Saigon’s drinking culture is not built around bars. It’s built around plastic stools, ice buckets, and the sound of clinking glasses at 6pm on a street corner while someone’s grilling skewers ten centimetres away from the table. The bar exists here, but it competes with something older and more comfortable: the street-side bia hơi (draft beer) experience that has fed every part of Vietnamese social life for decades.

Bia hơi — the essential experience

Bia hơi translates as “fresh beer” — a light, low-alcohol lager brewed daily and served the same day from kegs, typically at street-side restaurants and open-air spots. The alcohol content is lower than standard beer (around 3–4%), which is why people drink more of it. A glass costs 10,000–20,000 VND — less than one US dollar. The food that comes with it (grilled skewers, sunflower seeds, edamame, occasional plates of roasted peanuts) costs about the same.

The ritual: arrive by 5pm to get a table, order a round, settle in. Locals stay for two to three hours. Conversation gets louder. More skewers are ordered. The night unfolds slowly and cheaply.

Packaged beer options

Saigon Beer (Bia Saigon) — the local standard, sold everywhere, slightly sweet, inoffensive, ideal for hot weather. Available as Saigon Đỏ (Red, 4.9%), Saigon Xanh (Green, 4.3%), and 333 (Ba Ba Ba) which is technically a different brand but made by the same parent company.

Tiger Beer — a Singapore brand but produced locally; slightly crisper and more bitter than Saigon Beer. Popular in bars and restaurants.

Craft beer — Saigon has a growing craft scene centred in District 2 (Thao Dien) and District 1. Pasteur Street Brewing Company makes excellent Vietnam-inspired craft beers (Jasmine IPA, Cyclo Pale Ale) brewed with local ingredients.

Where to drink

Any bia hơi stall in District 4 or along Pham Ngu Lao (District 1) — Pham Ngu Lao is the backpacker street but has genuine bia hơi spots mixed in with the tourist bars. Prices are slightly higher here but still cheap by any standard. District 4 bia hơi spots are cheaper and more local.

Pasteur Street Brewing Company (144 Pasteur, District 1) — the best craft beer bar in the city. The tasting paddles are good for first visits. Price: 80,000–150,000 VND per beer.

Bui Vien Walking Street — the noisiest option; full of tourists and loud music but genuinely fun on a Friday night. Beer starts cheap and stays cheap. Price: 20,000–40,000 VND per beer.