In the modern Saigon, you can easily find skyscrapers with high-end restaurants and coffee shops. Want to back to the 60s and 70s in such city to find the peaceful atmosphere and the slow pace of life of Vietnam at that time? This list of antique coffee shops in Saigon below is definitely for you.
Ngot Café – Antique coffee shops in Saigon
- Address: 1-3 on 7th street, Ward 4, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City
- Opening hours: 9:00 – 23:00 daily
This coffee shop is the perfect place that captures the old lifestyle of Saigon. Located amid several alleys on Vinh Hoi street, so it may be difficult to find it if you come here for the first time. So, you’d better to take a Grab bike or a taxi to save time getting there. A yellow wall that resembles the famous “Coi Xay Gio” bakery shop in Dalat will welcome you when you arrived.
Ngot Café is in a residential area and the vehicle is quite crowded. So, if you want to take a panoramic photo of this coffee shop, you should be careful to avoid accidents.
When entering the café, you will immediately feel the atmosphere of nostalgia. At Ngot café, you can find inseparable and featured items of people born in 80s and 90s in Saigon. From curtains, pictures, the menu to glasses, all are arranged and decorated purposely to depict the lifestyle of old Saigon two decades ago.
Not only be the ideal place for check-in, the drinks at Ngot are also really worth a try. It serves drinks that are suitable to everyone’s taste along with some homemade jam and jelly.
Saigon Life Café
- Address: 1st floor, 19/6A Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 1
- Opening hours: 8:00 – 22:00 daily
Saigon Life is different from other coffee shops. Actually, it is not a shop, it is just a corridor of a building for rent. Wooden tables and chairs are arranged in pairs along two sides of the small corridor creating a simple but attractive place for chatting with friends in the weekends.
Upon entering Saigon Life, you will feel like being separated from bustling life in the heart of Saigon. The space is not too wide or big but it is quiet and pleasant. In addition, the menu of Saigon Life does not follow the trend. It offers guests simple but distinctive flavor of a glass of lemon ice tea for a hot summer day, a glass of warm milk for a cold night or a cup of typical black coffee of Saigon.
Saigon Life brings you back to the past by drawings on the yellow painted walls. Come here when you visit Saigon to find cute little things to love your life more.
Hoang Thi Café – Antique coffee shops in Saigon
- Address: 33/72 Nguyen Trung Truc, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
- Opening hours: 8:00 – 23:00 daily
Hoang Thi is one of the most famous antique cafés that you cannot ignore when coming Saigon. The common thing of Hoang Thi and Saigon Life is that even when it is called a shop but actually its atmosphere is not like at a shop. It brings you a feeling of visiting the cozy house of a newly married couple in Saigon in 80s.
With its distressed industrial-style walls, stylish lighting, and curious pieces, it’s easy to see that the café belongs to someone who has good grasp of the arts. Hoang Thi Café is not like one of those which are only pretty on SNS. It is even more charming and nice in real life.
A cup of dark roast drip coffee will satisfy your craving for a strong and exquisite brew for sure. Hoang Thi Special is also a must-try at this café. With the budget from 35,000 VND (~$1.5), you can totally enjoy the greatest coffee from the best antique café in the heart of Saigon.
