The best cơm tấm in Saigon is at Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền in Phú Nhuận, the only broken rice shop in the Michelin Guide’s Ho Chi Minh City selection, with a Bib Gourmand in the first edition in 2023 and again in 2026. Order plate number 3, sườn bì chả, and consider sharing the pork chop.
Cơm tấm is the plate this city eats at every hour: broken rice under a charcoal-grilled pork chop, with shredded pork skin, a wedge of egg meatloaf and sweet fish sauce poured over the lot. Below are six places we confirmed as trading in October 2026, from a breakfast stall that started on a shoulder pole in 1968 to a café plate inside a shopping centre. The first, L’Usine, is a Saigon Scene partner, so members get 10% off there, and partners always come first on our lists. Addresses use the ward names that replaced the districts in July 2025, and every price carries the month it was published.
| Cơm tấm | Area | Order this | Price | Member deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L’Usine | Sài Gòn Ward (District 1), plus Tân Mỹ (District 7) | Cơm tấm with grilled pork and pickled mango | 190,000₫ plus 5% service and VAT | 10% off |
| Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền | Phú Nhuận Ward | No. 3, sườn bì chả | About 81,000₫ to 145,000₫ | None |
| Cơm Tấm Số 1 Nguyễn Trãi | Bến Thành Ward (District 1) | Bì chả, or the chả cua | 50,000₫ to 80,000₫ | None |
| Cà Phê Đỗ Phủ (Cơm Tấm Đại Hàn) | Tân Định Ward (District 1) | Sườn bì chả with kimchi | From about 40,000₫ | None |
| Cơm Tấm Thuận Kiều | Bến Thành Ward and five other branches | Sườn bì chả | 67,000₫ to 119,000₫ | None |
| Cơm Tấm Phúc Lộc Thọ | Bàn Cờ Ward (District 3) and about 30 branches | Combo Lộc | 32,000₫ to 59,000₫ | None |
What cơm tấm is, and how to order it
Tấm are the grains that break during milling, long sold as the cheap rice, and that is the root of the dish. The origin story Michelin tells is set in 1930s Saigon: a vendor swapped to broken rice to bring a pork and rice plate within reach of working people, then added shredded pork skin and egg loaf, with the grilled chop arriving later. Whatever the truth, every plate in the city is built from the same parts.
- Sườn: the pork chop, marinated (at Ba Ghiền in fish sauce, lemongrass, garlic and sugar) and grilled over charcoal. Sườn non, where a menu lists it, is rib meat rather than chop and usually costs a little more.
- Bì: thin strips of pork skin and pork tossed with toasted rice powder. Dry, chewy and better than it sounds.
- Chả: chả trứng, a steamed loaf of egg and minced pork, served in a wedge.
- Trứng ốp la: a fried egg, sunny side up, laid on top.
- Mỡ hành: spring onion in warm fat, spooned over the rice.
- Nước mắm: the thin, sweet fish sauce in the jug or bowl. Pour it over the rice as well as the meat.
- Đồ chua: pickled carrot and daikon, usually with cucumber on the side.
Ordering takes one sentence: cho một dĩa sườn bì chả, one plate of chop, skin and egg loaf. Add thêm trứng for an egg, thêm cơm for more rice, không hành for no spring onion, and mang về to take it away. Thập cẩm or đặc biệt gets you everything on one plate. In the south the plate is a dĩa, and you eat it with a spoon and fork. Tính tiền asks for the bill. Cơm tấm is number three in our list of 15 dishes to eat in Saigon, and if you are planning a food morning, our guide to the best phở in Saigon covers the other breakfast.
1. L’Usine
19 Lê Thánh Tôn, Sài Gòn Ward (formerly Bến Nghé, District 1), open 7.30am to 6pm daily. Also on level 5 of Saigon Centre, 65 Lê Lợi, same ward, open 10am to 9.30pm, and at Crescent Mall, 101 Tôn Dật Tiên, Tân Mỹ Ward (formerly Tân Phú, District 7), open 7.30am to 10pm. Last orders 30 minutes before closing everywhere.
