Hanoi captivated me with its culinary scene. There are brilliant cafés and street-side bistros literally on every corner.

I’ve put together my tips on where to eat in Hanoi and where to go for a coffee. You’ll find local eateries, the Dong Xuan street food alley and cafés that I personally visited during my stay.

💬 But I’m also interested in hearing about your experiences. Where did you have the best food or drink in Hanoi? Let us know in the comments below the article, and feel free to share some photos too. Thanks!

I’ve also put together some other practical tips from Hanoi:

• 👉 Top places to see in Hanoi
• 👉 How public transport, taxis and Grab work
• 👉 Tips on the cheapest and best hotels in Hanoi

Book your hotel in Hanoi in advance

My culinary map of Hanoi

To make it easier to find your way around, I’ve marked all the places on a single map.

It’s particularly useful when you start planning a specific route – you’ll often find that there are several great places just a few minutes apart.

Traditional Vietnamese bistros

This was what I was looking forward to most: cheap Asian food. I can’t say enough good things about it in Thailand or Malaysia, so I was curious to see what Vietnam had to offer.

I certainly wasn’t disappointed, as local canteens and bistros are literally on every corner in Hanoi.

I’ve only visited a tiny fraction of them, so I’d love to hear your recommendations.

Pho – Bun Rieu

I actually stumbled upon this very local little bistro by chance whilst waiting for the sunset at the Tran Quoc Pagoda.

I’d misjudged the time; I had about an hour to spare and was really hungry, so I headed north of the lake and popped into the first ‘pho bistro’ I came across.

Absolutely brilliant – for 50 000 vnd, I can’t complain!

• My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Price range: 💰
• 🕒 Daily 8:00 – 22:00
• 📍20 Yên Phụ, Tây Hồ –map

Banh mi – Ming Ming & Tiem Tra Banh Mi Café

This bistro is situated a little way out of the city centre, so most visitors to Hanoi are unlikely to visit it.

However, it certainly deserves a mention, as I really liked the beautiful, modern interior, the speedy service and the delicious banh mi.

I visited the bistro whilst walking from the Temple of Literature to the bizarre, entirely gold-plated Dolce by Wyndham Hanoi hotel.

• My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Price range: 💰💰
• 🕒 Daily 7:00 – 21:00
• 📍168 P. Nguyễn Thái Học, Ba Đình –map

Bun Cha – Hem Tam

Before setting off on the night train from Hanoi to Da Nang, I was looking for somewhere to have dinner near the main railway station.

I fancied some bun cha and found a cosy local restaurant just a five-minute walk from the station towards the city centre.

Hem Tam Bistro is small, modern and clean, with very low prices, quick service and portions that are just the right size.

If you’re looking for a light dinner before your train journey, I can definitely recommend this place.

• My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
• Price range: 💰💰
• 🕒 Daily 10:00 – 20:30
• 📍94 Đ. Lê Duẩn, Văn Miếu –map

Stylish cafés serving Vietnamese coffee

Vietnam is one of the world’s coffee powerhouses and its café culture is highly developed.

All over Hanoi, you’ll come across hundreds of cafés serving traditional Vietnamese drip coffee sweetened with condensed milk.

In most of them, of course, you’ll also find traditional coffee drinks.

Vietsun Coffee

This was my first café in Hanoi.

I found it just round the corner from my accommodation at the Wecozy apartment near Train Street.

You enter the ground floor of a very traditional-looking house; the seating area and bar are on the first to third floors.

It has a very family-friendly atmosphere, with excellent service and a good selection of coffee.

The food menu is limited to croissants; water is free.

I’ve just had a croissant with an iced Vietnamese coffee.

• My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
• Price range: 💰💰
• 🕒 Daily 7.30 am–5.30 pm
• 📍2 Điện Biên Phủ, near Train Street –map

Cafe Hoả Xa

This is a popular Instagram-worthy café in a former railway signal box right next to the historic Long Bien Bridge.

You’ll find the café directly opposite Long Bien railway station, from where trains run to destinations such as Hai Phong.

I really liked the interior and absolutely loved the coffee with sea salt.

Unfortunately, they have hardly any food on offer and the prices are a bit higher than in other places in the city centre.

• My rating: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
• Price range: 💰💰
• 🕒 Daily 7:00–23:00
• 📍Long Bien Railway Station –map

The best street food in Hanoi

You’ll find traditional street food all over the city centre. I only walked through what is probably the best-known tourist food street, known as Dong Xuan.

Prices here are, of course, higher than outside the most touristy part of the city centre, but even so, I didn’t think 70 000 vnd for a bowl of pho was an extremely high price.

The portions are generous and the food is absolutely delicious!

In Old Hanoi, I reckon this is the best place to grab a quick bite of just about any traditional Vietnamese dish.

• My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
• Price range: 💰💰
• 🕒 Opening hours vary, usually from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm
• 📍Dong Xuan Food Alley –map

Avoid these places

In Hanoi, I also visited restaurants and bistros that really didn’t appeal to me.

And they were all located right on Hanoi Train Street or in its immediate vicinity.

This is by far the most touristy area of Hanoi, with the highest number of tourists.

A typical meal here costs around 150 000 vnd, which is about three times more than anywhere else. What’s more, the portions here are noticeably smaller.

It’s a bit of a tourist trap, really.

I really liked the atmosphere on Hanoi Train Street, but for food and drink I’d recommend heading a few streets further down.

What are the usual prices for food?

As a rough guide, you can expect the following prices in local Vietnamese eateries:

• Pho – between 45 000 vnd and 65 000 vnd
• Bun Chá – around 50 000 vnd
• Banh Mi – between 25 000 vnd and 35 000 vnd
• Traditional Vietnamese coffee with sweetened milk – around 25 000 vnd
• Sugar cane juice – around 12 000 vnd

Practical tips to finish with

• In more modern bistros and cafés, you can pay by card, but local bistros usually only accept cash
• It is not customary to leave a tip
• Bistros and cafés are literally on every corner
• You won’t have to queue at popular places (as is often the case in Bangkok, Tokyo or Rome, for example)

If you’re still sorting out your accommodation, have a look at our section 👉Where to stay in Hanoior compare current hotel prices straight away 👉Hotels in Hanoi – Booking.com.

If you want to search for places quickly, book an Uber or use maps, it’s worth getting a local Vietnamese eSIM – for example, viaairalo.com.