posted by others in one of the earlier pages.....clubs / bars in HCMC
163 Cyclo Bar, 163 Pham Ngu Lao Street, 2 doors down from the Duna Hotel. Thumping music until 2 a.m. and really friendly staff. The Vietnamese girls seem to have a strong affinity for Caucasian men though.
•Acoustic Cafe, 6E1 Ngô Thời Nhiệm. Though only 1 km from the heavily touristed center, this club is completely outside the tourist orbit, and offers an interesting view of local life. The all-Vietnamese house band performs every night, mostly American music, and it's always jammed with student-aged groupies. For some reason, they address the crowd in English between songs, even though half the crowd doesn't understand. On weekends, at least, you need to arrive by 7:30 to have any hope of getting a seat. If your hobby is rock ballad or hardrock, you should go on Friday night.
•Allez Boo, corner Pham Ngu Lao, De Tham. The definitive backpacker bar has closed in April or so recently. Words had it that it is being bought over by a super rich man who sees the potential to be a goldmine. Seems that owner was offered a big amount of money to sell off that he could not refuse. Maybe Techaad can shed some light?
•Alibi, 11 Thai Van Lung. Very cozy atmosphere, with sofas lining the walls and beautiful decor. good food & drinks selection, nice music, and a mix of both local & expat people. friendly staff, and the management's always there to make you feel welcome and make sure you get what you are asking for.
•Apocalypse Now, 2C Thi Sach. Legendary and still packed on weekends, although aside from a few movie references it's not all that much to look at. Stays open late. Now opened their 2nd floor for dj, dancing, drinks with less crowded atmosphere.
•Bottom Line, Ly Tu Trong. Cubby hole for the lost and lonely. Good sports coverage, OK food, and pleasant attractive staff.
•Carmen, 8 Ly Tu Trong, former home of an unbelievably talented Salsa / Flamenco / Latin pop band, was unfortunately leveled in August, 2007 when the owner of part of the underlying land decided to sell. The owner of the club is struggling with efforts to rebuild, so the if, when and where of re-opening is unknown.
•Catwalk, at the side of New World Hotel. All in one place with a massage parlour, disco, KTV and a mini casino. Price is on the expensive side but it is a sight to behold. (Please note that if you want to occupy a room @ KTV, the minimum purchase is USD200.)
•Eden, De Tham Street. Often busy, full of sporties, revellers, expats and others. Dark and deep and reasonably priced for the backpacker main drag.
•Gossip, pounding electronic music with freelancers if you are into the scene. Usually very crowded everyday especially weekends. Girls are usually with other guys so its pretty hard to pick up on the non FLs from my experience. Girls look pretty inside the club but once they step out into the light some of them get quite ugly that you wouldnt do for free...
•Ice Blue, Dong Khoi. Downtown English pub, complete with darts board and warm beer (if you want it that way!). Friendly, but shuts at midnight.
•Juice, claims to be Saigon's first juice bar (of course it wasn't, there were many local places before - but maybe it was the first Western-managed one). Food slipped recently, but still a nice place to hang out. Has Wi-Fi.
•La Habana, 6 Cao Ba Quat, about two blocks north of the Hyatt. A restaurant and bar with Cuban theme that makes outstanding cocktails for 60,000 dong. Some are available in pitcher-size for 150,000 dong. The food is also excellent, though at the high end of Saigon prices. On Friday nights, an energetic and talented Philippino singer named Jeram attracts a standing-room only crowd.
•Level 23, Sheraton Saigon 23F. The latest on the 5-star hotel drinking scene, with separate bar and nightclub, and great views over the city. A little soulless though, and very pricey with most drinks 80000 dong.
•Liquid, Club has became a hostess club essentially. Girls there work for the club. Girls are cute though. Better looking than Gossips.
•Lion's, 11-13 Lam Son Square, Dist.1 (next to Caravelle hostel). Brewery - Restaurant (somewhat German food), with tasty beers at an affordable price. The outside terrace is a nice place to chill out, and the inside restaurant is very welcoming with its two beer tanks and cosy bar. Cocktails are very good. Not a good place to please your teeth and tongue. though.
•Lush, at the far west end of Ly Tu Trong. A nightclub in the Western style, with loud pulsing music and minimalist too-cool decor. Hugely expensive, but musically about as good as it gets in this part of the world if you like the particular style. Mixed crowd (Vietnamese, tourists and expats), pretty good food - but no dance floor. Lots of billiards/pool tables out back. Recommended.
•Metallic Bar, 41 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, District 3. House band plays covers of Metallica, Guns N Roses and other popular rock bands nightly between 9PM and midnight.
•Napoly, Pham Ngoc Thach near the "Turtle Pond". The ground floor is a popular, somewhat upscale cafe with inside and outside seating. The bar is upstairs in the back, with a decent house band singing a mixture of Vietnamese and English songs. The resident band must predate the reunification as they know all the old songs.
•Oblivion, Bui Vien. Late night venue with lots of character, claims to be Saigon's premier music bar and it's hard to argue - assuming, that is, you have a taste for non-chart buzzy British guitar and obscure dark US/European stuff. You have to ask for happy pop, though if you're spending enough it'll sometimes get an outing. Like most Saigon bars, it attracts its share of working girls. If you're not interested, simply say you're not and you'll be left alone.
•Peaches Saigon South (Phu My Hung). Great place to enjoy a few drinks with friends. Friendly staff, great food!!
•Polo, Ham Nghi Street (above the Liberty Hotel). Mixture of expats and locals, starts getting busy quite early. Reasonably priced food and drink, good music spanning from the Eighties to the present.
•Q Bar Saigon The original, internationally acclaimed Q Bar established in 1992 under the Opera House. Mix of locals, tourists and expats in a grotto-like uber-chic setting that could as easily be in Soho as Saigon. Open till late every night. Great cocktails, though at very high prices, similar to the roof-top bar of the Caravelle Hotel across the street.
•Saigon Pho, this little hole in the wall is only a stone's throw from Allez Boo, but much more expat orientated. Open late.
•Saigon Saigon, Caravelle Hotel 9F, 12-13 Lam Son Square. A pleasant, breezy bar with a great view of the city. Live band playing inside every night. Cool, quiet ambience on the terrace. Attracts an expense-account crowd due to the prices (cocktails mostly >100,000 dong including the ++).
•Serenata and Soi Da, 6E Ngô Thời Nhiệm. Two open-air cafe-bars with live music in Villa-style settings, which attract few if any tourists but typify what most Vietnamese consider a pleasant evening out. Soi Da features mostly classical chamber music, while Serenata has a mix of classical, Vietnamese lounge music, American FM classics, and the odd French song.
•Shadow Bar, 41 Dong Du Street. Expat bar, good place to wind down or up. Recently moved premises from 56 Mac Thi Buoi Street.
•Sheridan's, Le Thanh Ton near Thai Van Lung. Small, cozy Irish-themed bar with imported draft beer and live music.
•The Tavern SB8-1 My Khanh 2 (H4-2) Nguyen Van Linh, Saigon South (Phu My Hung) tel: 4120866. Great place to enjoy a cold beer or a great "Western" meal - favourite dishes are fish'n'chips & bangers'n'mash. Reasonable prices and nice, friendly staff and management. Opens for breakfast, closes at midnight.
•Underground, more a food than a drink spot, though open for both. Sometimes busy with the business crowd, always packed with people enjoying the reasonably priced burgers, steaks and the like.
•Volcano, Dead on weekdays. Selection of girls are alot higher on weekends but probably most of them are FLs. Happening though. Recommended.[/FONT][/COLOR]
