by Mỹ Duyên

If you dine during the day at Cafe Cardinal, a stylish restaurant known for its impeccable service and unbeatable location in downtown HCM City, you’ll first be impressed by its atrium flooded with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows. 

Located on the sixth floor of the Times Square Building on Nguyễn Huệ Pedestrian Street, the fine-dining space features leather furnishings by Visionnaire paired with Italian marble, set against palatial, hand-laid mosaic art installations.

Decorative masterworks include distinctive chandeliers and light installations with a colourful trio designed for Venini by Brazil’s famed Campana Brothers, made of an eclectic array of repurposed glass fragments and copper wires.

The open kitchen, which is also artfully designed, presents an extensive menu of decidedly French choices with detours into complementary Western and Asian cuisines.

Headed by Italian chef de cuisine Tonino Giglio, Café Cardinal serves breakfast and lunch, buffet or à la carte, with made-to-order main courses such as buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup, black cod with chorizo, and wok-fried lobster with black peppercorns.

For dinner, you can order à la carte or from a prix-fixe menu featuring French dishes, and choose from a dessert buffet and an array of imported cheeses. A la carte items start at VNĐ288,000 for starters, while the soups begin at VNĐ238,000 and main courses at VNĐ328,000.

Friday, which is seafood night at the restaurant, features a seafood buffet with a sumptuous array of premium fresh seafood, cold cuts and hot dishes cooked to order.

Starting from VNĐ1,688,000 including free flow of prosecco, the buffet offers many dishes as well as tasty delicacies such as smoked salmon, lumpfish caviar and tiger prawn in a spicy chilli sauce.

As children under 12 are not permitted in the restaurant, my colleague and I enjoyed the special seafood night without my nine-year-old twins who usually accompany me.   

After carefully scanning the menu of hot items cooked to order, we decided to start with a crustacean bisque with Alaskan crab, apple and organic crusted egg.

While waiting for the soup, I walked around the food counters, which contained hot food and raw stations with a wide selection of fresh seafood, including imported caviar, classic condiments and sauces;  Canadian Baynes Sound and French Fine de Claire oysters, on ice or baked; prawns with garlic, chilli and cherry tomato sauce; and Nha Trang lobster, baked or grilled. Freshly mixed salads and vegetables and sumptuous desserts were also on display.

When the waiter brought out the Alaskan King crab soup, I was not impressed with its colour, but after tasting it, I fell in love. It was one of my favourite items of the entire meal.

In addition to all-day fine dining, the restaurant serves up afternoon tea daily. Priced at VNĐ548,000, it includes selections from across Europe, including favourites such as Austrian Linzer torte, French éclairs and English scones.