New restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City to check out this October

We might be in peak flooding season, and yet Saigon is on fire this month, quite literally.

Charcoal, binchotan, yakitori, and open-flame cooking make recurring appearances across this month’s new openings, from Japanese breakfast grilled over an irori-inspired hearth to Australian-style charcoal chicken, Caribbean jerk chicken, and some seriously sophisticated skewers.

Japanese influences continue to run strong, but this month’s culinary travels stretch much further, with Thai, Korean, French, Mediterranean, and Caribbean flavours all joining the fire & flood party. Whether you’re looking for a 15-course yakitori omakase, an indulgent steak dinner 50 floors above the city, or simply some damn good chicken, here are ten new Saigon openings to check out.

The Capital Grille

The Capital Grille is an award-winning American fine-dining concept known for dry-aged USDA Prime steaks, fresh seafood, and an extensive wine selection. Its first location in Asia has now opened in Saigon’s Bitexco Tower, perched on the 50th floor with panoramic city views to match the occasion.

The lunch menu is relatively lean, with options including filet mignon, USDA Prime Bone-In Dry-Aged New York Strip, lobster bisque, French onion soup, salads, and steak sandwiches. Dinner expands into a substantial selection of hand-carved steaks and chops, seafood, and shareable sides. Add a porcini rub or Gorgonzola crust to your steak, then bring lobster mac ’n’ cheese or glazed Brussels sprouts with bacon to the table. Desserts include brûlée-style cheesecake and warm apple crostata, while the team can recommend wine pairings throughout.

Steaks and chops: approximately 1.5M–4.1M VND

• Address: 45 Ngô Đức Kế Street, Sài Gòn Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (District 1)

• Opening hours: Mon–Sun: 11:30 AM–2:30 PM; 5:00 PM–9:30 PM

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/potaupho2.0

Aum

From the team behind Quince and Madam Kew comes Aum Saigon, bringing what it calls “French-influenced, unapologetically Thai” cooking to District 1 under Chef Julien Perraudin.

Expect plenty of spice alongside some creative combinations. Baby octopus arrives with squid ink caramel, crispy garlic, and coconut, while the Lamb Massaman “Pot Pie” puts a pastry-topped spin on the classic curry. Aged duck breast is paired with golden berry curry and Thai eggplant, but it’s the BBQ section that earns Aum a particularly appropriate place in this month’s fire-loving line-up. Southern-style BBQ chicken comes with golae curry, cucumber pickles, and kumquat; BBQ frog legs get lime, turmeric crumbs, and smoked nam jim emulsion; and BBQ lamb rib finger is paired with khao soi curry, mustard greens, and crispy wonton.

Save room for the playful desserts, including a coconut-caramel ice cream sandwich or Roti Perdu with grilled banana, chocolate, and oolong tea ice cream. There’s also an extensive wine list on hand to help tame the heat.

Starters & salads: approximately 90K–390K, BBQ skewers: 150K–220K, Other dishes: approximately 260K–1.15M, Desserts: 150K–190K

• Address: 71-73-75 Hai Bà Trưng, Sài Gòn Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (District 1)

• Opening hours: Mon–Sat: 5:30 PM–10:30 PM

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aum.sgn

Bar Rom

Bar Rơm brings together binchotan-grilled food, botanical cocktails, local spirits, natural wines, and local draft beer. With a cosy indoor area and leafy outdoor space, this feels like an easy new contender for an evening of snacking and drinking in Thao Dien.

Vegetables get plenty of attention on Chef Anaïs’s menu, too. Aubergine is grilled over charcoal and paired with ponzu-inspired flavours, hazelnut praline, cashew koji, roasted hazelnuts and mỡ hành, while Brussels sprouts are pan-seared in brown butter and balanced with Chardonnay vinegar, tamarind, stracciatella, roasted nuts, and fried onions. Other early favourites include mussels, cheese fries, prawn crackers, and Galician pork belly. The drinks have plenty of personality, too: alongside wine, beer, and spirits, you’ll find creations like the Fried Rice Highball and the Phú Quốc Sour. Come for a drink, then stay because somebody ordered another round of highly addictive snacks.

Mocktails & cocktails: 150K–250K, Food: approximately 69K–425K

• Address: 2 Trần Ngọc Diện, An Khánh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City

• Opening hours: Mon: 5:00 PM–12:00 AM; Wed–Sun: 4:00 PM–12:00 AM (Closed Tue)

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barrom.thaodien

Coucou

Self described as a contemporary Asian kitchen, Coucou jumps pretty freely between Japanese, Mediterranean and Southeast Asian flavours, with Chef Kelvin Lin, fresh from the Netherlands, now at the helm. It’s from the same good guys behind Extraordinary and has, in fact, taken over the Extraordinary space in Thao Dien.