The indoor, English-menu version of the dish, and the easy first plate for anyone nervous about plastic stools. L’Usine is a café and lifestyle shop, and its bilingual menu, uploaded in September 2026, lists cơm tấm, “Broken Rice”, at 190,000₫: caramelised grilled pork, shredded pork skin and pickled mango, with 5% service and VAT added. That is roughly the price of three plates at Thuận Kiều, and the pickled mango is L’Usine’s own touch, so think of it as a café take on cơm tấm. For the benchmark plate, go to Ba Ghiền.
Where it earns its spot is location and hours. Two branches are in the old District 1 core, a few minutes from Nguyễn Huệ, and the Saigon Centre café runs until 9.30pm, which makes it a reasonable dinner stop between shopping and a drink.
2. Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền
84 Đặng Văn Ngữ, Phú Nhuận Ward (formerly Ward 10, Phú Nhuận District). Open 9am to 9.30pm every day, according to Michelin. Phone 028 3846 1073. One shop only, no branches and no bookings.
Michelin describes it as what many locals consider the best cơm tấm in town, and it is the only cơm tấm shop the guide lists in Ho Chi Minh City. Nguyễn Ngọc Điệp started it in 1995, and her son Trương Vĩnh Thụy runs it now. The chop is grilled over charcoal and arrives so big it hides the rice. The owner told Tuổi Trẻ in 2023 that each one weighs 450g to 500g, and Viet Nam News suggested sharing a plate when it reviewed the shop in April 2025. The lunch rush is between 11am and noon.
The wall menu has six numbered plates with photos and rough English, so ordering is pointing. Thụy’s own pick is number 3, sườn bì chả, the combination he grew up with. A plain sườn was about 81,000₫ and the thập cẩm, with everything, 145,000₫ in August 2026. That is two to three times the price of an ordinary plate, and when the Bib Gourmand was announced in 2023, Tuổi Trẻ found locals split on whether it was value for money. The size of the chop is the answer the regulars give. If you only eat one cơm tấm in Saigon, this is the one with the strongest case. Phú Nhuận sits between the centre and Tân Sơn Nhất airport, so it also works as a last meal on the way to a flight. It is one of the 25 Bib Gourmands in our guide to every Michelin restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City.
3. Cơm Tấm Số 1 Nguyễn Trãi
150/1 Nguyễn Trãi, in the alley at number 150, Bến Thành Ward (formerly Phạm Ngũ Lão, District 1). Open from 6am to around midday.
The breakfast one, and the oldest on this list. Bà Lan’s mother started selling cơm tấm from a shoulder pole in 1968, and bà Lan took the business on after 1975. At 71 she still gets up around 2.30am to prepare, according to a July 2026 profile in CafeF, sells from 6am until midday and spends the afternoon clearing up. Six or seven tables, quick service, and nearly always full.
Order the cơm tấm bì chả, which is what most regulars choose: her bì is mixed with lean pork to her own recipe. Epicure Vietnam picked out her chả cua, a crab loaf, as a richer alternative to the usual egg loaf. Expect 50,000₫ to 80,000₫ a plate (July 2026), a little above the going rate. The neighbourhood joke is that the shop sells for six months and goes abroad for six. Bà Lan says she only visits her daughter in Australia for a few weeks at a time, but it does mean the shutters are occasionally down. It is a short walk from Bùi Viện, and our guide to Vietnamese breakfasts in Saigon has more for an early start.
4. Cà Phê Đỗ Phủ (Cơm Tấm Đại Hàn)
113A Đặng Dung, Tân Định Ward (formerly District 1). Listed as open 7am to 10pm in March 2026. The house does not publish its own hours.
The history stop. The house was built in 1946 under the direction of Trần Văn Lai, a commander of the Saigon-Gia Định commandos (Biệt động), and registered to a couple, Đỗ Miễn and Nguyễn Thị Sự, who ran it as a coffee and cơm tấm shop. Inside, it held two secret letterboxes, two concealed compartments and an escape route. It stood next door to a South Vietnamese general’s house and opposite the quarters of South Korean engineers, which is where the kimchi on the plate comes from, and why the cơm tấm is called Đại Hàn, Korea. In November 2025 a round table of historians and city heritage officials proposed it for ranking as a city-level historic site, Nhân Dân reported.
