Saint Honore is a bakery, deli and restaurant in Hanoi’s West Lake area which offers the best cakes in Hanoi and is an excellent choice for a delicious breakfast, a bistro-style lunch or dinner, or an indulgent afternoon tea. Let’s start with breakfast. If the array of sweet and savoury pastries isn’t enough to tempt you … read the full post

Quan An Ngon restaurant, on Phan Boi Chau Street, has long been a favourite of visitors to Hanoi. It provides a clean and reasonably comfortable setting in which to sample a range of Vietnamese street food dishes, but it’s often overflowing with customers, necessitating a wait for a table and a crowded and noisy environment. … read the full post

With a relaxed vibe, eclectic decor and wholesome food, The Hanoi Social Club has etched out a unique positioning for itself and is a perfect spot for a tasty lunch, naughty afternoon cake or chill-out with a beer. When a new place opens in Hanoi we give it a while to settle down and to … read the full post

You could easily eat noodle dishes in Hanoi for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week and still not have the same meal twice. Here’s our quick guide to what’s what when it comes to noodles in the Vietnamese capital. Let’s start with the most well-known: pho. As we highlighted some time ago, pho is … read the full post

By day a centre for disabled children, by night a buzzing lau restaurant: 66 Pho Duc Chinh, near Truc Bach lake, serves up delicious lau rieu cua: a tasty broth with loads of Vietnamese goodies to throw in. And with the weather a bit chilly in Hanoi, now is the perfect time to enjoy it. … read the full post

With its heavy use of fish sauce and meaty stocks, and its one-wok-fits-all approach, strict vegetarians may struggle for variety in Vietnam. But Hanoi’s Lean and Green is a purely vegetarian restaurant, which will appeal to both meat and non-meat eaters. Lean and Green is located on Trang Tien, minutes from the southern tip of … read the full post

Noodle and Roll is a two-storey restaurant serving up bun bo nam bo, bun cha and other tasty, well-priced Vietnamese dishes. It’s the perfect choice if you like street food but either you can’t agree with your companion about what to eat, you don’t like sitting on plastic chairs or stools or it just plain … read the full post

For a city that’s cold and grey for a few months of the year, Hanoi has an unfortunate lack of venues to get cosy in. But in the absence of open fireplaces and comfy sofas, here are a few places we’ll be spending time this winter. Drinking tea or coffee might be great for warming … read the full post

Street food in Vietnam is not just about breakfast, lunch and dinner; it’s also very much about snacking. And the Vietnamese like to snack. Pho mai que (cheese sticks) is a new craze to hit the streets of Hanoi and while maybe not contributing to a balanced — or gourmet — diet, it’s a cheap … read the full post

You don’t have to walk far in Hanoi to find a coffee shop, and you don’t have to walk much further to find one with character, such as longstanding, narrow Cafe Duy. Align 3D Graphics Cafe has character in a modern, designed way and also has a wider menu than you’ll find at a streetside … read the full post