House of Barbaard - Bar (Ministry) — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

A wonderful, hidden craft cocktail bar with great atmosphere, personal service and smooth, background jazz. After following signage to a lounge area where someone was seated at a desk and requesting we wanted to visit the Ministry, we were escorted down a narrow hallway with multiple closed doors to a wonderful, small bar with seating for around 8 to 10 at the bar, about 3 high top tables and an adjacent, dark lounge room with fauxe fireplace, a couple of wing back chairs with a chess table and a couple of sofa seating areas. Enjoyed the soft, smooth jazz playing in the background, the personal service and attention to detail such all the way to the clear ice used in the water glasses which had interesting parrallel, cubic, micro pin lines of air bubbles running halfway through the cubes which I have not seen before. Tried a couple of Signatory cocktails, Marie Curie and William McCoy which had wonderful background descriptions and interesting ingredients. We also ordered a couple of snacks such as the chicken satay and the crunchy mini tacos which were unexpectedly sweet, but delicious in their own way. Before leaving, we looked into the hidden barber salon located behind the bar where I heard you can have cocktails while getting a hair cut. I would definitely recommend visiting this bar for an enjoyable and memorable experience and wished I had taken more pictures to capture the various rooms...

Atmosphere 10/10 Now this is a true speakeasy - hidden inside a hotel building (but it is NOT a hotel bar). The atmosphere is breathtaking. Separate gentlemen’s club area and the main cocktail bar area were clearly designed with a great attention to details. A lot of impressive and fun details around greatest men (and women) in history. The main painting alone is worth a trophy. Great backbar too.

Drinks 9/10 Recommendation: Marie Curie, Jesse James Very authentic and creative menu for a place previously called “Ministry of Men”. The menu is unfortunately digital only. But the drinks had a stunning presentation and tasted great. For instance - “Marie Curie” is a cocktail which you will mix by yourself. The glassware is high quality.

Service 10/10 Very Friendly team. Strong English skills. Water served in the spot. Complimentary snacks. Price is definitely on the higher end for Ho Chi Minh City, but absolutely worth.

Crazy to think that this bar is not recognized by 50 Best Bars at all. They definitely deserve more attention - this was a world class cocktail...

My most favourite place in Saigon! The House of Barbaard bar is located in Sofitel Saigon hotel so it was convenient for me to pop in and grab a drink when I feel like to as we were staying at the hotel. Not part of the hotel so not a hotel bar. I went to the bar a couple times because I want to try all of their signatures cocktails. Some of the signature cocktails are interactive and some has a fantastic 3D visual! All of them that I tried were absolutely delicious and has a great background stories of how the cocktails been created! My absolute favourite was David Attenborough cocktail with how it taste with that extra sense of smell and beautiful scenery 🪴🍹 All the staff were super friendly and informative about their creation. They are also very attentive but not pushy. I love that they let you relaxed and enjoyed your drinks without poking at you all the time! Gorgeous space with a comfortable seating! It's almost like you escape into a different world far away from busy...