The Best Bars in Vietnam

Arriving at the Deck Saigon, a restaurant in District Two on the Saigon River, is often one of the highlights of an evening here—many customers come by boat directly from District One to dock right at the restaurant’s waterside steps. Drawing a mix of expats, locals, and tourists, this restaurant is partially set on a riverfront deck (hence the name); it’s been open since 2008. The menu is pan-Asian, while the breezy interiors include solid wooden chairs, creative lighting, and plenty of fresh flowers. Vietnamese ingredients are used in dishes like Phu Quoc prawn rolls and regional soft-shell-crab tempura—but foods sourced globally include French foie gras and New Zealand lamb.

In the burgeoning craft-beer scene in Ho Chi Minh City, Pasteur Street is undoubtedly the front-runner. Opened in 2015 by a pair of Americans—one involved in hospitality in Vietnam, another who worked at a brewery in Colorado—the outfit concocts classic craft brews with Vietnamese ingredients. The comfortable space, with a long wooden bar, warm lighting, and a deliberate absence of TV screens, fosters a congenial atmosphere, one focused on beer and conversation. While the menu includes bar bites like Nashville Hot Chicken, black-eyed-pea hummus, and fried pickles, the beers are what keep tipplers coming back, including those that utilize local ingredients like jasmine, pomelo, passion fruit, and cinnamon.

Vietnam is not the most obvious surfing destination in the world, but the swell near Danang is actually excellent -- especially during the monsoon season. The centre of the surf scene is Tam’s Pub in Danang, which is a good spot to rent a board and get advice on conditions and choice surf spots.

Owned and operated by journalist and raconteur Nguyen Qui Duc, this Hanoi institution is now in its fourth incarnation near the Opera House. Expect a bohemian crowd, an eclectic music policy and a great selection of wine. Among the other strings in Duc’s bow is a talent for furniture making and his bar is a showroom for some of his exquisite handmade items.

As informal as it gets, an evening at this street-corner bar in the Old Quarter of Hanoi is a rite of passage for any visitor to the Vietnamese capital. Every night, from sundown to the wee hours, the intersection of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen streets bursts to life as locals and tourists take up the sidewalk (and much of the road) to drink dirt-cheap Vietnamese draft beers and shoot the breeze. The beer is decent—and only about 20 cents for a tall glass—but it’s the people-watching (young Hanoi residents and baggy-panted travelers tightly crammed together atop plastic stools) that makes a trip here a memorable occasion.