Café Giảng is a cafe in Old Quarter, Hanoi.
Café Giảng in Hanoi is where egg coffee was invented in 1946, served down a narrow alley off Nguyen Huu Huan in the Old Quarter by the founder's descendants.
Must order: Ca phe trung: whipped egg yolk and condensed milk on Vietnamese coffee, the original recipe from 1946.
Tip: Down a narrow alley off Nguyen Huu Huan; the cafe is at the back of a small courtyard. Egg coffee 35,000 VND.
Address: 39 Nguyen Huu Huan, Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi
Cafe Pho Co in Hanoi is the rooftop egg-coffee balcony hidden behind a silk shop on Hang Gai, reached through a corridor, courtyard and home staircase.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee with Hoan Kiem Lake view
Order: Ca phe trung with a seat on the rooftop terrace; the iced coconut coffee runs a close second.
Tip: Enter through the red-fronted silk shop at street level, then follow the corridor to the courtyard and climb to the roof.
Cafe Đinh in Hanoi was opened in 1987 by Cafe Giang's daughter Mrs Bich, with a tiny upstairs balcony over Hoan Kiem Lake and the original 1946 recipe.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee
Order: Ca phe trung hot or iced, on the narrow first-floor balcony overlooking the lake.
Tip: Up an old staircase above a travel agency; the balcony has six seats. Iced 35,000 VND, hot 30,000 VND.
Loading T café in Hanoi occupies the second floor of an 8 Chan Cam French villa from the 1930s, with original geometric tiles and olive-green shutters.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee with cinnamon
Order: The cinnamon egg coffee or the coconut coffee, with one of the homemade cakes from the small bakery counter.
Tip: Five minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake and two from St Joseph's Cathedral. Climb past the family shrine on the way up.
The Note Coffee in Hanoi is a four-floor cafe a block off Hoan Kiem Lake's pedestrian zone, plastered floor-to-ceiling with 220,000-plus visitor notes.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee
Order: Egg coffee or coconut coffee with a sticky note to add to the walls; coffee 40,000-60,000 VND.
Tip: The upstairs floors are quieter; the top floor has the deepest layer of notes. Five minutes from Ngoc Son Temple.
Tranquil Books & Coffee in Hanoi is a literary cafe opened in 2015 by poet Nam Lu, with bookshelves of thousands of volumes and specialty Vietnamese coffee.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Order: A filter coffee with the cafe's house blend; the small attic upstairs is the quietest reading nook.
Tip: Four branches in Hanoi: Nguyen Quang Bich is the flagship. Strong Wi-Fi and quiet at weekends.
Cafe Pho Co in Hanoi is the rooftop egg-coffee balcony hidden behind a silk shop on Hang Gai, reached through a corridor, courtyard and home staircase.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee with Hoan Kiem Lake view
Order: Ca phe trung with a seat on the rooftop terrace; the iced coconut coffee runs a close second.
Tip: Enter through the red-fronted silk shop at street level, then follow the corridor to the courtyard and climb to the roof.
Cafe Đinh in Hanoi was opened in 1987 by Cafe Giang's daughter Mrs Bich, with a tiny upstairs balcony over Hoan Kiem Lake and the original 1946 recipe.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee
Order: Ca phe trung hot or iced, on the narrow first-floor balcony overlooking the lake.
Tip: Up an old staircase above a travel agency; the balcony has six seats. Iced 35,000 VND, hot 30,000 VND.
Loading T café in Hanoi occupies the second floor of an 8 Chan Cam French villa from the 1930s, with original geometric tiles and olive-green shutters.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee with cinnamon
Order: The cinnamon egg coffee or the coconut coffee, with one of the homemade cakes from the small bakery counter.
Tip: Five minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake and two from St Joseph's Cathedral. Climb past the family shrine on the way up.
The Note Coffee in Hanoi is a four-floor cafe a block off Hoan Kiem Lake's pedestrian zone, plastered floor-to-ceiling with 220,000-plus visitor notes.
Signature drink: Cà phê trứng egg coffee
Order: Egg coffee or coconut coffee with a sticky note to add to the walls; coffee 40,000-60,000 VND.
Tip: The upstairs floors are quieter; the top floor has the deepest layer of notes. Five minutes from Ngoc Son Temple.
Cong Cà Phê in Hanoi opened on Trieu Viet Vuong, the city's historic cafe street, in 2007 and grew to nearly 100 stores; the flagship still pulls locals.
Signature drink: Coconut coffee
Order: Coconut coffee, the chain's signature: condensed-milk coffee blended with shaved coconut ice.
Tip: The Nguyen Huu Huan branch in the Old Quarter has a three-story open balcony if Trieu Viet Vuong is full.
Tranquil Books & Coffee in Hanoi is a literary cafe opened in 2015 by poet Nam Lu, with bookshelves of thousands of volumes and specialty Vietnamese coffee.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
Order: A filter coffee with the cafe's house blend; the small attic upstairs is the quietest reading nook.
Tip: Four branches in Hanoi: Nguyen Quang Bich is the flagship. Strong Wi-Fi and quiet at weekends.
