The Sushi Bar is one of the most popular restaurants I’ve seen in my life. I went on a Tuesday night and had to wait a bit for a table despite having made reservation. This popularity unfortunately only comes as a result of very affordable prices and very good service, as the food is just okay.

You know a Japanese restaurant is affordable when the menu is quoted in Vietnam dong. You’ll also know that the food isn’t excellent when the edamame is bad. We tried a wide range of sushi and sashimi and they were very mediocre. Most of the sushi was falling off, which suggests that they don’t know how to roll it or there were so many customers they were making it in a hurry. Either way, it’s not how I like my Japanese food made. The sashimi was fresh enough that I didn’t have food poisoning but didn’t taste great. They were also very stingy on the wasabi – you get what you pay for I guess.

There’s nothing majorly wrong with The Sushi Bar but it’s not amazing either. It’s a good spot for affordable sushi and sashimi. The waitresses do an admirable job considering how many customers they have to serve. All in all, a decent restaurant.

Tandoor was the first Indian restaurant I went to in Saigon because of its name and location. I’ve been here a few times now and I must say that consistency is a big issue. The first time I went I had an excellent meal, but that could be because I was hungry and hadn’t had Indian food for a while. The service was a bit slow but I didn’t really care because I was really enjoying the food.

However, I went the other day and the food was seriously lacklustre. It was like Indian food cooked by Polish chefs! There was no hint of spiciness or tastiness in it. The mutton was tough and tasteless and the fish smelled atrocious. I seriously have never had such bad Indian food in Vietnam before. And that is difficult to believe because I’ve had a good meal at Tandoor before. The service was polite, but much too slow. I also did not see the Indian manager – does that mean that when he’s not there his staff is goofing off?

Another bad thing is the price of beer here is almost double that of most other Indian restaurants in town. Why would you ever do that? I’m not at the Sheraton goddamnit. Now I know why my Indian friends have told me to eat elsewhere.

I think that the competition for Indian food in Saigon is so high that you can’t afford to have such inconsistencies. Obviously Tandoor is very nice looking and has a great location so they’re always gonna draw lots of tourists. But for a discerning customer like myself, I must say there’s no reason for me to be eating here anymore – the other options in town are much better, more authentic, and cheaper.

I usually go to Tandoor and Mumtaz but one day I asked an Indian friend and he recommended Ganesh. He told me that Ganesh is where the Indian folks eat and it seemed to be very true. When I went there most of the clients were Indians, and it seemed like Tandoor attracts more of an international crowd.

I’m a big fan of Indian food so I choose my Indian restaurants very carefully. The food at Ganesh is awesome – it’s certainly among the top 5 Indian restaurants in Vietnam. One thing that surprised me though was the fact that it’s about the same price as Tandoor or Khazaana, even though many magazines have claimed that it’s less expensive. I guess that means when I’m in the mood for a nice ambience then I’m gonna have to choose Tandoor over Ganesh because the food is good at both places.

Most tourists going to Saigon won’t know about Ganesh but I feel like people who live in Saigon know about it. It’s certainly worth a try…

I love Hanayuki in Hanoi so naturally I have to give it a try in Saigon as well. I must say that the food here is considerably better than in Hanoi.

We tried all the usual suspects such as sashimi, a large sushi platter, and some handrolls. The cold sake comes in a nice bottle with a big hole in it so that it would chill faster. We were the only non-Japanese in the restaurant, which was a very good sign. Service was good but it seemed like the waitresses didn’t really enjoy their job. Maybe it was just an off day. The price is quite high but you do get what you pay for. I definitely recommend this place.

I recommend SHRIMPS with BACON and AUSSIE RIBS (Vietnamese one are not too good). There is possible to get also fairly nice sausages and mackerel fish!

Beer is always cold. Hoa Vien used to have fantastic sushi & sashimi sets - however they are gone!

Atmosphere is always noisy and crowdy! Good place to come with colleagues for good beer - evening!

That is a great place. Foods & Drinks served are fresh, tasty and reasonably priced. That is worth to step by - especially about nice designed old building in the center. I recommend that place

The Bich Duyen Hotel in the Pham Ngu Lao is simply excellent in all respects - mainly due to the attentive manager, Chanh. This small guesthouse is clean enough to eat off the floor (shoes must be left in the lobby). Nothing fancy here, but the service makes it very very special! Breakfast is included, clean, spacious rooms with or without windows, and no elevator. I would not think of staying any place else. I paid $25. in March, 2008. This guesthouse can be booked directly by email (bichduyenhotel@yahoo.com) or through several of the hostel websites.

They certainly do a damn fine steak here at wild horse, the mixed grill is also exceptional. with the entertainment and its location makes a great place for a feed with friends before heading out on the town for the night.

Great place for an afternoon beer, watching sport on their numerous tvs.
friendly bar staff...foods reasonable...like the burgers...

I like this place for lunch, the second floor is nice and open with pleanty of windows, nice and airy, the foods what you`d expect from the JASPAS franchise. Quality...

I gotta be honest i havent really been to sheridans alot at night times but nearly every trip i go to saigon i go to sheridans for their fantastic cooked breakfasts, the dublin fry up is the best breaky ive had in vietnam. yet to find an equal in hanoi.
the beers are ice cold, the bar staff are friendly, had a great Xmas lunch here last year with a big group of friends... really nice place...

