Hanoi’s Old Quarter - Eating and Drinking Like a Local
If there’s one piece of advice we can give to travellers heading to Hanoi, it’s to travel hungry!
There’s so much food on offer in Hanoi’s Old Quarter it can sometimes be daunting to pick what to eat. Wherever you look on any street, there will be noodles bubbling, meat grilling and woks frying. With delicious food available morning, noon and night, you’ll never be far from a bowl of steaming pho or a crunchy banh mi. The historic streets are full to the brim with restaurants, street food and stalls offering travellers everything from snacks to full meals.
Read on to find out where to eat some of our favourite Hanoi dishes in our guide to what we think is the best food and drink in Hanoi’s Old Quarter!
In this unmissable street eats guide, we tell you where you can eat the best:
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Hanoi Pho
Pho (phở) is synonymous with Vietnam. The Vietnamese noodle soup has gained worldwide fame and can be found on menus across the globe. Pho is perhaps Vietnam’s most famous dish.
Despite its global imitations, the original is always the best. There’s something special about slurping up a bowl of steaming noodles whilst sitting on a plastic stool watching the busy streets of Hanoi.
For those who haven’t eaten pho before; pho pronounced “fur” or “fuh”, refers to the white rice noodles that make up the base of Vietnam’s most famous dish. A bowl of pho comprises of, noodles, slices of meat and scatterings of herbs all topped off by a delicate broth.. There are endless variations of pho available with different meats, broths, styles and garnishes.
With pho, the star of the show is always the broth. Deep, complex and rich, yet supremely clean, it is a slow cooked masterpiece of a soup! Traditional pho shops will usually leave their broth to simmer and develop overnight - you can’t rush a work of art!
Hanoi is legendary for its pho, having a style distinct from the southern flavours found in Ho Chi Minh. Pho can be found all over the Old Quarter from early morning to late at night, with the city offering everything from beef, chicken, vegetable and even vegan variations. It’s a comforting bowl of noodles that will keep you satisfied and full for your day exploring the Old Quarter.
There is fierce debate as to whether northern pho or southern pho is the king in Vietnam. We’re not going to poke the hornet’s nest by answering that!
We have eaten plenty of bowls of pho throughout Vietnam and the main difference we found is that the southern broths were slightly sweeter and punchier whereas the northern broths were more delicate and subtle. We towed the line nicely on that one don’t you think!
Where to have the best bowl of pho in Hanoi’s Old Quarter:
Phở Gia Truyền Bát Đàn located here.
This small shophouse is the perfect example of a traditional pho joint. No nonsense, unpretentious and busy with locals.
Phở Gia Truyền Bát Đàn serves up exceptional bowls of beef pho from its traditional shop house. Just queue up at the wooden counter, next to the swinging slabs of beef and when it's your turn, choose what cut of meat you want and wait for them to create you a masterpiece in a bowl!
Did we also mention Phở Gia Truyền Bát Đàn is Michelin recommended!
Once presented with your bowl of steaming goodness, you have to navigate your own way through the very busy restaurant or out onto the crowded street to find a place to sit. It's hot, crowded and the bowl will scald your hands, but it’s completely worth it!
The pho from Phở Gia Truyền Bát Đàn is phenomenol, probably the best bowl we tried in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. It has the perfect balance of richness and delicacy, with melt in your mouth beef in a near perfect broth.
The restaurant gets very busy with queues out onto the street. If you’re planning to dine here, make sure to get here early, or expect to wait a while!
Prices at Phở Gia Truyền Bát Đàn are very reasonable around 50,000 VND per bowl - you won’t find a better pho!
Bun Cha
Bun Cha (Bún chả) where do we start with this legendary dish?
We’ll start with a little bit of personal history; many, many years ago, a young Jellie first came to Vietnam. Excited, nervous and unsure what we would find, we headed out onto the streets for our first Vietnamese meal. Through blind luck we stumbled into a bun cha joint. This was perhaps the most perfect introduction into Vietnamese food we could have asked for.
Bun cha is unlike anything you’ll find in Western cuisine. It’s sweet, salty, savoury, sharp, crispy yet chewy, soft yet crunchy. It is a delicious maelstrom of contrasting flavours and textures.
