Shri Restaurant & Lounge in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Shri Restaurant & Lounge now operates as Shri Lifestyle Dining on the 23rd floor of Centec Tower at 72-74 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai in Ho Chi Minh City. It is an evening rooftop restaurant, cocktail venue and event space built around panoramic city views, contemporary fusion cooking and a polished nightlife atmosphere. The current operator describes the concept as Mediterranean-inspired with wider Asian and international influences, and the menu confirms that the kitchen ranges from seafood and steaks to pasta, duck, lamb and vegetarian dishes. Shri is best for travelers planning a deliberate dinner, sunset drinks or a special occasion rather than a fast meal. Its main tradeoff is price: this is an upscale rooftop experience, with service charges and VAT added to listed menu prices.

The setting is the first reason most people consider Shri. Centec Tower places diners high above the dense center of the city, and the restaurant uses several zones rather than a single dining room. Current venue information shows indoor and outdoor areas, lounge seating and spaces used for private dining and events. The original Shri concept dates to 2010, while the current brand presents itself as a refreshed Lifestyle Dining format after more than a decade of operation. That history explains why older travel guides may call it Shri Restaurant & Lounge while newer material uses Shri Lifestyle Dining. The location and core rooftop identity remain the same.

The current à la carte menu is broad and ambitious. Starters and smaller plates include items such as scallop carpaccio with orange-truffle sauce, grilled oysters with almond sauce, grilled tiger prawn with spicy lemon sauce, cold cuts and vegetarian mushroom salads. Main courses range from lobster, cod and salmon to duck breast, Wagyu rib-eye, beef tenderloin, lamb and chicken. Pasta and rice options include squid-ink pasta with king prawn, beef fettuccine, seafood fried rice with chorizo, vegetarian truffle pasta and halloumi fried rice. Desserts include tiramisu and several mousse cakes. This is not a menu focused on Vietnamese regional cooking; it is better understood as international rooftop dining with fusion technique and premium ingredients.

Prices reflect that positioning. At the time of this research, many starters and soups are in the low-to-mid hundreds of thousands of dong, while substantial seafood and meat dishes rise much higher; several steak cuts are listed at 1.25 million VND. The menu states that prices are quoted in thousands of VND and do not include VAT or service charge. Guests should therefore read the menu as a base price, not the final bill. Shri also sells cocktails, wine, spirits and packages for sunset drinks. The official site currently promotes a daily Sunset Sips free-flow package from 390,000 VND++ and regular DJ-led Friday and Saturday sessions, showing that the venue increasingly blends dinner with nightlife programming.

That programming changes the mood through the evening. Early service is the better choice for people who want daylight or sunset views and a quieter meal; later hours can become more music-led, especially on event nights. The official site advertises a Tuesday ladies' night and resident-DJ sessions on weekends. Travelers who want a calm conversation should check the event calendar before booking, while those looking for a lively rooftop night may see the music program as a benefit. Reservations are sensible for outdoor seating, celebrations and weekend evenings because the view-oriented tables are a core part of the experience.

Shri's current operator schedule is 17:00 to 24:00 daily. Tripadvisor displays a slightly earlier closing time of 23:45, so visitors arriving late should confirm last orders rather than assuming the kitchen serves until midnight. A normal dinner will usually take around two hours; drinks, events or a multi-course meal can extend that. The restaurant's current menu and promotions make it possible to use Shri in several ways: a full dinner, a lighter tapas-and-cocktail stop, a sunset package or a late-evening lounge visit.

Centec Tower is in District 3 near the central District 1 boundary, so the restaurant is straightforward to reach by taxi or ride-hailing from most central hotels. Use the tower address and allow time to enter the building and reach level 23. Tripadvisor reports validated parking, which is useful for local guests arriving by vehicle. The same source marks the venue wheelchair accessible, but anyone who depends on step-free access should still confirm the precise route from the building entrance, lift availability and terrace seating when reserving, because rooftop venues can have different access conditions between indoor and outdoor sections.

Dietary flexibility is better than at a steak-only restaurant. The current menu includes explicitly vegetarian soups, salads, pasta and rice, and major booking platforms report vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. That does not remove the need to discuss allergies directly, especially because the kitchen also handles shellfish, dairy, nuts and gluten-containing ingredients across a large menu. Guests who do not drink alcohol can still use the venue: the beverage list includes coffee, tea, juices, soft drinks and mineral water alongside cocktails and spirits.

Shri is a strong fit for a skyline-focused evening, a date, a celebration or a business dinner where setting matters as much as the food. It is less appropriate for budget dining or for someone specifically seeking traditional Vietnamese cuisine. The most useful way to plan it is to decide first whether the priority is sunset, dinner or nightlife, then reserve the time and seating zone accordingly. The current venue remains at Level 23, Centec Tower, 72-74 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and the operator's official site is the best place to verify menus, packages and event programming before the visit.