Top 10 Authentic Eateries in Hanoi's Old Quarter

Generations of Hanoi locals have a deep connection with the small dessert shop located at the beginning of Hang Can Street, revolving around various sweet soup dishes, rarely resting without customers. Operating since before 1975, it is considered one of the oldest dessert shops in Hanoi's Old Quarter. The signboard of Chè 4 Mùa is quite noticeable when passing through Hang Can Street. The customer flow at the shop is very stable, whether in winter or summer. Walking through the Old Quarter in the late afternoon, seeing customers sitting on the sidewalk enjoying a cup of delicious and fragrant sweet soup, many curious tourists, even if they haven't heard the name before, stop by to try. Despite the increasing number of eateries in Hanoi, many people still remain loyal to enjoying traditional sweet soups on a corner of the old streets, where there are only simple plastic chairs, and the seating is still quite inconvenient.

Visit Chè 4 Mùa in the summer, and you can enjoy mung bean sweet soup, black bean sweet soup, lotus seed and coconut sweet soup, or tapioca pearl tea with toppings like coconut and pandan jelly. In winter, the shop changes its menu to sweet soup with pandan and ginger, floating cakes, green bean tea... With not many sophisticated ingredients, 'Chè 4 Mùa' is attractive for its traditional flavor, with smooth white floating cakes, spicy and pungent ginger flavor, soft and chewy lotus seeds, not mushy, green beans are smooth but not too dense, and the sweet soup has the faint fragrance of pandan. The food hygiene at the shop is also quite guaranteed as the dessert ingredients are stored in covered containers. After ordering, the seller scoops the ingredients into a cup and serves the customers.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 4 Hang Can Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Phone: 0984 583 333
Email: [email protected]
Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/che4muahangcan
Opening Hours: 09:00 - 22:00

When it comes to sweet sticky rice and sweet soup, everyone immediately thinks of the famous Xôi Chè Bà Thìn in the street food scene of Hanoi for generations. This is also considered one of the iconic dishes of the Old Quarter, making Hanoians proud. Xôi Chè Bà Thìn is located in a small space with just enough room for a counter displaying various types of sweet soup. Despite its small size, Xôi Chè Bà Thìn never lacks customers, especially on weekends. Though the space is limited, the staff's attitude is remarkable—prompt, lively, and friendly. Once you sit down, the menu is quickly presented, and within about 2 minutes, you can enjoy a hot and fragrant bowl of sweet soup.

Xôi Chè Bà Thìn offers a menu for both seasons: summer and winter. In summer, the popular items are cool almond tofu, jasmine-flavored soup with black pearls, and mixed sweet soup. The mixed sweet soup consists mainly of mung beans and black beans, with minimal additives like jelly or agar as in modern sweet soup stalls. There is also lotus seed sweet soup and iced tamarind water. In winter, Xôi Chè Bà Thìn is bustling with orders for steamed sticky rice and tau foo cake—two of the most beloved items. The steamed sticky rice at Xôi Chè Bà Thìn is a delicacy with various types: sticky rice with lotus seeds, sticky rice with green beans and pandan leaves, sticky rice with coconut milk, sticky rice with black beans. Other winter specialties include sweetened mung bean soup, honeycomb chè, and aromatic fried young rice. Visit here to experience the traditional sweet soup flavors, the simplicity, and authenticity in cooking that captivates the hearts of customers.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 1 Bát Đàn, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
Phone: 0936 628 887
Opening Hours: 08:00 - 23:00

Finding a good eatery in Hanoi's Old Quarter is not a challenge. When it comes to Hanoi's bun cha, many might think of the famous bun cha that even Obama enjoyed. But have you ever tried Bun Cha Dac Kim - Hang Manh, a place that anyone would remember when asked about delicious food? Located at the beginning of Hang Manh Street, Bun Cha Dac Kim has become a familiar address for foreign tourists to indulge in Hanoi's culinary delights. With a relatively small space, during peak hours, diners have to go upstairs or be seated on the sidewalk. The standout feature here is the meticulousness in selecting ingredients. In particular, the pork must be belly or armpit, finely minced with spices, garlic, and delicious fish sauce before being grilled over charcoal.

Each serving of bun cha includes a plate of vermicelli, grilled meat, and self-made meatballs grilled on-site, hot and fragrant. The bun cha serving is large and complete with a bowl of hot mixed fish sauce. Adding a bit of shredded carrots and papaya along with garlic and chili makes it even more enticing. Eating it with fresh herbs enhances the flavor. Each serving of bun cha at Dac Kim is quite substantial, with plenty of meat, priced between 50,000 and 60,000 VND. Despite complaints about limited seating space or somewhat expensive prices, the place is always crowded, becoming one of the culinary symbols of Hanoi.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 1 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Phone: 024 3828 7060
Website: http://bunchahangmanh.vn/
Opening Hours: 09:00 - 21:00

