La Saigon Café

La Saigon Café is a Vietnamese café and specialty coffee roaster at The Domain, 914 East Coast Road. It serves Vietnamese comfort food, such as pho and banh mi, with coffee made from beans it roasts in Singapore.

The idea is to share Vietnam's coffee habits and home-style family dishes with diners in the east of Singapore. It is a relaxed place for a bowl of noodles at lunch, a coffee break or a casual dinner.

What to order

The pho is the dish most people come for. The broth is simmered for hours, based on a family recipe. Beef pho, or phở bò, is the classic choice.

The bánh mì uses sourdough bread with classic Saigon-style fillings. Reviewers have tried versions with fluffy egg and with soft shell crab. There are also lighter bites through the day, and a seasonal high tea.

Coffee and drinks

Coffee is the other half of the business. The beans come from highland farms in Da Lat and Son La, in Vietnam. The team then roasts them in Singapore.

• Vietnamese drip coffee, brewed slowly through a phin filter
• Egg coffee, the rich whipped coffee first made in Hanoi
• Espresso drinks, such as flavoured lattes
• Drinks at the bar in the evening

You can also take coffee home. The shop sells single-origin and house-blend beans, coffee capsules and chocolate made from Vietnamese cacao. These make easy gifts to pack in your luggage.

The setting

Inside is a cosy air-conditioned room, and there are also tables outdoors. Diners can see into the open kitchen. Reviews describe it as a café by day and a bar at night, so you can stay on for a drink after dinner.

Good to know before you go

• You can book a table online. Groups of up to six pay no deposit.
• Groups of seven or more pay a deposit, which goes towards the final bill.
• The café is cashless, so bring a card or a phone wallet.
• An app lets you order ahead and collect loyalty rewards.

Nearby

The Domain is on the Siglap stretch of East Coast Road, east of Katong. For more food in the area, try Comida Mexicana or Al Forno East Coast. A short ride west, the colourful Koon Seng Road shophouses are a good photo stop. See more Thai, Korean and Asian restaurants, browse the restaurants in Katong and Joo Chiat or read our Katong and Joo Chiat guide. Menus and bookings are on the La Saigon Café website.