My first stop in Vietnam was in Hanoi (great starting point for 2 weeks in Vietnam). A bustling city located in Northern Vietnam, Hanoi is well known as the street food capital of the world. Every corner you look, people are enjoying bowls of noodle soup on small plastic chairs and tables out on the side walk. It’s hard to know where to eat in Hanoi though as there are so many restaurants and Google Maps is not always accurate. I’ll be sharing everything I ate in Hanoi including how much it costs and what my rating is out of 5. The restaurants are listed in order of when I ate there. I also have a small section for coffee and snacks at the bottom!
Rough conversion: 20,000 VND = 1 USD/CAD. The cost listed is for the item I ordered.
Restaurants
Bún Bò Nam Bộ Bách Phương
Food: Beef noodle salad
Address: 67 Hàng Điếu
Cost: 60,000 VND
This was my first stop in Hanoi and well visited by locals and tourists. The menu has only 4 food items and you’ll want to order the Bun Bo Nam Bo (60,000 VND). It’s a cold noodle salad with warm beef. All the menu items had photos so it was super easy to figure out if it was something I wanted to eat. I had no issues ordering in English. The tables are communal and contributed to a fun atmosphere. 4/5
Bun Cha Ta – website
Food: Grilled pork with dipping rice noodle
Address: 21 Nguyễn Hữu Huân
Cost:105,000 VND for the combo
For my first dinner, I went to Bun Cha Ta as this is one of the famous Hanoi dishes. There are a few combos available between 65,000-120,000 VND. If you get the full combo, you’ll get a bowl of grilled pork balls and green mango in broth, rice noodles to dip into the broth, and 2 spring rolls. I personally didn’t really like the grilled pork. I loved the soup though which is brothy and sour from fish sauce. The rice noodle is slightly fermented and so delicious! The spring rolls were really delicious too. This is an actual restaurant with servers who can speak okay English. 3.5/5
Banh Mi 25
Food: Banh Mi
Address: 25 Hàng Cá
Cost: 25,000 VND for egg banh mi
Even after eating all the banh mis throughout Vietnam, my favorites are from Banh Mi 25. I found the banh mi in the central and south have more pate and meaty taste. Since I don’t love a meaty taste, Banh Mi 25 was my favorite! Their sandwiches have a good proportion of carrot, radish, sauce, and filling. My recommendation is the egg option and is what I’m holding in the photo above! You can either take out or sit across the street in their actual restaurant. 5/5
Bún cá Sâm Cây Si
Food: Rice noodle soup in crab meat broth
Address: 5 Ngõ Trung Yên
Cost: 40,000 VND
Located in an alleyway, I have to say I was very skeptical. It is just one lady cooking while her daughter (?) served the food. They only serve two items, this crab broth noodle soup and spring rolls. The flavors of this soup is unreal and it’s loaded with veggies on top! It has a tomato and crab taste that hits all the sweet and sour notes. Get ready to get sweaty though as there’s no fan or air conditioning. You’ll be eating literally in an alleyway! 4/5
Pho Ga 26
Food: Chicken pho
Address: 26 Lương Văn Can
Cost: 35,000 VND each
For dinner, I went to hunt out Pho Ga 26 which is one of the most popular pho spots in Hanoi. The store front is a typical mom and pop shop with an unassuming yellow and red sign. The noodle soup is their signature item with a clear but tasty chicken broth. I chose the dipping noodle which was a bit salty for my liking. Again, be ready to sweat as you enjoy the experience eating on plastic chairs and tables. 4/5
Viet Spring Roll
Food: Spring roll with rice noodle
Address:
Cost: 80,00 VND
I had this meal after getting back to Hanoi late from my Ha Long Bay cruise. This would be my top pick as your first meal in Hanoi! The restaurant is clean and the servers can speak good English. You’ll learn how to eat springs rolls the Vietnamese way (by wrapping it in lettuce with rice noodles!). The spring rolls were really tasty and I felt safer trusting these veggies since it was in a large restaurant. 5/5
Banh Mi A
Food: Banh Mi
Address: 1 Hàng Mành
Cost: 35,000 VND
Another really highly rated banh mi restaurant in Hanoi is Banh Mi A. Unfortunately I found these to be very not authentic and did not enjoy the taste. The banh mis included lettuce and tomato which are not typically traditional toppings. Also, there was a sauce inside that tasted very Western. 2/5
Coffee + Snacks
Circle Coffee – Bar
Food: Coffee and cocktails
Address: 49 Hàng Quạt
Cost: 45,000 VND for egg coffee or white coffee
The entrance to this coffee shop was a tiny opening hidden in between two traditional Vietnamese shops. They decorated the walkway and interior with really unique pieces. The menu includes coffee, fruit teas and also cocktails. I enjoyed my drink here but there was nothing special about it. The space has fans but no air conditioning. 4/5
Blackbird Coffee
Food: Pourover and Western Style Coffee
Address: 5 Chân Cầm
Cost: 70,000 VND for pourover
If you are craving a pourover, definitely check out Blackbird Coffee. It’s one of the only hipster/modern storefronts I saw. The inside is air conditioned and also furnished in a hipster way. The coffees are definitely on the expensive end of things in Hanoi. But it is a nice escape from the heat. 4/5
Little Bowl
Food: Dessert
Address: 46 Lãn Ông
Cost: 30,000 VND
Close to my hotel, I stumbled on Little Bowl. The menu consists of a few variations of of Asian dessert bowls. Usually these have coconut milk, tapioca balls, some type of jelly and fruits. I got the durian flavor and really enjoyed it! You can easily identify the durian but it wasn’t extremely pungent. Really nice to have to cleanse the palette! 5/5
Yi Fang
Food: Bubble Tea
Address: 36 Nguyễn Hữu Huân
Cost: 49,000 VND
Compared to other snacks and food in Hanoi, bubble tea is quite the splurge. It is very popular though as many of the Taiwanese brands are already in Vietnam! On one street, I saw Sharetea, Yi Fang, and the Alley all within steps of each other! I was really craving a bubble tea so I went to Yi Fang. But in retrospect, I think your appetite and money should be saved for more authentic local foods. 3/5
Hope this guide was helpful for you to find where to eat in Hanoi! There are lots of fantastic restaurants and I’m sure I barely scratched the surface. When you research restaurants, be careful of fake Tripadvisor reviews! Apparently, there are some restaurants that will stand over you and make you write a review! So be wary of those with 2,000+ reviews. I didn’t want to have fine dining in Hanoi but there are a few options (lots of fine dining options in Ho Chi Minh City)! Once you are done with Hanoi, hop on down to Da Nang and Hoi An for Central Vietnam.
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