Bun Dau Huong 55 Phat Loc has the authentic street vibe: a food cart, fried tofu, a few plastic stools, and sitting on the sidewalk to enjoy. However, both Vietnamese and foreigners love that street atmosphere. The bun is a type of flat rice noodle, cut into small pieces. Crispy fried tofu pieces are fried in a pan, drained of oil, and cut into small pieces. The delicious and unique shrimp paste is lightly sweetened, squeezed with lime and added with chili for a rich flavor. Mix the shrimp paste evenly and eat it with raw vegetables and cucumber. Nowadays, bun dau shrimp paste has many additional options such as fried spring rolls, boiled meat, grilled pork sausage, intestines, heart... Long known as one of the best bun dau places in Hanoi, Bun dau is located in Phat Loc alley, on Hang Bac Street, always attracting many people to come and enjoy.

The special thing about this bun dau place is the shrimp paste that the owner sources from Thanh Hoa. Therefore, the shrimp paste is very fragrant, with a pinkish color, and is uniquely prepared through the skillful hands of the owner. Moreover, the ingredients for bun dau are also carefully selected: the tofu must be from Mo Village, known for its soft and smooth tofu, and the noodles must be from Phu Do Village, cut into suitable pieces for customers. Various fresh herbs, including perilla and basil, are also carefully chosen from Lang Village. The price of a bun dau here is quite affordable, depending on the accompanying dishes chosen by the customers, such as meat, sausage, or intestines. The most impressive point for customers is that the tofu is never pre-fried, only fried when customers arrive to ensure its hot and crispy texture.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 55 Phat Loc Alley, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

Phone: 0932 385 858

Opening Hours: 10:30 - 15:00

When talking about delicious eateries in Hanoi's Old Quarter, one cannot overlook Long Vi Dung Dried Beef Salad. Along Hoan Kiem Street, you'll find several salad stalls lined up, but the most delicious and sought-after is Long Vi Dung's dried beef salad. A portion here is perfectly balanced with sweet and sour flavors, accompanied by a variety of ingredients. The beef jerky is plentiful, with shredded papaya, fragrant herbs, crispy tendons, and tender boiled beef pieces. All the ingredients are mixed together with the stall's secret spice formula, then topped with a layer of roasted peanuts.

The dried beef salad here is neither tough nor dry but incredibly delicious, flavorful, and the meat is tender. The nutty taste of the roasted peanuts, the crispy tendons, the freshness of the shredded papaya, and the aromatic herbs, combined with the sweet and sour sauce, create an irresistibly appealing dried beef salad. The dried beef salad paired with translucent steamed rice cakes is a perfect combination. If you stroll down the pedestrian street on the weekend, make sure to stop by Long Vi Dung's dried beef salad to indulge in this Hanoi delicacy. Besides the salad, the stall also offers various other dishes such as steamed rice cakes, fried sour fermented pork rolls, and more. Compared to other stalls, Long Vi Dung Dried Beef Salad is relatively pricey at around 50,000 VND per portion.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 23 Ho Hoan Kiem, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Phone: 0904 656 708
Opening hours: 08:00 - 22:30

When you step into Bát Đàn Traditional Pho, you'll relive the atmosphere of a bygone era: queuing up, carrying your bowl, serving yourself, and finding your seat. The place is always crowded with people lining up to buy, especially in the morning. Bát Đàn Pho is believed to be the original Hanoi pho, with a fragrant aroma, clear broth, and tender pink beef. The pho bowl looks very generous. From local residents to office workers and foreign tourists, everyone queues up patiently to savor the most authentic pho.

Visit this place for a bowl of pho with well-done rare beef, add a poached egg, and you'll get ample meat, rich broth likely from simmering various cuts of meat. It seems richer than the Lý Quốc Sư system. During weekends or peak hours in the evening or morning, you'll have to stand in line, calculate your bill, and carry your pho to the table. If you want to enjoy the pho with deep-fried dough sticks, you need to order and pay immediately; the shop doesn't introduce or have them ready. Despite the crowd, no customer complains about anything, from service to food quality. The pho is chewy yet tender, white and fragrant like freshly harvested rice. The naturally sweet broth, freshly processed beef, eaten with spring onions, is unforgettable. All the spices blend together, and a few sticks of fried dough make it truly wonderful.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 49 Bát Đàn, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi

Opening hours: 06:00 - 10:00 | 18:00 - 20:30

Tạm Thương Alley is renowned for its crispy and fragrant fried fermented pork rolls. In addition to the fried pork rolls, special fried potatoes are also prepared in a unique way. The accompanying dishes include fried corn, taro, and cucumber. The well-cooked fried rolls are wrapped in leaves, beautifully presented, attracting many foreign tourists. Particularly, despite numerous sellers offering fried fermented pork rolls along the alley, there is no competition or customer poaching; everything is conducted in a civilized manner. Tạm Thương is a small alley nestled in the heart of Hanoi, approximately 10 meters long, but it is widely known among Hanoi youth for its famous and delicious fried fermented pork rolls. As each stall opens along the narrow alley, you can choose any of them to enjoy because the quality is consistent across the stalls. A single taste of the fried rolls here will leave a lasting impression, prompting you to return many times.

