Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Two Michelin stars. Book early or miss out.
Akuna holds a Michelin star (2024 and 2025) and a La Liste score of 75 points, making it one of Ho Chi Minh City's most credentialed tables at the ₫₫₫₫ tier. Chef Sam Aisbett leads an innovative kitchen on Level 9 of Le Méridien Saigon. Book 3 to 4 weeks out for dinner; lunch slots may offer more flexibility at the same quality level.
At the ₫₫₫₫ price point, Akuna asks you to commit. The question is whether that commitment is warranted. Given back-to-back Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025, a La Liste score of 75 points in both 2025 and 2026, and a 4.4 Google rating from over 120 reviews, the answer is yes — with one important condition: book well in advance, or you won't get in at all. This is one of Ho Chi Minh City's hardest tables to secure, and the credentials explain why.
Akuna occupies Level 9 of Le Méridien Saigon on Tôn Đức Thắng, the riverside boulevard that runs along District 1's western edge. The hotel setting places you above the city's noise, and the ninth-floor position means the visual experience begins before you sit down. That elevation matters: the room is designed to be looked out of as much as looked at, and arriving at dusk gives you the transition from golden-hour Saigon to the lit city below — a detail worth factoring into your dinner reservation timing.
Chef Sam Aisbett leads the kitchen, and his approach is framed as innovative , a category that, in Ho Chi Minh City's current restaurant scene, covers significant ground. What separates Akuna from the broader innovative-cuisine bracket in this city is the consistency of its award record. Two consecutive Michelin stars and a stable La Liste score are not the profile of a restaurant in flux. They suggest a kitchen that has found its register and is executing against it reliably.
This is the decision most repeat visitors to Ho Chi Minh City's leading end get wrong. At ₫₫₫₫ pricing, dinner at Akuna is the full-commitment format: the room at night, the city lights below, the extended experience. If you are visiting once and want the complete version, dinner is the right call. Book a window seat if the option exists.
Lunch, however, is worth serious consideration for a different reason: availability. A Michelin-starred restaurant at the ₫₫₫₫ tier in a high-footfall hotel almost always holds back midday slots that dinner demand can't absorb. If your travel window is tight, or if you are visiting during peak season when dinner reservations at this level are fully committed weeks out, lunch gives you access to the same kitchen, the same chef, and the same cuisine , with more flexibility in timing and, in many cases, a lighter version of the menu that suits the daylight hours. The ninth-floor views at noon over District 1 and the Saigon River are not a consolation prize.
For food-focused travelers who are building an itinerary around multiple high-end meals, lunch at Akuna and dinner elsewhere , or vice versa , is a practical approach that doesn't require you to choose between this and the city's other serious options. Compare this to CieL, which also operates at ₫₫₫₫ in the innovative category: if you are weighing the two, the lunch slot at one and dinner at the other is a more satisfying itinerary than skipping either.
Within Ho Chi Minh City's fine-dining tier, Akuna's closest direct comparison is CieL , both are ₫₫₫₫ innovative restaurants competing for the same diner at the same price point. Akuna's Michelin recognition gives it a credentials edge, but CieL is worth knowing about for availability if Akuna is fully booked on your dates. One tier down, Coco Dining operates in the innovative category at ₫₫₫ , a meaningful price difference that makes it the right call if you want a serious creative kitchen without the full ₫₫₫₫ spend. For something rooted in Vietnamese food culture rather than international fine-dining formats, An's Saigon and the broader local scene offer a very different experience at a fraction of the price.
Across Vietnam's fine-dining circuit, Hibana by Koki in Hanoi and La Maison 1888 in Da Nang represent the country's other top-tier options if you are building a multi-city itinerary. Regionally, Thevar and Meta in Singapore, along with alla prima and Soigné in Seoul, operate in the same innovative fine-dining register and give useful context for where Akuna sits in the broader Asian market. MAZ in Tokyo adds further comparison for travelers moving across the region.
Also worth knowing in Ho Chi Minh City's broader dining picture: Nén Light and Å by T.U.N.G are two of the city's other notable addresses for food-focused visitors, and both offer a different angle on what Ho Chi Minh City's restaurant scene can do at the serious end of the market.
