In this guide
The Short Version: Eat pho at Pho Gia Truyen on Bat Dan Street (06:00 to 11:00 and 17:00 to 21:30, cash only, queue and carry your own bowl), bun cha at Bun Cha Huong Lien or Tuyet Bun Cha 34 at lunchtime, and cha ca (turmeric catfish cooked at your table) at Cha Ca Thang Long on Duong Thanh Street. Add a banh mi from Banh Mi 25 on Hang Ca, a glass of bia hoi on Ta Hien after dark, and an egg coffee at Cafe Giang. For a table and a card machine, go to Quan An Ngon, The East or Luk Lak; for vegetarian food, Uu Dam. For a drink with a view, Top of Hanoi at Lotte Center or the Ignite Sky Bar in the Old Quarter. Or book a tour: For an immersive street food tasting through hidden Old Quarter alleys with an expert local guide, book the Hanoi: Guided Food Tour with Train Street Visitad (VND 493,600) or learn authentic recipes on the Hanoi: Cooking Class for 5 Local Dishes with Market Visitad (VND 1,050,000).
Most old shops in the Old Quarter cook a single dish, take cash only and take no bookings. The sit-down restaurants take cards and some take bookings by phone. Fuller notes on pho and bun cha are in best pho and bun cha in Hanoi, and on coffee in the egg coffee and cafe guide.
Pho: beef and chicken noodle soup
A steaming bowl of Pho Bo Hanoi beef noodle soup with spring onions and lime. Photo: Hoangvantoanajc, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Pho Gia Truyen
49 Bat Dan Street, Cua Dong, Hoan Kiem · 06:00 to 11:00 and 17:00 to 21:30 · about 50,000 to 60,000 VND a bowl · cash only · no booking · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
The beef pho that Bat Dan is known for. Order pho tai (rare flank), pho chin (well-done brisket) or tai nam, and add quay (fried dough sticks) or a golden egg yolk. You queue, order and pay at the counter, watch the owner build your bowl and carry it to a table yourself.
The deciding fact is the closing. The shop closes for a month each summer, and at Tet when beef prices surge, so plan around those weeks. Details are in the pho guide.
Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su
10 Ly Quoc Su Street, Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem · 06:00 to 21:00 Monday and Thursday, 06:00 to 21:45 other days · cash only · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A small noodle shop on the street beside St Joseph’s Cathedral, with a glass partition between the kitchen and the street. The menu offers 10 pho options, including tai, chin, nam and bap tran. Michelin warns of imitators in the area: you want number 10.
Pho Ga Nguyet
5B Phu Doan Street, Hoan Kiem · 06:30 to midnight daily · no cards · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A chicken pho specialist founded in 2009. Order the thigh, wing and breast combination, served as soup or dry. It is open until midnight, so it works as a late supper.
Pho Ha Hang Hom
15P Hang Hom Street, Hoan Kiem · 06:00 to 23:30 daily · cash only · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A bare chicken pho shop that simmers native fowl until tender. Add xoi ga, sticky rice with chicken, which often sells out early, so go in the morning.
Bun cha: grilled pork and noodles
A traditional serving of Bun Cha with grilled pork patties, rice vermicelli and herbs. Photo: Weetjesman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bun cha is grilled pork patties and pork belly in a warm sweet-sour fish sauce, eaten with cold rice vermicelli and a plate of herbs. You dip the noodles in the bowl, a mouthful at a time. It is a lunch dish.
Bun Cha Huong Lien
24 Le Van Huu Street, Hai Ba Trung · 08:00 to 20:00 daily · cash only, paid at the entrance as you leave · no booking
Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate here in May 2016, and photos of celebrity guests line the walls beside a glass-encased table. Order the Obama Combo: a fried seafood roll, a bowl of the house bun cha and a Hanoi beer. It is in Hai Ba Trung, south of the French Quarter; the French Quarter and Ba Dinh walk covers the area north of it.
Tuyet Bun Cha 34
34 Hang Than Street, Ba Dinh · 08:30 to 17:30 daily · about 35,000 to 50,000 VND · cash only · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A stall that chargrills the pork to order. Michelin suggests adding an extra spring roll. It closes in the early evening, so eat here at lunch.
