Sozo

Found this little place in the district 1 area Saigon, really cool little place that does the best Vietnamese coffee as well as a most amazing selection of cakes and sweet things. free wifi along with a good selection of books to read whilst your there.The thing I love the most about this place is that it is run by a charity and was set up to help the under privileged families in the city in to employment whilst learning new skills.Great place to just chill and watch the world go by.Staff are lovely helpful and make you feel really welcome.

For my two days in Ho Chi Minh City, Sozo was my neighborhood hangout. It was a few doors down from our hotel and its bright yellow walls and inviting atmosphere caught my eye as we walked by it on our first night. Our hotel didn't serve breakfast so we piled in on our first morning before heading to the tunnels. In the front of the cafe there are tables and chairs and in the back there is a loungey seating area.

Sozo's menu it has a lot of mouthwatering breakfast options you rarely see available in Vietnam- bagels, breakfast burritos, and "fluffy pancakes". Except some things weren't available because they hadn't yet learned how to make them. Or at least I think that's what they were telling us! Like Romdeng and Friends in Phnom Penh, this cafe is run by street kids who are being trained how to cook and run a business.

Even thought they didn't have everything listed on the menu, they were great about customizing dishes as much as they could. Coffee was served in a decent sized mug. We would pop in during the day for tea, smoothies or baked goods. Another nice thing is that they have magazines about Vietnam written in English to read while you're there. If you're staying in this backpacker area of Saigon, definitely give Sozo a try. Hopefully their full menu will be available by then!