Reservations: Book as far in advance as possible , 3 to 4 weeks minimum for dinner, slightly less lead time may be available for lunch slots. This is a hard booking at peak periods. Location: Level 9, Le Méridien Saigon, 3C Tôn Đức Thắng, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Budget: ₫₫₫₫ , expect this to be one of your higher-spend meals in the city. Awards: Michelin 1 Star (2024, 2025); La Liste Leading Restaurants 75pts (2025, 2026). Chef: Sam Aisbett. Google rating: 4.4 from 121 reviews. Dress: Not specified in available data, but the hotel setting and price point suggest smart casual at minimum , check directly when booking.
The menu specifics are not published in advance, which is standard for a Michelin-starred kitchen operating at this level. Expect a chef-led format where the kitchen directs the meal rather than an à la carte selection. The innovative cuisine classification and Sam Aisbett's background point toward a tasting menu structure. If you have strong preferences, note them at the time of booking rather than arriving and hoping for flexibility.
Book 3 to 4 weeks out for dinner at minimum. A Michelin-starred restaurant at the leading of Ho Chi Minh City's price tier fills its dinner slots fast, particularly on weekends and during Vietnam's peak travel months (November through April, when the dry season draws the highest visitor numbers). Lunch reservations may be available with less lead time , if your dates are close, check lunch availability before assuming the restaurant is fully booked.
Group booking specifics , private dining rooms, maximum party sizes, and group menus , are not confirmed in available data. For groups of 4 or more at a hotel restaurant of this tier, contacting the venue directly and well in advance is the practical approach. The Le Méridien Saigon hotel address means there is likely dedicated event infrastructure in the building, but confirm directly what Akuna specifically offers for larger parties.
No confirmed information is available on dietary accommodation policies. At a Michelin-starred restaurant with a chef-led menu, dietary requirements flagged at the time of reservation are typically accommodated or at least addressed , this is standard at this price and award level. Contact the restaurant directly when booking to confirm what they can work with, particularly for severe allergies or highly restrictive diets.
Bar seating availability is not confirmed in available data. Given the hotel restaurant format and the ninth-floor setting, a bar or lounge area within the space is plausible, but whether it operates as a walk-in option or requires a reservation is not confirmed. If bar seating matters to your visit , for a shorter or more spontaneous experience , contact the venue directly before arriving.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akuna | Innovative | ₫₫₫₫ | La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 75pts; Chef: Sam Aisbett document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { var el = document.getElementById("Achievements_chefs"); if (el && el.parentNode) { el.parentNode.removeChild(el); } });; La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 75pts; Michelin 1 Star (2025); Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Anan Saigon | Vietnamese Street Food | ₫₫ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| CieL | Innovative | ₫₫₫₫ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Coco Dining | Innovative | ₫₫₫ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Long Trieu | Cantonese | ₫₫₫₫ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Bánh Xèo 46A | Vietnamese | ₫ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Ho Chi Minh City for this tier.
Akuna runs a chef-led innovative format under Sam Aisbett, so the menu is set rather than à la carte — you are not choosing individual dishes. The full tasting experience is the point of the booking. At ₫₫₫₫ pricing with back-to-back Michelin stars in 2024 and 2025, the format is designed to be followed in full, not picked apart.
Akuna sits on Level 9 of Le Méridien Saigon, a hotel setting that typically supports private dining arrangements for larger parties. For groups of six or more, check the venue's official channels well in advance — ₫₫₫₫ tasting-menu restaurants at this tier rarely accommodate large walk-in groups without prior coordination. Smaller groups of two to four are the most natural fit for a counter or intimate room format.
A Michelin-starred tasting menu at this price tier almost always accommodates dietary restrictions when flagged at the time of booking — this is standard practice for restaurants of Akuna's format. Notify the team when you reserve, not on arrival. Leaving it until the day risks a degraded experience given how tightly sequenced tasting menus are prepared.
Book three to four weeks out minimum for dinner — less lead time may open up for lunch slots, but do not count on it. Akuna holds a Michelin star and a La Liste Top Restaurants placement for both 2025 and 2026, which keeps demand consistent. If your travel dates are fixed, book the moment your itinerary is confirmed.
Akuna is located on Level 9 of Le Méridien Saigon, a hotel fine-dining setting that does not typically offer casual bar-seat dining in the way a standalone restaurant might. The ₫₫₫₫ format here is a committed tasting experience rather than a drop-in option. If you want a more flexible entry point into Ho Chi Minh City's top tier, Anan Saigon offers a lower-commitment format at a lower price point.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