The plate is a standard sườn bì chả with sweet fish sauce, plus Korean-style kimchi and soured water spinach, and nobody else on this list serves it that way. A March 2026 listing put plates from about 40,000₫, and the house publishes no menu. Come for the house and the hiding place, reached through the base of an upstairs wardrobe, and eat while you are there.
5. Cơm Tấm Thuận Kiều
26 Tôn Thất Tùng, Bến Thành Ward (formerly District 1), opposite Huyện Sĩ church, and 114 Yersin in the same ward, near Dân Sinh market. The original is on Thuận Kiều street itself, in Minh Phụng Ward. Phone 028 3955 3031. Opening hours are not published on its own site.
The oldest name in the business, and the sit-down choice. The brand goes back before 1975, went independent in 1986 and now runs six branches, all listed under the new ward names on its own site. The menu has around 54 dishes, with braised fish, soups and stir-fries alongside the rice plates, so it suits a group where not everyone wants a pork chop.
From its online menu, last updated in February 2026: cơm sườn nướng 67,000₫, sườn non 77,000₫ and sườn bì chả 119,000₫. Those are its ordering prices, so the counter may be a touch lower. It is a chain, which is why it sits below the family shops here, but it is the safest bet if you want a proper table and a long menu in the centre.
6. Cơm Tấm Phúc Lộc Thọ
538 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, Bàn Cờ Ward (formerly Ward 2, District 3), phone 0901 833 569, and about 30 more branches across the city. Branch hours are not published, and third-party listings say 6am to 10pm.
The budget answer. Phúc Lộc Thọ is a chain built around office lunches and delivery, and its own web shop starts a plain cơm sườn at 32,000₫, with the charcoal-grilled chop at 42,000₫. Combo Lộc, a grilled chop with steamed egg loaf, a seaweed and pork soup and a Pepsi, is 59,000₫. That is the cheapest published menu on this list. It is the plate to grab near wherever you happen to be, and with around 30 branches, that is the point of it.
What cơm tấm costs in Saigon
A plain cơm sườn costs from 32,000₫ at Phúc Lộc Thọ (42,000₫ for the charcoal-grilled chop), 67,000₫ at Thuận Kiều and about 81,000₫ at Ba Ghiền. A full plate with bì and chả is 119,000₫ at Thuận Kiều, and Ba Ghiền’s thập cẩm, with everything, is 145,000₫. Cơm Tấm Số 1 sits in between at 50,000₫ to 80,000₫ a plate, and L’Usine’s café version is 190,000₫ before service and VAT, less 10% for members. Extra rice is 3,000₫ to 7,000₫ on the chains’ menus. Prices come from each shop’s own menu where it publishes one, otherwise from dated 2026 reporting, and were checked in October 2026.
Where to go for what
- The best plate in the city: Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền, number 3.
- Your first cơm tấm, indoors with an English menu: L’Usine on Lê Thánh Tôn or in Saigon Centre.
- Breakfast near Bến Thành or Bùi Viện: Cơm Tấm Số 1, before noon.
- Something you will not find elsewhere: the kimchi plate at Cà Phê Đỗ Phủ, with a wartime hiding place upstairs.
- A group with mixed appetites: Thuận Kiều on Tôn Thất Tùng, which has soups and braised dishes too.
- Cheapest plate: Phúc Lộc Thọ, from 32,000₫, or 42,000₫ for the charcoal-grilled chop.
- On the way to the airport: Ba Ghiền in Phú Nhuận.
Checked and left out
Five well-known names did not make the list. We could not confirm four of them as trading in 2026 from a source we trust, and the fifth has no current price. Each goes back on once we have checked.
- Cơm Tấm Hồng Calmette, the late-night stall at the District 4 foot of Calmette bridge, on Hoàng Diệu. Listed as open 4pm to 1am in July 2025, with tables out after 7pm.
