Where to go for a cup of coffee in Saigon

Where to go for a cup of coffee in Saigon

Ho Chi Minh city also known as Saigon has an extensive coffee culture.

There is something for everyone. Whatever kind of coffee you like in whatever kind of ambiance; you will find it in Saigon.

The typical Vietnamese coffee (drip coffee over condensed milk) is of course widely available. But it’s (almost) as easy to get your lattes, cappuccinos and americanos.

There are street stalls with tiny plastic stools, indie cafes, coffee chains (like Starbucks), barista cafes, speakeasy cafes, hipster spots…. you name it, it’s there.

So it will not surprise you that there are many blog posts about Saigon’s cafes and coffee places. Like this article. Or this one. Both give a list of good and special places to get yourself a cuppa.

Speakeasy cafes

In one of those articles I read about this unlikely building with a whiff of decay, that houses a number of speakeasy cafes. That intrigued me immediately and I was obsessed determined to find it and include it in one of our walks.

And believe me: it takes a bit of determination and effort to find the building and the cafes.

Imagine this: it’s very hot outside. You’re huffing and puffing and sweating after one or two hours walk (in fact, already after 10 mins). It feels like your head is gonna explode and you can’t even think straight anymore.

You cannot read the street signs (in Vietnamese, with all those incomprehensible signs) and you can not ask for directions, since 1. or people don’t speak english, 2. and you can’t pronounce the address that you are looking for and 3. or they can’t read (what’s on your map) or 4. all of that. In other words: hail and praise for a thorough preparation and….for Google maps.

We were in the street where it was supposed to be, so I kept an eye out and I saw a building that could be it,….

The building as seen from the back, from an interior courtyard.

…. we looked into the staircase… and yay!…this was IT!!!

Four floors with surprises!

We found it! I was so proud with myself.

Inside 14 Tôn Thất Đạm, Nguyễn Thái Bình.

That’s the address : 14 Ton That Dam, Nguyen Thai Binh. Minus all the weird symbols, hahaha. Too difficult.

What was inside the building was way better than I expected.

Ofcourse the elevator in this rundown building does not work anymore. But we happily walked the stairs instead.

No, we did not manage to find all the cafes on my bucket-list, but we ran into so much more.

We stumbled upon a cosplay-video in-the-making. Weird, but in a fun way.

Uh, what’s happening here? Would you mind striking a pose for me, now that you’re on a video-break? Ok? Thanks!

There were several dogs and kittens walking around. LIKE!

Cute overload!

The floors were filled with tiny shops, studios and even a restaurant.

Frits strolls in the corridors of the building.

The restaurant that we came across. Sorry for the blurry pic.

Everything scored high on the cool, funky and quirky meters.

Don’t be fooled by all the english signs. It does not necessarily mean that the person or persons working in the tiny stores and cafes actually speak (good enough) english. Which is too bad. I would have loved to chat with them.

Instagrammable swing in one of the small shops.

We ended our visit to the building with a drink at Mockingbird Cafe on the fourth floor.

Mockingbird Cafe.

No, we did not have a coffee. We were overheated and in desperate need of a cool drink. Water for me…like always….; bo-ring!

Hipster cafes

In my next post I will show you a couple of hipster cafes we went to. A totally different experience, but very nice as well.

Do you drink coffee? What’s your favourite kind? And whats your favourite cafe or coffee place?