Included in the 'Tales of the City' walking tour with Old Compass Travel was lunch, so my guide Duong and i trooped to their own cafe Old Compass Cafe. This also serves as the home of their company with her business partner Mark Bowyer, an Aussie who had started a travel blog called Rusty Compass.
It has since evolved into a fully independent and comprehensive travel guide for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, yet it remains a very personal endeavor - no paid listings and no commercial spin.
Opening the door and stepping inside Old Compass Cafe can very well be like going into a different world altogether. I can best describe the place as 'retro', almost as if it was an old cafe left untouched and preserved.
One almost forgets one is located right along a main road, with multitudes of motorbikes rumbling by. It just radiates a quiet kind of charm.
They usually offer two sets for lunch and dinner - Main and Vegetarian. Obviously, I chose the main set. :D
Here's how the food looked like: simple, home-cooked cuisine. Everything was excellent, in particular the mushroom soup with shredded chicken. Priced at VND150,000.00 (roughly USD7.00), it was fantastic value for money.
Their coffee (made from Arabica beans from Dalat) was pretty good, too. They also serve craft beer on tap from Pasteur Street Brewing Co., one of Saigon's pioneering craft brewers.
Duong below, with one of her annoying customers :D
In fact, I loved the food and company so much that i came back the next night for dinner. Wasn't able to take photos of the main set (priced at VND180,000.00), but i remember the food was as good as my first visit.
And I got to meet Mark, the person behind the Rusty Compass site!
Old Compass Cafe also hosts a varied array of live music performances, and talks on architecture, travel, science, etc. Here are some event posters on their bathroom wall.
So, the question now is: How to find this lovely place? It can indeed be rather difficult, you can very easily be walking and completely pass it by. The most visible landmark is the Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel, a massive modern 4-star hotel right beside the building.
At the alley right next to it, watch out for this sign below:
Then walk up the concrete stairs (do not mind the rather dingy surroundings, hehe :D), and upon reaching the 3rd floor, you will see this door:
Do drop by when you're in Saigon!
The Old Compass Cafe
3rd Floor, 63/11 Pasteur Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1
Mobile: +84 903 900 841
Facebook: facebook.com/oldcompasscafe
Instagram: oldcompasscafesaigon
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