Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Michelin-recognised street food at local prices.
Cô Liêng is a Michelin Plate-recognised street food address in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, awarded the distinction in both 2024 and 2025. At the lowest price tier in the city, it delivers documented quality without a booking system or budget commitment. For visitors who want to eat well at street food prices with Michelin-level consistency, this is an easy recommendation.
If you are deciding between Cô Liêng and a more polished sit-down restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, book Cô Liêng first. This is a Michelin Plate-recognised street food address in District 3 that delivers serious culinary credibility at the lowest price tier in the city. With back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, and a Google rating of 4.1 across 719 reviews, it has earned its place on any short list for visitors who want to eat well without a reservation strategy or a large budget.
The case for Cô Liêng is direct: Michelin's inspectors awarded it a Plate — the guide's signal for fresh ingredients and carefully prepared food — two years running. That is not an accident of tourism or novelty. In a city where street food is the dominant dining format, the Plate distinction separates venues that are merely popular from those executing their category at a documented level of quality. Cô Liêng sits in that second group.
The address on Võ Văn Tần in District 3 puts it in a walkable, residential-commercial pocket of the city, away from the tourist-dense corridors of District 1. That matters for the experience: the room and the crowd are local-facing, which is generally a reliable indicator that pricing has not been adjusted for foreign visitors and that the kitchen is cooking for regulars rather than novelty seekers. For context on what that kind of neighbourhood positioning looks like in practice across Vietnam's street food tier, the Michelin-recognised Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Singapore and 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles follow a similar pattern: neighbourhood roots, local regulars, Michelin recognition that arrives without the venue changing its character.
For a special occasion in the traditional sense, Cô Liêng is not the answer if you need a private room, a wine list, or table service with multiple courses. But if the occasion is about eating something genuinely worth remembering in a city famous for its food, this is a strong choice. The price point means you can eat here multiple times on a single trip without financial strain, which is its own kind of occasion.
Cô Liêng is easy to book by the standards of Michelin-recognised venues. The ₫ price tier and street food format mean you are not competing with hotel concierges or advance reservation systems. Walk-ins are the norm for this category in Ho Chi Minh City. That said, Michelin recognition does drive traffic, and peak meal periods at a venue with limited seating can mean a wait. Going slightly before the lunch or dinner rush is the practical move. No phone number or booking platform is listed in available data, which suggests the walk-in model is the correct approach.
Timing your visit to Ho Chi Minh City also matters at the seasonal level. The dry season, running roughly from December through April, makes street food dining considerably more comfortable in terms of weather. If you are planning a trip around eating well in District 3, that window is worth targeting. For broader planning, our full Ho Chi Minh City restaurants guide covers the city's range across price tiers and cuisines. You may also find our Ho Chi Minh City hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide useful for building out a full itinerary.
Cô Liêng is not the only address earning recognition in this format across the city. The Michelin Plate tier in Ho Chi Minh City includes a range of street food specialists, many of them single-dish focused. Venues like Cơm Tấm Ba Ghiền, Bò Kho Gánh, Bún Bò Huế 14B, Bún Thịt Nướng Hoàng Văn, and Phở Miến Gà Kỳ Đồng represent the same category logic: focused menus, neighbourhood locations, and Michelin recognition for consistency and ingredient quality rather than for fine dining ambition.
If you are building a Ho Chi Minh City food itinerary that spans the full quality range, pairing Cô Liêng with a higher-tier meal at somewhere like Anan Saigon gives you a useful contrast between street food craft and Vietnamese cuisine with more elaborate technique. Elsewhere in Vietnam, the Michelin-recognised tier includes La Maison 1888 in Da Nang, Hibana by Koki in Hanoi, Saffron in Hue City, and Cargo Club Cafe and Restaurant in Hoi An for those moving across the country. Regional comparisons further afield include Mi Quang Ba Vi in Thanh Khe and Bau Troi Do in Son Tra for central Vietnamese street food of a similar character.
| Detail | Cô Liêng | Anan Saigon | Little Bear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | ₫ | ₫₫ | ₫₫ |
| Cuisine | Street Food | Vietnamese Street Food | Vietnamese Contemporary |
| Michelin recognition | Plate (2024, 2025) | Check Pearl listing | Check Pearl listing |
| Booking difficulty | Easy (walk-in) | Moderate | Moderate |
| District 3 location | Yes | No | No |
For anyone planning a broader exploration of Ho Chi Minh City's food scene, our Ho Chi Minh City wineries guide is also available if your itinerary extends beyond restaurants.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cô Liêng | Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | ₫ | — |
| Anan Saigon | Michelin 1 Star | ₫₫ | — |
| CieL | Michelin 1 Star | ₫₫₫₫ | — |
| Coco Dining | Michelin 1 Star | ₫₫₫ | — |
| Long Trieu | Michelin 1 Star | ₫₫₫₫ | — |
| Little Bear | ₫₫ | — |
How Cô Liêng stacks up against the competition.
Cô Liêng operates as a street food venue, so the seating format is likely counter or open-air rather than a conventional bar setup. Given the ₫ price tier and Michelin Plate recognition, expect casual communal-style seating rather than a bar with drinks service. If a bar experience is central to your visit, Anan Saigon is a better fit.
Cô Liêng is a street food venue at the ₫ price tier, so a structured tasting menu is unlikely to be the format here. Michelin's Plate recognition signals careful preparation and quality ingredients rather than a multi-course progression. If a formal tasting format is what you want, CieL is the more appropriate choice in Ho Chi Minh City.
It depends on what the occasion calls for. Cô Liêng's Michelin Plate status (2024 and 2025) gives it a credible story to tell, and eating recognised street food at local prices can be a deliberate, memorable choice. For a celebration that needs private space, a set menu, or wine service, it is not the right venue — Long Trieu or CieL would suit that better.
As a ₫-tier street food spot, Cô Liêng is unlikely to require advance reservations in the way a tasting-menu restaurant would. Showing up directly is the expected approach for most venues in this format. That said, Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 may have increased foot traffic, so arriving early in a session is the safer strategy.
Street food venues at the ₫ price point typically handle groups informally, without private dining rooms or pre-set group menus. Smaller groups of two to four will find it easiest to seat together; larger parties may need to be flexible about seating arrangements. If a coordinated group dining experience matters, Coco Dining or Anan Saigon offer more structure.
Yes, straightforwardly. A ₫-tier price tag combined with back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 makes Cô Liêng one of the lower-risk spending decisions in Ho Chi Minh City's dining scene. You are getting food that Michelin inspectors flagged for quality at street food prices — that ratio is hard to argue against.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
