Vietcetera's Restaurant & Bar Awards 2018: The Nominees In Full

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This year has been a tremendous year for restaurants and bars. And so we want to take this moment to celebrate the people responsible for a twelve months full of epic openings, drinks, lunches and dinners.

The main awards will be two jury prizes—selected by a group of twenty foodies, chefs, and industry insiders. One is for the bar of 2018 and the other for restaurant of 2018. We also wanted to measure the public’s mood, so we arranged two polls to decide our People’s Choice Bar and People’s Choice Restaurant awards. The winners will be announced at Vietcetera’s Restaurant & Bar Awards 2018 night to be hosted in mid-January 2019.

The Nominees And Awards In Full For Vietcetera’s Restaurant & Bar Awards 2018

Beyond those four key awards will be eight more prizes decided upon by Vietcetera’s 20-person editorial and video production teams. In each category, there will be one runner up and one winner. Here are the awards and the five nominees for each.

The Mission Impact Award Presented By Jio Health

The success of restaurants and bars depends on serving up unmissable dishes and drinks. But the mission impact award recognizes those restaurateurs who look beyond profit to a greater social purpose—whether it’s employing blind and partially sighted staff, supporting sustainable farming, uplifting at-risk youth, or any other of the myriad of ways restaurants and bars can serve the community.

The Nominees:

Pizza 4P’s

Noir.

Maison Marou Saigon

Blanc Saigon

KOTO Saigon

Brand To Watch Award Presented By Wink Hotels

Big things have small beginnings. And so one of the gratifying things about covering the food and beverage scene in Saigon today is seeing restaurants and bars nailing their design and identity and then blossoming with a second and maybe a third venue…until they’ve become a brand. So, this is an award that recognizes business saavy as much as it does good food and drinks—and all our nominees have both.

The Nominees:

Pizza 4P’s

Baozi

Quan Ut Ut

BiaCraft

El Gaucho

Neighborhood Hangout Award Presented By Vietnam Craft Bia

Saigon’s hoods are getting good—whether it’s the sleepy corner of District 1 called Da Kao that’s waking up, or the Thao Dien enclave of District 2 that’s buzzing enough to keep residents from heading in to District 1. This is also an award that honors mid-priced restaurants, the ones you can go to any night of the week, but which are also perfect for taking out-of-town guests to for a slice of lesser-seen Saigon.

The Nominees:

Cocotte

BiaCraft

El Camino

MAD House

Khoai

Most Overachieving F&B Group Award Presented By Anantara Quy Nhon Villas

Many of our F&B Group nominations are just starting out. Others have been around for some time, but are buying into modern restaurants and concepts and lending them their years of experience. By 2020, Vietnam’s F&B industry is expected to be in Asia’s top three for growth and so these are the groups that are driving the industry’s expansion in the white-hot Vietnam market.

The Nominees:

Vise Hospitality

Red Wok Investment

L Concepts

Eight Four Collective

Tribe Hospitality

Lifetime Achievement Award Presented By Kamereo Vietnam

With so many changes to the restaurant and bar landscape, it’s easy to forget the places that have been delivering for years. Trends come and go, restaurants open and close, but these five nominees have all proven their worth over a number of years.

The Nominees:

The Deck

Refinery

Au Parc

El Gaucho

Xu Bar

Design of 2018 Presented By District Eight

Innovative design was an overriding trend among some of the most exciting restaurant and bar openings of 2018. As international restaurateurs and F&B groups enter the local market, they’re also bringing with them some of the most exciting design talent from Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and Japan. All five of our nominees in this inaugural Vietcetera’s Restaurant & Bar Awards 2018 list have spaces that raised the standard this year.

