CLOSED: Saigon Vegan - Bui Vien

Was there two days ago and they were closing down to move to another location.

I'm not a huge fan of Vietnamese Restaurants as they all seem to add MSG as the main flavor. I'm a 220 pound Vegan (25 years) and need to lose weight, MSG seems to be the number one way to cut my appetite.

The manager understood English fairly well, but didn't understand what MSG is.

At Saigon Vegan, they seem to use a little less of it than elsewhere. Also, they accept credit cards which is a help.

A really cosy and tasteful little restaurant in the backpacker area. During our stay of two weeks we went there three times! You are always greeted with a smile and the food is fresh and delicious. Go try it out!

I had the vegan curry and it was really good. A bit too expensive compared to the Vietnamese 'chay'-restaurants (most of them are very good), but still good, very nice location and the staff was great as well.

Food was fine. Juice was enough.
The only problem was the waitress, speaks no english at all. We got half of what we wanted, and she insisted we had two different dishes when we actually got the same one, I don't know what happened with her notes

There's a great choice of food on the menu and specials board including cake which so many places don't have! The spring rolls are packed full not like the flimsy ones some places serve. It's located past the main area of Bui Vien and I've stayed here 6 times but just found it this time. The staff are friendly and it opens long hours. I just wish they'd have the first sandwich on the menu that sounds amazing.

nice vegan phô with tons of mushies and a tasty broth. good bunh mi as well with mushroom foie gras. will be back shortly!

Pho, spring rolls, fried tofu, noodle dishes etc. all with pics and really great tasting! Right on the road so atmosphere is lacking a little.

No idea why this place is classified as Vegan friendly only! It's definitely vegan... For me actually the best vegan restaurant in Vietnam. It's also a good place for having just a beer for a little money.

I lived in Saigon for 4 years and came here about once/week. I also don't give a shit if there's cow milk in the fridge just as long as it's not in the food. Be supportive, people - this place is putting a vegan footprint on an otherwise BBQ and Pho-oriented area.
The curry isn't great (just tofu and potato, not sure why it's a on the specials board), but the bitter melon soup is incredible. The hot mushroom spring rolls are the best in the city. Other menu items are hit or miss just like any other restaurant, but are generally rad and the service and ambiance are a nice step away from the hustle of Bui Vien.
It should also be mentioned that they serve ice cold beer and liquor here. The Buddhist temples in the city will serve you up an awesome (most of the time) meal, but they don't serve drinks and aren't necessarily the best place for an evening out with friends.

Spread the love and support this Saigon Vegan!

Very nice furnished restaurant with lots of very tasty vietnamese dishes. Perfectly located in the busy backpackers street Bui Vien and reasonable priced. Came here everyday. They also have coffee and smoothies. Try the cakes!
Updated from previous review on Wednesday September 23, 2015

I am for the most part in agreement with most of what has been said before in previous reviews.

1stly as per observed by a previous reviewer they have a carton of cow milk in the fridge. Thus despite the name alluding to otherwise this establishment is regrettably not 100% vegan.

I had a lunch here today with she who must be obeyed. the food was great. We had the deep friend tofu and also a couple of vietnamese spring rolls. Both came with a different dip, both were delicious. We then had morning glory vegan tofu cheese. Then we had some pho. All wee great and then to round things off we had a slice of chocolate cake. This was all shared between the 2 of us. Add to this a cold drink each and it came to around 240 000 dong.

The place has a nice relaxed vibe. The girl waitressing was very nice.

The staff was really nice and the food was to die for! We had some soup, the one with the seaweed and the tofu and the tomato mushroom with tofu, really good and also nice portions. Tried the pumpkin cake and the chocolate cake and I will definitly be back for more!

Ambiente is very nice! Food is not too expensive and tasty! The soups are nice !
But we wanted something for desserts so we got a cake and wanted also a soy milk ( they do not have some and that is ok for me) BUT when I looked in their fridge I found COW MILK! So when you order Coffee take care!

Well I am a lil sad about it because it should be 100% vegan ?????

Stuff was nothing special

Good food and service. We were happy to find this place close to our hostel. Went there for lunch, and we tried the banh mi, pumpkin soup, fried spring rolls and pumpkin cake (they didn't have any other cakes when we were there) plus fresh juices. Everything was good (not the best spring rolls I've tried, though), and its a nice cafe/restaurant. Definitely recommend this place if you are in the area!
Updated from previous review on Friday July 10, 2015

My partner and I ate here twice during a brief visit to Ho Chi Minh City and we enjoyed the experience on both occasions.
The food is very reasonably priced and the staff were friendly. The menu is in English and Vietnamese and has photos of the dishes.
I really liked a noodle soup with tomato in it (I can't remember exactly what it was called). The restaurant also had some great looking vegan cakes that I didn't get to try this time and also had a coffee machine. The restaurant also serves drinks, I found that a Saigon beer accompanied my meals nicely.
Saigon Vegan is situated on busy Bui Vein, so it's quite noisy but there's lots of bars nearby to enjoy a drink after your meal. If I return to Ho Chi Minh City I will definitely visit Saigon Vegan again.

Had a very bad experience here and may have rated higher if I had a different dish. However, I ordered 5 dishes before they actually had one they could make. He kept telling me, "finished" like they were out of it. We came at 6:30pm for dinner. No excuse. I was okay with it until we got our meals. Both my wife's and mine were the worst we had in over 2 weeks in Vietnam. I couldn't even eat it. We went off to another place to find something else to eat. Service was good and nice people but just hated the food. Bad experience.

I practically lived in this resteraunt!!! Just.....WOW! Never have I been so excited over such a fantastic and cheap menu with so many vegan dishes :)
First of all I LOVED the places chilled quirky decor... The menus are a little worn down so head to the back to the giant black board for the full written menu!
Food is ridiculously cheap and never was I disappointed with any of the meals! The home made fresh spring rolls (only 9000 dong!!) were just YUM and the curried noodles are to die for! Oh oh oh... Not mentioning the vegan cakes (made my week!!)
Thankyou Saigon vegan, I'll be back!

Very convenient location for people in backpacker area, best option for vegans...I think the quality is better at the District 3 branch, though...

I was so happy when I found this place in Saigon. The food was delicious, their juices were fresh without sugar with nice fruits and vegetable combinations. Fresh spring rolls with vegetables were delicious ! The prices were medium. Not too cheap but not expensive either.
The restaurant itself is very cozy. It has 3 floors, balcony, outside terrace upstairs. I would highly recommend this place:)

It's a cozy little restaurant in one of the main streets in the backpacker district 1. you can eat there while observing the street life or be inside in the more silent part of the restaurant. The waitress is very friendly and the food is awesome! All vegan, they offer all kinds of vietnamese food like soups, spring rolls, rice and noodle dishes. My favourites: lemongrass tofu and the lemongrass mushrooms - you'll absolutely have to traste one of these! And a cold matcha latte (with soy milk) as dessert - simply great!

Always nice to come across a place whee it's not necessary to suspect animal products to be hiding in the food or where you can't really trust the staff to understand or honour your needs. This place is all vegan and offers a wide variety of entrees. I had about 6 different things from there during my stay in HCM and everything was great. The lemongrass tofu, tofu w/tomato sauce, curry and rice, and rolls were particularly good. They also have a few cakes for dessert. I even grabbed a couple muffins for breakfast the next day.

As is the case with most food in vietnam, the price is negligible for anyone with the means to travel. I shared 3 entrees and a few starters along with two drinks with a friend and the grand total was about US$12.