La Villa

La Villa has held a Michelin Plate for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025) and earned 75 points in the La Liste Leading Restaurants 2025 ranking; the kind of back-to-back recognition that separates a reliably strong restaurant from a fortunate one-off. If you are weighing whether to spend at the ₫₫₫₫ price tier on French cuisine in Ho Chi Minh City, this track record is the most useful data point available. The short answer: yes, book it; but read the context below to confirm it matches your occasion.

Portrait

La Villa sits at 14 Ngô Quang Huy in Thảo Điền, the riverside neighbourhood in Thủ Đức district that has become the address of choice for the city's better French tables. Chef Benjamin Chrétien leads the kitchen, La Villa's consistent Michelin recognition signals a kitchen operating with technical discipline rather than coasting on neighbourhood reputation. At the ₫₫₫₫ level in Ho Chi Minh City, you are paying for classical French execution in a setting calibrated for the kind of evening that does not need to end early, that is worth knowing before you book.

The Thảo Điền location is relevant to how the evening plays out. This is not the District 1 restaurant district where foot traffic dictates a faster pace. Thảo Điền runs later and quieter, which makes La Villa a viable option when you want a long dinner that transitions into a relaxed close without the pressure of a nearby bar scene pulling the room's energy sideways. For travellers staying in District 1 or 3, factor in roughly 20–30 minutes by car or ride-share to reach Thảo Điền, plan accordingly if you want to arrive for the start of service rather than mid-meal.

The La Liste score of 75 points places La Villa in a competitive bracket globally, but in the context of Ho Chi Minh City's French dining specifically, it positions the restaurant at the top of a relatively short list of formally recognised options. 3G Trois Gourmands and La Fontaine occupy the same French category in the city, but neither carries La Villa's combination of Michelin Plate recognition and La Liste ranking in the same cycle. That gap matters if credentials are part of what you are booking for, a client dinner, a celebration, or a trip where you want to eat somewhere with a verifiable international standing.

For the food-focused traveller who tracks French cooking across Southeast Asia, La Villa fits into a wider picture worth knowing. La Maison 1888 in Da Nang operates at the high end of the Vietnamese French-dining spectrum with a heritage property context; Les Amis in Singapore and Hotel de Ville Crissier represent the category's ceiling internationally. La Villa sits comfortably between those poles, genuinely credentialed, not inflated by brand mythology, priced within the bracket its awards justify.

On timing: La Villa's location in Thảo Điền and its positioning as a formal French table make it better suited to an evening that starts at dinner and runs long rather than a quick pre-show meal. If you are looking for a late-night option after a District 1 evening, La Villa works in reverse, go there first and let the evening develop on-site rather than treating it as a destination you arrive at after 9 PM. The neighbourhood supports a slower pace, a ₫₫₫₫ French kitchen rewards the time you give it. Among the city's options for a dinner that doubles as the main event of the evening, this is the strongest formally recognised choice available.

For broader context on eating and drinking in Ho Chi Minh City, see our full Ho Chi Minh City restaurants guide, our full Ho Chi Minh City bars guide, and our full Ho Chi Minh City hotels guide. If you are planning around experiences or wineries in the city, our Ho Chi Minh City experiences guide and our wineries guide are worth a look. For French dining elsewhere in Vietnam, Saffron in Hue City and Cargo Club Cafe & Restaurant in Hoi An offer reference points at different price tiers.

Ratings & Recognition

• Michelin Plate, 2024 and 2025 (consecutive)
• La Liste Leading Restaurants 2025, 75 points

Booking

Booking difficulty at La Villa is rated Easy. This is not a counter seat that fills six weeks out, you should be able to secure a table with reasonable notice, though for a specific date tied to a celebration or a tightly scheduled itinerary, booking a week or more ahead remains sensible practice. No booking method or phone number is confirmed in our data; approach via the restaurant directly or through a hotel concierge if you are staying nearby.

Practical Details

Address: 14 Ngô Quang Huy, Thảo Điền, Thủ Đức, Ho Chi Minh City. Chef: Benjamin Chrétien. Cuisine: French. Price tier: ₫₫₫₫ (top tier for Ho Chi Minh City). Reservations: Easy to book; advance reservation recommended for specific dates. Getting there: Thảo Điền is a 20–30 minute ride from District 1, factor this into your evening plan. Hours: Not confirmed in our data; verify directly before visiting. Dress: Not formally stated, but a ₫₫₫₫ Michelin-recognised French table in Thảo Điền warrants smart-casual at minimum, dress up if the occasion calls for it.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how La Villa sits against its peers in Ho Chi Minh City's upper dining tier.

Explore More in Vietnam

For Vietnamese contemporary cooking in a different register, Lüne and Akuna are worth considering in Ho Chi Minh City. For street-level Vietnamese in the city, Anan Saigon is the most credentialed option at a fraction of the price. Outside the city, Hibana by Koki in Hanoi, Mi Quang Ba Vi in Thanh Khe, and Bau Troi Do in Son Tra round out a strong Vietnam itinerary across different regions and formats.