Saigon Eats: The Deck

The Deck’s deck – perfect for waterfront lounging
This is one of those ‘is this really Saigon?!’ kind of places. Situated in the expat enclave of An Phu – a world of gated compounds, huge villas, international schools and (gasp!) quiet streets – glass-walled, contemporary restaurant The Deck takes advantage of Saigon’s river setting. As you drink and dine, sand barges, small boats and clumps of plant matter drift by, and across to the other bank the view is nothing but tropical foliage. It’s as though you’re a million miles away from the city. From inside the restaurant you have a view out to the river from any of the tables courtesy of the glass frontage, or you can choose to sit on the namesake ‘deck’ for a more casual experience. The rattan seats (pictured) are very conducive to a sunset cocktail or two. 

Clockwise from L to R: prawn canneloni, lamb ravioli, chocolate tart,
chilli salt squid, lemongrass & vanilla creme brulee
The Deck uses alot of local produce (including delectable seafood) and flavour influences from Asia to Europe, creating a menu of fresh, modern cuisine. We had chilli salt squid to start, with tempura light batter and a perfect texture. For mains – prawn canneloni with a tomato and lobster sauce (which had a strong dill taste that oddly worked!) and lamb ravioli (French spring vegetable flavours and succulent meat). For dessert – a luscious chocolate tart and a lemongrass/vanilla creme brulee that I highly recommend to any lover of lemongrass. While The Deck is obviously not a ‘local’ experience it’s a worthwhile one for those looking to escape the city for a while and indulge.
The Deck, 38 Nguyen U Di, An Phu (D2)
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11 Responses

  1. A Lady's Life April 14, 2009 / 9:57 pm

    ummm sounds so delightful and decadent lol
    I lover asian food especially the Singapore Chile crab
    enjoy!

  2. melanie lace April 16, 2009 / 1:09 pm

    I’m going to be there in June and will def. stop by!

  3. Baron's Life April 18, 2009 / 10:59 am

    The meal looks delicious, the deck setting is just first class, quiet streets sounds wonderful..Is it expensive?

  4. henno April 22, 2009 / 2:14 am

    I’m a big fan of the Deck. Had one minor food mishap once with the mussels, though. They were very tough and stringy and when we sent them back the chef was quite defiant, saying they were “local” which seemed by the look of the poor creatures to mean that they had been sourced from the Saigon River two metres away!

  5. A Girl in Asia April 22, 2009 / 1:14 pm

    B.L. – it’s not as pricey as you might think..the lunch mains were around $7 each, not bad for the type of restaurant it is and the location!

    Henno – those mussels don’t sound too good…I know what you mean, I had similar stringy mussels somewhere else recently and they had pretty much no ‘meat’, as though the mussel didn’t form properly or something – weird!

  6. jen laceda April 23, 2009 / 7:22 pm

    Ok, I am so missing Southeast Asian food now. When I was living in the Philippines, I had easy access to all that! Here in Toronto as well, it is easy to find. But it’s probably not as fresh! I’m am so hunting for curry tonight!

  7. kristine April 24, 2009 / 10:11 pm

    beautiful stuff. I love all this – it makes me miss SE Asia terribly!!

  8. umama April 27, 2009 / 11:08 pm

    Thanks for following along on my blog! I’m wishing I can trade places with you as I look at all these delicious pics! Lucky you!

  9. laradunston May 1, 2009 / 11:28 am

    Love the look of this place – and love your pics! I have memories of stumbling across these kinds of stylish, fine quality places in cities where you least expect them – Moscow many years ago, before it become fashionable; Marrakesh also, a very long time ago – and they’re a real delight to discover after long term travel in a challenging country, it can be such a joy to find such sophistication where you least expect to, can’t it?

  10. A Girl in Asia May 3, 2009 / 8:53 am

    Hi Lara – it’s definitely nice to discover and try places like this, and one thing I love about Asia is places like this that use local ingredients with a gourmet twist (in a great setting)!

  11. Anonymous August 23, 2010 / 5:00 am

    The wines at The Deck are practically all “New World” filth, and the service is appalling. It appears that the waiters have received zero training and understand practically no English, let alone French. The food is mediocre and overpriced for what it is.
    The Deck has a good location and nothing more.

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