“Drinking Vietnamese coffee” has long been an icon of any trip to Vietnam, but Ho Chi Minh City’s café scene in 2026 is even more diverse and refined. From the go-to spots buzzing on social media to hidden alley hideaways beloved by locals, the evolution never stops.
“The Cafe Apartment”—the miracle building that became one giant café
Located in central Ho Chi Minh City (District 1),“The Cafe Apartment”is a rare complex found nowhere else in the world: a nine-story building originally built as housing, now packed floor by floor with distinctive cafés and shops.
The atmosphere shifts with every floor you climb—industrial-style coffee shops, photogenic pastel-hued dessert cafés, spots with Saigon River views from the rooftop terrace. You could easily spend half a day just conquering every floor.
What Vietnamese visitors say:“I come every weekend. It’s the perfect place to bring friends,” “Each floor has a completely different vibe, so it never gets old.” It has a firm following among young locals, and the number of Instagram and TikTok posts keeps growing.
Vietnam’s evolving coffee culture—the latest on “Cong Caphe” and “The Coffee House”
Vietnam’s largest café chains, “The Coffee House” and “Cong Ca Phe,” continued expanding their footprint in 2026. Cong Ca Phe in particular is hugely popular with foreign travelers for its distinctive socialist-retro interiors and fruit teas like lychee and longan.
A new trend drawing attention isthe rise of “specialty coffee” shops.Cafés that roast Vietnamese beans in-house (Arabica from Da Lat or from the Central Highlands) and serve them in a third-wave style keep opening across Districts 2 and 3 in Ho Chi Minh City, becoming a talking point among Western and Japanese travelers alike.
What impresses Japanese travelers most
Here’s why Vietnam’s cafés resonate so strongly with Japanese travelers:
- Unbeatable value for money: A proper cup of coffee runs about 100–200 yen, in an environment set up for lingering and getting work done.
- Excellent Wi-Fi: Nearly every café offers free Wi-Fi, and the speed is reliable.
- A dedication to spatial design: Many cafés have photogenic interiors that look great on social media.
- Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng): Egg coffee, the creamy Hanoi original made with egg yolk, can now be experienced in the south as well.
A sample café-hopping route (one day in Ho Chi Minh City)
Here’s a sample route for enjoying Ho Chi Minh City’s cafés efficiently.
- Morning: Try Vietnamese iced coffee (Ca Phe Sua Da) at a local shop near Ben Thanh Market
- Late morning: Explore each floor of The Cafe Apartment (2–3 hours)
- Midday: Banh mi and fruit tea in a District 1 back alley
- Afternoon: Hand-brewed single-origin coffee at a specialty coffee shop
- Evening: A Bia Saigon on a rooftop terrace café while watching the sunset
For planning your trip to Vietnam, be sure to use vietnam-gift.com’scafé featureandTravel guideWhen you’re stuck ordering in Vietnamese,Word glossarycomes in handy.
