Most notable vegetarian restaurants in Saigon for a plant-based traveler
If you seek not only quality food but also a pleasant space to rest your body and mind, this article will fulfill your experiences.
Coming to Ho Chi Minh City, you will set your feet on the land that offers the best dining spaces for plant-based people. There are hundreds of vegetarian eateries and restaurants across the city.
Hum Vegetarian
My first impression of Hum (in all locations) is the tranquil space closely connected to nature, especially the lotus flowers. 'Hum' originates from the Sanskrit mantra Om Mani Padme Hum—the Jewel in the Lotus. So the word 'hum' could be understood as 'lotus,' which is also a symbolic Buddhist and Vietnamese national flower.
The restaurants offer a peaceful state of mind from the delicate, nurturing food and the nature-human connection. Hum creates the atmosphere for customers to have the chance to be in the present moment with their beloved ones, with emotional sensations, and be aware of the nature of the food they eat.
You can expect a Southeast Asian-inspired plant-based menu, in which Vietnam cuisine's spirit is central. The harmony of the dishes comes from the thoughtful combinations of fresh local ingredients, the just-right spices for the words, the balance of tastes, and the aesthetic decoration. Hum guarantees the freshness and originality of vegetables and ingredients, non-MSG, and stays true to our eco-friendly and health-centered principles.
Besides food, special clear drinks here are the perfect accompaniment for the meal. They are mostly detox drinks from mineral water, fresh herbs, and seasonal flowers and fruits.
📍Locations and Opening hours:
- Café & Restaurant: 32 Vo Van Tan Street, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 2, HCMC
- Lounge & Restaurant: 2 Thi Sach Street, Ben Nghe Ward, D.1, HCMC
- Garden & Restaurant: 32, D10 St., Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City, HCMC
- Opening hours: 10 AM - 10 PM
Prem Bistro & Cafe
Introducing themself as the home for avid travelers, and they seriously meant it! Prem is notable and distinctive, from its colorful bohemian interior design to its unique dishes in a vast menu. The menu in Prem is various and specially selected words from across the globe.
If you want universal Western cuisine, Prem offers you various selections of soups (such as pumpkin and vegetable soup), salads, bean-based burgers, pizzas, appetizers (such as garlic and pesto bread), and side dishes (such as baked sweet potato).
Exotic food from all over the world, including:
Indian plates like Dal soup (Indian lentil soup), Paneer tikka (chunks of paneer marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor), samosa (fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions, and peas), Chana masala (chickpea in spicy onion tomato gravy);
Medditean cuisines such as legume-based- soups and salads;
Middle east dishes include vegan falafel, hummus dishes, banana Kofta, and even African ones such as shakshouka (eggs poached in tomato sauce).
More popular choices are Thai food with many types of curries, pad Thai, and Mexican ones, such as enchiladas, quesadillas, and tacos.
Prem dedicates a vast wall to showing memories of customers and tourists coming and visiting the restaurant. The space is cozy and casual but peaceful with the warm paint color and family-like atmosphere. They offer three different dining areas: an outdoor terrace with garden seats, an open-air space with high tables and chairs without air conditioners, and floor-seating sofas and cushions with air conditioners.
📍Locations and Opening hours:
- 204 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
- 9 AM - 10 PM
Chay Garden Vegetarian
Chay garden is in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, a convenient place to escape the bustling city life. It's a spacious restaurant with a vast garden and an in-house dining space. Stepping inside Chay garden, the city life will leave behind the door; you will slowly steep into a relaxing mode in the gently quiet park (customers keep their volume loud enough within the table, so the place is busy but relatively quiet), good table service, and delicious food.
'The beauty of each ingredient will shine within the harmony of the whole; each component is interdependent with others yet helps complete the whole dining experience. Dedicating to making dishes that well-preserved the nutritional content of each element and its authentic flavors doesn’t mean Chay Garden compromises on the tastes. They deliver a diverse, flavorful collection of courses focusing on Vietnamese and Asian cuisine.
