“Going to Vietnam the first time was life-changing for sure. Maybe because it was all so new and different to my life before and the world I grew up in. The food, culture, landscape, and smell; they’re all inseparable. It just seemed like another planet; a delicious one that sort of sucked me in and never let go.”

From sour to sweet, Vietnamese food is unforgettable. We loved the city of Hanoi and our food experiences there. If you’re spending some time in Hanoi check out this great guide to the city from Nomad on the Loose. Here are ten meals you should try when visiting Hanoi (and some great coffee to enjoy after).

Gỏi cuốn

Goi Cuon is the most famous dish in Vietnam and is a great pick if you’re visiting for the first time. The dish consists of spring rolls made of rice paper that are packed with coriander, minced pork, shrimps and leaves.

Depending on the restaurant serving the dish, it often comes with a bowl of lettuce or mint. Others just serve the ingredients in bowls, so you can create your own spring roll. While it’s similar to a spring roll, it’s not fried and so much healthier.

You’ll find this in most Vietnamese restaurants so you’ll not have to go out of your way to find them but a great choice is Quan An Ngon Restaurant. You’ll find a full menu of delicious Vietnamese food here and their Goi Cuon are fantastic.

Address:

Quan An Ngon Resturant, 18 Phan Bội Châu, Cửa Nam, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Bánh xèo

Banh xeo are the Vietnamese version of pancakes. They make a cheap lunch option, but instead of being served with sugar, they come with fried shrimp, pork, egg and bean sprouts.

Ideally, these pancakes are dipped in a spicy sauce before eating them. Banh xeo are easily recognised by the yellow colour of the crispy pancake and the irresistible smell when the dough touches the hot frypan. The sizzling sound is referred to as xeo, hence the name. While most Vietnamese restaurants use bacon as meat, the coastal region around Nha Trang replaces the bacon or pork with squid.

They can also be served with traditional rice paper and the trick here is to wrap the ingredients into the rice paper like a pancake. Absolutely fantastic, I honestly can’t decide which style I prefer so it’s best if you try both. Quan An Ngon restaurant serves the pancake in the first style, crispy yellow and doughy. Banh Xeo Ton duc Thang are a more traditional style restaurant and serve the rice paper style.

They’re both great choices. You’ll find both of these restaurants in the old town area.

Addresses:

Quan An Ngon Restaurant, 18 Phan Bội Châu, Cửa Nam, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Banh Xeo Ton duc Thang, 29, Tôn Đức Thắng, Quốc Tử Giám, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Bánh mì

Banh Mi is another delicious option for a quick meal when in Hanoi. Literally, it can be translated as a sandwich, so it can contain pretty much everything. This baguette sandwich is so delicious, it is often imitated in different countries.

They are filled with vegetables and various fillings that are difficult to choose from. The traditional Banh Mi baguette is often filled with omelette, paté, or other types of meat. To top it off, it is spiced with coriander, fresh peppers, or umami.

To this day, they are some of the best sandwiches I‘ve ever eaten. They’re also extraordinarily cheap and can be wrapped up for later meaning they’re great for travelling on a budget. There are no shortage of Banh Mi places but one of our favourites was Banh My P. Situated in the heart of the old town, the chicken Banh Mi here are to die for.

Address:

Banh My P, 12 Hàng Buồm, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Cao lầu

When you think of Vietnamese cuisine, noodles and pork come to mind, two key ingredients in this must-try dish. Cao Lau is a bowl of rice noodles with pork-rind croutons soaking in a light mint-flavoured soup. In addition, they are often served with grilled crackers or crispy rice paper.

Despite being a regional dish, originated in the town of Hoi An, you can find it everywhere in Vietnam. From the side streets to the more expensive Hanoi restaurants. Nowadays it considered as one of Vietnam’s greatest culinary treasures.

Phở

Pho is Vietnam’s national dish and is a meal that can be eaten at any time of the day. Local people often eat this noodle soup as breakfast.  It’s certainly risen in popularity in the West with some great restaurants popping up but there’s nothing quite like eating a bowl of Pho outside a little hole in the wall in Hanoi.

Depending on where you are travelling in Vietnam, Pho is served in different variations. A basic bowl of noodle soup, however, consists of beef or chicken flavoured with ginger and coriander. Afterward, the noodles are added together with onions and minced meat.

A great choice for when you’re in Hanoi is Pho Gia Truyen, a lovely little restaurant that may look run down with its plastic stools and tables but serves some of the best Pho in Hanoi. It’s in the bustling old quarter and has been there delighting people since the 60s.