To make bun cha, pork patties are grilled on a charcoal flame until they are perfectly barbequed on the outside but still juicy on the inside. These are then plunged into a sweet soup / sauce. It’s really hard to describe this sauce as it really is unlike anything we’re used to in the West. Sweet with sugar, salty from the fish sauce and with a powerful hum of garlic throughout, this sauce absolutely makes the dish. On the side you’ll have fresh vegetables, herbs, sliced chillies and the iconic white bun noodles. All of which you’ll dip, slurp and crunch in the magical broth.
Where to have the best bun cha in Hanoi’s Old Quarter:
Bún Chả 41 Cửa Đông located here.
Always popular from when it opens until it closes, Bún Chả 41 Cửa Đông is a local favourite popular amongst both Hanoian’s and backpackers. You’ll be able to smell the restaurant before you see it as they are always roasting pork over charcoal on the streetside - it’s a great business strategy, you’ll literally be dragged in by the nose!
We’d recommend ordering a plate of their crispy spring rolls alongside your bun cha for added crunch!
A serving of bun cha is around 70,000 VND and spring rolls around 15,000 VND.
Banh Xeo
Banh Xeo (Bánh Xèo) is another Vietnamese classic that hasn’t been exported to the West yet. In simplest terms it is a fried, crispy batter pancake stuffed full of goodies. It can come with pork, prawns, vegetables, sliced beef or any or all of the above. The banh xeo is usually served alongside rice paper, fresh herbs and a dipping sauce. To eat, you smash the pancake, wrap it along with some herbs in the rice paper then dip and devour.
Banh xeo gets its name from the sizzle the pancake makes in the pan and the overall dish is an absolute treat of textures. We ate some brilliant banh xeo from north to south, but our favourite spot in Hanoi was…
Where to eat the best banh xeo in Hanoi’s Old Quarter:
Bánh xèo, Nem cuốn located just over the road from here.
This narrow shop is stuffed full of plastic stools and small metal tables. At the front of the shop sits a row of massive burners, their flames licking the bottom of the banh xeo pans. It’s a permanent hub of activity with the cooks working like a well oiled machine, flipping, folding, and flaming the banh xeo to order.
We ordered two sets of the banh xeo alongside some crispy wontons. The banh xeo was perfectly crunchy and stuffed full of beef, shrimp and beansprouts. It was so good! A riot of textures with the soft rice paper giving way to the crispy pancake and snappy little bean sprouts. The dipping sauce was both sweet and spicy and it, along with the herbs, kept the whole dish light and fresh.
One plate of banh xeo costs 20,000 VND.
Bun Rieu
What is bun rieu (Bún Riêu)? That is a very difficult question to answer as bun rieu is endlessly varied. This staple noodle soup of Vietnam’s only constants are the white bun noodle and the red, tomato laced broth. After that it's anyone's game of what goes into a bun rieu. You might find pork, prawns, crab or even snails in your bun rieu. The variety in Hanoi alone is endless!
One thing we can say in Vietnam is that we never had a bad bowl of bun rieu. It is always different and always delicious.
Where to have the best bowl of bun rieu in Hanoi’s Old Quarter:
There is no Google listing for this bun rieu spot, but you can find Co Thuy Bun Rieu underneath a railway bridge (to the north of Hanoi’s Old Quarter) here. Just look for the busy street side stalls and green sign and you’ll know you’re in the right place.
We ordered the special bowl which came topped with pretty much everything you can think of, Vietnamese sausage, snails, deep fried tofu and pork patties all crowded the bowl. The whole thing was topped with golden crumbs of deep fried garlic and shallots and a scattering of diced spring onions. It was a fantastic bowl with no two mouthfuls being the same. You can’t go wrong with a bowl of bun rieu, but if you really want to go right, you have to try this place.
One special bowl of bun rieu costs around 40,000 VND.
Tell us you're not hungry just looking at this bowl!
We’d recommend pairing a visit to this bun rieu stall either before or after you’ve looked at the nearby street murals. Take a look at what else there is to do in Hanoi’s Old Quarter here.
Banh Mi
It would be impossible to write a food article without acknowledging Vietnam’s most famous sandwich, the banh mi!
Banh mi (bánh mì in Vietnamese) can be found all over Vietnam and is the ultimate crunchy sandwich. Influenced by the French, the Vietnamese take on a sandwich starts with a small crispy baguette. The small batons of bread are cut lengthways then slathered in gamey rich pate. On top of this pate, slices of meat are added before being topped with pickled vegetables, crunchy herbs and chilli sauce.
The banh mi is the ultimate pick up and go meal and has become a budget friendly backpacker favourite. Banh mi’s are available all day and there are endless variations on offer with fried eggs, melted cheese and even sweet banh mi’s!
