Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
International
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Vietnamese
Non-veg
Serves meat, vegan options available. Sits above restaurant Margherita. Extensive menu in English includes noodles, mockmeats, international cuisine, and many vegan options. Popular with local families and travelers. Feb 2018 reported not fully vegetarian. Reported closed August 2023.
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175/1 Pham Ngu Lao St, District 1 (at btwn De Tham and Nguyen Thai Hoc), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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Last update on 23 Aug 2023 by chiangzp
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Added by JohnnySensible on 01 Aug 2007
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16 Reviews
First Review by rach
lovesongs
Points +26
Never again! - Edit
Vegan/vegetarian community, this place received a big D minus from the moment I walked in.I will skip those details and just describe the food. Disappointing... My order was supposed to have vegan shrimp but when the salad arrived there were no shrimps at all in my salad. I questioned the waiter but his English was limited to a few words- none of which were helpful. My coconut juice I ordered turned out to be some sugary kool aid with some ominous green stuff lurking around on glass. My efforts were futile when I tried to change it or even know what it was as it certainly wasn't coconut water. I would not recommend this place.
Read moreGuest
Aiwendil
Points +952
Disappointing - Edit
We had a salad (70K) and okras with soya cheese (45K) here. The Salad had not all ingredients which showed on the menu and wasn’t fresh at all. Many leaves were already brownish and the avocado wasn’t fresh.
Read moreWe expected that the okras would be backed with the soya cheese, but the “cheese” was just a sauce which was awful. It tasted like Khmer Cheese, if anyone of you know the taste. I think it was fermented soy, but years to long fermented. The only good thing was, that they was on a separate plate 😅 So we just had cooked okras without anything ...
The stuff was very stressed and the atmosphere wasn’t nice (ok it’s in the middle of the tourist area - what did we expect? 😅)
Also the fact, that they call them “chay” (viet. for vegetarian) and also serves meat is confusing.
Maybe other dishes are better and you could have a nice dinner here, but we had not...
Guest
Mesai
Points +66
Good - Edit
Good food, good prices, friendly staff
Read moreGuest
BernardKoh
Points +668
Disappointing - Edit
This was my first meal in Saigon and I am extremely disappointed for many reasons. I have only been there because it was near to where I stayed. And I would also like to warn the rest of the vegan travelers out there that this eatery not only serve vegan/vegetarian food, but I realized they also serve meat at the same time. I was very confused as the word 'Chay' means vegetarian in Vietnamese. They have a few menu outside the eatery and one of the menu list a variety of meat dishes. This is bad, really bad. They should not call themselves a vegan or vegetarian in the first place! I ordered pineapple fried rice in a coconut husk and it was the worst fired rice ever! Avoid this place at all cost. There are much better vegan eateries around District 1.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2018-05-15
Cons: They serve dead animals!, Dirty , dark and dull , Poor English
Guest
Ronnie25
Points +141
OK - Edit
This place is not just vegetarian .they serve meat also.they have a variety of dishes including western stuff.
Read moreThe food was nice enough corn fritters breaded mushrooms ,chilli strips,for starters then Thai curry. The curry was tasty sauce but only a couple of pieces of potato and carrot in. Service was a bit slow but we were out in a group for the night so it didn't matter. As with most places in this area very cheap £5 ea including wine
Pros: Cheap, Variety
Cons: A bit slow
Guest
VanVeganHanoi
Points +385
Good place - Edit
various dishes, nice owners, great spring rolls and sauces
Read moreGuest
Kimxula
Points +1185
Nothing special... - Edit
I only ate here because I was in the area and really hungry, so I used Happy Cow to find the nearest veg place. The place doesn't stand out, it's pretty dingy and dirty, but I suppose it's reasonably priced for a place in the backpacker's area.
Read moreI had a pretty underwhelming veg burrito (possibly the limpest and plainest burrito I've ever had). However, there was quite a lot on offer for vegans/vegetarians and it's true that I didn't get to sample more than the burrito, so I can't judge how the other food is (perhaps the Viet food is better).
I guess if you're in the area and want something cheap by D1 standards it's okay, but seriously, vegans/vegetarians, get out of Pham Ngu Lao and see what great veg food the city has to offer!!
Pros: Okay prices for Pham Ngu Lao area, Seems to have reasonable choice for vege, tarians
Cons: Dingy, dirty, Burritos aren't great
Guest
greenvk
Points +37
Decent Food, Reasonable Price - Edit
A great little spot. Make sure you go up the stairs to the second floor. The downstairs part is meat as well as vego.
Read moreEnglish speaking staff. Tasty, interesting food. Pretty cheap overall. Worth the visit for sure.
Pros: Tasty, Cheap, English Speaking Staff
Cons: A Bit Squished
Guest
ViolaineB
Points +111
If you're desperate and living in the backpackers' - Edit
Very disappointing, poor hygiene ( saw a rat in the toilets which apparently is normal in saigon, even in posh places...), very not attractive restaurant, i'm afraid, I sat downstairs, but the upstairs didn't even look that much better...
Read moreMarguerita's and an lac chay are the same owner, so same kitchen, same toilets, same rats...
