The best rooftop bars in Ho Chi Minh City use to be mainly centred around the city’s fabulous five-star hotels. In fact a while ago I wrote about exactly that, the top hotels with rooftop bars, which you can find here. Such is the changing pace of nightlife in Saigon that rooftop bars are springing up all over the place, and in some cases anything but 5-star hotels. There is something really special about these types of drinking venues. They only work in countries blessed with climates like ours. I really wouldn’t fancy freezing my tits off on a rooftop in Manchester my home town, as much as I love the place.
So the city now has so many rooftop bars it’s no longer an easy job choosing my favourites; they vary and so does my mood. The good news is though, that there are so many. It depends what you are looking for but this list, I feel is packed with amazing venues in one of the most exciting cities in the world.
Here are my current Best Rooftop Bars in Ho Chi Minh City
Chill Skybar
Address: AB Tower, 76 Le Lai, Ben Thanh, Ho Chí Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 8 3827 2372
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It has been the trendsetter since it opened. Some find it a bit pretentious but I defy you not to be impressed. This is so super cool, they don’t need aircon. The restaurant is exceptional with top chef Dannet D’Souza serving up awesomeness everyday. The outside area and cocktail bar is where the young and beautiful come to see and be seen. The cocktails are good, albeit expensive, but you get what you pay for and what you get are staggering views of the famous Saigon skyline.
The View
Duc Vuong Hotel
Address: 195 Bui Vien, Phạm Ngu Lao, Ho Chí Minh City, Vietnam
Tel:+84 8 3920 6991
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Definitely the least expensive of any of the best rooftop bars in Ho Chi Minh City. This place is really quite lovely. A great indoor area is complimented by two levels of alfresco dining and drinking space. Beers for a dollar can’t be bad with this view. Situated as it is, in the backpacker area, one gets a completely different perspective of the city as from the more well know sky high drinking dens. This is not that high just about 8 floors up, but the views are fabulous, the booze is cheap and the food is good. Win, win, win!
Air 360
Ben Thanh Tower
Address: 136-138 Le Thi Hong Gam, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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This tres chic and trendy place with a pool and great atmosphere, attracts the beautiful young things on a regular basis and has a great reputation. The best time to visit rooftop bars is dusk as the city changes from its mundane daywear and puts its glad rags on. That this coincides with a great happy hour here is a real bonus. VND230,000 (about US$10) for free flow wine or Mojitas between 5.30pm and 8.30pm. Terrific bar from the same owners as Chill Skybar.
Rex Hotel Garden Bar
Address: 141 Nguyen Hué, Ben Nghe, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Phone: +84 8 3829 2185
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This was for me, and many others, a rite of passage upon arriving in Saigon. I watched the news broadcasts from here during the war with my late father. There was nothing was going to keep me away from here. It is, to be fair, a shadow of its best years, but it still gets the hair on the back of my neck. As the construction work on the underground station hopefully draws to a conclusion, this will, I’m sure, rise from the ashes and once more be one of the very best rooftop bars in Ho Chi Minh City.
Shri Restaurant & Lounge
Centec Tower
Address: 72 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 8 3827 9631
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This was the first rooftop bar in the city and as things progress it got somewhat overlooked. It’s 27 floors up in a great location and again offers something of a different perspective on the night skyline. It really is worthy of a place on any list of the best rooftop bars in Ho Chi Minh City. It has one table that is so awesomely placed that it is probably the most reserved table in the city. Terrific food served up with views looking over the nearby Opera House.
Hotel des Arts Saigon MGallery Collection
Address: 76 -78 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 8 3989 8888
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This is on the roof of a high-end hotel, but it simply had to be included if for no other reason than the glass sky bridge that connects it to Shri next door. 27 Floors above the street and its a total glass walkway. Certainly not for the faint-hearted it is a great gimmick. This is the latest addition to the rooftop bars in Saigon and its a great one. The resident DJ plays tunes to an appreciative crowd. The bar is well stocked including plenty of high-end Japanese whiskies. Good party atmosphere late on. Make a night of it and together with Shri, spend time at two of the best rooftop bars in Ho Chi Minh City.
Broma
Address: 41 Nguyen Hue, Ben Nghe, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 8 3823 6838
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Advertising itself as not a bar, for a lot of the time it sort of isn’t. It more like a night club, but the split level rooftop bar is a great place to chill out. it provides sensational views of Saigon Tallest (for now) glass tower, the Bitexco Financial Tower which is very close to it. Broma also happens to sit on Nguyen Hué, the trendiest thoroughfare in town which has recently been pedestrianised, so this is the best place in town for people watching.
Breeze Sky Bar
Hotel Majestic
Address: 1 Dong Khoi, Ben Nghe Ward, Dostrict 1, Ho Chí Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: +84 8 3829 5514
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One of my original list of rooftop bars on the hotels and it has to stay in this list. The situation of the magnificent Hotel Majestic on the corner of Dong Khoi and the Riverfront is second to none. This bar affords fantastic views of the Saigon River looking out to District 2. I love sitting here either at lunchtime or in the early evening with a cold beer, writing a few lines and soaking up the view. Awesome! This is where another writer, Graham Greene lived as he wrote “The Quiet American”… I can dream.
