When, on a Vietnam trip, you think “I've already had pho and fresh spring rolls—now for something different,” a single shop right in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 enters the running. Its name is CCCP (the Cyrillic abbreviation for the Soviet Union). Red-and-white checked curtains, the Russian folk doll Nevalyashka, floral wallpaper. In a space that feels like stepping into “grandma's house” from the old Soviet bloc, it's an Eastern European restaurant serving borscht and shashlik (skewers). Why Soviet food in Vietnam, and how should a Japanese traveler enjoy it? We dig in starting from a local-media feature.
What is CCCP, the “Soviet grandma's house”?
What the English-language outlet Saigoneer introduced is CCCP, a Soviet/Eastern European restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1. The co-owner who runs the shop, Nguyễn Duy Thành, has experience studying, working, and living in Russia, and his mother-in-law is the Ukrainian chef Svetlana Nguyen. The recipes were assembled by this mother-in-law, bringing the home cooking straight into the restaurant.
The interior intentionally stages “nostalgia.” A wooden dining set with picnic benches on casters, mismatched tablecloths, floral wallpaper. The selling point is a relaxed atmosphere, as if invited to a relative's house in the old Soviet bloc. This is a comfort with a lived-in feel—a little different from the tourist-polished “Instagrammable.”
Why is there a Soviet restaurant in Saigon?
It may seem surprising, but the ties between Vietnam and Russia (the former Soviet Union) run deep, and there's ample ground for food to cross borders. From the 1950s on, the Soviet Union continued educational support for Vietnam, and a cumulative total said to exceed 50,000 Vietnamese studied in the USSR and Russia. In the 1980s, there was a period when some 200,000 workers went to factories across the Soviet Union. The presence of Vietnamese who spent their youth in Russia, and of people from the former Soviet bloc married to Vietnamese, is an extension of this history.
The CCCP brand itself didn't originate in Ho Chi Minh City. It began with a shop the Ukrainian chef Svetlana opened in Hanoi in 2005, later expanding to Ho Chi Minh City. A family with long ties to Russia recreated the flavors and spaces of their own memories in a southern city—that's how this shop came to be. For travelers, it can be called a place to taste the “many layers of Vietnam,” one step off the standard guidebook track.
Menu and budget guide (with an exchange-rate premise)
The signature dishes are, after all, meat. Lamb and pork shashlik (skewers) are central, alongside Eastern European classics: rye bread topped with butter and salted pork fat (salo), a platter of salt-cured fish such as beet-cured salmon and smoked mackerel, kotleta (breaded fried pork), and borscht. For dessert there's medovik layered with honey, Napoleon (a millefeuille-style cake), and smetana (fermented cream). It's a lineup that lets you experience a full run of Russian and Ukrainian home cooking.
As a budget guide, Saigoneer's reporting puts it at roughly 300,000 VND per person. At 1 yen ≈ 170 VND, that's roughly a little under 2,000 yen per person (rates fluctuate, so check the rate at the time of your visit). Another local review notes that, setting aside the fish-roe, salt-fish/smoked-fish platters, and meat combos, many single dishes are in the 100,000–200,000 VND range, so the budget moves up or down depending on how you order. With a small group, the safe approach is to share a few dishes and see how it goes.
| Item | Guide |
|---|---|
| Average budget per person | About 300,000 VND (≈ a little under 2,000 yen / at 1 yen ≈ 170 VND) |
| Central price range for single items | Mostly in the 100,000–200,000 VND range (platters and combos run higher) |
| Payment | Various payment methods accepted |
| Delivery | No delivery apps. Orders accepted via Facebook Messenger and Zalo |
How locals and customers react
Pulling together local media and travelers' voices, the praise centers on three points. The first is “the immersive interior.” The more someone has visited the former Soviet bloc, the more they respond to the Nevalyashka dolls and checked curtains and speak of nostalgia. The second is “completeness as home cooking.” Rather than the flashiness of a tourist restaurant, voices stand out praising the rustic quality backed by the mother-in-law's recipes. The third is “surprise that you can even eat this food in Saigon.” The unexpectedness of Russian and Ukrainian cuisine in Vietnam becomes a reason to visit.
These reactions show that the shop stands not on “novelty” alone—it also functions as a “place to come home to” for Vietnamese who spent time in Russia and for resident foreigners. Tourists and local regulars mixing in the same space is a scene unique to this kind of place.
What it suggests for Japanese travelers enjoying CCCP
In Japan, restaurants serving Russian and Ukrainian food are limited, and there aren't many chances to taste borscht and shashlik together. Being able to have that come true in the center of Ho Chi Minh City makes it worth working into an itinerary. The sweet spot is “when you've grown a little tired of Vietnamese food.” Used as a single meal on the middle day of a multi-night stay that completely changes the flavor system, satisfaction goes up.
As for ordering tips, start with shashlik as your axis, then cover “Eastern European appetizers” with rye bread + salo or a salt-fish platter. Add medovik or Napoleon to finish, and it becomes a course-like experience. Amid a Vietnam trip full of spicy and sour dishes, the mellowness of fermented cream and honey-based desserts also resets the palate. As for food crossing borders, Ho Chi Minh City is dotted with examples of un-Vietnamese foreign flavors taking root, likethe Tibetan momo dumpling shop in Thao Dien,and touring these “unexpected dishes” is one of the joys of travel.
The new dining scene in Vietnam born from food crossing borders
A shop like CCCP symbolizes the way Vietnam's dining industry is broadening into “Vietnamese food + home cooking from around the world.” As a tourism powerhouse it embraces food cultures from many countries, while there's also active movement of Vietnamese reimporting flavors they acquired abroad. For example, likethe attempt by a Việt Kiều couple who moved to Greece to ferment and sell nuoc mam (fish sauce),examples of taking Vietnamese flavors out into the world and examples of bringing the world's flavors into Vietnam are now advancing at the same time.
For travelers, this layering becomes the reason “you never get tired of the same city no matter how many times you go.” Beyond signature dishes like pho and banh mi, unexpected options—Russian/Ukrainian, Tibetan, Mediterranean—are coming together in the center. On your next Ho Chi Minh City trip, choosing shops with a balance of classics + surprise makes for a satisfying culinary journey.
Practical information and access
- Name: CCCP (Soviet/Eastern European cuisine)
- Address: 48A Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Dinh / Da Kao area, central District 1)
- Hours: Saigoneer's reporting lists 10:30–21:30. Listings differ by outlet, so it's safest to check the latest hours on the Facebook page before visiting.
- Reservations and inquiries: handled via Facebook Messenger and Zalo. No delivery apps.
- Access: located in central District 1, easy to reach on foot or by taxi (Grab) from the War Remnants Museum and Independence Palace area. An easy place to drop into between sightseeing.
Together with this, for building a route from central Ho Chi Minh City,ao dai event informationand similar seasonal happenings are worth checking, making it easier to design a day combining food and a city walk.
Summary: add the “Soviet grandma's house” to your next Saigon trip
CCCP is a shop where the deep ties between Vietnam and Russia/Ukraine come together at a single table. The home cooking recreated by an owner with the mother-in-law's recipes and a life lived in Russia is perfect for travelers seeking an experience off the standard guidebook track. On your next Ho Chi Minh City trip: (1) work it in as a single meal that changes the flavor system on the middle day of a multi-night stay, (2) experience a full run with shashlik + Eastern European appetizers + honey-based dessert, and (3) check the hours on Facebook before visiting—nail these three points and it becomes a slightly brag-worthy meal: “stepping into a Soviet grandma's house right in the heart of Saigon.”
