Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Hanoi for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Hanoi for grown-ups.
Nê Cocktail Bar in Hanoi is Pham Tien Tiep's award-winning room on Tong Duy Tan, ranked No 76 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2021 for cocktails like the flaming pho.
Signature drink: Pho cocktail with spice-infused gin
Food: Bar snacks
Order: The Pho cocktail: spice-infused gin lit with three tiers of flame; or the Lockdown!
Tip: Stage for live music several nights a week. Cocktails average $11; reservations recommended for groups.
Workshop14 in Hanoi is bartender Rich McDonough's minimal Tay Ho room, ranked No 83 on Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 and winner of the Campari One To Watch Award.
Signature drink: Hyper-modern mixology by Rich McDonough
Food: Bar snacks
Order: The bartender's seasonal menu of technique-rich cocktails; trust the bar and ask for off-menu.
Tip: A traditional wooden gate leads to a stripped-back room. 14 seats; reservations recommended.
Polite & Co in Hanoi calls itself the city's oldest cocktail bar, open since 1995 on Bao Khanh with speakeasy decor and a 25-cocktail rotating menu.
Signature drink: Hanoi-inspired classics with rotating six-month menu
Food: Bar snacks
Order: The Hanoi-inspired house cocktails on the seasonal menu; happy hour 17:00-20:00 is 50% off the card.
Tip: Wooden bar, low lighting and jazz on the speakers. Cocktail menu rotates every six months.
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.
Pasteur Street's Au Trieu taproom in Hanoi sits in an Old Quarter shophouse behind St Joseph's Cathedral, pouring Vietnamese-ingredient craft beer.
Signature drink: Jasmine IPA
Food: Pub food, pizza, snacks
Order: The Jasmine IPA or the Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout; full food menu including pizzas.
Tip: Three Pasteur Street taprooms in Hanoi; Au Trieu has live music weekly and is the most central.
The Bia Hoi Corner in Hanoi is the pavement crossroads of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen, where unpasteurised fresh draft pours at 10,000-15,000 VND per glass.
Signature drink: Fresh draft bia hoi at 10,000-15,000 VND per glass
Food: Grilled snacks, peanuts, dried squid
Order: A fresh bia hoi at the cheapest corner stall; dried squid with chilli salt from passing snack vendors.
Tip: Crowd starts at dusk and spills across both streets by 19:00. Cash only; cheapest beer in any Asian capital.
The Hanoi Social Club's evening programme on Hoi Vu turns its colonial villa into a literary-and-jazz cocktail bar with poetry readings on Wednesdays.
Signature drink: Vietnamese craft-spirit cocktails
Food: All-day brunch and dinner
Order: A Vietnamese rice-spirit cocktail and the small plates from the all-day menu.
Tip: Three floors; the rooftop is the quietest for conversation. Live music schedule on the Facebook page.
Furbrew's The 100 Garden in Hanoi is the Danish-founded craft brewery's flagship Tay Ho beer garden, pouring 30-plus taps including its own Vietnamese brews.
Signature drink: Vietnamese-ingredient craft beers, 30+ taps
Food: Pub snacks
Order: The Vietnamese passion fruit sour or the Pho IPA; flight paddles let you sample across the rotating list.
Tip: Two-story taproom plus a large outdoor beer garden. The smaller Furbrew Box Bar is across the lane at the same address.