Nhâm Café: Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide

A wall of sewing machines isn’t something you’d expect in a coffee shop. At Nhâm Café in Thao Dien, it’s one of four big set pieces spread over three floors. The others are a large fish tank, a photo booth and a bookshelf designed to be photographed.

People come here mainly to take photos, and the coffee comes second. Know that before you go and you’ll enjoy it more.

Three floors, four backdrops

Every floor is roomy, and that matters because the place fills up. Each feature works as a backdrop:

• The sewing machine wall: rows of machines mounted as decoration. It’s the shot most visitors come for.
• The fish tank: big enough to fill a whole frame behind a table.
• The photo booth: for printed strips to take home, not just phone pictures.
• The bookshelf: a tall, deliberate display that works as a background on its own.

Walk all three floors before you sit down. The seats near the best backdrops go first, and you can’t tell which floor suits you from the ground floor.

Thao Dien, across the river

Thao Dien used to be part of District 2 and now belongs to Thu Duc City. It’s a leafy riverside area east of the Saigon River, known for its expat community. The streets are lined with cafés, restaurants and small shops, mostly along Xuan Thuy and Quoc Huong.

From District 1, a Grab car or motorbike crosses the river in one short ride. Traffic on the bridges decides how short. You can also take Metro Line 1, which runs from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien and stops at Thao Dien and An Phu stations on the Hanoi Highway. From either station it’s a quick Grab ride into the side streets.

We weren’t given a confirmed street address, so check the pin on a map app before you set off. Thao Dien’s alleys are easy to confuse.

When to go to a café that never closes

The café is described as open 24 hours. New places often change their hours in the first months, so check its social pages or a map listing before you go.

Being open late gives you options most cafés don’t. Weekend afternoons are when Saigon’s young crowd usually heads out to cafés, so it makes sense to expect the most people then. A weekday morning, or very late at night if the 24-hour schedule holds, should give you a better chance at the backdrops without someone else’s elbow in the frame.

Daylight and night give you different photos. The fish tank and the bookshelf look different under evening light, so you may want to come back at the other end of the day.

Ordering, paying and claiming a table

Most Saigon cafés follow a few simple habits, and they apply here too:

• Ask whether there’s a menu at the counter or table service. Many places in the city have you order and pay first, then bring the drink to you.
• Pay by QR if you have a Vietnamese bank app. Bank-transfer QR codes are everywhere in Saigon. Carry some cash in Vietnamese dong as a backup, and check whether cards are taken.
• Tipping isn’t expected at cafés here. Rounding up is a kind gesture, not something staff are counting on.
• Ask before booking. Busy new cafés sometimes take reservations through Facebook or Zalo messages, so check before you assume you can just walk in.
• Share the backdrops. Take your photos, then move along. With three floors full of people, nobody wants to wait while you shoot thirty takes of one pose.

Vietnamese cafés expect you to stay a while once you’ve ordered. Sitting for an hour with one drink is normal. Taking over a photo spot for that long is not.

Making an afternoon of Thao Dien

Nhâm Café works best as one stop on a slower afternoon east of the river. Thao Dien is good for walking, though the pavements are uneven and motorbikes are always moving through.

• Walk Xuan Thuy and Quoc Huong for boutiques and other cafés.
• Head toward the Saigon River for open views back toward the District 1 skyline.
• Continue south to Thu Thiem, where the newer riverside development faces the old city centre.

An hour at the café, then a wander, fills most of an afternoon without a fixed plan. It’s an easy half-day break from the busier streets around Ben Thanh Market.