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A six-year dream in a small house.
Tran Binh Trong Street in Binh Loi Trung Ward (formerly Binh Thanh District) in Saigon is usually bustling with traffic every afternoon. Yet, since the beginning of April 2025, people have started to see a small, single-story house lit up from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM every evening, not with glittering LED signs, but with a warm golden light shining through the glass windows. That's 1998 Bistro – a simple European restaurant founded by three young men born in 1998 in Khanh Hoa province.
Phi, Tú, and Khải all work regular office jobs during the day, but in the evenings they gather at the shop to renovate and clean it themselves, from painting walls and laying tiles to patching the floor… In just over 20 days, from securing the location to opening, the shop was created not by a professional team, but by the efforts of these three young people.
Phi, an IT guy, became the person in charge of visuals and social media, even though no advertising campaign was actually launched. Tu and Khai, the two head chefs, rarely appeared in front of customers, diligently working behind the scenes in their small kitchen. They differed in personality and profession, but their common ground in Saigon was here: 1998 Bistro, a simple European restaurant located in a small alley in Saigon.
(From left to right) Phi, Tú, and Khải - three young men from Khánh Hòa who came to Saigon to start their careers.
No flashy crystal chandeliers, twinkling LED signs, glasses of red wine, or gleaming alloy plates… All that 1998 Bistro has are white walls, a few rustic wooden shelves, eight or nine low tables and chairs, Lai Thieu ceramic tableware, a small kitchen, and glass windows that let in the setting sun. But it is precisely the simplicity of this one-story house that makes it stand out on a street full of high-rise buildings, as if time has bypassed this place, flowing along with the stream of people on the street in front of the restaurant.
The cafe has a small, simple yet cozy space with bamboo and wood furniture and warm yellow lights illuminating the white walls.
Few would suspect that behind those simple wooden tables lies the story of young people and their long-held dream of making their own mark.
Minimalist European cuisine
Originally a chef from Khanh Hoa, Tu moved to Saigon to pursue his career and harbored the dream of opening a small restaurant offering Western cuisine at affordable prices. After years of working in the culinary field and experiencing different kitchen models, Tu realized that European cuisine in Saigon is often in the mid-to-high-end segment. "I want to introduce European dishes in a more accessible and relatable way," Tu said.
As a chef, Tú prioritizes authentic flavors, offering the most accurate sensory experience of a dish. "The simpler the cuisine, the more pronounced the sour, spicy, salty, and sweet flavors become, making it easier to connect with the true taste buds," Tú shared.
Therefore, 1998 Bistro's menu is refined and moderate, yet retains the necessary modernity of European cuisine. The menu also includes tom yum – a Thai dish that Tú has adapted to be lighter and more refreshing. Instead of using coconut milk for richness, the tom yum here has a light, distinctly spicy but mild flavor, suitable for all ages. A few dishes inspired by the Northwest region of Vietnam are also added as highlights, making 1998 Bistro different from a purely European restaurant and instead a space where many flavors intersect.
Despite using mainly imported ingredients such as fresh salmon, Australian beef, and signature spices, the price of each dish remains below 100,000 VND. This presents Tú, Phi, and Khải's team with significant operational challenges. However, they accept this difficult problem and find a solution by reducing profit margins to sustain the restaurant and build the brand slowly, aiming for a longer-term goal.
By adapting to the local environment and tastes, the restaurant gradually gained a steady stream of customers after two months of operation. Small changes were made, such as redesigning the menu and switching from Lai Thieu ceramic bowls and plates to white porcelain in a European style, while retaining the wooden tables and chairs and the woven bamboo lamps on the ceiling. The space thus became a blend of Asian and European styles, modern and traditional, resembling a country house nestled in the heart of the city.
The taste of emotions on a wooden table
Stepping into the restaurant, I felt like I was entering a seaside house, where the salty breeze blew through the windows and the warm yellow light cast a soft glow on the walls. In that space, plates of pasta, salad, and steak appeared on wooden tables, both unfamiliar and familiar, as if European cuisine had been given a Vietnamese touch.
The European-style dishes placed on the rustic wooden table evoke a sense of intimacy rather than luxury or high-end sophistication.
This tortilla is a hybrid of many inspirations. Using a tortilla base but not rolled, it's divided into sections like pizza. The dish combines Japanese-style cured salmon with homemade mayonnaise and slow-cooked garlic confit using European techniques. The black sesame seeds sprinkled on top make it more reminiscent of rice crackers than Mexican or Italian cuisine.
Tortilla - a dish that combines the flavors of many Asian and European cuisines.
The way it's eaten is like pizza, while the appearance resembles Vietnamese rice paper.
The salmon salad is light and refreshing, with tender pan-seared pieces of fish infused with passion fruit sauce. The Tom Yum soup has a distinctive orange color, a clear but not overpowering spiciness, and the aroma of mussels and clams blends together to create a broth that remains light even after the last sip.
Salmon salad
Thai Tom Yum
The creamy pasta has just the right amount of richness, with soft but not mushy noodles. The spicy shrimp pasta has a rather interesting spiciness: the spiciness doesn't appear immediately upon chewing but unexpectedly rises in the aftertaste, then quickly dissipates, making diners want to continue without fear of it being too strong. The final course is steak with tender, juicy Australian beef and fragrant mushroom sauce. The sweetness of the meat spreads throughout the mouth and down the throat, a perfect finishing touch to the dinner.
Beef pasta with cream sauce
Spicy shrimp pasta
Steak
Imported Australian beef
A cozy little corner for Christmas
In the final days of the year, Saigon is immersed in the Christmas spirit. From shopping malls to churches and hotels, everything is ablaze with color. 1998 Bistro is no exception. Three young men, who aren't particularly artistic, meticulously decorated the restaurant themselves with tablecloths, a small Christmas tree, and charming little ornaments on the walls. The restaurant becomes unusually cozy during the Christmas season, like a small house where one can take refuge in the bustling city.
Initially, the restaurant's clientele consisted mainly of young people. Gradually, 1998 Bistro became a meeting place for families, groups of friends, and couples. There are tables for watching movies, tables for quiet conversations, and tables for simply enjoying a meal in solitude. It's a shared space, yet feels very private.
And as I sat down at a corner table near the door, watching the afternoon sun gently touch the white wall, it felt like standing before a rare, peaceful slice of Saigon. The dishes weren't overly complicated or elaborate, yet they awakened my taste buds with their clarity and authenticity. I sensed the sincerity of the chefs, of the late nights spent laying tiles and repairing walls, and of a six-year dream finally coming true.
A private and nostalgic corner for diners to visit.
Perhaps that's why the food here is not only delicious but also feels familiar. It's as if each dish tells a story: the story of young people who spent their entire 27th year in a small, one-story house in this vast city.
