Ciao Bella IL Primo — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

I've had lunch at this restaurant numerous times last year, and the food was quite decent back then. But in recent months, this place has clearly taken a turn for the worse. We ordered the burrata for appetizer. It was 390k VND or around 17USD. Not exactly cheap! Yet, it tasted like a bull's testicle, marinated in a mixture of old milk and vinegar and tragically drenched in olive oil. This was allegedly a top quality, imported item. But it was quite clear that the import had taken place many, many months prior, and that this sad piece of cheese had been sitting around, moping in the fridge a long time, just waiting for somebody to order that dish and put it out of its misery (That foolish person turned out to be me). To this day, it remains the single most depressing piece of burrata I've ever come across. And I've had many! Then came the pastas. My companion had a plate of spaghetti carbonara. It was drowning in what seemed like a cheese/heavy cream sauce ( I'm very reluctant to call it a carbonara sauce, as this would surely be an insult to all Italians). Way too wet ( unfortunately not in a sexy way) and under-seasoned for us to ever bother coming back for another taste. I ordered a simple Bolognese. One would be inclined to think that an Italian establishment like this would have nailed this iconic dish before anything else, but alas, this was not the case. The dish was equally as red and tragic as Carrie at the school dance. Bland, watery, and stingy in the meat department. The tomato sauce was reminiscent of some canned pasta/ ravioli that one might have stocked in their kitchen cupboards at some point during their days as a broke-ass college student. Side note: I asked for the tagliatelle to be replaced with spaghetti, and that request was of course promptly forgotten. All in all, an utterly unremarkable and disappointing food experience, only aggravated by the price tag: We spent around 1 mil, approximately 50USD for a lame appetizer, a fauxbonara, and half a portion of soggy canned tomato pasta. Considering how low quality and tasteless the food was, we felt robbed! Sure, the location is very central and convenient, especially for tourists. But save your money! There are far better restaurants elsewhere...

Apparently Ciao Bella is the oldest Italian restaurant still in operation today. So they must be doing a lot right to survive a city that seems to pride itself on change.

But as you’d expect with a restaurant that has been around that long, the decor is nothing special. That said it is comfortable and clean. And the restaurant is centrally located.

But the venue is not what brings people back, clearly it is the food. If you are looking for exceptional authentic Italian food you cannot go past Ciao Bella.

I ordered the fancy spaghetti carbonara. Refer photo. It’s mixed at the table in a wheel of Parmesan cheese. Egg, truffle oil and prachoitto is then added to the dish. I was really looking forward to it too, but I was very disappointed when I tasted it. It was too rich for carbonara and totally overpowered by the truffle oil. Not a subtle dish by any stretch of the imagination and I only managed 1/2 before conceding defeat.

Now this is at the point where great restaurants distinguish themselves. Normally in HCMC a half finished plate of food would go unnoticed. But the staff quickly enquired if everything was ok when they noticed I had only eaten half the pasta. I said it was a good dish just not to my liking. The waiter then promptly insisted I choose another dish (which I did).

I then ordered duck papadelle (but it was unfortunately unavailable) so I then chose the ox cheek ragu. But I almost chose the spaghetti with lobster. The ox cheek ragu was delicious. Excellent in fact. Pasta was cooked to perfection.

The sea bass on the next table looked amazing too. Huge portion.

Service was excellent.

Pricing is full but not unreasonable.

Wine list offers a nice range of Italian and international wines at reasonable prices.

If you’re looking for something beyond pizza or spag bog, this is...

Amid the busy Saigon street scene along Dong Du, this restaurant stands out as a five star experience for me. Walking up to Ciao Bella alone on a Friday evening at 8pm without a reservation, I was greeted enthusiastically, seated immediately, and given a tour of the menu and specials by a very friendly host.

I could have gotten full on the complimentary food alone...Fresh bread and a flight of oils and olive tapenade arrived in seconds upon sitting down, and I was offered a glass of champagne, which I politely declined since I don't drink. Nonetheless, I can see how one would be impressed in the first two minutes of entering a restaurant with this high level of service.

Thankfully, the food matches that service. I ordered the carbonara and it was creamy, perfectly salty, with the right proportion of ingredients. Most impressively, the pasta was cooked perfectly, with a toothy feel and firmness and texture typical of hand made "authentic" pastas I've enjoyed in other parts of the world.

I'm a frugal spender, and the bill for this hearty meal was less than I expected to pay, about $10USD before tax. In California or D.C. that same plate would be $20+ USD before tax, not to mention the free sampler platter and champagne Ciao Bella freely offered, if you're into that.

Overall, I highly recommend Ciao Bella restaurant on Dong Du street in Saigon for travelers looking for clean Italian food prepared in a clean environment by a...