Ly Club
Add: 51 Ly Thai To St
Tel: (04) 936 3069
Set in an attractive colonial villa, the plush Ly Club is comprehensively creative in terms of both decor and food. French and Vietnamese specialties are prepared with great style, and guests can choose between exotic appetizers such as caviar on a sweet potato crepe or scallops served with chopped apples. Live traditional music redolent of Imperial Hue.
Pho 24
Add: 26 Ba Trieu
Tel: (04) 936 1888
As name suggests, Vietnam’s most famous noodle dish, pho, is justly celebrated at Pho 24. Usually a streetside snack eaten for breakfast or late at night, pho can be eaten in the air-conditioned comfort of this chain restaurant at any time of the day, and in normal-sized chairs rather than the tiny plastic stools favored by the street vendors.
Cay Cau
Add: De Syloia, 17 A Tran Hung Dao St
Tel: (04) 933 1010
An adjunct of the classy De Syloia Hotel, Cay Cau is a tasteful Vietnamese restaurant, with a long menu of delicious dishes at surprisingly reasonable prices. There is also quite an extensive choice of deserts including cheesecakes, tarts, and other rich fare. Live music performances every evening.
Hoa Sua
Add: 28 A Ha Noi St
Tel: (04) 942 4448
Set in a renovated French villa, this unusual establishment is run as a culinary training school for orphans on a non-profit basis. Unde French management, it serves delicious French and Vietnamese fare at very reasonable prices, and also has a special menu for children. Try the pork in caramel sauce followed by a fluffy mille-feuille pastry for dessert.
Afresco
Add: 23 Hai Ba Trung St
Tel: (04) 826 7782
A great place in the heart of downtown Hanoi, Alfresco specializes in Western-style comfort food. Under Australian management, the selection is large and portions equally so. Ribs, burgers, pizza, steak, french fries, baguette sandwiches, memorable salads, and mouthwatering desserts. All washed down with cold beer or excellent coffee.
Andu
Add: 58 Ly Thuong Kiet St
Tel: (04) 934 9184
One of the best-known and most successful seafood restaurants in Hanoi, the aquarium-lined Andu offers a choice of a la carte or set-meal dining at reasonable prices. The cuisine is primarily Vietnamese, with Chinese overtones, and chilled beer rather than wine is the standard accompaniment. Live piano music plays every evening.
Au Lac Café
Add: 57 Ly Thai To St
Tel: (04) 825 7807
Close to iconic Sofitel Metropole Hotel, this charming café-bistro offers good Vietnamese, fusion, and international cuisine in a restored French villa with a small patio garden. The seafood dishes are especially good, and the house specialties include tamarind and chilli pepper sauces to stimulate the taste buds. Very good value for money.
Emperor
Add: 18B Le Thanh Tong St
Tel: (04) 826 8801
A restored French-colonial villa and a Vietnamese stilt house jointly preside over a central courtyard at the aptly names Emperor, which specializes in Hue’s imperial cuisine. Beautifully prepared and elegantly presented dishes include delights such as “dragon eggs,” bird nest soup, and fried soft-shell crabs with tamarind. Good choice of wine.
Indochine
Add: 16 Nam Ngu St
Tel: (04) 942 4097
A fine restaurant set amid a complex of restored colonial villas and shady courtyard, Indochine is one of the longest-established restaurants in Hanoi. The Vietnamese menu is extraordinarily extensive, detailing more than 100 dishes, including banana flower salad and fried squid stuffed with pork. Live traditional music on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Spices Garden
Add: Sofitel Metropole Hotel, 15 Ngo Quyen St
Tel: (04) 826 6919
A fantastic restaurant in in the Sofitel Metropole Hotel, Spices Garden is tended to by a French executive chef who brings the most excellent Vietnamese, French, and fusion food to the table. The buffet selection at lunch would do credit to the very best restaurants in Europe, and unexpectedly includes an impressive array of cheese.
Bobby Chin Restaurant
Add: 1 Ba Trieu St
Tel: (04) 934 8577
Supremely trendy yet characterful, Bobby Chin serves the most imaginatively crafted Asian fusion food in the city. The restaurant has won international recognition for its mouthwatering combinations of Vietnamese, French, Japanese, and even Middle Eastern cuisine. Creative cocktails and an extensive wine list. Expensive but but well worth it.
Cha Ca La Vong
Add: 14 Cha Ca St
Tel: (04) 825 3929
A legendary restaurant, Cha Ca La Vong verves only one dish- cha ca or fried fish-prepared using a recipe that has been perfected here. The fish is steeped in a marinade of galangal, saffron, fermented rice, and fish sauce, and then placed into a rich, oily stew, along with fresh chives and dill. Served on noodles and sprinkled with peanuts.
Little Hanoi
Add: 21-23 Hang Gai St
Tel: (04) 928 5333
A friendly and convenient little eatery located right in the heart of the bustling Old Quarter, Little Hanoi specializes in baguette sandwiches, fried chicken, desserts, and ice creams. The Chon or Weasel coffee is made from beans that have passed through the animal’s digestive track. The idea is a bit distasteful but the coffee is delicious.
Green Tangerine
Add: 48 Hang Be
Tel: (04) 825 1286
A fine restaurant in a fantastic setting, Green Tangerine is housed in a whimsical building that appears to combine French-colonial and tube-house architecture. The French cuisine, with Vietnamese undertones, is a treat for the eyes and the palate. Smoked salmon stuffed with pistachios, scallops, and watercress, ice cream with chili – it’s here.
Moca
Add: 14 – 16 Nha tho St
Tel: (04) 825 6334
Designed to look rather like stripped-down warehouse loft, Moca is a trendy café that draws plenty of customers to savor its wide range of international cooking, with dishes ranging from Mexican to Bengali. Good local as well as imported coffee, draught beer, a selection of wines and juices, plus a decent choice of desserts at reasonable prices.
Brothers
Add: 26 Nguyen Thai Hoc St
Tel: (04) 733 3866
Hanoi has more than its share of fine restaurants set in delightfully restored French-colonial villas, and this is the one of the best. The range of Hanoi style delicacies include bun cha, a tasty meatball and fish sauce preparation. Buffet lunches are served indoors or on the vedanra under sunshades. Excellent value barbecue for dinner.
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