Address:

Pho Gia Truyen: 49 Bat Dan, Cua Dong, Hanoi, Vietnam

Bún chả

Pho may well be considered as the national dish, but if you ask locals in Hanoi they will often recommend another dish. Bun Cha is a local specialty in Hanoi and one you will find on every street corner or food stall all across the city. Bun Cha are the barbecued pork patties that are grilled on open charcoal and come with cold rice noodles. To finish the dish, alight and sweet sauce is added.

You’ll find Bun Cha shops everywhere but a particularly good place to try them is Bun Cha Ta, they have a long history of serving Bun Cha and are just around the corner from Hoan Kiem Lake making them super convenient.

Address:

Bun Cha: 21 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Lý Thái Tổ, Hoàn Kiếm Hà Nội, Vietnam

Mì Quảng

Another Hanoi specialty and an affordable option to eat is Mi Quang. Ingredients of this noodle dish vary by the location where you eat it, but most often you may expect a simple bowl of noodles with some meat, oils, shrimps, peanuts and quail eggs.

The name is a combination of Mi (noodles) and Quang (derived from the province Quang Nam where it originated). Most of the time the bottom of your bowl is layered with vegetables, only to be followed by noodles and a fair amount of broth on top.

Address:

Vị Quảng Restaurant: 35 Trần Hưng Đạo, Phan Chu Trinh, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Chả Cá

Seafood dishes are amongst the most popular dishes in the Vietnamese cuisine, rarely missed off restaurant menus. Cha ca is reportedly devised in Hanoi and is the best-known dish in this part of the country.

Translated from Vietnamese it means ‘marinated grilled fish’. Cha ca is a traditional dish of white fish (carp or catfish) that is sautéed in butter, onions, and dill. The fish comes with rice noodles and peanuts. Without a doubt, this meal is a Hanoi first-timer’s rite of passage.

One of the best places to try this is in Chả Cá Thăng Long. People have been raving about this restaurant for years and with good reason. They offer few items on the menu but what they do make is perfect. With traditional surroundings, this is the perfect place to try Cha Ca for the first time.

Address:

Chả Cá Thăng Long: 19 – 21 – 31 Đường Thành, Cửa Đông, Hoàn Kiếm Hà Nội, Vietnam

Nộm hoa chuố

If you are a vegetarian, Vietnamese cuisine doesn’t always give you many options. However, Nom hoa chuoi is an exception. This banana-flower salad is a meat-free dish that succeeds in giving vegetarians a real taste of Vietnamese cuisine. Lime and chili are key flavours in this meal.

Non-vegetarians often add chicken or boiled pig ears to it. The explosion of different flavours and the contrasts in texture make it a real Vietnamese specialty. Thành Phố is a great place to try this wonderfully vibrant dish. Situated in the old quarter, it provides a real feel of traditional Hanoi.

Address:

Thành Phố: 88 Hòa Mã, Hanoi, Thành Phố Hà Nội, Vietnam

Cơm tấm

Com tam is a dish often found in street food stalls. Known as ‘broken rice’, it comes served in several ways. It’s often presented with barbecued pork and a fried egg. The rice used are imperfect rice grains that were discarded after the drying and milling process.

Instead of throwing it away, these grains have now been elevated into a delicious signature street food meal. The taste is basically the same as regular rice, though in the past this imperfect ‘animal feed’ was hard to sell. Check out the street vendors for this one.

Drink

Don’t forget to try the coffee when in Hanoi. Although this deserves an article of its own, Vietnamese coffee is a real delicacy. From their delicious coconut ice coffees to weasel coffee, to the infamous egg coffee. There’s a coffee for everyone.

Read More: Here’s our article about Vietnamese coffee culture

Cà Phê đá

This is a cold coffee made from the locally-sourced Robusta beans which are then mixed with water and served with sweetened condensed milk. You can find this wonderful drink on every street in Vietnam. It is the perfect mix of bitter and sweet flavours. I look for cafes that serve this coffee everywhere I go (even try and make it at home) and it’s never quite the same.

Cà phê trứng

It starts with bitter coffee that is brewed with a phin, a single-serving coffee filter specifically used for Vietnamese coffee. Then the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and sugar are added. It’s more of an acquired taste than most but it’s a must-try at least once and may become a new favourite!

Some of the best cafes in Hanoi are the Cong Caphe chain, all of them are slightly different but they have a unique old aesthetic going on. Their menu is large and great quality. There’s a Congs on every corner in Hanoi. Try our favourite coconut coffee!

For a more standard coffee shop but with an equally excellent menu, try Tranquil Books and Coffee in the Old Quarter. They have great wifi and a lovely ambiance.

