Where We Ate in Hanoi: Tasty, Safe and Stress-Free
4 places we ate at and loved
Hi! When you travel, your stomach isn't always used to new food and water, so it's worth being a little careful about where you eat. So we wanted to share where we ate, and where everything was both delicious and went down smoothly, with no stomach trouble. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but these places have good reviews, and we enjoyed every one of them.
How we ate in Vietnam without getting sick
- Before you eat: hand sanitizer, and soap and water when you can.
- Water: tap water isn't for drinking. Sealed bottles only, even for brushing your teeth.
- Ice: only machine-made ice (it looks like a cylinder with a hole in the middle), not broken chunks.
- Raw vegetables and herbs: only at places you trust. Cooked is fine.
- Reviews: always check Google Maps first, and pick busy places with high turnover.
What do you feel like?
Breakfast and coffee
Bancông Cafe & Restaurant
Đinh Liệt Street in the Old Quarter, a few minutes' walk from Hoan Kiem Lake
Great brunch and egg coffee in a beautiful old house in the middle of the Old Quarter.
What we ordered & tipsShow less
A cafe and restaurant with a menu that mixes brunch and Vietnamese food, perfect for a morning when you don't feel like pho. We had a croissant with scrambled eggs and bacon, eggs Benedict with bacon and spring rolls, and it was all delicious.
What we ordered
Croissant with scrambled eggs and bacon
Spring rolls
Egg coffee
The whole table
Milk & Honey Tây Hồ
West Lake (Tây Hồ), outside the Old Quarter
A spot for amazing brunches. Especially worth it if you're exploring West Lake.
What we ordered & tipsShow less
We really wanted lots of protein in the morning, so we went for a beef and cheese roll (seriously good), with fries and an onion soup to dip the roll in. So good.
What we ordered
Beef roll, fries and onion soup for dipping
Lunch and dinner
Banh Mi MAMA
54 Lý Quốc Sư, in the Old Quarter
Really, really good banh mi. The line is long, but worth it.
What we ordered & tipsShow less
Expect a long line, but what you get is a seriously tasty banh mi. A banh mi costs 40,000 dong, which is about $1.50.
What it looks like
The banh mi itself
The sign to look for
The menu
Pizza 4P's Tràng Tiền
Tràng Tiền Street, next to Hoan Kiem Lake
The most famous pizza in Vietnam, and you can sit facing the oven and watch them cook.
What we ordered & tipsShow less
We had a half four-cheese, half prosciutto and burrata pizza, spaghetti bolognese (also with burrata), the crab spaghetti, their famous dish, and a tiramisu we recommend. And the best part: sitting at the counter and watching them make everything.
What we ordered
Crab spaghetti
Bolognese with burrata
Tiramisu
Half-and-half pizza
The juices