The menu is fun. Light and fresh in places, rich and punchy in others, and full of combinations that make you stop and read twice. Thankfully, Coucou’s got a 11-course sharing menu at just 750K per person (minimum 2 people) that lets you try the best of its menu.

There’s Burrata Itameshi Style with tomato gelato, yuzu, ponzu, wasabi and katsuobushi; a deconstructed Tom Kha Gai; and dry aged steak with fregola, red miso glaze, shiitake and chilli beurre blanc. And then there’s the “Big Mac”, which is not a burger at all but dessert: macadamia, miso crème anglaise, vanilla ice cream, Vietnamese Robusta coffee and olive oil. Unexpected, but it works. Wine? Let the team choose the pairings along the way.

1-1-dish sharing menu: 750K per person

• Address: 39 Nguyễn Cừ, An Khánh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (District 2)

• Opening hours: Tue–Sun: 5:30 PM–1:00 AM (Closed Mon)

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coucousaigon

Torinoa

Yakitori gets the fine dining treatment at Torinoa, an intimate 8-seat counter with some serious Japanese pedigree behind it.

Torinoa traces its roots to Torisawa and the Michelin selected Torisawa 22, with outposts in Tokyo and Bangkok. In Saigon, the kitchen is led by Chef Kai, who trained extensively in Japan, with guest takeovers also bringing Torisawa yakitori masters such as Chef Daiki Kondo behind the grill.

The 15 course yakitori omakase goes well beyond your usual breast and thigh. Neck, shoulder, tail, liver, heart and wing all make an appearance, grilled over binchotan charcoal alongside bites of quail egg, eggplant and corn. Even the tare comes with history, with the glaze brushed onto each skewer aged for 12 years. The details go beyond the grill too. There are more than 30 cuts of chicken to work with, a considered sake selection and Imariyaki pottery sourced from traditional Japanese pottery villages.

15-course menu: 1.5M VND++ per person (soft opening price)

• Address: 71-73-75 Hai Bà Trưng, Sài Gòn Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (District 1)

• Opening hours: Mon–Sun: 6:00 PM–12:00 AM

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torinoa_hcm

Close Kitchen

Close Kitchen takes its name seriously. With an open kitchen and a menu designed around sharing, the contemporary Western restaurant wants diners to feel connected to well, everything: the kitchen, the food, and, presumably, the people they came with. The space is cosy and relaxed, while the dishes balance familiarity with enough unexpected Asian influence to keep things interesting.

Korean flavours provide one of the clearest threads through the menu. There’s gochujang-glazed fried chicken, grilled pomfret with kimchi beurre blanc, and squid soondae, alongside dishes such as dry-aged duck breast with leek terrine, garlic purée, and tamarind sauce, and an A3 Wagyu striploin. Pasta gets its own cross-cultural treatment: The Amatriciana uses Vietnamese smoked and cured boar, A3 Wagyu appears again in a ragù bianco, and cuttlefish butter rigatoni comes with lemongrass oil. Everything is designed for tasting and sharing, so leave your selfish friends at home.

Starters: from 220K, Pastas: from 240K, Mains: from 560K

• Address: 18B Đường số 9, Thảo Điền Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (District 2)

• Opening hours: Mon & Wed–Sun: 11:30 AM–3:00 PM; 6:00 PM–11:00 PM (Closed Tue)

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/closekitchen_saigon

Morning Tiger

From the team behind Sushi Tiger comes Morning Tiger, a tiny Japanese breakfast concept tucked into Japan Town on Lê Thánh Tôn. For around 300K per person, the focus is refreshingly simple: grilled salmon, rice, and a handful of Vietnamese touches.

The fish is cooked over charcoal on a grill inspired by the irori, the traditional Japanese sunken hearth associated with cooking and gathering around the fire. Each morning Chef Hiroyuki Susuki lights and tends the charcoal before grilling the fish. Diners can play with different accompaniments, from salt and Phú Quốc fish sauce or Kyushu-style sweet soy to spicy homemade scallop satế, honey lemon, and Vũng Tàu salted green peppercorns.

With only 14 guests accommodated at a time across four 50-minute sittings (7 AM, 8 AM, 9 AM, and 10 AM), bookings are essential. A simple, smoky, and distinctly Saigon-meets-Japan way to start the day.

Breakfast: approximately 300K per person

• Address: 8/7 Lê Thánh Tôn, Sài Gòn Ward, Ho Chi Minh City (District 1)

• Opening hours: Tue–Sun: 7:00 AM–11:00 AM (Closed Mon)

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morning.tiger

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