- Cơm Tấm Trần Quý Cáp, 260 Võ Văn Tần, named after the street’s pre-1975 name. Recent listings say it closes at 4pm, and the newest price we found is from February 2025.
- Cơm Tấm Ba Đạt on Quốc Hương, Thảo Điền. Sources disagree on its hours, and the newest independent listing is from January 2025.
- Cơm tấm bãi rác, “garbage dump broken rice”, by Xóm Chiếu market, named for the market’s old rubbish point. A November 2025 report put a plate of sườn, egg and bì at 80,000₫ to 100,000₫, but listings disagree on the street number.
- Sà Bì Chưởng, the chain started in 2021 by streamers Độ Mixi, Xemesis and PewPew. Its Ho Chi Minh City shops were still trading in March 2026 after the Đà Lạt branch closed, but we found no current price.
How we picked these
Saigon Scene is written by people who live in Ho Chi Minh City. In October 2026 we checked that every shop above is trading, using the Michelin Guide’s 2026 listings, the shops’ own websites and menus, dated 2026 reporting in Vietnamese and English press, and the Vietnamese business registry where a shop is registered. Small family stalls often are not, so for those we relied on Michelin or dated press. Every price comes with the month it was published, and where a shop publishes no hours we say so instead of guessing.
L’Usine is a Saigon Scene partner: an independent business that gives Scene Pass members a discount in return for being featured. We list partners first and only where they fit, and L’Usine is the one partner we found with cơm tấm on its menu. It leads this list because of that relationship. Our pick for the best plate is Ba Ghiền. We do not take payment to appear in this guide. Addresses follow Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15, which merged the old wards in July 2025, and Michelin, which already uses the new names. For more cheap eats, browse our Street Eats guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is cơm tấm?
Cơm tấm is Saigon's broken rice plate: rice made from grains that broke during milling, topped with a charcoal-grilled pork chop (sườn), shredded pork skin (bì), a wedge of steamed egg and pork loaf (chả) and often a fried egg, with spring onion oil, pickles and sweet fish sauce poured over. Broken rice was the cheap rice, which is how the dish began. It is eaten with a spoon and fork.
Where is the best cơm tấm in Saigon?
Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền at 84 Đặng Văn Ngữ, Phú Nhuận Ward, is the only cơm tấm shop in the Michelin Guide's Ho Chi Minh City selection, with a Bib Gourmand in 2023 and again in 2026. Order plate number 3, sườn bì chả. For a breakfast plate in the centre, Cơm Tấm Số 1 on Nguyễn Trãi has been going since 1968 and opens from 6am to around midday.
How much does cơm tấm cost in Ho Chi Minh City?
A plain cơm sườn costs from 32,000₫ at the Phúc Lộc Thọ chain, 67,000₫ at Thuận Kiều and about 81,000₫ at Ba Ghiền. A full plate with bì and chả runs 119,000₫ at Thuận Kiều and 145,000₫ for Ba Ghiền's thập cẩm. A café version at L'Usine is 190,000₫ plus service and VAT. Prices checked October 2026.
Is there a Michelin cơm tấm in Ho Chi Minh City?
One. Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền in Phú Nhuận holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, Michelin's award for simple, skilful cooking at an affordable price. It was in the first Vietnam guide in 2023 and is in the 2026 selection. No other cơm tấm shop is in the 2026 Ho Chi Minh City list at any level.
When do people eat cơm tấm in Saigon?
At every hour. Many locals eat it for breakfast, and some of the oldest shops, such as Cơm Tấm Số 1 on Nguyễn Trãi, sell only from 6am to around midday. Others run all day: Ba Ghiền is open 9am to 9.30pm, and its busiest hour is from 11am to noon. Night stalls exist too, though we have not yet confirmed one as trading in 2026.
How do you order cơm tấm in Vietnamese?
Say "cho một dĩa sườn bì chả" for one plate of pork chop, shredded pork skin and egg loaf. Add "thêm trứng" for a fried egg, "thêm cơm" for more rice, "không hành" for no spring onion and "mang về" to take it away. "Thập cẩm" or "đặc biệt" means everything on one plate, and "tính tiền" asks for the bill.
