South of Hoan Kiem Lake the streets widen into French colonial boulevards. Quan An Ngon's villa courtyard, Hibana by Koki's teppanyaki counter and Maison Marou's chocolate cafe all live here.
Quan An Ngon in Hanoi is a French colonial villa in the French Quarter serving Vietnamese street-food classics around a courtyard of live cooking stations.
Signature: Bun cha, Cha ca, Banh xeo, Nem ran
Order: Order across regions: a bowl of bun cha, a plate of cha ca.
Tip: Loud and crowded after 19:00; lunch is calmer and the courtyard tables are the best seats.
Hibana by Koki in Hanoi is Vietnam's only Japanese restaurant holding a Michelin star, a 14-seat teppanyaki counter in the Capella Hanoi basement.
Order: The Yaeyama Kyori beef teppanyaki and the seasonal seafood course; sake pairings come from a Japanese-only.
Tip: 14 seats only and bookings open 30 days ahead. The counter at the chef's centre is the best view of the grill.
Le Beaulieu in Hanoi is the contemporary French dining room of Sofitel Legend Metropole, in the same space since 1901 and on the 2025 Michelin Selected list.
Order: The seasonal tasting; the Sunday champagne brunch is the city's longest-running fine-dining tradition.
Tip: Reopened after a seven-month refurbishment in 2024; the wine cellar holds 600+ references including 100 Grand Cru Classes.
La Verticale in Hanoi is chef Didier Corlou's French-Vietnamese tasting room, set across a slender 1930s villa on Ngo Van So in the French Quarter.
Order: The spice-led tasting menu; Corlou wrote a Vietnamese spice encyclopedia and the kitchen builds courses.
Tip: Three slim floors; the top floor is the quietest and the spice room downstairs sells Corlou's own blends to take home.
Maison Marou in Hanoi is the chocolate cafe and shop of Vietnam's bean-to-bar Marou, plating French pastries with single-origin Vietnamese chocolate.
Signature drink: Single-origin Vietnamese hot chocolate
Order: The single-origin hot chocolate from Tien Giang or Ba Ria beans, with a chocolate-and-almond croissant.
Tip: Watch the chocolate kitchen at work through the back-room windows; the bar sells single-origin bars to take home.
Maison Marou's Hanoi flagship is a chocolate bakery as much as a cafe, plating laminated croissants and pastries built around bean-to-bar Vietnamese.
Order: The chocolate-and-almond croissant and a single-origin hot chocolate from the kitchen window.
Tip: The viewing windows on the chocolate workshop are at the back; ask staff to point them out. Bars to take home at the counter.
Worth the queue: Chocolate-and-almond croissant
La Verticale's ground-floor cellar in Hanoi is chef Didier Corlou's wine bar on Ngo Van So, with French regional bottles and spice-led small plates.
Signature pour: Côtes du Rhône glass with Corlou-spice pork rillettes
Wine focus: French regional with Burgundy depth
Food: French and Vietnamese small plates
Order: A Côtes du Rhône glass with Corlou's house pork rillettes; the spice room downstairs sells the chef's blends.
Tip: Closed Mondays. The cellar fills first; book the fine-dining floors above for a longer visit.
Tadioto in Hanoi is artist-writer Nguyen Qui Duc's literary bar near the Opera House, open since 2007 and a fixture of the city's writer-and-painter scene.
Signature drink: Japanese whiskey and Vietnamese rice spirits
Food: Japanese-leaning snacks
Order: Japanese whiskey on the rocks or a Vietnamese rice spirit cocktail; the small plates lean Japanese.
Tip: Live readings, jazz and art shows several nights a week. The walls hold the owner's collection of Vietnamese contemporary art.
Le Beaulieu's Sunday brunch at Sofitel Legend Metropole is Hanoi's longest-running luxury brunch, refreshed in 2024 with new stations and a 600-bottle list.
Order: The free-flow champagne package with the seafood, cheese and roast stations
Tip: Sundays only 11:30-14:30. Free-flow champagne package adds 1.5M VND; the seafood station closes first.
Binh Minh Jazz Club in Hanoi is the city's most established live-jazz room near the Opera House, with founder-saxophonist Quyen Van Minh's house band.
Order: Cocktails on the upstairs mezzanine; cover charge waived with a drink.
Tip: Live music starts 21:00 nightly; the upstairs mezzanine has the best stage sightline.
Tadioto in Hanoi hosts live jazz, poetry readings and acoustic sets several nights a week, with the writer-owner Nguyen Qui Duc curating the artistic crowd.
Order: Japanese whiskey on the rocks; Vietnamese rice-spirit cocktails as the alternative.
Tip: Schedule on the Facebook page; readings start 20:00 on programmed nights.
Tadioto runs a listening-bar style space several nights a week, with jazz vinyl and Vietnamese contemporary art on the walls, chosen by writer Nguyen Qui.
Order: Japanese whiskey or Vietnamese rice spirit; light Japanese-leaning snacks.
Tip: Music programming on Facebook page; arrive 19:00 for the best seat.