"Cicada Coffee Bar," which came into being on a corner of Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2020, is a talk of U.S. food media. It's a shop run by chef Vinh Le, from Bac Ninh province in northern Vietnam, and MIT-graduate partner Duong Huynh. The café the architecture-background pair ”designed as a whole space” is run in a double-cropping style, a coffee stand by day changing into a restaurant by night.
The choice to remove Wi-Fi
There's no free Wi-Fi inside Cicada. Using a laptop isn't recommended either. It's a quite unusual decision in American café culture.
In an interview with Saigoneer, Vinh says, "Food and drink are the best means of introducing culture. They enter the stomach directly and reach the soul." The intent of wanting people to focus on the food and conversation before them, not on a screen, took the form of removing Wi-Fi.
Over 250 reviews have gathered on Yelp, maintaining a high rating even as of May 2026.
Signature menu
It's characterized by a menu composition whose face changes by day and night.
| Menu | Characteristics | Serving time |
|---|---|---|
| Saigon Latte | The signature coffee Vinh calls "his very heart" | Day |
| Sea Salt Shaker | Iced coffee with Maine sea salt and condensed milk | Day |
| Honey Mousse Espresso | The Hanoi specialty egg coffee arranged with local honey | Day |
| Cured-salmon banh mi | With avocado pate and house-made pickled green papaya | Day and night |
| Pho noodle salad | Hand-cut thick noodles + grilled eggplant or tofu or cured salmon | Night |
| Bun mang vit | Duck and bamboo-shoot soup noodles. A traditional northern Vietnamese dish | Night |
The noodles are finished by hand-cutting fresh noodles sourced daily from a nearby Chinese grocery. The pickles and pesto (cashew-nut and herb base) are all house-made too.
A James Beard Award semifinalist
In 2023, Vinh Le was selected as a semifinalist for the Emerging Chef Award of the "James Beard Foundation," the top authority in U.S. food. Vinh shows resistance to Vietnamese cuisine being called ”fusion”.
"Since I'm making it in America, it won't taste exactly the same as in Vietnam. The environment is different, so food naturally adapts too." The word ”adaptation” rather than fusion succinctly expresses his culinary philosophy.
Local and industry reaction
- Boston Globe: ran a feature saying "it's a restaurant and a café, and also a community"
- GBH (public broadcasting): introduced Vinh's life story and culinary philosophy in a 30-minute documentary
- Yelp users: multiple voices have been posted saying "thanks to no Wi-Fi, I naturally started talking with the person at the next seat"
What it means for travelers
For Japanese travelers visiting Boston and Cambridge, Cicada is a shop that functions as an "entry point to Vietnamese coffee." With one Saigon Latte, you can experience the condensed-milk-based Vietnamese coffee culture.
It works as both ”prep” before a Vietnam trip and ”review” after. For anyone interested in the café culture of Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, this one shop in Cambridge is worth adding to your visit list.
Ripple effects on the dining industry
In the U.S., independent openings by Asian chefs are on an increasing trend. Cicada's success is a case showing that an era where Vietnamese cuisine is valued even in the context of high-end dining has arrived.
The policy of removing Wi-Fi isn't a mere gimmick either. For café owners troubled by the problem of remote workers occupying seats for long hours, it's become one example of an answer.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Shop name | Cicada Coffee Bar |
| Address | 106 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 |
| Hours | Tue–Fri 8:00-15:00 / 17:00-23:00, Sat–Sun 9:00-15:00 / 17:00-23:00 (closed Monday) |
| WiFi | None (intentionally removed) |
| Awards | James Beard Emerging Chef Award semifinalist (2023) |
| Official site | cicada-coffee-bar.square.site |
Summary
Cicada Coffee Bar, where an architect couple handles everything consistently from space design to cuisine, shows a new way of conveying Vietnamese coffee culture. Removing Wi-Fi is the result of choosing ”connection”, and that drew the attention of national media. If you have a chance to visit Cambridge, be sure to try a Saigon Latte.
Complete guide to Ho Chi Minh City's "Cafe Apartment"as well.The Vietnamese heritage café featuredelves further into the local café culture.Marou's bonbon chocolateand other Vietnam-originated food brands are also worth watching.
