Green Box | Đ. Lê Văn Miến | Thảo Điền — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

I came to The Green Box today for the third time and was very disappointed with the service that I received.

Quick story…

I drove here from District 1 in order to have dinner and on the way decided to pick up one small container of hummus from another restaurant that was along the way. This is a restaurant I don’t go to often because it’s a bit far away from where I live, but since I decided to drive across town to go to The Green Box, I figured I may as well indulge myself. After I arrived I began to order and at the same time decided to open my small container of hummus, to which I was told that there was no food or drink allowed from outside. Now of course I understand this premise and respect any businesses policies, but there is a right way and a wrong way to communicate this. I asked to speak with the manager and she said the same thing - zero outside food or drink allowed. Ps. The manager was outside chain-smoking with her friends. I asked if I brought in an outside bottle of water if that would be ok and she said yes. I asked if I wanted to have a bite of a candy bar she said yes… Entire candy bar? Yes. Birthday cake for a friends birthday? Yes. But my small container of hummus? Nope… The buck stops there.

Anyways, the point is that there is always grey area with these sort of situations. I wasn’t aware of the policy, so the appropriate thing to do, in my opinion, would have been to allow the small mistake, and request / inform of the policy for the next time.

But unfortunately that was not what happened and for this they have lost a potential (very) long term customer and vocal champion of...

We stopped by Green Box around 11 AM with our toddler before heading out on a long car trip, and it turned out to be the perfect little break. The Red Detox drink was super refreshing—our toddler loved it! My cappuccino was excellent as well, smooth and well-balanced. We tried two noodle dishes—the ramen and a carbonara-style pasta. Both were just okay. The carbonara had a bit of a strong porky smell, and the noodles in both dishes were a little softer than we prefer. That said, the staff was incredibly kind and attentive, especially to our curious toddler. One even gently helped keep him from wandering too far while he explored. As we were leaving, we accidentally broke a glass and felt terrible, but the staff was so gracious—they told us not to worry at all and warmly invited us to come back again. And we will! Next time we’ll definitely try one of their salads (our toddler’s not a salad fan, so we skipped that today haha). Lovely experience overall, and we appreciate the warm hospitality. See...

The Green Box @ SOMA is a lovely eco-conscious café in the heart of Thao Dien, District 2, easily accessible and nestled in a vibrant, expat-friendly area. The café’s modern, cozy ambiance is perfect for group hangouts or solo work sessions, with a relaxed vibe and interesting art displays. Their commitment to sustainability shows in the organic, plant-based menu. I tried the GB Melt (Emmental, mozzarella, miso bechamel, caramelized onion, tonkatsu sauce, spinach, shokupan) for VND140,000—it was decent and filling. In the evenings, they have a great buy 2 get 1 free promotion, which is a fantastic deal! Plus, they accept Apple Pay and credit cards, making...