The Monkey Gallery DINING — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

Our friend told us about this restaurant when he visited a few weeks before we arrived and I am so glad we booked.

From the moment I booked via google their communication was amazing. They contacted me directly to pay the deposit and check everything with the booking. We then realised we may be affected by the 50th reunification celebrations and they went above and beyond to offer to hold 2 dates for us in case we couldn’t make the first! In the end we confirmed the initial date worked and had no issues. All the road closures meant we headed to the area earlier to find the place and enjoy some of the events that night. We took up their offer for transport back after the dinner to our hotel which was much easier than waiting for a taxi and a lively way to end the evening.

The entrance is 91 Mac Thi Buoi St - just look for the number on the building. There will be a staff member waiting for you to take you up. Do not look for any sign for the restaurant just the door number. You will be whisked up a couple of flights of stairs to the modern open kitchen restaurant. When booking you can either get a private table or sit at the chefs table (the pass), with the chefs and watch them prepare the food and have greater interaction. We went for the chefs table as we love to watch and interact, and have paid extra for this opportunity several times around the world and in London were we live.

The service is impeccable from entrance to getting home. Attentive but not overbearing. Helpful, especially when choosing wines with the fun of trying to work out price conversions. The descriptions of each course balanced but with the opportunity to ask for greater detail, ingredients and ways they prepared.

Visit the high tech toilet that matches the modern design.

We had the 10 course magical ticket menu which lives up to its magical name. I would highly recommend always booking the higher number of dishes option - if you can - as each dish is a marvel and deserves to be tasted. I am sure whatever menu is on offer will be as amazing.

Each dish was a piece of art. You almost don’t want to eat them. Each mouthful was a journey of flavours perfectly balanced. The portions as you can tell from photos are small but this means you are not having to force yourself at the end which we had had to do in other tasting menus.

Tommy our waiter for the evening really and truly looked after us. Answering our additional questions on the foods and those he could not one of the heads chefs would be over in a flash ready to chat.

The wine list has prices to suit most budgets and a good selection of glasses for those not wanting a full bottle.

I am surprised they don’t have a Michelin star as I am not sure what more they need to do. Up there with the very best fine dining experiences in the world - take our world for it as we eat out in London weekly and travel extensively often...

For the price range rather disappointing. My wife and I dined here yesterday. The food was good, but not outstanding; certainly not Michelin Star caliber as some of the reviewers here want you to believe. I had the truffle pasta and the raw shrimps (which were really nice, I have to say). For dessert I had the buttermilk pana cotta with Guava ice cream, as well as some tamarind ice cream for pre-dessert. Also good, but not outstanding. What was rather disappointing, was that we could only order a la carte, and not the set dinner menu. Their reason for this was that they are currently renovating the third floor (why the set menu could not be served on the second floor or the ground floor was strangely not revealed). But what really put me off was not the food, but the surroundings and lack of detail. Drinks were served in plastic glasses (! in this price range !), there were no napkins on the table (again at this price range I expect an eye for detail from the owner/staff), and when we asked the waiter, he brought us cheap paper napkins. The little mood lamp on the table was also made from plastic. More seriously, when we walked up the stairs to the second floor, water was dripping from the ceiling and fell into buckets that had been put there by the staff, and the air smelled moldy. We were told that the restaurant is currently undergoing renovations, but again, at this price range, as a customer I do not want to be confronted with such problems. Then close your restaurant until everything has been fixed, instead of exposing your customers to moldy air and dripping ceilings at full price! If you want to have a good 1-Michelin-Star experience, go to Paris or if it has to be in the South-East Asia region, I would recommend Bangkok, where you have a whole list of excellent 1- and 2-Michelin Star restaurants that do a much more professional job than Monkey Gallery Dining. To sum things up: The food was fairly good (definitely not 1-Michelin Star good), but for the price I expect a better...

I am writing to express my profound appreciation for The Monkey Gallery DINING, where I have had the pleasure of dining twice this week. Both experiences were nothing short of impressive. The restaurant's theme of blurring the lines between dining and art, built on innovativeness, truly stands out.

During the same week, I also experienced the full tasting menus at AKUNA, ANAN, and Le Corto. However, The Monkey Gallery DINING emerged as my favorite restaurant, not just in Saigon, but across Vietnam, for several reasons:

• Chef Hau Tran's Innovativeness and Technique: The culinary artistry and skill displayed by Chef Hau Tran were exceptional.

• High-Quality Ingredients and Presentation: The ingredients, sourced from various regions in Vietnam, were of the highest quality and presented as edible art.

• Consistency: The consistency across every course and on both occasions, despite different menus, was remarkable.

• Personalised Experience: Chef Tran's ability to surprise and customize the menu once he became more familiar with my preferences was a delightful touch.

• Outstanding Service: The gallery attendants, Tommy and Nguyen (I hope I remembered her name correctly), made a significant impact. Their genuine effort to understand guests and even suggest tea flavors from your impressive collection was truly appreciated.

• Attention to Detail: Small acts of personalization, such as the welcome card on the table, demonstrated a commendable level of detail.

• Down-to-Earth Team: The entire team, from the kitchen to the front of house, exuded a welcoming and unpretentious atmosphere, which is a refreshing change from some star-rated establishments.

Having dined at numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, I can confidently say that The Monkey Gallery DINING unquestionably belongs...