Hanoi Food Guide: 16 Dishes & Street Food Locations!

This blog post is all about street food in Hanoi, one of my favourite foodie cities on Planet Earth.

Vietnamese food is one of my all-time favourites. I love the sweet and sharp balance, the taste of fish sauce, the chaotic street eateries, and the prices. I very much love the prices!

Even if you have just 2 weeks in Vietnam, that’s enough time for 43 delicious meals. Use them wisely!

HANOI ESSENTIALS

E-sim data plan

Copy of Lonely Planet Vietnam

Getting there: flight (Skyscanner) / train / bus 12GoAsia

Pre-book your Hanoi airport to city transfer

Accommodation: Booking.com // Hostelworld

Tours: GetYourGuide

Essential reading: 101 Southeast Asia travel tips

Street food in Hanoi

Bun cha is the most famous Hanoi food and for good reason!

I’m not saying my second trip to Vietnam was a direct result of trying bun cha during my first… But let’s just say it was probably a factor! There are few better experiences in Southeast Asia than perching on a red stall slurping up a hearty bowl of bun cha.

This smoky, succulent dish is made from slow-cooked pork in a flavoursome broth. It’s usually teamed with a portion of ‘nem’ (fried spring rolls), rice noodles and a basket of Vietnamese herbs and leaves. Add them to the broth with a healthy dose to chilli if you dare!

Bun cha sprung to fame when the late Anthony Bourdain (whilst filming Parts Unknown) and President Obama tucked into a steaming bowl perched on plastic stools.

The locals looked on gobsmacked and the modest eaterie has never been mentioned in a sentence without the word ‘Obama’ since. True story (probably).

Where to try bun cha: if you don’t fancy the now-touristy Bún Chả Hương Liên 2 Obama (yes, they added Obama to the name), I recently ate an amazing portion in the Old Quarter for 60k VND. It was at a restaurant named after the dish, Bun Cha Nem at 6 Ngõ Trạm Street (search by address as the name isn’t listed on Google).

Other highly recommended bun cha spots include:

• Bun Cha 34 at 34 Hàng Than, Nguyễn Trung Trực, Ba Đình
• Bun Cha Dac Kim at No. 1 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem.

Bun cha and bun ca only differ by one letter but are two totally separate dishes. 

The latter means fish noodles. The fish is fried meaning it’s salty, flavoursome and perfectly suited to a fresh, tangy broth.

Where to try bun ca: I tried bun ca in Trung Yen Alley which is a bit of a Hanoi hidden gem. This Hanoi street food alley famed by locals is little known to tourists but it’s well worth checking out.

The street eateries there aren’t mapped online but you can easily pull up a stool and order a steaming bowl of bun ca. Show them this photo if you get stuck.

This version of ‘nem’ (fried spring rolls) looks similar to the meaty ones that come with bun cha. However, they have a different filling: rich, moreish crab.

Where to try nem cua be: I had a fantastic and very cheap serving at Noodle and Roll in the Old Quarter. This is a restaurant rather than a street food joint so it’s a good spot for newbies easing into the cuisine.

Translating as ‘fish roll meat’, these fried goodies are similar to crab rolls but with fish rather than crab and an added layer of pork.

Interestingly, this dish isn’t just native to Hanoi, it’s also unique to the particular alleyway it’s served in, Trung Yen, where I also ate bun ca. As above, I’d recommend showing them this photo and text because Vietnamese pronunciations can be tough (I wouldn’t trust myself to get it even close!).

Well, it wouldn’t be a Hanoi food guide without a banh mi, would it?

If you’re looking for the best street food in Hanoi, take yourself down to your nearest banh mi stall. In case you don’t know, banh mis are fresh crusty baguettes packed with meat, veggies and flavoursome sauces. They’re a million times more delicious than can be described so it’s best you gorge on them for yourself! I’d recommend:

I find it bizarre how popular pho is in the West while tons of equally delicious Vietnamese dishes don’t get recognised.

I don’t eat pho as often as some dishes but when I’m in the right mood, it’s tasty, tangy and warming. Opt for ‘bo’ (beef) or ‘ga’ (chicken). Beef is way nicer in my opinion.

Tip for ordering pho: don’t be that Westerner who pronounces it wrong! Saying the ‘o’ sound translates as prostitute. Say ‘fuh’.

Where to try pho: eat pho at Pho Gia Truyen Bat Dan (49 Bát Đàn Street) for 50k VND. This serving (pictured) was incredible – so much juicy beef! The variety served here is ‘pho tai nam’ which I believe includes various cuts of meat. Expect round steak, flank and brisket.