Bun Cha Dac Kim
1 Hang Manh Street, Hoan Kiem · 09:00 to 21:00 daily · about 60,000 to 70,000 VND · cash only · no booking
Open in the Old Quarter since 1966. The bowl holds smoky pork belly and patties in a sweet chilli fish sauce with pickled green mango. Queues are common and you may share a table.
Bun Cha Ta
21 Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem · 08:00 to 22:00 daily · cash only · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Bun cha with crab and chicken fried spring rolls, and a vegetarian option of rice noodles with fried tofu and tomato sauce. It is a tourist favourite on a street of cafes, which makes it the easy lunch beside Cafe Giang.
Fish, eel, crab and rolls
Cha Ca Thang Long
6B Duong Thanh Street, Hoan Kiem · 06:00 to 21:00 daily · cash only · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Cha ca is turmeric-seasoned catfish, grilled and served in a hot pan at the table with spring onion and herbs, eaten with rice noodles and fish sauce. Thang Long has operated for over 30 years and has three branches on this street; 6B is set in a century-old townhouse reached through a courtyard. Bookings are by phone.
Banh Cuon Gia Truyen Thanh Van
14 Hang Ga Street, Hoan Kiem · 07:00 to 13:30 and 17:00 to 21:00 daily · cash only · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Family-run steamed rice rolls, made from scratch, with pork, shrimp or chicken filling and a salty-sweet-sour dipping sauce. The bun thang noodle soup is also recommended. The shop closes between 13:30 and 17:00.
Mien Luon Dong Thinh
87 Hang Dieu Street, Hoan Kiem · 06:30 to 22:00 daily · cash only · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A shop of more than 40 years with a short menu built on eel. Order the glass-noodle soup or the dry version with fried shredded eel, herbs, peanuts and shallots, or eel congee. Pork sausage and shiitake mushrooms flavour the broth.
Luk Lak
4A Le Thanh Tong Street, Hoan Kiem · 07:30 to 22:00 daily · cards accepted · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Three floors of Vietnamese cooking from a chef who also runs a sister restaurant in Da Nang. Michelin picks the bun rieu, a tangy tomato and crab noodle soup, and the Sapa pork belly grilled with herbal sauce. It has a car park and valet parking, and takes groups.
Chao Ban
98 To Ngoc Van Street, Tay Ho · 11:30 to 22:30 daily · cards accepted · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Crab spring rolls (nem ran cua) are the dish to order, with the chef’s “dac biet” specials such as prawns in coconut cream. It is in Tay Ho, so it fits an evening on the West Lake side, covered in where to stay.
Banh mi and southern dishes
Banh Mi 25
25 Hang Ca Street, Hoan Kiem · 07:00 to 21:00 daily · about 30,000 to 45,000 VND · cash · walk-in
A baguette sandwich shop with seating at No. 30, across the street. Walk in; there are no bookings.
Mr Bay Mien Tay
79 Hang Dieu Street, Hoan Kiem · 11:00 to 23:00 Monday to Friday, 11:30 to 23:00 Saturday and Sunday · no cards · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A small shop known for crispy banh xeo, a rice-flour pancake with different fillings that you wrap in herbs and dip. It also serves hotpot, spring rolls and barbecue. English-speaking staff show you how to wrap and dip.
Sit-down restaurants
Quan An Ngon
18 Phan Boi Chau Street, Hoan Kiem · 06:30 to 22:00 daily · cards accepted · book by phone
A two-storey colonial villa with a garden courtyard and a large Vietnamese menu with photographs of every dish. It suits a first dinner, as you can point to several dishes and sample them under one roof. The rice-flour rolls are singled out in the Michelin guide.
The East
5B Tong Duy Tan Street, Hoan Kiem · 11:00 to 14:30 and 17:30 to 22:00 daily · cards accepted · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Northern Vietnamese food in a two-storey restaurant in a busy dining area. Order the crab spring rolls, the Hanoi bun cha and the Vietnamese-style flan. It suits families.
Ha Thanh Mansion
14 Ngo Van So Street, Hoan Kiem · 10:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 22:00 daily · cards accepted · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
Northern dishes in a century-old villa across three floors, each designed differently. Michelin highlights the grilled black pork with galangal, and a cocktail bar at the entrance suits a drink before dinner.
Uu Dam
55 Nguyen Du Street, Cua Nam · 10:00 to 22:00 daily · cards accepted · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A vegetarian restaurant decorated with Buddhist art, with Vietnamese, Western and Thai influences on the menu and juice-based cocktails. It is the place to bring a vegetarian group.