The should-try plate is 'baby morning glory with seaweed and white sesame.' This dish is one of the creative plates featuring the rustic and local common ingredient, morning glory, the familiar ingredient of many Vietnamese generations. The simplicity of morning glory is kept intact and transformed creatively into a delicate and much more nutritious version. Chay Garden uses the baby morning glory instead of the grown ones and mixes them with the creamy sesame sauce for the perfect tropical refreshing salad.
You should also try their Vietnamese dessert menu, in which the 'glass jelly sweet soup and 'water chestnut & lotus seeds sweet soup' are the featured ones.
📍Locations and Opening hours:
- 52 Võ Văn Tần, Phường 6, Quận 3, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam
- 10 AM - 10 PM
Here & Now Vegetarian
Two locations of Here & Now offer two dining styles; one in Binh Thanh District is spacious and formal, and another in Phu Nhuan District is cozy and casual. However, in both places, the natural-connecting element is centric in the design of their dining space. The open kitchen space in Phu Nhuan District will bring you the feeling of a local, cozy small late-dining place in Japan, which you see in the Midnight Diner series on Netflix.
The must-try Vietnamese dishes in Here & Now are Mushroom Spring Rolls and Steamed Vegetable Brown Rice. This dish contains five main ingredients, which include nutritious organic brown rice (they use the red variant of brown rice, which is rich in antioxidant content and fiber and packed with B1 and B6), simple local vegetables such as carrot, broccoli, green beans, and the critical ingredient, lotus seed. The use of five ingredients within the dish is based on the Oriental study of energy in food. Five ingredients represent five elements: fire, water, wood, earth, and metal.
Simplicity and rustic are the keywords in describing the cuisine style here. The menu offers selected authentic Vietnamese and some Asian dishes (Japanese and Thailand). The spirit of each word is kept intact to its origin and is prepared as simply as possible. The menu is large enough to satisfy your food preference but small enough to keep you from being overwhelmed by options.
Another noticeable dish is plant-based Ramen. Once started, you cannot resist the natural sweetness of the soup, which is full of flavors, creamy, hearty, and not as heavy as the meat-based version. If you don't want eggs, kindly tell the chef when ordering this dish.
📍Locations and Opening hours:
- Here & Now vegetarian restaurant & coffee:74/1 Phạm Viết Chánh Street, Ward 19, Binh Thanh District, HCMC | 7 AM - 9:30 PM
- Here & Now vegetarian open kitchen & chill: 220/12 Nguyễn Trọng Tuyển Street, Ward 1 8, Phu Nhuan District, HCMC | 9 AM - 9:30 PM
Zeroism Cafe
Zeroism is an ideal cafe and light dining place featuring Western and Vietnamese cuisine, especially its vegan cafe and vegan pastry menu. Coming here, you can expect a restaurant suitable for working and relaxing purposes, knowing that the customers around will keep the space quiet.
The name shows its core value, striving to make zero impact on the surrounding community and the environment. They deliver 100% vegan products, from food to bakery and beverages using selected fresh local ingredients.
As a cafe, they offer a wide selection of healthy drinks, including slow-pressed juices, smoothies, kombucha, fruit teas, coffee, and vegan-milk-based beverages. The various bakery menu offers signature vegan sweets to handcrafted wholegrain sourdoughs such as baguettes, burger buns, bagels, and sandwiches. Many brunch dishes, including poke bowls, burgers, and main dishes such as spaghetti, rotini, and salads, are also on their menu.
Selections of Sourdough Vietnamese Banh Mi are interesting fusion dishes to try in Zerosim, as they use sourdough instead of the traditional Vietnamese baguette while keeping the authentic Vietnamese fillings.
📍Location and Opening hours:
- 50 Nguyễn Cừ Street, Thao Dien Ward, District 2, HCMC
- 9 AM 7:30 PM
Each place listed above will bring you a distinctive dining experience, but they are indeed among the best plant-based places in Ho Chi Minh City. Enjoy your healthy meal!