Le Café des Stagiaires - Saigon — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

Disgraceful Service, Utterly Unprofessional, and Downright Disrespectful

This so-called “restaurant” is an absolute embarrassment. I was ordered to change my table because a group of people couldn’t be seated due to the rain. One of the staff — a young, completely uneducated, untrained, and utterly shameless individual (he knows himself) — had the audacity to pressure me to move. When I refused, he insulted me, saying I was “not nice.” Excuse me? Your staff’s lack of professionalism, morals, respect, and basic human decency is appalling.

I immediately reported the matter to the manager, only to be met with the same useless incompetence. She casually offered to pay for my bill, as if throwing money at me would erase the humiliation or teach her staff how to behave. Newsflash: respect cannot be bought. Instead of paying my bill, maybe invest in sending your employees back to school so they can at least learn how to communicate like civilized human beings.

To make matters worse, this escalated to physical pushing by the staff. That’s not just “bad service” — that’s assault. Since no serious action was taken, I will be reporting this incident to the police.

This place is rotten from top to bottom: zero training, zero accountability, and zero class. If you value your dignity, avoid this dump at all costs.

Additional reply to the owner’ reply :

The shame that After all these years here and you still need to learn some Honesty and integrity!

Now I understand why your staff behave as they do — they are simply a reflection of your own attitude and conduct.

Your response here shows a lack of accountability, respect, and professionalism. Instead of resolving the issue, you chose to shift blame and fabricate details, which only reflects poorly on your business.

It is disappointing that instead of addressing the issue honestly, you chose to misrepresent what happened . To clarify for the sake of accuracy here are 4 lies you said.

The reservation was not for the table I was seated at. Your uneducated stuff attempted to move another party to my table because of the rain, which was never part of their booking.

if I just simply refused to change why I need to shout ??!! I only reacted when your uneducated stuff immediately responded with disrespectful comments “you are not a nice person because you don’t want to help”—

there was a touch next to the bar counter a minute before I went down. Review the camera again with honesty and fairness.

: I never never mentioned to your manger I will leave a review!

For these good reviews! Did you offer them free drink as well ?

One more thing to prove to everyone that you are the one who lie to save yourself here: check the reviews on Facebook .. another person has the exact issue...

Very weird place and it seems not to need customers. Staff were ignorant, the place was small, and does not look that nice like what we saw on picture. I gave it a second try, but it still a disappointment. For the first time, I booked a table for 3; the indoor area looked chaotic, there was no table marked with reserved (rooftop was not open because it was going to rain or so). I tried to reach out to a staff and asked for my table, they said they will check. After a while, I was informed there was no table booked under my name. Okay, fine. I asked for a table of 3. Finally got my seats. The menu came 10mins later after I asked a few times. And 5-10mins later, we still sit there and could not ordered. The staff were around but they seem not to care or pay attention. As mentioned, the place looked chaotic, we decided to leave.

Not to judge the place with only the first impression, I gave it a second try, hoping to have a seat with a view (as on their fanpage), w/o booking in advanced. When we came, the place was a bit packed. The rooftop was weirdly designed with the seats in the center of the floor are shorter than the seats where people can have a view. So if you sit there, you can only see other's legs and butt 😂 staff didn't really care if you want to stay or leave, and they just ignored, let us stand their for a while. We decided to leave the second time. Of course, will never give it...

Just speaking from my experience living in Saigon my whole life and being at Cafe Des Stagiaires a bunch of times, it is the only place I can say that excels at all things that it strives to be: a cafe, a bistro, a bar, and a nightclub . It's not a cafe that also sells food or a restaurant that also sells alcohol. Nothing is an afterthought. All the elements are integral to the experience that is CDS.

Relaxed conversations or throwing ass on the dancefloor are most welcomed in the very same establishment. It's also one of the area's most notable cultural hubs with all the events it does regarding live music, comedy, charity and theater. The pricing is definitely geared towards expats, but nothing crazy. It is Thao Dien after all.

They absolutely know their alcohol (those Belgians) and generally just love the drinks. The food is very good, I liked their burger and fries. Most recently I tried the seared sea bass which is amazingly tender and comes with a buttery smooth mashed potatoes and what appears to be a gravy, which I downed so fast I could not bother to double check. Staff are friendly, helpful, but understandably overwhelmed some days. Props to them.

The overall vibe: cozy, glamorous, bustling, and widely varied just within one establishment. It is much bigger than you'd think it is, so explore...