{"id":3218,"date":"2026-06-20T22:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/?post_type=news&p=3218"},"modified":"2026-06-20T22:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T13:51:00","slug":"son-home-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/son-home-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"SON, a wood-fired \u201chome cooking\u201d restaurant in Saigon, opens with a 100-dish table"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Ho Chi Minh City, a dining powerhouse, a new restaurant that deliberately recreates the \"family dinner table\" has been born. Run by the dining group Ampersand, SON – B\u1ebfp Nh\u00e0 \u0110\u00e3i Kh\u00e1ch (Son, the kitchen of a house that entertains guests)<\/strong> opened in June 2026 in the central Ben Thanh area of the city. With a wood-fire kitchen placed on the floor, it serves over 100 Vietnamese home dishes using house-made pickles, vinegar, and fermented sauces. You've eaten your fill of the pho and banh mi of the tourist areas, but still don't know \"Vietnam's everyday home cooking\" \u2014 this is a place suited to such Japanese travelers.<\/p>\n

Summary of the news behind this article<\/h2>\n

According to Vietnam's English-language paper VnExpress International, Ampersand has launched SON Home Kitchen as its seventh brand. The concept is \"a space like a personal home rather than a commercial store.\" A wood-fire stove is placed beside the seats, and while showing off old-fashioned cooking methods, it recreates the culture of the family dinner table and gathering around large communal plates. The dishes number over 100, and are explained as being built on naturally fermented pickles, house-made vinegar and herb oils, and handmade fish sauce and shrimp paste (mam tom type). Signature items include charcoal-grilled free-range chicken, dried duck slowly cooked over a wood fire, snakehead-fish milt braised in a clay pot, and large shrimp in coconut milk.<\/p>\n

Operated by Ampersand, which has seven brands<\/h2>\n

Ampersand is a company running multiple dining and lifestyle formats in Vietnam, with existing brands including the caf\u00e9 The Running Bean, the vegetarian format Be An Vegetarian Bistro, Esta, Le Petit, the ice cream shop Snowee, and the franchise H\u00e4agen-Dazs. SON is its seventh. Rather than mass-producing a standardized chain, its policy is to nurture stores of different characters one at a time, and its aim shows in choosing the theme of home cooking \u2014 the \"most familiar and hardest to reproduce.\"<\/p>\n

Background: In Saigon, where dining out is everyday, \"home cooking\" quietly makes a comeback<\/h2>\n

Ho Chi Minh City is a city where street-stall and eatery culture is deeply rooted, and residents often eat out. As a reaction, demand has quietly grown to properly savor at a restaurant the plain dishes people used to eat at home. Local food guides and travel blogs also feature articles on shops serving family-run \"home flavors.\" SON layers onto this trend the experiential quality of a wood fire and the craftsmanship of fermented, house-made seasonings. For tourists, it means gaining access, through a restaurant as a gateway, to the \"everyday Vietnamese cuisine\" they previously couldn't encounter unless invited into a local home.<\/p>\n

SON at a glance (basic information)<\/h2>\n

Based on official information, here's a list of the location, opening hours, and booking methods worth noting before you visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Item<\/th>\nDetails<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Shop name<\/td>\nSON – B\u1ebfp Nh\u00e0 \u0110\u00e3i Kh\u00e1ch\uff08SON Home Kitchen\uff09<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Operator<\/td>\nAmpersand (the company's seventh brand)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Location<\/td>\n5-7-9 Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c, Ben Thanh area, Ho Chi Minh City (3rd and 4th floors)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hours<\/td>\n10:00\u301c22:30<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dish<\/td>\nOver 100 Vietnamese home dishes \/ wood-fire cooking and house-made fermented seasonings<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reservations<\/td>\nPhone 0977 900 237 \/ Facebook Messenger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Opened<\/td>\nJune 2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

*The address, opening hours, and contact are based on the operator's official page. The price range is not listed, as it could not be confirmed as published at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

Signature dishes and how to make use of the location<\/h2>\n

The signature dishes listed are charcoal-grilled free-range chicken, wood-fire dried duck, snakehead-fish milt braised in a clay pot, and large shrimp in coconut milk. With a setup for sharing among several people via clay pots and large plates, it suits visits with family or groups of friends. Since fermented pickles and house-made sauces shape the contour of the dishes, the direction differs from the flavors of tourist-oriented restaurants even for the same \"Vietnamese cuisine.\" The Ben Thanh location is within walking distance of Ben Thanh Market and the downtown hotels, making it easy to fit into a sightseeing route. As it's on the 3rd and 4th floors of the building, rather than dropping in like a street-level shop, it's surest to head there after checking the map and floor number.<\/p>\n

The take from locals and the industry<\/h2>\n

In the local dining scene, there's an industry view that shops flying the banner of \"home flavors (c\u01a1m nh\u00e0)\" have gained a certain following in recent years. SON's arrival can be positioned as a case that brought a highly experiential wood fire and crafted fermented seasonings into that context. In customer reviews, the quality and plating of the dishes and the attentive service explaining how they're made are favorably noted. Ampersand's policy of nurturing brands one at a time rather than expanding a chain can be read as an aim to make each format's character distinct.<\/p>\n

Recommended points for Japanese travelers<\/h2>\n

The value for Japanese travelers lies in being able to experience \"everyday Vietnamese cuisine\" \u2014 which you can't touch through the tourist-area standard menu \u2014 in a well-explained space. The elements of wood fire, clay pot, and fermentation overlap with an interest in \"cooking with fire and fermentation\" that also runs through Japanese food culture, making for a table with much to learn for food-loving travelers. Since it's set up for sharing among several people, it's easy to build in as a \"feast slot\" that devotes one meal fully, on family or group trips. Its central location, easy to drop into between sightseeing, is also an advantage. Booking is accepted by phone or Facebook Messenger, so contacting in advance is reassuring if your party is large or you want to secure a time.<\/p>\n

Implications for the food business: SON's three design choices<\/h2>\n

SON's approach reveals three design choices that carry over to planning in dining and food. First, turning cooking itself into an experience by placing a wood-fire stove beside the seats and showing the cooking. Second, keeping the format's contour by narrowing the theme to \"home cooking\" while broadening the count to over 100 dishes. Third, putting house-made pickles, vinegar, fish sauce, and shrimp paste \u2014 fermented seasonings \u2014 front and center, placing the axis of differentiation not on \"the rarity of ingredients\" but on \"how they're made.\" It's an idea that also runs through dried vegetables that concentrate umami by drying ingredients, and product designs that show the handiwork of a region \u2014 a hint that Japanese food development can pick up from an overseas new shop.<\/p>\n

Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n

Where is SON Home Kitchen?<\/h3>\n

It's at 5-7-9 Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c Street in the Ben Thanh area of Ho Chi Minh City, on the 3rd and 4th floors of the building. It's within walking distance of Ben Thanh Market and downtown, an easy location to drop into between sightseeing.<\/p>\n

Is a reservation needed?<\/h3>\n

You may be able to get in as a walk-in, but advance booking is reassuring when your party is large or you want to secure a time. It's accepted by phone (0977 900 237) or Facebook Messenger.<\/p>\n

What kind of dishes can you eat?<\/h3>\n

Over 100 dishes centered on Vietnamese home cooking, such as free-range chicken and dried duck finished over a wood fire, snakehead-fish milt braised in a clay pot, and large shrimp in coconut milk. It's characterized by using house-made fermented pickles and sauces, in a style of sharing from large plates.<\/p>\n

Summary: A step beyond tourist food<\/h2>\n

As the next move after eating your fill of pho and banh mi, SON offers the untrodden theme of \"Vietnamese home cooking.\" With the three-part appeal of a central location, over 100 dishes, and wood fire plus fermentation, it's easy to build into the \"feast slot\" of a group trip. If you visit, check the floor number of the address, and if your party is large, send a word ahead via Messenger. As a place to savor the method as a story, it's one to keep on your Saigon food-tour list.<\/p>\n