9 Best Restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The city's only Michelin-starred restaurant, Anan Saigon puts a whimsically modern twist on Vietnamese street food. Talented Vietnamese-American chef-owner Peter Cuong Franklin is credited for pioneering Vietnamese fusion cuisine, often elevating Vietnamese flavors with French cooking techniques. The main restaurant is on the ground floor but also explore the upper floors to Nhau Nhau for cocktails with an Old Saigon vibe, Pot Au Pho noodle bar serving innovative variations of Vietnam's de facto national dish, and the rooftop bar for views of the neighboring wet market backed by one of Saigon's tallest buildings.

A stylish lounge and restaurant on the banks of the slow-flowing Saigon River, The Deck is a place to spoil yourself with sublime seafood-focused pan-Asian cuisine, fine wines, and professional service. The beauty of the entry courtyard, with its tall trees, black marble pond, and potted lotus plants, is almost forgotten once you enter the restaurant, where the river views take center stage. The weekend Champagne brunches are sophisticated yet casual and the executive set lunches are perfectly suited to the business crowd.

Serving French fare with a Vietnamese touch, Fashionista Café is the place to see and be seen, enclosed in a lovely glass "winter garden" in the heart of the city. Owned by a fashion magnate, the space is intimate and stylish with a retail space (mainly women's fashion) upstairs. The set menus are especially good value considering the high quality and beautiful presentation of the food. Check the Facebook page for events, including acoustic nights, wine and dine, and Sunday picnic brunches. The afternoon tea is superbly priced and very popular with the Instagram crowd.

If you're craving quality sushi at reasonable prices, this family-owned eatery can't be beat. Grab a seat at the sushi bar on the ground floor and watch Vietnamese-American Chef Van at work or take one of the tables upstairs in a stylish space and order to your heart's content. The restaurant offers three tiers of omakase sushi buffet where diners have two hours to eat their fill of sushi, sashimi, salads, and hot dishes. Upgrade to the higher tiers for progressively premium ingredients including wagyu and otoro.

An experience rather than a meal, La Villa serves elegant but not pretentious fine French dining on a quiet street in District 2's Thao Dien area. Whether you sit in the garden by the pool, surrounded by fairy lights and greenery, or inside in the airy salon, the attentive service and the cuisine add to the memorable experience. For an extra-special meal try the Menu Villa Gourmet, and for something extra-extra special ask for Chef Thierry's wine pairings from the extensive wine list. Don't miss the homemade Camembert Calvados (apple brandy camembert) from the cheese cart.

The concept of dining in pitch blackness, served by vision-impaired waiters, has been a huge hit since Noir opened its doors in mid-2014. The theory is that because sight is our dominant sense, if you take it away other senses are heightened, resulting in a more intense experience of the food's aromas and taste. Diners divest themselves of light-emitting devices such as mobile phones and order three-course Eastern, Western, or vegetarian set menus in a well-lit entry area before entering the blacked-out dining room. Noir's founders and kitchen team have extensive fine dining experience, which is evident once the first morsel is navigated through the darkness to awaiting taste buds. Identifying ingredients in the dark is harder than you'd expect. After the meal, diners learn the specifics of the dishes they've enjoyed.

If Top Chef ever came to Vietnam, it would likely look like Nous. With just eight seats surrounding an open kitchen once per night, this modern minimalist space is all about elevating Vietnamese flavors to fine dining heights. Tasting menus change every few months, but diners can expect familiar flavors and often local ingredients transformed into adventurous modern cuisine incorporating foams, gels, smokes, and cures. One meal might include a deconstructed banh xeo eaten like a taco and a sweet treat of lotus ice cream and longan shaved ice inspired by a humble street food dessert.

Staffed by alumni of Jimmy Pham's KOTO (Know One, Teach One) not-for-profit social enterprise helping at-risk and disadvantaged Vietnamese youth, this collaboration with Sofitel Saigon Plaza offers exciting contemporary cuisine in a stylish setting. Expect innovative Vietnamese fusion fare that blends imported ingredients with local flavors and techniques. The menu revolves around elevated versions of Vietnamese favorites and includes smaller plates designed for sharing as well as hearty mains.

Located on the grounds of the JW Marriott Phu Quoc, Pink Pearl is one of the island's few true French fine dining establishments. Housed in a mansion where everything is in shades of pink, the setting is simply stunning with its high ceilings and eclectic yet tasteful decor. Diners can choose from set menus that feature premium ingredients artfully presented. Even the servers are dressed in pink flapper dresses with a feather or flower tucked in their hair to add to the refined ambiance.