Ho Chi Minh City stays up later than anywhere else in Vietnam, and its nightlife divides into several quite separate worlds. Knowing which one you want helps you avoid an evening in the wrong district.
Bui Vien and the backpacker streets
A pedestrianised street in District 1 lined with bars, hostels and street kitchens, loud, lit in neon, and the single most concentrated nightlife in the city. Music competes from both sides of the street, plastic stools spill onto the road, and it runs late.
It is young, it is noisy and it is not subtle. People either enjoy it enormously or leave after twenty minutes, and both reactions are reasonable. Keep your phone and bag secure; crowded nightlife streets are where the city's petty crime concentrates.
Bia hoi and sidewalk beer
The cheapest and most characteristic drinking in Vietnam happens on plastic stools on the pavement. Bia hoi — fresh, light draught beer brewed daily — is a northern institution more than a southern one, but sidewalk beer culture is everywhere in Ho Chi Minh City.
Look for the streets where people are sitting out with Saigon or 333 and a plate of something fried. It costs very little, it starts early in the evening, and it generally finishes earlier than the bars.
The craft beer scene
Ho Chi Minh City has a well-established craft brewing scene, concentrated in a cluster of taprooms in District 1 and spreading into the surrounding districts. The beers are made in Vietnam, often with local ingredients — passion fruit, lemongrass, coffee, pepper.
It is a different evening entirely from Bui Vien: seated, conversational, more expensive than sidewalk beer and considerably cheaper than the rooftops. A taproom crawl through District 1 is one of the better nights out in the city.
Rooftops
The city has built upwards and the hotels and towers have put bars on top of it. Rooftop bars range from the very formal in the landmark towers to relaxed terraces on smaller buildings, and the view is what you are paying for.
Dress codes apply at the higher-end ones, and the prices are international rather than Vietnamese. Go for a drink at sunset rather than an evening; the view is the product and it does not improve after dark.
The apartment block bars
An old apartment building on Nguyen Hue has been converted floor by floor into small cafes, bars and shops, reached by a narrow staircase and a creaking lift. It is a genuine oddity and worth an hour. Similar conversions exist elsewhere in the centre.
Eating late
The city eats at every hour, and the late-night food is part of the night out rather than something preceding it. Com tam stalls, banh mi carts, oc restaurants selling snails and shellfish by the plate, and the hotpot places that fill up after ten all run well past midnight.
Oc in particular is worth seeking out: a street of small restaurants with tanks out front, where you order by the plate and the beer keeps coming. It is loud, cheap, and more characteristic of a Saigon night than any bar.
Live music and clubs
Live music runs from jazz clubs with a long history in the centre to rock bars and acoustic sets in the craft beer taprooms. The clubs cluster in District 1 and run very late at weekends.
The city also has a strong cafe-into-the-evening culture, which is worth knowing if you are not drinking — a lot of social life here happens over iced coffee at eleven at night.
Where the districts sit
District 1 holds most of it: Bui Vien, the rooftops, the taprooms and the clubs are within a short Grab ride of each other. Thao Dien, in District 2 across the river, is the expatriate neighbourhood and has a quieter, more residential bar scene. District 3 and Phu Nhuan have local bars and cafes with fewer visitors.
What it costs
The range between the ends of this is very wide. Sidewalk beer and street food is the cheapest evening in the city by a long way; a taproom night costs substantially more; a rooftop is priced like a bar in any major city. That gap is the single biggest decision you make about the evening, and it is worth checking current prices rather than assuming.
Getting home
Grab runs all night and is the sensible way back. Agree nothing with an unmetered taxi at three in the morning. Book through the app and check the fare and any extra charges it shows before you confirm.
Picking your evening
Sunset on a rooftop, dinner somewhere, and a taproom afterwards is the version that shows you the most of the city in one night. Bui Vien is better as a short visit than a destination unless that is specifically what you came for. And an evening on plastic stools with cheap beer and grilled food is the one most people remember, which is also the cheapest.
FAQ
What is Bui Vien street like?
A pedestrianised street in District 1 lined with bars, hostels and street kitchens, loud, lit in neon, and the single most concentrated nightlife in the city. Music competes from both sides of the street, plastic stools spill onto the road, and it runs late.
Does Ho Chi Minh City have a craft beer scene?
Ho Chi Minh City has a well-established craft brewing scene, concentrated in a cluster of taprooms in District 1 and spreading into the surrounding districts. The beers are made in Vietnam, often with local ingredients — passion fruit, lemongrass, coffee, pepper.
What are the rooftop bars like in Ho Chi Minh City?
The city has built upwards and the hotels and towers have put bars on top of it. Rooftop bars range from the very formal in the landmark towers to relaxed terraces on smaller buildings, and the view is what you are paying for.
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