The other place I see enormous queues for is Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. I’ve yet to eat here but people don’t wait that long for no good reason! Both these Old Quarter eateries are bound to be a great intro to pho or a solid repeat portion.

I didn’t realise there was so much seafood around until my street food tour in Hanoi. I also didn’t realise how many types of noodle dishes exist in Vietnam – it’s insane!

Bún riêu noodles are thick, juicy and round, unlike the flat pho ones. Crab noodles generally are a real treat. My generous portion was piled with fresh white meat, succulent greens and a powerful kick of chilli.

Where to try bún riêu: Nguyen Seui restaurant serves delicious crab noodles for lunch only – later on, it becomes a pork restaurant. Visit 23 Nguyen Sieu Street between 10am and 2pm. Dining here was a real experience because the stools were the smallest I’ve ever witnessed – I was about 10cm off the floor!

‘Pho’ can refer to either the dish or the noodles themselves, while ‘cuon’ means roll. So what does that make pho cuon? Rolled rice batter served like spring rolls (rather than cut up into noodles).

This popular Hanoi food is stuffed with beef and herbs. Sadly for me, I hate coriander and had to pick out giant sprigs. If you like it, you’ll probably love pho cuon!

Where to try pho: Some of the tastiest food in Hanoi can be found in the Truc Bach district of Hanoi. Phở Cuốn Hương Mai is an authentic, busy restaurant shouldn’t be missed.

If you’d rather stay near the Old Quarter, Ky Dong Restaurant at 11 Tong Duy Tan is another spot to tuck into soft, tasty pho cuon for 60k VND.

Now you’re familiar with banh cuon and pho cuon, you’ll know how much the Vietnamese love their soft rice batter. So why not deep fry it? It’s not the dish for health benefits but oh well!

The fried cubes are piled high with beef, greens and tomato (the second two make it healthy, right?).

Where to try pho chien phong: Phở Cuốn Hương Mai in Truc Bach serve pho chien phong as well as pho cuon. My serving was messy, meaty, cheap and huge – a great meal by Vietnamese standards!

Don’t leave Hanoi without stuffing yourself with a hot pot – preferably an unlimited one.

Hot pots (known in Vietnamese as ‘lau’) are cooked at your table and include noodles, meat, veggies, tofu and just about anything else you fancy throwing in.

They’re also a really sociable way of dining. One hot pot can feed a large group of people and you’ll often see huge families bonding over their shared meal.

I went to Buffet Khan with my Vietnamese friend where we paid 100k VND each for an unlimited hot pot feast including sides of prawn crackers, sweet dim sum and salad. A random mix but very tasty.

Where to try lau: Buffet Khan at 56 Khâm Thiên is an all-you-can-eat restaurant (now there’s a challenge!) but you’ll find this food in Hanoi from the Old Quarter to the outskirts. You can guarantee everything’s fresh since it’s literally cooked before your eyes!

On my last night in Hanoi, my local friend suggested we go out for cha ca. I’d never heard of this Hanoi food before but I knew that ca meant fish.

Cha translates as ‘grilled’ which meant our dinner was grilled fish. This turned out to be a feast! A big pot of fish and greens was placed over a flame on our table and topped up whenever it was empty.

Where to eat street food in Hanoi

Now we’ve covered the famous Hanoi foods, let’s discuss where to eat it. Next up, some eating areas I’d highly recommend…

Tong Duy Tan

Tong Duy Tan is a top spot for Hanoi street food just a few minutes from the Old Quarter. Here you’ll find locals and foreigners dining on many of the best traditional foods in Hanoi. My favourite restaurant is Ky Dong where I ate the banh cuon and pho cuon pictured above.

Trung Yen Alley

The little alley where I ate bun ca and ca cuon thit isn’t known by many tourists. Go in with an adventurous attitude! There won’t be any menus and English may be limited so show them the bun ca and ca cuon photos in this blog.

Noodle and Roll Restaurant 

I love the restaurants that only serve one dish because you know it’s their speciality. However, one Old Quarter restaurant that serves every Hanoian dish in existence and do them all well is Noodle and Roll.

Not only is this restaurant affordable, but it’s the best place I know for vegetarian food. I’ve been just to get some healthy veggies when I’ve been in need (don’t worry, unhealthy dishes are also served in abundance!).

Recommended Hanoi food tours: