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CieL is one of only two new restaurants in Vietnam to receive a Michelin star in the 2025 Michelin Guide announcement. Located at 50 6/3 Street, Thao Dien Ward, the restaurant is led by chef Le Viet Hong, born in 1992, who also received Michelin’s Young Chef Award at a ceremony on June 5.

Inspectors praised the restaurant’s creative cuisine, cooking techniques, and warm dining atmosphere.

The idea for CieL began in 2015 when Hong was studying culinary arts in Paris, inspired by a friend’s dream of creating a European-style dining space. The project was paused in 2017 due to financial difficulties. It was not until 2019, after a meeting with his friend and now business partner Liem, that the project was revived.

In 2023, after working at Michelin three-star restaurants such as Noma, Sezanne, and Disfrutar, Hong returned to Vietnam. He opened CieL in September 2024, focusing on a cuisine rooted in land and sea, prioritizing ingredients from these two elements. The tasting menu blends Eastern and Western influences, drawing from French, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Indian culinary cultures.

CieL offers a tasting menu with around 10 small dishes, priced at VND2.9 million (US$111) per person. Each course is introduced by the staff, providing a full-sensory dining experience.

The space blends Nordic design with Japanese minimalism. With an open kitchen and seating for just 15 guests per evening (from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.), reservations are essential.

Front view of CieL restaurant. Photo courtesy of CieL

“In CieL’s intimate dining space, inside a modern villa in Thao Dien, you feel like you’re in a friend’s home”, Michelin wrote.

From the ground-floor counter, diners can watch the chefs at work with a tropical garden as the backdrop. Upstairs features a Nordic-inspired setting. Michelin recommended trying the fish maw with fish custard, a East-meets-West creation.

According to the restaurant, this dish has been on the menu since day one and has never changed. It combines Eastern ingredients, like fish maw, with classic French techniques, reflecting chef Hong’s creativity.

A representative from CieL acknowledged that Vietnam’s food and beverage industry faces numerous challenges. While many restaurants focus on localizing menus and sourcing locally, Hong instead prioritizes the highest-quality ingredients, regardless of origin.

Despite Vietnam’s produce, sourcing remains difficult due to uneven agricultural development. Many high-quality ingredients are only available in small quantities, making consistent supply a challenge. Infrastructure and logistics remain underdeveloped.

For example, although wild boar from the northwest is delicious, the lack of proper cold storage hinders its transport to the south, limiting the potential of local ingredients.

According to chef Hong, CieL opens up a new culinary space, one where chefs cook what they love, and diners experience a story through food that goes beyond flavor alone.