1. Bun Rieu Hang Bac
Bún Riêu is a traditional Vietnamese rice vermicelli soup. There is a popular version for this dish - Bun Rieu Cua. It is made with crab, tomatoes, pork, and tofu. Bun Rieu Cua is served with tomato broth and topped with freshwater crab, specifically rice paddy crabs which are pounded with the shell into a fine paste before being strained.
Address: 11 Hang Bac, Hoan Kiem District
Operating hours: Everyday from 7:00 AM to 10:30 PM
Price: 30,000 VND for each
2. Banh Cuon Gia Truyen Thanh Van
Banh cuon is made from a thin sheet of steamed fermented rice batter filled with seasoned ground pork and wood ear mushrooms. It would quickly solidify into a thin delicate sheet that the owner would then fill with ingredients and roll up before cutting with scissors into bite-sized pieces. It is served with a slide of gio lua (Vietnamese pork sausage), slided cucumber and bean sprouts.
Address: 12 Hang Ga, Hoan Kiem District
Operating hours: Everyday from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM, 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Price: 85,000 VND for each
3. Bun Cha
Bun Cha is one of Hanoi’s most popular dishes. It’s a dish consisting of grilled fatty pork (chả) served with white rice noodles (bún) and fresh greens like lettuce, perilla, coriander, and mint. The pork is served in a soupy bowl of pickled vegetables that impart acidity to the dish.
Bun Cha Nem Cua Be is known for their nem cua be which are deep-fried crab and pork spring rolls. It seems customary to eat bún chả with a side of nem cua be.
Address:
24 Le Van Huu, Hai Ba Trung District
59 Lang Ha, Dong Da District
Operating hours: Everyday from 8:30 AM to 8:30 PM
Price: 40,000 VND for each
4. Pho Thin Lo Duc
Phở may enjoy nationwide (and worldwide) prominence but it has its roots here in Hanoi and the north. This rice noodle soup dish can be found everywhere in Hanoi but some of the city’s best phở is served at Pho Thin 13 Lo Duc.
Unlike classic pho bo (beef pho) where the beef is just boiled, the beef at Pho Thin is stir-fried with garlic first before being added to the soup. This minute innovation added new flavor components to the dish, turning a traditionally gentle stock into a more richly layered broth. Like typical northern phở, Pho Thin’s beef pho is served with plenty of green onions.
Address: 13 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung District
Operating hours: 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM
Price: 50,000 VND for each
5. Cha ca La Vong
Cha ca La Vong refers to a dish of grilled catfish served with a mountain of fresh dill. The fish is cut into matchbox-sized nuggets and marinated in galangal, turmeric, and other spices. It’s then grilled on charcoal before being brought out to pan fry on your table with a forest of dill and spring onions. Smokey with an herbal aroma, the fish is tender and flaky on the inside with a slightly charred, caramelized coating.
Address: 19 - 21 Duong Thanh, Hoan Kiem District
Operating hours: 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Price: 120,000 VND per person
6. Xoi Yen
They’re known for a dish called xoi xeo, which is a dish of sticky rice with mung beans and fried shallots. The best-seller of this restaurant is "varied" xoi xeo. The rice’s yellow tint comes from turmeric which is mixed with water and glutinous rice. Mung beans are then peeled, steamed, pummeled, and rolled into balls before being mixed into the rice and topped with fried shallots and a tablespoon of liquid fat.
Address: 35B Nguyen Huu Huan, Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem District
Operating Hours: 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM
Price: 50,000 VND for the “varied” xoi xeo
7. Mien Luon Dong Thinh
Unlike Japanese unagi where the eel is grilled, most eel in Vietnam is dried then deep-fried so it’s crispy like dried anchovies. They were very crunchy but still had that signature sweetness that I love from the eel. Mien luon was served with glass noodles (mien), fried garlic and shallots, cucumber slices, chopped peanuts, and fresh herbs and greens with just a shallow layer of broth made from eel bones and ginger.
Address: 87 Hang Dieu, Hoan Kiem District
Operating Hours: Everyday from 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM
Price: 55,000 VND for a dish