The crispy and hot fried rolls are not greasy and provide a soft, sweet sensation when eaten. The rolls at the stall are sold out every day, so you can trust in the quality. One thing that adds an unforgettable flavor to Tạm Thương fried rolls is the soy sauce. It's not the bottled kind; it's homemade, offering a rich and spicy taste that perfectly complements the rolls. In this early autumn weather, enjoying these rolls with a group of friends or loved ones is not only affordable but also delightful. A note for those who want to try Tạm Thương fried rolls: the alley is a bit narrow, so it can be challenging with too many motorcycles or bicycles; it's best to walk there.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Address: 40 Tạm Thương Alley, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi

Phone: 0949 381 836

Opening hours: 11:00 - 23:00

If you're a fan of Hanoi's culinary delights, especially traditional dishes and fantastic late-night eats in the Old Quarter, then you definitely can't miss out on the bun thang. This special dish is a harmonious blend of 11 ingredients in one bowl of vermicelli, with a clear and sweet broth creating an exquisite flavor. Enjoying a bowl full of warmth right in the charming atmosphere of the Old Quarter is truly unparalleled.

Heading from Dinh Tien Hoang to Cau Go, don't forget to stop by Bun Thang Mrs. Duc's Eatery to savor the best bun thang in the Old Quarter. It's the perfect recommendation for you to indulge in this delightful dish. Bun thang is a very special dish of Hanoi, with a bowl containing 11 ingredients, hence the name 'thang'. A bowl of bun thang is full of ingredients such as chicken, eggs, pork heart, duck, shredded turnips, bean sprouts, mushrooms, shrimp paste, and more, accompanied by a bit of fresh lime and chili sauce. Surely, the aromatic and flavorful bun thang with its variety of ingredients will satisfy your taste buds. For only 30,000 VND, you can enjoy a delicious and tempting bowl of bun thang. The food here is not only tasty but also clean, and the service is friendly, making it a favorite among diners.

Contact Information:
Address: 48 Cau Go, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

Opening Hours: 18:00 - 22:00

Mì vằn thắn Đinh Liệt stands out as one of the top choices for those with a refined palate seeking delicious egg noodle dishes in Hanoi's Old Quarter. A bowl of egg noodles at this establishment not only features the main ingredients of egg noodles and fish balls but also includes flavorful Chinese barbecue pork, a slice of boiled egg, seasonal greens, fresh shrimp, and more. It comes with a meticulously crafted broth that is clear and has a distinctive sweetness. Although the bowl may not be overflowing, all the ingredients are fresh, well-seasoned, and served piping hot. The noodles, immersed in hot water, maintain a delightful chewiness.

The accompanying dishes are equally remarkable, with tender and chewy fish balls, vibrant red Chinese barbecue pork, and thinly sliced boiled liver with a satisfying texture. However, the highlight of this noodle place is the dry noodles. It features the same ingredients as the venerated egg noodles but without the broth; instead, it is drizzled with a house-made brown sauce that adds a glossy and unique touch, pleasing to the palate. Thanks to this distinctive twist, Mì Vằn Thắn Đinh Liệt stands out. A delicious bowl of noodles like this costs only 35,000 VND, making it a perfect choice for a nutritious breakfast or lunch.

Contact Information:
Address: 9A Đinh Liệt, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Opening Hours: 07:00 - 14:00 | 17:00 - 22:00

Renowned for its succulent roasted pigeon, Thinh Vuong Restaurant - Tạ Hiện is a hotspot for pigeon enthusiasts. With over a decade of history, this establishment, tucked away, requires advance reservations due to its popularity. The two standout dishes here are the roasted pigeon and beef steak. The pigeon, served piping hot, delights with its crispiness, rich aroma, and succulent taste. The skin is crispy and charred, while the meat inside is tender, sweet, and aromatic. The pigeon is marinated with the finest spices, enhancing its flavor. Thinh Vuong Restaurant - Tạ Hiện is a culinary gem in the 'Western street' that you shouldn't miss, especially for grilled pigeon.

On this small street, you'll find numerous grilled pigeon stalls. However, Thinh Vuong Restaurant - Tạ Hiện at number 13 is the most beloved. With nearly 20 years of expertise in grilled quail, this restaurant brings unforgettable flavors. Before grilling, the quail meat is meticulously marinated with spices. Each quail is then skewered and grilled over charcoal until it releases a rich, enticing aroma. When eating, the grilled pigeon is dipped in a mixture of salt and pepper. The spiciness of chili, the gentle acidity of lime, and the rich, succulent flavor of quail will leave you thoroughly delighted.

Contact Information:
Address: 13 Tạ Hiện, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi

Phone: 024 3825 1838