I live in hanoi but come to Saigon fairly regularly, and always end up at underground at some stage. Love the food, the pizza`s are awesome. Always crowded at nights which is a good sign that its a quality establishment...i rate it hightly

The Mexican food looks like the real deal but a bit tasteless. Great smoothies with the option of whole or skim milk. Pleasant music at a decent volume level, but most was 1940's jazz...seemingly a little out of place in a Mexican Bar.

Staff were overall friendly but maybe a bit too attentive as my plate was taken away from me as soon as I took the last bite!

I think there is some Irish affiliation (maybe the owner?) since they boast a full Irish breakfast and have several items of paraphernalia from the land of Eire.

I recently stayed at this hotel for 3 nights and was very happy with the stay overall. Being opposite the Ben Thanh Market, the location was perfect for shopping, sight-seeing and general meandering. The rooms were spotless and had all the amenities that you would expect from a mid-range hotel.

The staff were knowledgeable and very helpful and the daily buffet breakfast, whilst small, provided a nice mix of Western and Asian food.

Travelling with a baby can be difficult, but the hotel staff were great, providing us with a cot on arrival and were happy to specially prepare food sourced from the buffet for our baby at no extra charge.

The only drawback is that the cheaper rooms are without windows. This does have the benefit of giving you a very quiet sleep, but can make the rooms feel a little claustrophobic. The fake lavender was also little cheesy but the general decor was nice and was true to the photos on their website.

I will definitely be staying at this hotel again on subsequent visits and booking it for family on their travels. It's not the cheapest place to stay in HCMC, but for a mid-range option it's a great choice.

Stay here recently, until I cut my stay at this hotel short by several days. Basically they will ask to keep your passport as do many hotels in this area, as they explained sometimes bad (foreigners here illegally) do not pay for their rooms and it is need for collateral. However I had a major problem when I needed to purchase a flight ticket back to Hanoi and I needed my passport to get the ticket. I returned to the hotel to get my passport and after explaining to the staff member that I just needed to use the passport to buy a ticket just 5 doors down from the hotel and I would return to them once finished. The guy behind the counter refused to give me my passport and said I must pay for the room first! I explained I wasn't checking out and I just needed to quickly go back to the office for them to complete the air ticket. Then the staff member flat out refused give me my passport and the argument started to get more heated. I explained to him, it is against the law for him to hold my passport even in Vietnam and why would I run off with everything still in my room, including a camera and laptop? I even called my embassy and put him on the phone with the consular he still refused even with them telling him they will file with the authorities in HCMC (I know nothing will happen, but it was worth a shot at this point)...so basically in the end I had to give my camera and $100 US to the guy to get my passport back to use for 10 minutes.

I really can't recommend any hotel that is going to keep your passport and refuse to give it back when its needed. After this episode, I easily found another hotel who would not keep the passport and checked in there.

Same deal as the one in Hanoi.

It is a good place to get a broad sampling of Vietnamese food, street or otherwise, at a decent price.

Quan An Ngon is a great place to go to, if you are dining with a big group with diverse tastes. However, the group size will pose a seating problem at peak hours. We went at 8pm and still had to wait for a seat.

Also, they sometimes run out of some dishes towards closing time. Hence, to avoid disappointment, go earlier.

The Reunification Palace is definitely worth a visit if you are in HCMC. It was the Presidential Palace before the north and south unified and Hanoi became the capital of all Vietnam. As it has not been lived in since the mid-1970s, the decor is completely retro, yet still spectacular. One of my favorite parts was going into the bunker in the basement and seeing all the equipment from during the war. I'd say it's worth waiting for a tour to start (they start almost continuously throughout the day) as the guide we had provided us with a lot more insight and information than we would have gotten if we just wandered around alone.

As I live in Hanoi and have been to the History Museum there, I found this one to be quite repetitive of that. However, if you have never been to a Vietnamese History Museum, it is definitely worth the visit.

It begins with the earliest hunter-gather people, with artifacts such as stone weapons and cooking utensils. One really cool thing that this museum has, that the one in Hanoi does not, is a mummy. The exhibits then continues to go through Vietnamese history, which I feel helps provide a lot of insight into the current Vietnamese culture.

I must say though, I had to take 2 stars off this museum because we found it very confusing to get around. We tried to follow the map, but kept getting lost and seeing the same thing over and over again. Arrows or a tour guide or something would have been helpful!

The War Remnants Museum is my favorite museum in Vietnam. The museum focuses on the American-Vietnam War, and is primarily made up of photographs, posters providing information about the war, and old leftover tanks and weapons. I find everything in the museum very emotional, and at time challenging to look at, but that is also what I value most about it. It puts a different perspective on the war than that propagated in most western countries. I've heard some tourists who are looking through the museum comment on how biased they find it, but I did not find it anymore so than 99% of the exhibits, books, and movies about the war coming from western countries. I thought the museum showed the horrors of the war not just on the Vietnamese, but also on those from around the world who were involved. A definite must-visit in my opinion!

While in Saigon I booked several trips through Sinh Cafe - Cu Chi and Cao Dai Temple, Da Lat, Nha Trang, and the Mekong Delta. Each of these trips exceeded expectations in terms of service, price, and experience. The tour guides spoke English very well and were very friendly and knowledgeable about the areas we were visiting. The prices were a little more than some other places, but well worth the quality. The hotels we stayed at in each of the cities were fantastic and generally included a breakfast buffet. The lunch stops were typical of those of a tour group, but better than some others I have had. I am so glad we found this company, and we plan on booking some other tours through them when we return to Hanoi later this month.