Our Recommendations on Where to Eat and Drink in Hanoi
After spending Christmas and New Year in Hanoi, we have a fair few bars and restaurants under our belts that we can recommend. In this post, we will recommend only our favourite ones for you to enjoy as you eat and drink your way around Hanoi.
Our Top Recommendations for Where to Eat in Hanoi
📍 Kasaya
What made it special: Kasaya is a high-end fully vegan restaurant with some of the most impressive vegan takes on meaty cuisine I've had. The steak made from lion's Maine mushroom was incredible! From the texture, to the look of the steak, to the juicy meaty taste - honestly, it was the closest thing to a steak I've eaten since going vegan!
What made it special: This one was all about the authentic experience. We sat on cushions on the floor, at small tables, had a pot of tea and we chose the hot pot. With hot-pots in Vietnam, they bring the broth out in the middle of the table, and bring additional raw ingredients for you to add to the pot as and when you want to eat them. This prevents them from getting overcooked, and also allows you to only cook what you can manage to eat. It was so delicious, but far too much food for just the two of us!
What made it special: The choice of veggie sushi!!! We have missed sushi so much since coming travelling, and whenever we have managed to find a place where the menu isn't 100% fish, it's been a sorry piece of cucumber in the middle of the rice, or an odd bit of avocado. Not here! SushiLAB has a fantastic and exciting veggie sushi menu and we got a platter of 16 pieces to share between us. It was such a treat.
What made it special: The veggie Banh Mi! I love a Banh Mi as much as the next person, but finding a veggie one can sometimes be tricky. An Cafe has a great selection of veggie Banh Mi fillings and they are all so delicious!
Our Top 10 Places to Drink in Hanoi
We visited many bars in Hanoi because we love craft beer, and it turns out Hanoi has quite a decent craft beer scene, with pubs and tap rooms all over the City, selling their finest local ales. I love an IPA, so these deliciously hoppy pints were such a treat compared to the lager I'd been drinking in the rest of Southeast Asia.
Here's a list of our top ten places to drink in Hanoi, in my own opinion.
Hanoi Cider House offers an abundance of different ciders and beers. They make the cider themselves, and from what I remember, I believe the guy wanted to brew beers but his wife doesn't like beer so they met half way and started brewing their own fruity ciders. Something like that anyway! It's a fairly new place and the vibe inside is quite modern and cool - there is a seating area upstairs with a small terrace to sit at and watch the madness on the roads as the local drivers go about their daily business. The cider is quite strong, but delicious and there's lots of choice of different food there too.
Evenstar has a cosy feel about it inside, and if you go outside, you can watch over the streets below as people navigate the busy crossroads. There's a decent selection of beers on tap, and some in the fridge too. We enjoyed a couple of pints in the late afternoon, after exploring the nearby park in the south of the city.
8. Standing Bar
The Standing Bar is where we spent NYE. It was a great vibe in there and they had a vinyl DJ set on at the time. I think they have events on regularly, but this was the only time we visited. There's also an outdoor area upstairs here, where you can take in the beautiful views of the lake with the lanterns that line the street and reflect into the water. There's a great selection of craft beer in this bar, and we enjoyed seeing in the new year with a cold IPA in hand.
I believe this is the closest craft beer bar to Train Street (from our small amount of research). But we enjoyed a couple of IPAs in here while we waited until nearer the time of the infamous train to pass through Train Street, where we experienced it from a small cafe (also selling beer, shock). iBiero seemed like more of a restaurant through the day - when we were there, there was a lot of people out for lunch, and the layout is a bit more restaurant-y than pub-y. Still, it was a nice place to wait for the train and had a great selection of crafties.
Hanoi Home Brew is small in size but has a great selection of taps to choose from! It's a great place for people-watching spot, as there are some tables and chairs on the street, so you can just sit back and relax with a beer in-hand watching the world go by. We were there on Christmas day and there was a great buzz about the place. The outside tables and chairs were almost all full, and everyone was in a chatty mood, wishing each other a merry Christmas and discussing onwards plans for the new year ahead. Really lovely staff here, and delicious beers. Would definitely recommend.
5. Tadioto
Tadioto is one of those serene places you can go to escape the hustle and bustle of the City, listen to some light-Jazz and share a bottle of wine together with your significant other, or enjoy cocktails with a group of friends. We really enjoyed our time here after wandering around the city looking at the murals on display. It was tucked away on one of the quieter streets Hanoi has to offer, and it had a great selection of wines and cocktails to choose from.
4. Turtle Lake Brewing Company
This place is like a day out in itself! There are LOADS of beers to choose from on tap, and the bar area is full of games like shuffleboard, darts, foosball and other board games, so you won’t get board. There is a cute beer garden nestled away from the road, and the bar area is a vibe, too. We could have spent all day here, but some of the beer was so strong that we had to call it a day before we had to be carried home. Although we didn’t have any, this bar also serves food.
3. 7 Bridges Brewing Company Hanoi Taproom
Again, loads of beer to choose from on tap here, and the place is very chilled out with a great atmosphere. There’s a lovely outdoor terrace, and I think it gets third place mainly because of the choice of beers, but also just the overall feeling when you’re there. It was so laid back, the staff were really attentive and just sitting out on the terrace playing cards and drinking delicious beer was the perfect combination for a wonderful evening.
This is the first bar we went to in Hanoi, and it didn’t disappoint. I think that’s one of the reasons it’s been pushed up the ranks a little. But also, we were so comfy in there. As soon as we got into the bar, there was a sofa at the back with our names on it. The staff were really welcoming, too, and after a journey from Cambodia, then the trip around the grocery shop for our Christmas dinner ingredients, the cold refreshing IPA went down a real treat. The only negative, I think, is that they didn’t have much (if any - I don’t remember) on tap. All the craft beers were bottled. This isn’t a major problem for me, hence it didn’t impact the ranking, but just to let you know… if craft beer on tap is what you’re looking for, then maybe this isn’t the place for you.
And now, for my winner, Pasteur Street Craft Bar! This brewery does have a few taprooms dotted around, but the one I’m referring to is the one located by the cathedral (Hanoi Big Church - Nhà Thờ Lớn Hà Nội). It’s set on a beautiful old cobbled street and the L-shaped bar is both big and cosy at the same time. They regularly have live musicians performing, and they have an extensive tap menu. As you can see from the picture, they also offer tasters, which allowed us to sample a lot of the different beer on offer, and choose our favourites to have pints of as the night went on. Bars like this also attract good people, so we found it easy to chat to fellow-punters in the bar, and enjoy a beer or two together with them. This place also serves food. We enjoyed some picky-bits such as onion rings, chips, etc. to accompany our drinks without having to indulge in a full meal.