The Nominees:

Hyde

Renkon

Tomatito

Alley50

Pizza 4P’s

Chef of 2018 Presented By ỐPLA

While we’re having a good time, the chefs and cooks are slaving in the kitchen. And besides the unfavorable working hours and uncomfortable workplace conditions it’s becoming harder to run a successful restaurant—even when the food’s on point, location, service, or any one of a number of other factors can jeopardize the success of a restaurant. Added to that, it seems chefs now are expected to be social media marketers and media personalities as much as they’re expected to constantly evolve their menus. So this award is where we give credit where it’s due.

The Nominees:

Julien Perraudin (Quince Saigon)

Peter Cuong Franklin (Anan Saigon)

Julio Gomez (Tomatito)

George Bloomfield (Stoker Woodfired Grill & Bar)

Julien Thabault (Octo Tapas Restobar)

Trend of 2018 Presented By Serif Space

Restaurants and bars aren’t limited to just the people and the concepts. It’s also about the trends. What new trends are emerging that keeps this food and beverage market so exciting for all of us? This award is given to the top trend of 2018, to the countless pioneers who represent their trade. They are blazing a trail and taking risks way larger than just opening a restaurant or bar. Rather, they are starting a countrywide food and beverage fashion. Here are our top five trends of 2018.

The Nominees:

Craft Beer

Cocktails

Tapas

Japanese Cuisine

New Vietnamese Cuisine

Grand Jury Participants

The selected grand jury of insider experts, frequent diners from a range of industries, and a couple of our own team members from Vietcetera were asked to name their favorite five restaurants and bars, with no restrictions upon their selection except they could not vote for any venue they had an affiliation to—such as being its bartender, chef, or owner. Here are the grand jury participants.

The Judges:

Julio Gomez, Head Chef, Tomatito Saigon

Myriam Nguyen, Account Manager, Accor Hotels Group

Peter Nguyen, Bartender, Rabbit Hole

Peter Cuong Franklin, Chef and Owner, Anan Saigon

Luan Khanh, Director, Speed POS

Michael Piro, COO, Indochina Capital

Tuan Le, Director, The Lab Saigon

Thuy Minh, Media Personality, Billboard

Ho Dac Anh Thi, Hospitality Consultant

Roddy Battajon, Owner, Rhum Belami

Calvin Bui, Chef and Owner, El Camino

David Kaye, Editor-in-Chief, Vietcetera

Tam Le, Head Chef of Saigonita

Chad Mitchell, Director, Beervana International

My Yen Kang, Marketing Director/Publisher, DatVietVAC

Thai Quang Nguyen, Brand Consultant

Taku Tanaka, CEO and Co-Founder, Kamereo Vietnam

Vincent Mourou, Co-Founder, Marou Chocolate

Nguyen Tran Hoang Anh, Managing Director, The Purpose Group

Hao Tran, CEO and Co-Founder, Vietcetera

Restaurant of 2018 People’s Choice Award and Grand Jury Prize Presented By Beervana International

We held a vote in mid-December for the Restaurant of 2018 People’s Choice Award and will be disclosing the results for that and the Grand Jury Prize in mid-January. The Grand Jury was allowed to pick venues outside of the People’s Choice options.

Here’s a refresher on the full people’s choice nominee list.

The Nominees:

Quince

Anan Saigon

Tomatito

Jardin des Sens

Octo Tapas Restobar

Pizza 4P’s

Sushi Rei

Quan Ut Ut

Noir.

Stoker Woodfired Grill & Bar

Renkon

Bar of 2018 People’s Choice Award and Grand Jury Prize Presented By Speed POS

Like for the restaurant pick, we held a vote in mid-December for the Bar of 2018 People’s Choice Award and will be disclosing the results for that and the Grand Jury Prize in mid-January. The Grand Jury was allowed to pick venues outside of the People’s Choice options.

Here’s a refresher on the full people’s choice nominee list.

The Nominees:

Drinking & Healing

Layla – Eatery and Bar

2 Lam Son

Rabbit Hole

Sake Central Saigon

Hyde

Firkin Bar

Nhau Nhau

Qui – Cuisine Mixology

Gin House

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