6 Favorite Places to Try Vietnamese Iced Coffee on O‘ahu

Photo: Hailey Akau

During my sophomore year of college, my Vietnamese roommate’s family regularly sent care packages filled with spices and coffee. Every morning, she filled a glass with ice and condensed milk, poured hot water over coffee grounds in a small metal filter set on top and let the coffee drip onto the ice and milk below. That was my introduction to Vietnamese iced coffee.

I hadn’t yet understood the nuanced flavors—why the brew tastes almost like chocolate or how the condensed milk enhances the boldness of the coffee. Cà phê sữa đá, as it is traditionally called, translates to coffee milk ice, but the drink is more than that.

The nutty, chocolatey flavor comes from its use of 100% robusta coffee beans, but you can really use any coffee with a bolder flavor and a higher caffeine content. Some recipes even recommend using the blend of dark-roasted beans and chicory from Café du Monde in New Orleans—with its similarly deep and earthy notes, this has become integrated into Vietnamese coffee culture in the U.S.

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Cà phê sữa đá’s phin filter was introduced by the French when Vietnam was a colony. Its slow drip makes for a strong, concentrated brew. The filter is placed over a glass filled with ice and condensed milk. You fill the chamber with ground coffee and place the gravity press over it, then top it off with hot water and let it filter through the grounds.

Sweetened condensed milk is perhaps my favorite part of the drink. Its sweetness combines with the robusta beans to produce a perfect balance of bittersweetness. There’s more to its use than just taste though. The French introduced it among many items that are now staples in Vietnamese households, including baguettes, flan and coffee. Fresh milk was scarce, so canned milk offered a safe alternative.

Cà phê sữa đá is more than just iced coffee with condensed milk—there is a rich history behind each element. If you’re looking for a drink to switch up your coffee routine, here are my six favorite places to check out Vietnamese iced coffee.

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Photo: Hailey Akau

No. 6: Morning Glass Coffee

The neighborhood coffee shop I grew up with makes the first cà phê sữa đá I tried on island; it remains a favorite today. The Vietnamese-style iced coffee ($7) combines the house medium roast cold brew concentrate with condensed milk—it’s not traditional, but it’s still delicious. Stop by for your morning coffee and pair it with a sprinkle cookie or a breakfast sandwich.

Open Tuesday to Friday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2955 E. Mānoa Road, (808) 673-0065, morningglasscoffee.com, @morningglasscoffee

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Photo: Hailey Akau

No. 5: La Tour Café

This iced coffee ($5) is much milkier than others and lacks a super strong coffee taste. It’s premade and dispensed from a chilled machine, cutting down the wait time. If you don’t like bitterness in your coffee, this is a safer choice—plus you can pick up a buttery kouign amann to go with it.

Open daily, hours vary by location, multiple locations, latourcafe.com, @latourcafe

Photo: Hailey Akau

No. 4: The Pig and The Lady

If you’re stopping by for lunch, you might as well order the Saigon Style Iced Coffee ($7) to prevent an afternoon kanak attack. The famed Chinatown restaurant’s version of cà phê sữa đá uses a mix of Café du Monde and Lion Coffee vanilla macadamia nut beans. It has a robust flavor, with a richness that pairs well with the vegan pho, pho French dip, bò lúc lắc or really anything on the menu.

Open Tuesday to Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., 83 N. King St., (808) 585-8255, thepigandthelady.com, @pigandthelady

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Photo: Hailey Akau

No. 3: Insomnia

This Vietnamese family-owned and -operated restaurant in Salt at Our Kaka‘ako serves the strongest cà phê sữa đá ($5.25) that I’ve tried. Their version is much darker in color, and the owners use a larger drip coffee filter to make it, increasing the ratio of espresso to milk. They offer two levels of sweetness—the higher sweetness is reminiscent of European drinking chocolate, while the medium sweetness maintains that strong espresso kick.

Open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 669 Auahi St., (808) 545-4160

Photo: Hailey Akau

No. 2: Le’s Banh Mi

If you haven’t gone to Le’s Banh Mi for its freshly baked baguette sandwiches, you are missing out. Known for its top-quality banh mi, the shop also serves a very smooth Vietnamese iced coffee ($6) with a nice nutty quality and no bitter aftertaste. It’s also not super dense, making it the perfect drink to pair with a banh mi.

Open Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 808 Sheridan St. Suite 306, (808) 227-3066, @les_banhmi

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Photo: Hailey Akau

No. 1: Patê Vietnamese Cuisine

This small, family-run restaurant not only has delicious bún bò huế spicy beef noodle soup, it also serves my favorite cà phê sữa đá ($6.50). The espresso has very chocolatey notes and a richness like a bold dark chocolate bar. The espresso and condensed milk are premade and chilled, so the concentration is stronger before ice gets added. The sweet milk complements the bitterness without overpowering, and overall, it pairs great with a steaming bowl of noodles.

Open Monday, Thursday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 9:30 p.m., Tuesday 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 11:30 p.m., 655 Ke‘eaumoku St. #104, (808) 940-5432, patehi.com, @patehiofficial