Ba Bar

What is Street Food?
Folks in the west often think of street food as food that is cooked and served out of somebody’s car. Or, food that is easily portable—something you can walk around with. In Southeast Asia, street food is a bit different. It quite often represents the best food you can find. Small shops and carts cooking simple food. Sometimes portable, sometimes not. You can always tell a good street food shop by the amount of people crowded around small tables sitting on even smaller stools. Slurping noodles, sipping coffee, raising a bottle. This is what street food means to us. Simple and good. Casual and fun. Always delicious. Born on the streets of Saigon.

What is Cold Drink?
No, we didn’t forget the “S”. Not that long ago, “Cold Drink” was what you would have to refresh your senses. Old-timey grocery stores sold “Food & Drink” to people who happened by. We liked the way that sounded. So stop in for some food, but don’t forget the cold drink. And by cold drink we mean cocktails. Really good cocktails.

Are you part of Monsoon Restaurants?
Yes! Think of Monsoon as our big sister. Sophie and Eric Banh grew up together eating street food in Saigon, and that was really the inspiration for Ba Bar. When they first opened Monsoon in 1999, they drew much of their inspiration from the very same “street food” we are serving. With Ba Bar we’re just a little closer to the street. But yeah, same owners. Same chefs. Same commitment to quality.

What does Ba Bar mean?
“Ba” means father in Vietnamese. We named this place after our own dad, who inspired us all in so many different ways.

This one is for him.