Where to eat the best banh mi in Hanoi’s Old Quarter:
It’s cliche to say, but the backpacker favourite of Banh Mi 25 (location) really does live up to the hype. Heralded as one of the best, cheap street foods on offer in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, Banh Mi 25 is a firm traveller favourite. Whatever time of day you rock up, there will be queues of other backpackers waiting in line to get their hands on one of these legendary sandwiches.
Banh Mi 25 offers a huge range of options from pork and beef to vegetarian and vegan, whatever you fancy, there will be a sandwich to suit you. The restaurant has always been a traveller favourite. In fact, we made a beeline to try it back in 2016 on our first trip to Hanoi. Nowadays, Banh Mi 25 has evolved into 3 shops and is a non-stop baguette cutting, pate smearing, meat and herb scattering machine that churns out hundreds and hundreds of banh mi’s to hungry travellers everyday!
The baguettes are super crunchy on the outside, but perfectly soft within, creating the perfect vessel for your pate, meat and vegetable combinations! We visited multiple times and loved their barbecued pork and pate banh mi.
To make a really good banh mi takes skill. Throughout our Vietnamese adventure we’ve eaten plenty of these sandwiches, and Banh Mi 25 really does live up to its reputation and deserves its queues. There’s a reason why banh mi is known as the best sandwich in the world.
Banh mi’s range from 35,000 VND to 45,000 VND. You can pick up your sandwich to go or sit in one of their streetside seating areas.
They also serve banh mi chao, sliced baguettes served with a hot pan of pate, fried eggs, and slices of pork or beef. We sadly didn’t get to try it this time, but next time Banh Mi 25, next time!
Like we mentioned Banh Mi 25 does get very busy and you will need to queue. Unlike some other tourist attractions and Instagram favourites, Banh Mi 25 is totally worth the hype.
Hanoi Duck
Hanoi is famous for its duck dishes. Every foodie knows about the legendary, Michelin recommend, Don Duck Old Quarter Restaurant (location) but, there is also a whole crossroads dedicated to the cooking of our quacking compatriots.
Come nightfall, in the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, a busy intersection is swamped by stools, tables and people happily munching on delicious duck dishes from duck pho to platters of roasted duck. We can highly recommend…
Where to eat the best duck in Hanoi?
Ngan Ngon Trâm located here. This restaurant sits on a crossroad surrounded by other duck based eateries.
We ordered a spectacular duck platter. The platter arrived on a massive metal tray full of poached duck leg, deep fried duck, duck soup, pickled vegetables, bun noodles, herbs and a dipping sauce. It was a huge feast definitely big enough for the two of us and the duck was sublime. The different styles of cooking all gave completely different flavours to the rich and luxurious duck meat. Our favourite was the deep fried duck - studded through with lime leaf, garlic and shallots we’re surprised Hanoi fried duck (HFD for short) has not taken off!
A two person platter cost 300,000 VND.
Fried eels and eel soup
We’ve already written about some pretty adventurous eating exploits in Vietnam (you can read more here) but believe us when we say, Hanoi’s eels are a must try! The eels are delicious and unique and worth it far more than just for the kudos and shock value you may think coming from the West.
You can always tell it is an eel shop as they’ll have a glass cabinet stuffed with deep fried eels proudly displayed out front. These deep fried marine monsters are the central part of all of the most famous Hanoian eel dishes. You can have eel porridge, eel soup or eel and glass noodles. Don’t be squeamish, deep fried eel is crunchy, meaty and really moreish.
Eels may look a bit gruesome but they taste amazing!
Where to eat eel in Hanoi?
Miến lươn Đông Thịnh located here. We found Miến lươn Đông Thịnh after following the recommendations of one of our favourite food-tubers Gary Butler and it definitely didn’t disappoint!
We ordered a bowl of eel noodle soup (mien nuoc) and a plate of deep fried eel with glass noodles (mien xao luon). The soup was clean and fresh with the deep fried eels straddling an impossible line between being crunchy and juicy. The eels rehydrated in the soup to create a salty, meaty kick. The deep fried eels with the glass noodles were nutty, crunchy perfection! The dish is not much to look at, but honestly was one of our favourite noodle dishes we have eaten in Vietnam.
Mien nuoc - eel soup
Mien xao luon - deep fried eel and glass noodles
If you’re an adventurous eater or just want to push yourself a little outside your comfort zone, head here!
