2,500 people gathered over two days that distilled Ho Chi Minh City's pizza culture
On April 18–19, 2026, the "Saigon Pizza Festival 2026" was held at The Global City SOHO area in District 2 (Thu Duc City) of Ho Chi Minh City. It was organized by "Saigon Outcast," a Ho Chi Minh City food-and-culture community. Over two days, more than 2,500 people attended, showcasing the diversity of Saigon's pizza scene all in one place — from wood-fired Neapolitan to Indian-style curry pizza to Bolognese-stuffed pizza pie.
The full picture of the festival — three pillars of pizza, craft beer, and gelato
The venue, The Global City SOHO, is an emerging commercial area in the Binh Trung district along Do Xuan Hop Street. About 30 food booths took part, broadly organized into three zones.
Pizza zone
From the authentic Neapolitan style with wood-fired ovens brought in, to New York slices, thick Sicilian, and creative offerings. Drawing particular attention were the "curry pizza" based on Indian-style curry sauce and the "pizza pie" packed with beef Bolognese. Fusion offerings incorporating Vietnamese ingredients also took part, and a line formed for the pizza with banh mi–style toppings.
Drink & dessert zone
The craft beer booths featured emerging breweries including C2, offering a wide range of styles such as IPA, weizen, and sour ale. The area named "Dessert Alley" had Italian sweets like modern artisan gelato, cannoli, and tiramisu.
Entertainment
A DJ lineup and live music curated by FTWR livened up the venue, and the "pizza toss challenge" of spinning and tossing pizza dough was also popular with families.
People’s Choice Awards — attendee voting via the Noshbox app
The festival's headline feature was the People’s Choice Awards. Attendees voted for their favorite pizza from the "Noshbox" food platform app, and the results were announced on the evening of the final day. Votes were tallied in real time, with the rankings displayed on the venue's screens. One attendee laughed, "It's fun being able to vote for the pizza I ate. I wanted to eat them all and ended up eating five."
Booths and ticket information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 18 (Sat)–19 (Sun), 2026 |
| Venue | The Global City SOHO, Đỗ Xuân Hợp Street, Binh Trung District, Thu Duc City |
| Organizer | Saigon Outcast |
| Attendance | Over 2,500 (two-day total) |
| Number of exhibitors | About 30 booths (pizza + drinks + dessert) |
| Pizza price range | 60,000–180,000 VND (about 360–1,080 yen) |
| Craft beer | 50,000–90,000 VND (about 300–540 yen) |
| Tickets | Sold online via Megatix + tickets available at the door |
Local reactions — voices from attendees and the food industry
A Ho Chi Minh City–based food blogger (woman in her 20s) said, "The level of the booths went up from last year. The Neapolitan-style ones in particular had booths where actual Italian pizzaioli were baking, and the margherita coming out of the 400°C wood-fired oven was moving."
An Italian chef exhibiting said, "Saigon's pizza market has grown rapidly in these three years. That creative pizzas using local ingredients — cilantro, lemongrass, fish sauce — are being accepted is proof of this city's flexibility toward food."
A Vietnamese man (in his 30s) who came with his family commented, "My kid was absorbed in the pizza toss, and I could relax with a craft beer. Food fests are mostly street-stall types, but one focused on pizza felt fresh."
Points for Japanese travelers to enjoy it
The festival has ended, but many of the pizza shops that took part have brick-and-mortar locations in Ho Chi Minh City. Here we lay out the points worth noting for your next visit.
- The Global City area: an emerging development district in District 2. Access is set to improve with the opening of Metro Line 1. For now, it's about 30 minutes from District 1 by Grab
- Saigon's pizza scene：Individually run standout shops are scattered around Ho Chi Minh City,where you can eat authentic Neapolitan for around 200,000 VND (about 1,200 yen) a pie
- Next edition: Saigon Outcast regularly holds food events. Follow the Instagram account @saigonoutcast so you don't miss announcements
The background to the expansion of Ho Chi Minh City's food festivals
The success of the pizza festival shows the maturity of the food-event market in Ho Chi Minh City.In Hanoi, a Korean Culture and Tourism Festival was held,and food × culture events are on the rise nationwide. As large-scale commercial development areas like The Global City begin to be used as event venues, "experiential food events" that set themselves apart from traditional street-food fests are taking hold.
Vietnam's overall dining industry is growing at 15–20% a year, driven by urban young people (Gen Z and millennials) with a high interest in international food culture. The number of pizza specialty shops has more than doubled in Ho Chi Minh City alone compared with 2023.
Venue access and nearby information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Address | Đỗ Xuân Hợp, Bình Trưng, Thủ Đức, TP.HCM |
| Time from District 1 | About 25–35 minutes by Grab |
| Nearest bus stop | Along Đỗ Xuân Hợp Street (route 65) |
| Parking | Free parking available within The Global City |
| Nearby facilities | SOHO commercial area, café street, park |
| Next event | To be announced on Saigon Outcast's official social media |
Summary — Saigon's pizza scene has reached the "worth traveling to eat" stage
The Saigon Pizza Festival 2026 proved that Ho Chi Minh City is no longer merely a "city of pho and banh mi." Neapolitan, New York, Sicilian, and creative offerings fusing Vietnamese ingredients — few cities even in Southeast Asia gather this much diversity from pizza alone. On your next visit to Ho Chi Minh City,café-hoppingaside, please add pizza-shop hopping to your list too. Download the Noshbox app and you can also check the list of participating shops and their reviews.
