Popular Entertainment in Ho Chi Minh City

Acoustic Bar

6E1 Ngo Thoi Nhiem Street.

Phone 08 39302239

The leading live-music venue in town, Acoustic pays homage to Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and other rock ’n’ roll legends. Vietnam’s leading musicians flock here for cameo cover versions and, judging by the numbers that turn up nightly, the crowd just can’t get enough.

Bobby Brewers

45 Bui Vien Street

Phone: 08 3610 2220

This is a contemporary cafe set over three floors, and the range of coffees here is professional. There are also juices, sandwiches, pastas and salads, plus movies upstairs.

Carmen

8 Ly Tu Trong Street,  District 1

Phone: 08 829 7699

One of HCMC's rarer breeds, Carmen has a stone wall exterior and a cosy wine cellar-like interior (duck your head when you enter) with live music nightly (from 19:00-21:00) - often Flamenco, hence the name.

Eden

185/22  De Tham Street,

Phone: 08 3836 8154

A popular bar-restaurant with red lanterns over the bar (no, not those sort of red lights), the friendly staff are dressed in traditional ao dai. Late drinks, plus a huge food menu.

Maxim’s Dinner Theatre

15 Dong Khoi Street

Phone: 08 38296676

Something of a Saigon legend, located next to the Majestic Hotel, this supper club is better recommended for its music performances than for the food. The menu offers Vietnamese, Chinese and Western dishes, including the adventurous sea slug. The live music includes everything from Vietnamese folk music to slow smoochy tunes. Reservations are recommended.

Vasco’s Bar

74/7D Hai Ba Trung Venues

Phone: 08 3824 2888

Vasco's Bar shares a lovely villa with the exquisite French restaurant Camargue. The expat crowd converges here on weekend nights when there's live music; drinks don't come cheap but the in crowd don't care. There are several pool tables indoors and out, and inviting tables in the villa courtyard.

Q Bar

7 Son Lam Sq

Phone: 08 3823 3479

The mother of all trendy nightspots in Ho Chi Minh City, Q Bar seems to have been around almost as long as the Opera House. An enduring and endearing spot, it pulls the beautiful people thanks to hip music and sophisticated decor. It’s on the side of the Municipal Theatre, across from the Caravelle Hotel.

Bellevue Bar

1 Dong Khoi Street, Dong Khoi Area, top-floor Hotel Majestic

Among the best places in Saigon for a sundowner, the Majestic's top-floor Bellevue Bar has exquisite views of the river among old-world opulence. If the heights make you feel too woozy or blasé, head down to the ground-level Cyclo Bar, with ringside views of motorcycle mayhem.

Serenata

6D Ngo Thoi Thien Street, District 3

Phone: 08 3930 7436

This grand house is the perfect setting for a coffee. The garden is scattered with tables around a pond-filled courtyard, making it a romantic retreat. It also features occasional live music. It is down the same lively alley as the happening Acoustic Bar.