Our bowl of eel soup cost 45,000 VND and the deep fried eels with glass noodles was 65,000 VND.
Xoi
Xoi (xôi) is a Vietnamese staple. Often served for breakfast, you can find xoi anywhere from restaurants and streetside stands to being sold by passing vendors on the street.
Xoi is sticky rice which is topped with meat, pate, eggs or any number of different toppings. This hearty dish really sets you up for a day of exploring. We love xoi so much we have written an entire article about the dish, you can read it here:
Where to eat xoi in Hanoi?
Xôi Yến (find it here) is conveniently located near many of the tour agencies and bus stops on the edge of the Old Quarter so makes it a perfect place to grab a filling meal before travelling out of Hanoi. In fact, this is just what we did before catching a bus to Ha Giang (read more about the incredible Ha Giang loop here).
We filled up on two plates of delicious xoi topped with sweet roasted pork, Chinese sausage, egg and pork floss. It was super tasty, hearty and just what we needed before a long journey!
We’d recommend ordering the special mixed xoi which costs 45,000 VND.
Bia Hoi
We couldn’t write a Hanoi Old Quarter food and drink guide without mentioning the incredible Bia Hoi. This Northern Vietnamese creation is perhaps the ultimate beer!
Super cheap, super fresh and super easy to drink. The draught beer is brewed fresh each day then left to mature for a short while, before being drunk. We think Bia Hoi is one of the best Vietnamese inventions and we’ve written an entire article about it here.
Where to have the best Bia Hoi in Hanoi’s Old Quarter?
In the Old Quarter you’re never far from a beer, but our favourite place for a bia hoi was up near ‘Train Street’ at Quán Bia Hơi Bát Đàn (location).
As the sun goes down, Quán Bia Hơi Bát Đàn fills up with locals and travellers sipping on cheap beer and dining on delicious foods. There’s a great feel to the place and the beer is fresh, delicious and very cheap.
If you’re after a true Vietnamese night out and are bored of the backpackers of ‘Beer Street’ head for a bia hoi at Quán Bia Hơi Bát Đàn!
A glass of bia hoi will only set you back 13,000 VND.
Hanoi is full of bia hoi joints. If you’re looking to escape the Old Quarter make sure you check out Truc Bach Island for a fantastic bia hoi spot with excellent sunset views. Read more here.
Other Hanoi dishes to try
There are so many more delicious dishes to eat in the Vietnamese capital than what we have listed here. If you’re staying in the Old Quarter make sure you don’t limit yourself to just its winding streets.
A short walk north of the Old Quarter is the Tay Ho West Lake and Truc Bach district which are stuffed full of authentic Vietnamese restaurants, street food and markets. The island of Truc Bach is famous for inventing the pho cuon and pho chien phong. These unique takes on the traditional dish are nothing like your usual bowl of soup. Pho cuon can be thought of as pho enchilada, with a rice noodle roll wrapping up beef and herbs before being dipped in delicious sauce. Pho chien phong is pho’s unhealthy younger brother. Deep fried rice noodles puff up into crispy little squares before being coated in a rich, beef laden gravy. Both are amazing and definitely worth tracking down.
For a guide to Truc Bach and all the delicious food and drink on offer read our full article here:
Taking a food tour around Hanoi’s Old Quarter
There are so many Vietnamese delights on offer in Hanoi’s Old Quarter it can be hard to fit it all in. To sample the best food the Old Quarter has to offer and to get an expert's view of the city's food, check out the food tours of Hanoi’s Old Quarter available on Get Your Guide here.
For those who don’t mind an early start, we took an excellent dawn food tour sampling the best food on offer around the Long Bien Market. You can read more about our morning here.
You won't need to look far for streetside food in Hanoi ... it's literally everywhere!
Final Thoughts
You really cannot go wrong with eating in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, in fact it is a challenge to find bad food. The only other advice we can give would apply to pretty much anywhere in the world; if you’re looking for good food, look for the locals. You’re never going to find the best Vietnamese food in your hotel's restaurant!
Just head out onto the busy streets of the Old Quarter, pull up a plastic stool and dive into the fantastic street food of Hanoi.
If we’ve missed your favourite Hanoi dish off this list, let us know in the comments.
Happy munching!
Thanks for reading,
John & Ellie x
#adventuresofjellie
If you’re heading south to Ho Chi Minh, don’t miss reading our article on some of the best food available in Vietnam’s southern city here.
Check out all our other Hanoi travel guides here:
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