Hanoi is not only beautiful because of its historical sites but also captivates the hearts of people with culinary quintessence. The Old Quarter of Hanoi has 36 streets with the diverse cuisine culture with long-standing restaurants and rich flavours of the North style. So,
If you visit Hanoi, please enjoy the tasty food in the old town in 5 best restaurants in the Old Quarter.
1. Bun Cha Hang Quat Restaurant
- Address: 74 Hang Quat Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 10: 30 am – 2:00 pm
- Price range: 50,000 VND
Bun cha is an extremely famous traditional dish, not only loved by the people of Hanoi, but also by plenty of visitors to the capital who has had the opportunity to taste it. When you come here, you will find this noodle dish appearing all the ways in Hanoi.
However, to fully enjoy that rustic and original taste, you may come to the restaurant at Hang Quat Street. This noodle shop is always full of diners. Using separate heirloom secrets, not mixed with any place, this vermicelli shop has brought an irresistibly delicious taste.
The restaurant locates in a narrow alley just enough for two people to walk on Hang Quat Street. You can see the shop with a small space with plastic furniture but often crowded with the guests. An address is not luxurious or high-class, but it always attracts many diners.
The highlight of the restaurant is that it has its own flavour of meat cake, and soft bacon seasoned with spices, garlic, shallot, and fish sauce before grilled, creating a seductive aroma.
2. Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant
- Address: 14 Cha Ca Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 11: 00 am – 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
- Price range: 50,000 VND
Cha Ca La Vong (La Vong Fish Ball) is one of the famous local food in Hanoi. The origin of La Vong fish cake dates back to the French colonial period. When the Doan family in Hanoi made tasty fish cakes to treat guests, then opened a restaurant in Hanoi. In that restaurant, there was always a statue of a man of La Vong (Khuong Tu Nha) sitting to fish, so the guests called it Cha Ca La Vong.
The fishball La Vong is made from fresh fish, usually kind of catfish. This dish is best when made from Ca Lang (Lang fish) from the Da River. It is because Lang fishes from the Da River has fewer bones, and the grilled fish meat will be crunchy and chewy than fishes from other areas.
Fishes are sliced, marinated with galangal, turmeric, pepper, and fish sauce according to the esoteric way and the restaurant’s own recipe.
La Vong fish ball is not only delicate and meticulous in the method of processing but also in the way of eating. You need to know how to eat to be able to enjoy the best fish ball. When eating, each piece of fish cake is stirred in a fat pan, add onions and fennel, wait until the vegetables cooked, then take them out with vermicelli, herbs, roasted peanuts, and shrimp paste.
La Vong restaurant’s fish cakes are prepared carefully with different Vietnamese herbs, creating the best flavour for foodies. The restaurant still keeps the classic taste of Cha Ca, so many people still like to come to this place.
3. Pho Gia Truyen Restaurant
- Address: 49 Bat Dan Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 06:00 am – 10:00 pm and 6:00 pm – 8;30 pm
- Price range: 45,000 VND
Pho Gia Truyen Restaurant at Bat Dan Street also called Pho Bat Dan, is one of the best Pho restaurants in Hanoi, more and more popular for tourists.
To taste Pho at this shop, you have to make a queue to buy the noodle soup. During peak hours, the guests who want to eat fast will have to serve themselves, line up long and bring their bowls of noodles to the dining table.
Pho Bat Dan has existed for more than 50 years in Ha Thanh. During a period of more than half a century, the main chefs who cook the both have also changed, but thanks to the constant traditional recipe, Bat Dan noodle soup still retains its primitive flavour.
People often say that broth is the soul of Pho. At this restaurant, the broth is carefully cooked from the bone of the cow legs, so it is sweet and tasty. Therefore, most people feel happy to eat here even if they have to wait, line up to get a favourite bowl of noodle soup with a truly traditional flavour.
The bowl of Pho is full of fresh soft beef, fragrant with a strange scent. There are no raw vegetables to serve here, but you will not want to leave its soup.
If you intend to go to Pho Gia Truyen Restaurant at Bat Dan Street to enjoy the noodle soup, it is better to go from 2 people. One person keeps a place at the table while another making a queue waits for noodles.
4. Hung Ben Pho Roll Restaurant
- Address: 33 Ngu Xa Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Price range: 50,000 VND
Referring to pho roll (phở cuốn in Vietnamese), the diners will mention this dish at Ngu Xa Street where owns different kinds of noodles, typically pho roll.
Rolled Pho can be used as a main meal during the hot weather days in Hanoi. This food is also a specialty dish of Hanoi and Vietnam that many tourists like it.
The noodle rolls include herbs and vegetables and outside is the thick fresh rice paper (called Banh Pho). All combine to become a perfect taste when you feel the soft and light taste of fresh rice paper, fragrant smells of herbs, and the sweet feeling of beef.
When you come to Hung Ben Pho Roll Restaurant (Phở cuốn Hưng Bền in Vietnamese), you can enjoy the right taste of Pho rolls. Besides Pho Rolls, you can find other kinds of noodles in the restaurant.
5. Bun Dau Hang Khay Restaurant
- Address: 31 Hang Khay Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 10:30 am – 8:30 pm
- Price range: 45,000 VND
The alley 31 on Hang Khay Street is a small area, but just standing at the top, you can see many shops selling tofu vermicelli with shrimp paste from the beginning to the end of the alley.
So, 31 Hang Khay Street is the group of plenty of restaurants selling Bun Dau. So, people call this dish Bun Dau Hang Khay.
There are also a few soft drink shops in the alley of 31 Hang Khay, making the small lane crowded with people enjoying the food.
Although the noodle shops here do not look luxurious and polite, they are just plastic tables and chairs. But, the enthusiasm of the staff and the tasty dishes always make customers satisfied.
Due to the crowded restaurant, customers order different dishes with spices when eating, so the staff has to run ups and downs, but still be warm to customers and serve customers friendly.
When you order a set of Bun Dau, you will see a tray including different ingredients, such as vermicelli, fish sauce, fried beans, spring rolls, fried spring rolls, boiled pork, pork sausage, and herbs.
When eating this food, you should combine most of them together to get different flavours and tastes at one time. For many international tourists who cannot eat shrimp sauce, they can order a fish sauce or soya sauce to taste.
It is very witting when on the tray of Bun Dau, some rubber candies can help the mouth get better smells after eating this food.
Possibly, we need to have a long list to cover all the addresses of tasty food in Hanoi Old Quarter. Above are 5 most favourite places that we would like to introduce to you with the hope to give you the correct addresses to taste the local food in Hanoi.