Really don't bother going there, unless you have no choice...
Pros: cheap, in backpackers area, convenient for backpackers
Cons: Not very clean , nothing special, too sugary
Guest
sglcklch
Points +3761
Fair eatery in the hostel district - Edit
Not a place for something fancy, but it is a decent enough restaurant to grab a bite. Quite easy to find as long as you follow the direction. Huge menu, very cheap. No air-conditioning, but they do have enough fans to keep you cool... or you can just order a cold drink. Food was tasty, just nothing stood out.
Read morePros: cheap, selection
Cons: no air con
Guest
jayanthp
Points +48
Decent Veggie Fare - Edit
I went there with great expectations! It did not live upto it. But my fault, my expectations were too high. There is barely any veggies Vietnamese items on the menu. All their veggie items are Pastas and Mexican food. I ordered vegetarian friend rice and yellow curry. They were fairly good. This was my first night in HCMC, so I cannot compare this with other vegetarian places in town. I will be out and about in the days to come and hopefully will have more to share.
Read morePros: Easy to find
Cons: Not all items are veggie
Guest
Michael Tait
Points +149
International food in Saigon - Edit
Great place on 1st floor above a meat restaurant on the ground in tourist district. Inexpensive food and grog (rum with fresh lemon juice D12000). Good pizza & pasta. Tasty Sheppard's Pie made with vegs & lots of onion with potatoe and cheese crust served in hot ramekin. Ate there often
Read morePros: good food, good price, good service
Cons: noisy street, limited cooling
Guest
selena
Points +402
Very yom! - Edit
We had this as our first meal in the city - great! We got the lemongrass/chili tofu (cut in small pieces rather than big slab), the fried spring rolls w/ mock pork, and the pho. We were very happy and cleaned our plates! Extremely reasonable prices and huge menu. Friendly service, chilled-out seating. Will go again!
Read morePros: Tasty, Cheap, Huge menu
JohnnySensible
Sweet memories - I would love to have a bowl of An Lac Chay's pho this evening!
Read moreGuest
simpsonyellow
Points +235
Great Place for a Quick Casual Meal - Edit
This budget friendly place has an enormous menu, spanning a wide variety of cuisines - I'm really not sure how the kitchen manages it all. The food is better than average and is really good value. The service is rapid and friendly, and the location couldn't be more convenient - right in the heart of the backpacker district. Note that An Lac is upstairs! The downstairs restaurant with street frontage is something completely different (Italian from memory). When we first walked by, we suspected that An Lac had closed down - we could see the An Lac sign, but the restaurant clearly wasn't a vegetarian one. You actually have to enter the downstairs restaurant and go upstairs to reach An Lac. Well worth a visit if you're in the area
Read morePros: Budget friendly, Huge variety, Central location
Cons: Easy to miss
JohnnySensible
An Lac Chay has moved across the street - it is now on the 1st Floor above Margherita -
Read moreAn Lac Chay - fully veg - First Floor 175/1 Pham Ngu Lao St, District 1, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City Dist. 1
Tel: 08-8377751 - open 9.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
Margherita - partly veg -175/1 Pham Ngu Lao, D1
Tel: 837 0760 - open 8.00 a.m. to midnight
Guest
JohnnySensible
Points +7566
A sane place to eat / sit in Saigon - Edit
A "home from home" for me. 60% vegan options. Basic English spoken. Friendly family atmosphere. Better than anything in Kaosan Rd. / Pahar Ganj. Food for life. Good value. Few frills. Clean enough. Safe salads. Tasty noodle bar at the front. 170+ item menu of quite good attempts at Italian / Mexican / Thai / Chinese. The usual MSG containing sauces on the tables BUT! ! ! genuine "H.P. Sauce" & great Mexican Chilli Sauce by request - the bottles are partly hidden on the counter of Margherita's. An Lac Chay is owned & run in parallel with "Margherita's" directly opposite - you can sit in either place / order from both menu's / bar's at the same time - so ideal if you are entertaining carnivores. The owner is the vibrant Hoang (nickname Mang) the staff are mostly his extended family members & some of their student friends who work a few hours each day to help pay their college fee's. Customer are local's, backpackers, foreigners working in Saigon, "homesick" overseas Vietnamese. Open 365 days a year. Rooms available to rent. Located in a street of bars & cafe's. Excellent for Viet Nam.
Read moreGuest
rach
Points +144
Great-tasting fresh Vietnamese food - Edit
This place is a good find for tasty vegie Vietnamese food. The fresh spring rolls (with some kind of mock meat) served with a brown peanut, carrot and chilli sauce were delicious. The Lotus salad was also fresh and tasty. We tried also the tofu with chilli and lemongrass which was different to the usual stir fried tofu dishes and came out as a slab of tofu with a flavoursome spices. Went back a second time and tried the Pho which was ok, a little bland but a bargin at 10,000 dong. This place was packed with locals and had trouble finding a table at dinner. Lunchtime was a little easier. Definatley worth a visit and very cheap.
Read morePros: Good fresh food, Large selection, Well priced/ Cheap
Cons: Lacks ambiance
Guest
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