Address: 

5 Nguyễn Quang Bích, Cửa Đông, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Have a look at our food tour experiences in Taipei and Osaka for more wonderful dishes or learn about Hanoi here.

Thus, when we arrived in Hanoi last summer, and finally put our lips to the finest cups of coffee mother Earth might ever provide, I never ever wanted to leave. So, how did Vietnam create a coffee culture to surpass all others?

Introduction to Vietnamese Coffee Culture

Cà phê đá (translated literally and simply to ‘iced coffee’) is one of Vietnam’s greatest pleasures.

While every exporter of coffee has its own variation of bean, Vietnam has built an entire coffee culture around its own home-grown coffee, and it really is one of the best things you can enjoy when visiting this wonderful country. Drink alongside a hot bowl of Phở and you’ll be well and truly satisfied.

Quite simply, cà phê đá is a cold coffee made from locally-sourced Robusta beans, mixed with water and sweetened condensed milk. Consumed in abundance on every street in Vietnam, it is the perfect mix of dark roast and soft, sweet flavour and, on a hot summer’s day, it should absolutely replace iced lattes as your coffee of choice.

The History of Vietnamese Coffee

Vietnam sits comfortably on the ‘coffee belt’, but coffee wasn’t actually introduced there until 1857, when the French began providing Vietnam with many aspects of their own cuisine: foods and drinks which are still a staple part of Vietnam’s food culture to this day. But, being the passionate and creative nation that it is, Vietnam turned French baguettes into bánh mì, and French coffee into cà phê đá.

Vietnam’s imaginative variation on traditional coffee was originally born out of necessity, when the French saw that Vietnam had no dairy farming industry, and so resorted to using sweetened condensed milk combined with a dark roast coffee.

This quickly evolved into the iced coffee that is now a staple of Vietnamese café culture today. As Home Grounds points out, ‘Vietnam is a hotbed of Robusta growth. Indeed, Robusta plants make up 95% of their coffee plantations and they provide half of all Robusta grown in the world.’

Unfortunately, although it actually contains a higher concentration of caffeine, Robusta is the inferior bean to Arabica, and so condensed milk proved the perfect ingredient to turn Vietnamese coffee from something serviceable to something truly outstanding.

Where do I find coffee in Vietnam?

The simple answer to that is: everywhere. Every café in Vietnam, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh, serves cà phê đá. However, the lead coffee chain (the Starbucks of cà phê đá if you will) is Cong Ca Phe.

You’ll find these wonderful places in every district of Hanoi. They have a wonderful rustic, wooden aesthetic, and also serve Hanoi’s famous local egg coffee (cà phê trứng).

To anyone who may have just twitched at the concept, I cannot blame you. But I might if you don’t try it at least once. Egg coffee is not an acquired taste; it is, simply, delectable. Strange in concept, perfect in execution.

Read More: in this bookish guide to Ho Chi Minh (which includes some great cafes)

There is one café that I wish to pay special attention to simply because it is my favourite in Hanoi, and that is Tranquil Books & Coffee.

Nestled in the heart of old Hanoi, in the Hoan Kiem district, this little space is one of the most charming spaces you’ll ever inhabit; a perfect place to enjoy a real Vietnamese coffee. Take a book from the shelf and leaf through it as you enjoy their exquisite iced coffees.

*For those who want to experience the origins of Vietnamese coffee, take a tour of one of these eco-friendly plantations in Dalat.

Can I make Vietnamese Coffee at home?

Yes, it’s very easy to make this rich and sweet beverage at home. One of the best souvenirs you can pick up in Vietnam is a simple coffee maker, they’re incredibly cheap (think less than a dollar) and they can easily be bought online if you’re not in Vietnam anytime soon.

You’ll need some Vietnamese coffee (here’s one brand) and some condensed milk (here’s a Vietnamese brand), these can easily be picked up at your local Asian supermarket. If you’re making the more complex coconut ones then you’ll need some coconut milk as well.

To Make Vietnamese Coffee at Home You’ll Need:

• 3 tablespoons Vietnamese ground coffee (there are sachets you can buy but it’s not nearly as good)
• 1-3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
• 6-8 ounces water close to boiling point but not quite there

Method:

• Place your coffee in the filter and make sure it’s even, no need to compress the coffee
• Add two tablespoons of coffee into the filter to get it started, now compress the coffee (pushing it with a spoon is fine)
• Add the rest of your water and let it drip down into the filter
• Spoon your condensed milk into the bottom of your glass
• Finally, pour the coffee on top of the condensed milk. Stir and Enjoy!