Izakaya MATSUKI 18A Thai Van Lung

Let's list of some pros at this place first. Food was delicious. Reasonably priced for the quality and freshness of the food. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Place is very clean and cozy. Awesome menu selection of Japanese food. Interior design is very traditional Japanese coded perfect for izakaya. There was no loud music which made the atmosphere quiet for groups to hang out and chat. Some negatives that I did not like. The table is a little bit far away from the couch making it feel awkward to move forward to eat. The walkway is only wide enough for one person to move at a time down the hall so it is very narrow and cramped. Same goes for the bathroom only one toilet and it's very cramped. The mock-up for the beer tower is way too much. Since there was no entertainment cost for live performance or mood or special occasion or beer promotion girls. So definitely not worth it for the beer tower. The location is stuck underneath another restaurant so it's a little bit hard to find next to a hotel and the road is always busy so you might have traffic jam trying to get here.

Finding a good izakaya in Ho Chi Minh City is not easy—there are simply so many options to choose from. Today, I decided to try Izakaya Matsuki 18A after seeing its good reviews. We ordered quite a few different dishes to try. My favorite was definitely the yakitori—the grilled chicken skewers were the highlight of the meal. The other dishes were more average and didn’t particularly stand out to me. That said, one of the biggest advantages of this place is the very reasonable pricing. Overall, it’s a decent, casual izakaya if you’re looking for somewhere affordable to have a few drinks and some grilled skewers without spending too much. The yakitori is definitely worth trying, but the rest was just okay for me.

Best Japanese food in District 1 found here. You can see that the chef takes a lot of effort to ensure that every plate that comes out the kitchen is presented perfectly and served hot/cold accordingly. I loved the cold dishes, especially the sashimi. It can be a little noisy when it gets crowded as it is an enclosed restaurant. Smoking is allowed indoors.

The food is gorgeous, and most dishes are very tasty. The portions aren’t very large, but the prices are reasonable, so a group can order many dishes to explore the menu. The staff are very friendly and enthusiastic. Although the restaurant was crowded, they served us quickly with every order. Highly recommended!

Amazing, if not one of the best Izakaya experiences... Been to many izakayas in Tokyo and lived in NYC for 15+ years... Crisp sapporo served in cold mugs, not too expansive but good enough sake, shochu, plum wine options... Fantastic food quality we did not expect! Namely the Shime Saba that felt so freshly cured and pickled that they probably produce in house vs. buying the overly vinegared packaged type...! Skewers were filled with charcoaly goodness and cooked very well. Service was prompt and everyone could understand english. Special shout out to a server named Kiki who couldnt access our contact via whatsapp so she used her personal instagram to connect to me to tell me that our table was ready. Cant wait to visit again when we are back in HCMC!