The Old Compass Cafe, Saigon

Whenever we travel, my BF and I like looking for interesting and hipster (isn't it weird how it isn't hipster to use the word "hipster" anymore?!) cafes. We found this one called The Old Compass in District 1 in Saigon. We managed to make our way there on foot, with help from Google Maps.

Found it! It wasn't easy to spot. Look for this sign on the wall that opens to a dark, deserted alley....

Not exactly what you thought would lead you to a hipster breakfast eh? We were there before 8:30AM, I made the mistake of not checking when the cafe opened for operation and we got there a little too early.

Another cool and not-your-ordinary cafe trait was that the cafe was on the 3rd floor, so we took the narrow flight of stairs up and passed by some locals who lived there in the flat.. It was super random.

Almost there!! When we reached the cafe entrance, we realised it was still closed! Just as we were about to walk back down, an Australian man came up and turned out to be the owner of the cafe! He told us that we could have a seat first while we wait for the barista to come in and make our coffee :-)

 The window overlooking the busy and gloomy streets of Saigon

 Absolutely adored the vintage feel of the place!

so pretty!

Our barista came! The man in white was the owner and a very hospitable one he was!

They were a great pair of cuppas!

 Our pimped up Banh Mi Hoa Ma, which came with a baguette, egg and pate. Food was OK, but it definitely costs more here than on the street :-)

They have other food like Western too.

The Old Compass maintains as one of the best gems we found while traveling, not only because it was such a gorgeous little place but it also had such excellent coffee and friendly hosts! I definitely recommend a visit there whenever you're in Saigon!

Address here:

Floor 3, St,, 63/11 Pasteur, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam