshops and film screenings.
Down an inconspicuous alleyway in District 3, getting to the bar can be a little challenging. A converted 1950s tube house, NEO-‘s ground floor is a parking area for guests, the 2nd floor is an all-day cafe and the top floor is an open-air bar. The cafe (9am-7pm) and the bar (5pm-11.30pm) have different operating hours but the menu is available on both floors.
The air-conditioned, well-furnished cafe has a nice record-player setup and spins vinyl throughout the day. It also sells locally designed and produced handicrafts, posters and keyrings, which make good souvenirs or gifts. The rooftop bar has a limited but interesting skyline view. Furniture is pretty simple with colourful street vendor-style plastic tables and chairs populating the tiled-floor terrace.
NEO-‘s identity is a reflection of the increasingly international youth culture of 21st century Vietnam. They stock the best selection of domestic and foreign draft and craft beers of all the bars in this guide. The food menu offers favourite international beer snacks, such as loaded fries and chicken drumsticks, as well as fried rice, summer rolls and a variety of salads.
NEO-‘s connection with local subculture communities makes it one of Saigon’s most exciting bars. Its proximity to popular tourist locations, such as Tân Định Church, Turtle Lake and Tân Định Market makes it a good rest stop while sightseeing during the day or a great place for a drink and socialising in the evening.
Voilà Chinatown Bar:
Address: 123 Châu Văn Liêm, District 5 [MAP] | Open: 17:33-00:00
While beer drinking restaurants and karaoke rooms dominate District 5 nightlife, there’s a lack of bars to visit in the city’s most heritage-dense district. Voilà may be leading the movement for more nighttime drinking spots in Chợ Lớn, aka Chinatown, combining the exoticisms of the area with the innovation of the city’s youth.
Occupying an old, semi-derelict corner house nestled on a vibrant side street with market sellers and street food vendors nearby, Voilà is empirically beatnik. Its chequered-tile flooring and crumbling walls contrast with the neon signs and logoed stickers that decorate the interior. The discordant furniture and random embellishments strewn around the bar force themselves into the guest’s conversation. A slim balcony runs around the perimeter of the floor and looks over the traffic on Châu Văn Liêm Street, with ambulances regularly racing past to the nearby district hospital. The bar décor is a tribute to the increasingly forgotten past, while the staff talk excitedly about the emancipations of the future. Voilà is fluid and uncertain, the establishment has many parts: a clothes shop, a photo studio, a kitchen and a bar. It’s awkward but charming, like wandering through the mind of an indecisive artist.
The menu offers a range of drinks, including beers (50,000đ+), Vietnamese liquor, such as tamarind wine, coconut rum and dragon fruit gin (90,000đ+), some creatively-named, experimental house special cocktails, such as the Chinese influenced ‘Ớt Tứ Xuyên’ (Sichuan Chilli) and the romantically dubbed ‘Valentine’ as well as more recognisable concoctions like Old Fashioned and Negroni (150,000đ+). The quality of these cocktails can be hit-or-miss but the novelty is forever refreshing. Food is also on offer. And, if you can speak Vietnamese, tarot readings are available too (369,000đ). Music can be good and bad, but staff are open to guest requests. Note that the unusual opening hours (cafe: 7:34am-2:21pm; bar: 5:33pm-12pm) is due to superstitions. Also, Voilà is closed on the 1st and 15th of the lunisolar calendar.
Hừng Hoa Bar:
Address: 11a Hoà Hưng, Phường 12, District 10 [MAP] | Open: 17:00-01:00 daily
Hừng Hoa rooftop bar sits on the edge of District 10, gateway to one of the city’s most underappreciated areas. Hừng Hoa claims to be the oldest unpretentious rooftop bar in Saigon, opening back in 2016 when rooftop bars were mostly for the wealthy and the decadent. A manifestation of the community it sits in, Hừng Hoa Bar is within proximity of Hòa Hưng Market and Chí Hòa Temple, both heritage landmarks of the area.
Hừng Hoa Bar is accessed via a challenging ascent up 5 floors of staircases without an elevator. But don’t be deterred, because the view you are gifted with at the top is certainly worth it: a panoramic vista across the city skyline. There’s a choice of furniture to sit on and peer towards the different cardinal directions, taking in the Saigon scenes from the rooftop. But Hừng Hoa’s hidden gem is the additional seating space above the bar’s entrance, which you can get to via the fire escape up another level. This is a great vantage point towards busy Cách Mạng Tháng Tám Street with the soaring Landmark 81 building in the distance.
Hừng Hoa’s connection to the local community gives it an inclusive, family-friendly vibe. Its dedicated clientele, drawing from across the city, regularly attend the bar for events, such as music nights and film showings, or just to hang out with friends. Customers are mostly Vietnamese, but foreign guests frequently visit too. The affordable menu includes lagers (45,000đ-65,000đ), craft beers (85,000đ-105,000đ), and cocktails (85,000đ-95,000đ). Mocktails and Vietnamese snacks are also available.
*Disclosure: Vietnam Coracle content is always free and independent. Luke has written this guide because he wants to: he likes these hideaway bars and he wants readers to know about them. For more details, see the Disclosure & Disclaimer statements and my About Page
