Vung Tau is mostly known as the weekend escape valve for Saigon — two hours down the highway, beaches of varying quality, and a lot of seafood. What people talk about less is the beer scene, which is genuinely good if you know where to look. This is a working port city with a long French colonial history and a population that takes drinking seriously.
The Bia Hoi Situation
"Bia hoi" — fresh, unfiltered draft beer brewed daily and served at low plastic tables on the pavement — is less of a Vung Tau (붕따우 / 头顿 / ブンタウ) institution than it is in Hanoi, but it's here. The density of bia hoi corners is highest around the fish market area near the back beach (Bai Sau) and along Hoang Hoa Tham street, where you'll find clusters of small operations running from late afternoon until the beer runs out, usually around 10pm.
Expect to pay 6,000–10,000 VND per glass, which remains one of the few genuine bargains left anywhere in Vietnam (베트남 / 越南 / ベトナム). The beer itself is light — around 3–4% ABV — and best consumed fast before the ice melts. That's the point. You're not drinking for complexity; you're drinking because it's 35 degrees and a plate of boiled peanuts costs another 15,000 VND and you've got nowhere else to be.
The crowd at these spots is almost entirely local — retirees, market vendors wrapping up their day, motorcycle repair guys from the shop next door. If you sit down, someone will usually pull your table closer to theirs within twenty minutes. Bring enough Vietnamese to order and laugh, and you'll be fine.
Where the Foreigner-Local Split Happens
Vung Tau has a visible expat community — mostly oil and gas workers, some long-term retirees — and the drinking spots that cater to them cluster around Nguyen Trai and Ba Cu streets near the front beach (Bai Truoc). These places serve Saigon (사이공 / 西贡 / サイゴン), Tiger, and 333 on draft at 30,000–50,000 VND a glass, run English-language menus, and often show European football on screen.
There's nothing wrong with them. But they're a different experience than the bia hoi (비아호이 / 鲜啤 / ビアホイ) corner two streets back, and it's worth being deliberate about which one you're choosing.
The interesting middle ground is the seafood restaurant strip along Tran Phu and the laneway stalls behind it. These places serve locals and tourists in roughly equal measure, the beer is Saigon Lager on ice, and the pairing logic is simple: whatever came out of the water that morning.
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Craft Beer in Vung Tau
The craft scene here is small but real. A few taprooms have opened in the last three or four years, mostly targeting the Saigon weekend crowd who wants something beyond Saigon Lager.
Vung Tau Craft Beer on Ly Tu Trong is the most established. They pour six to eight rotating taps — typically a wheat, a pale ale, a stout, and a few seasonal experiments. Prices run 65,000–95,000 VND per 330ml pour. It's not cheap by local standards, but the quality is consistent and the taproom itself is well-designed, with outdoor seating and decent ventilation. They also do growler fills if you're staying somewhere with a fridge.
A few bars in the Nguyen Trai strip have started stocking canned Vietnamese craft from Saigon-based producers — Pasteur Street, East West, Heart of Darkness — but at marked-up prices. Better to drink those in the city where they're brewed and drink local when you're here.
What to Eat With Your Beer
Vung Tau's beer food is as good as any in the south. The obvious choice is seafood — grilled scallops with spring onion oil, steamed clams with lemongrass, whole grilled squid — but there are a few local pairings that are specifically worth knowing.
"Banh khot" is the local specialty: small, crispy coconut rice cups topped with shrimp, served with herbs and a thin dipping sauce. They're light enough that you can eat a full plate between beers without slowing down. Most banh khot spots open in the afternoon and run until they sell out — the cluster on Nguyen Truong To street is reliable.
"Bun tau" — a clear broth noodle soup with pork and glass noodles — is the late-night beer recovery food of choice for locals. After the seafood and the bia hoi, a small bowl of bun tau from one of the night stalls near Bai Sau costs about 35,000 VND and does the job.
If you want something more substantial, the "com tam" stalls along Le Loi open early and stay open late — broken rice with grilled pork and a fried egg is a perfectly reasonable base before an evening of draft beer.
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Timing and Practical Rhythm
Vung Tau's drinking day starts later than Hanoi's and earlier than Saigon's. The bia hoi corners fill up from around 4:30pm. Seafood restaurants peak from 6pm to 9pm. The craft taprooms and expat bars run until midnight on weekends, earlier on weekdays.
Weekends — especially Saturday nights — are noticeably louder and more crowded because of the Saigon influx. If you want a quieter read of the local scene, a weekday evening gives you the city on its own terms.
Practical Notes
Most bia hoi and seafood spots are cash only — bring small bills. A solid evening of bia hoi and street food for two people runs 150,000–250,000 VND, depending on how much you eat. The craft taproom will run closer to 300,000–500,000 VND for two. Grab-Bike is the easiest way to move between the back beach and front beach areas, and the ride costs under 25,000 VND.
Last updated · May 26, 2026 · independently researched, never sponsored.
