But you're not here for grand interiors. The historic restaurant is famous for its namesake dish, made fresh daily using a special family recipe. "(Our shrimp cake is) special because the recipe has been passed down through several generations, from my grandmother, to my mother, to me," Ngoc Lan Ha, owner of Banh Tom Ho Tay said. "And we've been continuing the legacy that our parents left behind."
Banh tom beginnings
Banh tom, or shrimp cakes, are thought to have become common in the 1930s when small street vendors began congregating along Thanh Nien Street - a road that separates West Lake (Tây Hồ) and Trúc Bạch Lake.
When the hawkers garnered popularity, the government later combined many of the stalls and opened one big restaurant along the waterfront.
Enter Banh Tom Ho Tay. Since then, the restaurant has been a fixture on Thanh Nien Street.
"(Shrimp cakes are) related to war and, of course, poverty in Vietnam," Quynh Anh Nguyen, a photographer living in Hanoi. "Back then, people didn't have much (in terms of) luxurious food or quality meat or anything. I still remember that we were just looking forward to (eating at) the restaurant on the weekend with my parents. It was like a treat."
Today, the restaurant still draws a steady stream of friends and families, gathering for slow afternoons full of crispy, savory shrimp cakes, chilled bia hoi (local draft beer), and front-row seats to the lake.