Le Corto — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

I visited Le Corto Friday, 5/13 at 630PM. This was the worst meal I have ever had from a seemingly "upscale" restaurant. The dining room was pretty empty when I arrived--I guess it was early in the night still. Shortly after sitting down, I ordered a Negroni. I was not offered water. I waived a server down and asked for water and was asked if I wanted sparkling or still. I asked for sparkling. 10 minutes passed, still no water. I waived down another server, asked again, and they promptly brought a bottle, which they presented to me. The water they poured was entirely flat. I did not hear a seal break on the twist top when the bottle was opened. When the primary server came by, I pointed this out and she grabbed a new bottle--an entirely different brand--which she opened by the table and poured (it was sparkling). Meanwhile, a server came to take my food order; I picked the tasting menu. They were very confused and started to ask me to "pick" the cold or hot starter (the tasting should include both). The primary server ran over and stepped in. The cold starter was inedible. It was some mound of crab and squid that smelled and tasted like it could have even been from a can. Potentially in an attempt to hide the taste, the mound of fish was mixed heavily with some mayo-like cream that left it wet and mushy. The primary server came by and asked if I did not like the dish. I told her it did not taste at all fresh. She later returned saying "the chef apologized and acknowledged it was not fresh" for some reason I cannot remember. She offered to comp me a glass of wine. I saw her open the bottle of wine (re-corked) and there was an audible "pop" from across the room. I then watched her take her mask down off her nose to smell the bottle, probably in an attempt to check freshness. She brought the bottle to my table to pour at which point I noticed it was less than half full. Remember, this was the beginning of the dinner service and the restaurant was empty...it surely was open for a long time, and it definitely tasted like it. The foie gras was fine. I ran out of water and again had to ask two different servers before someone brought me more water (waiting almost 10 minutes between requests). The filet was so disappointing. Even the lousiest restaurants generally cook a filet reasonably well. I don't know what the issue was here--it was cooked rare+, as I had asked, but the meat was tough and tasteless.

This was the most disappointing meal I have had in memory. I don't know why I didn't walk out after the cold starter--the writing was on the wall. I'm not sure how this place has so many good...

Visited in Jan2024. Still one of the best French restaurants I have visited so far. The best French restaurant in HCMC. The food and service here exceeds my expectation so much. Here comes the food: The breads are so amazing and pair really well with excellent butter. The appetiser soup is good: so refreshing with strong aroma of fennel. The dumpling is good: full of umami and with ham inside. The deep fried crab claw is a bit oily but the sauce saves it. The crab tartare is fresh with jelly mixed well together. The smoothies and crackers inside the crab tarter makes the whole taste more complex, and gives this dish some wow factor as well great presentation. The foie gras is amazing: no odour at all and it melts inside my mouth then leaves a pleasant umami. The sauce is also at the point. Sour and sweet type. I like it. The fish with salmon roe and black rice is really some innovation. The fish is tender and fresh, the small roe is fresh, the black rice beneath is super chewy and the black rice cracker is crispy and special. All those ingredients make this dish kinda fusion and its savoury sauce goes really well. The aged duck is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The citrus sauce is mild and refreshing, which never overwhelmed the umami from the duck. The smashed carrot absorbs the sauce and gravy so well. Overall, the aged duck is so good. For the desserts, the mango smoothie is so refreshing, the peanut like chocolate and cigar like chocolate are amazing with great presentation and nice taste, while the alcohol is kinda normal but it is full of local flavour. The coconut ice cream is good. The strawberry jelly is amazing: it uses sour fruit with sugar on the top, making it refreshing. The sesame ball with toro is kinda normal: the glutinous rice is too hard to chew. The complimentary tea uses fresh herbs and really makes Saigon. About the service, the service is elegant and attentive. The staff top up my drinks and clean up the table timely. They are wearing a smiling face and give short brief of every dish. The whole flow is good and takes 1hour45mins. For the atmosphere, it is inside a historical bustling and the decoration is classy. In the meanwhile, they have separate outdoor balcony as smoking area and I am free from any smoking odour though sitting next to the door of the balcony. For the price, I spent 2.7mil VND for myself and it is worthy. Highly recommend to try and will surely revisit during next...

I had lunch with my family of 5 here and it was incredible! My family and I have actually never had French food before, but we were feeling adventurous.

We had the mackerel as an appetizer and chose the a la carte duck breast for the entree, which was the best duck we had ever tasted. Chef Sakal explained to us how the ducks came from the Mekong Delta and how they were dry aged and roasted. The duck skin was crispy like Peking duck, but the meat was incredibly tender and juicy. It is a must-order dish. We also tried the escargot which was seasoned perfectly and very enjoyable with the garlic and sourdough bread. My boyfriend has a previous bad experience with escargot at another restaurant but the escargot at Le Corto completely changed his attitude towards the dish. Finally, we had crepes (which were lit on fire!) with coconut ice cream and a dessert box with delicious truffles and small pastries. I think it is so rare to find a restaurant that excels in both entrees and desserts, but this one did!

The ambiance of the restaurant was so cozy but also very elegant. As an American, I noticed that many French restaurants in the USA seem very pretentious and stuffy, so their cuisine is often inaccessible to many people. At Le Corto, the waitstaff and Chef Sakal treat their patrons like family while still providing a classy and high quality experience. This restaurant is truly a gem in Saigon and I would not hesitate to eat here with my family again. I would eat at any restaurant of Chef...