Cafe Giot Dang

This place was closed at 8pm on a Saturday. It can’t be any good.

A whole bunch of folks from all over are flocking to look, be, and do the same. Right now there are people reading Unilocal just to find the newest places to see and be seen (except you, of course). This review is for a different type of café which most Unilocalers would give their right arm NOT TO GO.
If you’re looking for the definitive Saigon experience in San Diego, look no further than Café Giot Dang.
Okay, what does a typical San Diego café look like? Starbucks uniformity? Check. Non-​branded, mom-​n-​pop artsy? Check. Eclectic, tattoo, rocker sandwich joint? Check. Smokey, dark, English is the 2^nd language, soccer on the big screen, Vietnamese coffee shop? Wait a minute… I want some!
Giot Dang is the motliest café in SD. First visual: the servers wear something close to evening wear. Customers arrive, sit at a table, and the servers come to your table to take your order. Café sua da, a Vietnamese strong ice coffee is the popular drink. Tea is free.
This café, like most cafes in Saigon, are primarily populated with men.
Bring your cigarettes because the true Saigon experience requires it. Though I’m not a smoker, I can find a spot in this cavernous, dark room clear from the smoke.
(If you’re pregnant, or have health issues that does not allow for caffeine or too much tobacco smoke, please don’t go.)
If you’re looking for an authentic Southeast Asian experience, complete with music and gaming, this place is as close as it gets.
Distractions include a few gambling machines for your gaming pleasure and big screen televisions with soccer games and other sports. As I said, mostly guys hang out here, talking, sipping coffee, and smoking cigs.
There’s no food here. Just coffee and games.