La Cabaret Wine and Cigar Lounge - Saigon/HCMC - Review

I've been in Saigon since the 11th but since I have BF here there's not much going on that would interest others - spending time with his family or purchasing a water cooler really doesn't score highly on excitement or make for interesting reading.

Anyhow tonight we were due to go to a beer bar with one of his relatives but she pulled out at short notice and BF phoned a friend who invited us to the above venue where she is now working.

Well, after braving the Saturday night city centre traffic in Saigon (which makes Wacky Races look sedate) we eventually found the venue which was up an pretty shabby looking alley - so my expectations were not high and as I had not made out the name I anticipated a noisy city centre beer bar on a Saturday night.

Well what a surprise - the door was opened and we stepped into a very upmarket lounge where there was no more than 20 people seated at tables. The odour of cigar smoke pervaded the place which would no doubt put some off but even as a non-smoker myself I do like the smell of cigars. We were quickly shown to a table and menus for drinks, food, and cigars were presented. Let me say now, The prices are not cheap but it is not a cheap venue in terms of the staff, the decor, the entertainment, or the clientele. The interior features leather upholstered chairs, interesting wooden fretwork, and pictures of famous cigar smokers from history - like Castro and Churchill ( where Marilyn Monroe fitted in will need to be researched as I can only envisaged her "smoking a cigar" in the way the Thais would refer to!)

We decided to skip the champagne and the dauntingly priced bottles of whisky and settle on a bottle of Chianti at just over a million dong (about $50). I wasn't hungry but the BF being Vietnamese can eat 10 times a day and still weigh 60kg, so he ordered a seafood spaghetti dish at about 250,000 dong.

The staff were very attentive at keeping the glasses topped up (especially mine) and within 15 minutes the owner was at the table asking if everything was to our satisfaction (a nice touch).

We sat back to enjoy the cabaret which was a four piece live band which was joined consecutively by 3 different singers. The final singer (before we left) was the owner herself. The stage was draped in red velvet and the music was standard classics from the 1930s onwards.

After a while I felt a bit peckish myself and ordered the Cheese Plate at around 230,000 dong which comprised of about 5 different cheeses, some dried fruit, some walnuts, crackers, crusty bread, and butter. I have to say I found 2 of the cheeses inedible - but that's just me - I'm sure anybody else would have liked them.

Anyhow, once the bottle of wine was finished the BF decided that as he was driving it was time to go home. The bill came to 1,600,000 dong which is about $75.

So all in all a very pleasant experience and somewhere I would recommend if you're visiting Saigon and just want a chilled evening in nice surroundings.

Would certainly go back and I don't say that lightly