Habakuk
Alley 4, Phan Huy Chu Street, Hoan Kiem · 08:00 to 22:30 daily · cards accepted · book by phone · Michelin Bib Gourmand 2026
A specialty coffee shop with a small brunch menu by day and a modern bistro with a short European menu, with Mediterranean touches, in the evening. It is down a narrow side street, so look for the alley.
Drinks
Street food vendors preparing dishes on low plastic stools along a Hanoi pavement. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Ta Hien Beer Street
Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen Streets, Old Quarter · evenings, busiest from 19:00 · about 10,000 VND a glass of bia hoi · cash
Bia hoi is a light draught beer of 3 to 4 per cent, brewed daily and served from the barrel. The crossroads is full of plastic stools and the noise rises through the evening. Pay each round in cash.
Cafe Giang
39 Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Hoan Kiem · 07:00 to 22:00 daily · 25,000 to 50,000 VND a drink
Egg coffee, whipped egg yolk over strong coffee, was invented in 1946 by Giang, a bartender at the Metropole hotel, and this cafe has served it since. Read the full story and the other cafes in the egg coffee guide.
Top of Hanoi
Lotte Center, 54 Lieu Giai Street, Ba Dinh · 17:00 to midnight daily
A cocktail bar high in the Lotte Center, with glass walls looking over the city. It opens in the evening only. It is part of the Lotte Hotel Hanoiad in Ba Dinh.
Ignite Sky Bar
Peridot Grand Luxury Boutique Hotel, 33 Duong Thanh Street, Old Quarter · 16:00 to 23:30 daily
An open-air bar on the hotel roof serving signature cocktails, with a DJ or live music. It is on the same street as Cha Ca Thang Long. The hotel is covered in hotels in the Old Quarter and French Quarter.
Paying and ordering
- Cash. The old noodle shops, Cha Ca Thang Long and Ta Hien take cash only. Carry small notes (10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 VND), because a 500,000 VND note is hard to change at a stall.
- One dish per stall. Most stalls cook one dish. Hold up fingers for the number of bowls.
- Booking. The sit-down restaurants above take bookings by phone only.
- After the meal. Walk to a cafe for egg coffee, or follow the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem walk past the lake, and see the Dong Xuan Market guide for market-side eating. Planning the days? Use the 3 days in Hanoi itinerary.
Common questions
How do you order food in Hanoi without speaking Vietnamese?
Most street stalls cook one dish, named on the sign (Pho Bo, Bun Cha, Banh Cuon). Sit down, hold up fingers for the number of bowls and the stall serves its single dish. At the busiest pho shops you queue at the counter, pay and carry your own bowl.
Do Hanoi restaurants take cards?
Street stalls and the old noodle shops take cash only, including Pho Gia Truyen, Pho 10, Bun Cha Huong Lien, Bun Cha Dac Kim and Cha Ca Thang Long. The sit-down restaurants, such as Luk Lak, The East, Quan An Ngon and Uu Dam, take credit cards. Carry small notes, because a 500,000 VND note is hard to change at a stall.
How much does a bowl of pho or bun cha cost in Hanoi?
Pho Gia Truyen charges about 50,000 to 60,000 VND a bowl, bun cha at Tuyet Bun Cha 34 about 35,000 to 50,000 VND and at Bun Cha Dac Kim about 60,000 to 70,000 VND. A banh mi is about 30,000 to 45,000 VND, and a glass of bia hoi on Ta Hien about 10,000 VND.
Which Hanoi places have a Michelin Bib Gourmand?
The 2026 Michelin Guide Vietnam gives a Bib Gourmand to Pho Gia Truyen, Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su, Pho Ga Nguyet, Pho Ha Hang Hom, Tuyet Bun Cha 34, Bun Cha Ta, Cha Ca Thang Long, Banh Cuon Gia Truyen Thanh Van, Mien Luon Dong Thinh, Luk Lak, Chao Ban, Mr Bay Mien Tay, The East, Habakuk, Ha Thanh Mansion and Uu Dam, all named on this page.
What is the best time of day for pho and bun cha?
Pho is a breakfast dish and the old shops start at 06:00 or 06:30. Bun cha is a lunch dish: Tuyet Bun Cha 34 closes at 17:30, so go at lunchtime.
