Afternoons at Windows Cafe!
One of my favorite things to do when I come to Saigon is spend my mornings and afternoons lounging around with my friends drinking a few cups of Café Sua Da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee). Supposedly, this is one of the strongest coffees around. It’s basically an expresso with condensed milk. Now what makes this a unique experience (although coffee shops have sprung up like a wildfire) is coffee shops in Saigon are a mix between a club, restaurant, and coffee shop. Windows Café 4 is my personal favorite (or just Windows Cafe)… .a three story establishment.. yes three stories for coffee… DJ on the premises spinning various tunes from their beloved techno, to hip hop.. more or less techno hip hop, and Vietnamese pop music. Flat screen tvs all around. Their sound system must be mentioned… Bower Wilkins speakers all around… indoors and outdoors. Their bass is felt throughout their gigantic establishment. It’s something between South Beach Miami bars and a cafe from Florence, Italy all put into one roof.
I’ve gotten my Aussie friend hooked on this place. Here you see Craig and I just killing a few birds with one stone. Laptops (free wifi) out doing some work, talking the afternoon away, people watching (in our case it was more “gazing” at all the beautiful girls this country has) and sipping on our café sua da. You can sit outdoors on the patio all afternoon and have just one cup of coffee and it comes out to about $4 USD each. Instead of water, all patrons get iced tea – something I don’t drink often anywhere else but the tea here is phenomenal.
This is the place to see or be seen. It’s not too popular among tourist and I think it’s because people don’t truly understand what it’s all about. Just sitting back, enjoying life and not being in the rush of things. It can be overwhelming as a tourist to walk by a full three story coffee shop and not want to venture in but I’ll tell you, once you do… you’ll always come back.
Can’t forget to mention that they do have a FULL menu and I do mean FULL. Western food to Vietnamese food. Don’t expect this to be a Michelin star place to eat but it’s a perfect place for Goi Cuon (Spring Rolls or some refer to Salad Rolls).
Windows Café 4 is the best place to meet … I think I came here everyday, sometimes twice just for coffee or to meet up with friends. Was very happy to meet up with my girl Kim Phan from YumiKim here!! It was a meeting of the minds! Thanks Kim for inspiring me to start off this blog and site.
If you are coming to Saigon, hop in a cab and just tell them Windows Café 4. Everyone knows where this place is… it’s definitely a local favorite and perfect place to people watch. Grab a seat in their huge outdoor patio deck and relax!!
Windows Cafe
12 Alexandre De Rhodes : District 1
+84 (08) 823 8408
