
Last updated on January 30th, 2025
I’m getting quite into the restaurant scene in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. I had a big evening planned for a date night at the Xu restaurant on Hai Ba Trung street. Most will know Xu for their bar which is very popular. The restaurant is located above the bar and offers high-end items such as multiple course tasting menus and a large wine selection.
We were greeted with a smile and ushered up the stairs to the contemporary dining room. The dining room was practically full. For the evening we went with the five-course tasting menu with matching wine. Reading the menu got me very excited! We started off the evening with a Chilean wine called Santa Digna 2016.
I must say that the most exciting dishes for me were at beginning and the end of the meal. The meal started off with a bang with the crab meat soup and Vietnamese duck salad. Individually, I enjoyed them very much.
Another favorite of the evening was the tamarind crab with rice cracker. This was absolutely bursting with flavor and quite gorgeous in its presentation.
What I really also enjoyed was there selection of wines for the evening. All were quite unique and not something you have everyday. This helps to expand all of our horizons!
Service throughout the evening was quite good. Loi was our server, and he was very personable and professional. The food was overall acceptable in taste and looked beautiful, but a few of the main courses could have used some improvement.
After a few hours eating it was time for dessert. The dessert was a tasting menu itself. It featured four different desserts and I must say that each were quite lovely.
It’s clear to see that this restaurant is already quite popular with the completely full dining room and bar. Knowing this, my expectations were set quite high. I’d like to return on a slower night and see if the main courses taste better, but for now, I will have to judge what I have experienced. As stated, I did enjoy some items and loved the wine choices. With all of that being said, my evening at the Xu restaurant in Ho Chi Minh was enjoyable but has some room for improvement.
The Nitty Gritty
Taste - 7
Value - 7
Feng Shui - 8
Convenience - 9.2
Service - 8.5
7.9
Pretty.
Restaurant
71-75 Hai Ba Trung, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam
Phone: +84 28 3824 8468