Viet Nam’s Historical Restaurants — The Flavors of Ho Chi Minh City’s Time-Honored Eateries

Time-honored restaurants that bring joy to travelers through dishes handed down across generations are like a city’s living history. They are proof of lives built up as people and cultures meet, exchange, and change. Here are the long-established restaurants and signature dishes of Viet Nam that deserve a place in every true gourmand’s notebook.

Words Pitch by Pitch
Illustration Kim Eunbin
In collaboration with *ASEAN-Korea Centre
* The ASEAN-Korea Centre is an international organization that promotes cooperation in the economic, social, and cultural fields between the government of the Republic of Korea and the governments of the ten ASEAN member states. It was established on March 13, 2009, to expand exchange and cooperation between Korea and the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

A Master of Southern-Style Bánh Xèo: Bánh Xèo 46A

Bánh Xèo 46A began as a small street stall in 1945 and is now a family-run institution in its fourth generation. Its signature dish is the crispy Southern Vietnamese-style bánh xèo (a savory crepe), and the restaurant is considered a must-visit stop for travelers to Ho Chi Minh City.
At first glance it looks like any ordinary local eatery in the city, but the best seats at Bánh Xèo 46A are the outdoor tables rather than those inside, because you can watch through the open kitchen as the cooks fry bánh xèo without pause. Southern-style bánh xèo is a thin, golden-yellow crepe made from rice-flour batter, generously filled with shrimp, pork, mung beans, and bean sprouts, then folded into a half-moon. The American-born chef and author Anthony Bourdain visited in person and praised its flavor, and in 2023 the restaurant was named a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Viet Nam, a testament to its reputation.
The bánh xèo here is still cooked the traditional way, on an iron pan set over a charcoal stove, which lends it a subtle smokiness. Wrap a piece of the crispy crepe in fresh greens such as lettuce or mustard leaves and eat it in a single bite, and the nutty flavor and crunchy texture are superb. Dip it in sweet-and-sour nước mắm sauce (fish sauce) and the flavor deepens even further. Beyond its signature bánh xèo, the menu offers some 50 Southern Vietnamese dishes, including boiled chicken salad, grilled pork skewers, and grilled seafood.

Established: 1945

Address: 46A Đinh Công Tráng, Phường Tân Định, Quận

Home-Style Chicken with 70 Years of Tradition: Tiệm Cơm Thố Chuyên Ký

Tiệm Cơm Thố Chuyên Ký, set inside a traditional market in Ho Chi Minh City, is a Chinese home-style restaurant that has carried on its family’s cooking for more than 70 years. The current owner is the third generation, and she still minds the shop herself, personally recommending dishes to each customer with warm, familiar service. Though it occupies a humble corner of a market, it has been named a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Viet Nam.
The unassuming, rather worn-looking restaurant seats around 50 people. Step inside and your eye is caught by old Chinese-style wooden tables, display cabinets, and black-and-white photographs. The props and interior, heavy with age, stir a nostalgia as if you had walked into a Vietnamese restaurant from several decades ago.
The signature dishes at Tiệm Cơm Thố Chuyên Ký are clay-pot rice and chicken. The black silkie chicken soup, served since the day the restaurant opened, is simmered for hours in an earthenware pot with ginseng and other medicinal herbs; it is clean and mild, with no gamey smell and a subtle herbal aroma. The Cantonese-style clay-pot rice is topped generously with steamed chicken, beef, and pork sausage seasoned with a special sauce over rice cooked in the pot. Other chicken dishes found only here, such as chicken steamed with mustard leaves and chicken soup with seaweed, are also special.

Established: 1948

Address: 65-67 Tôn Thất Đạm, Bến Nghé, Quận 1

Half a Century of Noodle Mastery: Phở Hòa Pasteur

Phở Hòa is the most famous phở (Vietnamese rice noodle soup) restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City. Located on Pasteur Street and therefore also known as Phở Hòa Pasteur, it is a long-standing institution that no travel guidebook leaves out. The restaurant takes its name from Grandfather Hòa, who sold phở from a cart on this street some 60 years ago. He would push an old handcart for miles to sell his noodles, and thanks to their flavor and care, customers always lined up. His noodle secrets were passed on to the parents of the current owner, and in honor of that bond the shop was named ‘Phở Hòa.’
Unlike other long-established restaurants, Phở Hòa has renovated its interior into a clean, modern space. Its signature dish is Southern-style phở bò (beef noodle soup), renowned for its rich yet clean-tasting broth. The stock, simmered from brisket bones and meat, is mild with a deep sweetness. The assortment of fresh herbs and bean sprouts, lime, chili, and chili and hoisin sauces served alongside are indispensable to Southern-style phở, to be added as you please.
There are more than ten kinds of noodles at Phở Hòa alone. You can combine thinly sliced beef (tái), brisket (chín), shank (nạm), tendon (gân), and fatty brisket (gầu), or order just broth and noodles without meat. The most popular is the phở thập cẩm (special combination phở), which piles nearly every topping into one generous bowl, with a large portion and superb flavor. After your meal, don’t forget the house-made coconut jelly dessert set out beside the cash register.

Established: 1968

Address: 260C Pasteur, Phường 8, Quận 3