Thursday, September 13, 2007

Seventeen Saloon

We went to Seventeen Saloon in Hanoi in Tran Hung Dao street a few weeks ago and I think this is the worst bar I've ever been to. I went to Seventeen Saloon bar in Saigon last year and it's fine but their brand in Hanoi is so bad. The music is bad imitations of old pop songs from the west and so loud you can hardly hear what each other is saying.

Paula at Seventeen Saloon

The staff were really pushy and the prices way out expensive for very small drinks. We had to wait for almost 30 minutes for our drinks which ended up being the wrong order and that meant we had to wait for another 15 minutes for them to come back. We played pool and I took heaps of photos of our friends drinking and being silly. I think that was the best part of the night and we left at about 12 as the waitress arrived with the outrageous bills.

Seventeen Saloon

When we left, to make the experience even worse, the parking attendants tried to make us pay for watching our motorbikes. Unbelievable!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

welcome to Vietnam.....the part that not many people talk about....

Anonymous said...

Mmm yeah...I went because an old friend from another bar is now the manager, but I didn't like it either. It just has a really cheap, touristy feel, what with the Filipino dancing girls (oh sorry, "singers") trying to get the crowd going with tambourines and occasional pauses to ask "audience members" (because that's what it feels like) where they're from. They even asked me, and I answered, "Hanoi." Haha.

Anonymous said...

...and they didn't charge you for motorbike parking in the Saigon one?!

D. said...

It's pricey because one goes there for the women, not the drinks. As I've heard.

Anonymous said...

....for the women?? not those from the pictures i hope.....

Van Cong Tu said...

Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for your comments. I always talk aboutthings that people talking or even mentioning, thats why people comeback and ready my strange articles. Hope you don't mind!
Those women in my photos are my good friends and they really really nice people.

D. So true!

Preya, that's funny :)

Have a great day everyone!

Anonymous said...

Is the girl playing pool single?
Have a nice day.

fitzecarraldo said...

Wow, bad to hear, it used to be nice there a while ago, i had opposite experience with the one in Saigon, but i know there s the one on the river side and the one near pham ngu lao, that s the very boring one :)))

fitzecarraldo said...

About the prices you re dead right anyway :))

Unknown said...

Just to let you know on 3 separate consecutive occasions a group of fiends and I were overcharged by quite a bit and once we let the waitresses know they seemed to not be surprised by this fact. they fixed the bill and gave us a new one. DO NOT USE A CREDIT CARD. I was charged twice and it has been 2 months and still not fixed.

Anonymous said...

When I read these comments, I really wonder about the people who post them.

I regularly go to 17 Saloon in Hanoi. It's not perfect, but not as bad as these people are making it out to be.

I have never known anyone to wait 30 minutes to be served...ever. As for the cheap touristy feel...I don't understand this comment. 17 Saloon is not a tourist spot, as it's guests are 95% Vietnamese.

The comment which slams the Filipino singers is totally off the mark, as anyone who has been there knows how talented they are.

Oh...and they do not charge for motorbike parking at 17 Saloon in Hanoi. The attendants hold their hand out for a small tip....5000 VND will make them happy.

The credit card claim is very unbelievable, because I have never been able to use my credit card their...even when I didn't have enough cash one night to treat my large group. The manager simply said to pay next time, which I did.

Sounds like most of these negative comments have come from a bunch of very negative people, with very high expectations and shallow pockets.

This is Vietnam, and 17 Saloon with all its faults is still a fun place to go!

Unknown said...

Dear customers,
First of all, we would like to say thank you to all our customers, who has been visiting and supporting us during the time,
And next, we are sorry if some time you feel uncontent with our service, it's not an excuse but as you know, working in the entertainment environment, it's not easy to control everything, we always do our best to satisfy you with the best music and friendy atmosphere,
Right now Seventeen Saloon are known at 3 locations, in Ho chi Minh City, Da Nang and Ha Noi, but end of this month, the branch in Ha Noi is no longer belong to Seventeen Saloon brand name any more,
We are looking for new partners, co-operating with us to set up the new branch of Seventeen Saloon in Ha Noi, any info further please contact:17saloon@seventeensaloon.com.vn
Thank you very much!!!

Anonymous said...

I went to 17 Saloon many times in July-September 2009. Fabulous place. Good music ( I took the singers out to dinner and they are lovely girls), decent food, get there early and drinks are half priced. I was never ripped off and never felt cheated. The waitresses are the most fun to be with and dont expect much of a tip. Where else would an expat go in Hanoi for a relaxing evening?

Unknown said...

ANNOUNCEMENT
From July Frst 2009, seventeen saloon Brand ended all co.operation in business at 98 B Tran Hung Dao, Hanoi Capital.
seventeen saloon will not be responsible for all activities at this location.
seventeen saloon want to franchise or co.operation business in Hanoi capital & Nha Trang city.
For futher information please contact the franchisor Mr.THAI HOAT DUC after 1:00 pm everyday hand phone : 0903.017.017

Anonymous said...

What a pity! I'm really disappointed about the attitude of the staff over there. I've been to 17 saloon here in Da Nang for a couple of times and I think it's not any thing looks like what you got in Ha Noi and of course no security charge for motobike ^^.
You know, the fact happening in Viet Nam is some small business people always exaggerate the real value of their items they sell to make profit. Obviously, that thing damages Vietnamese traveling industry. I'm vietnamese student and I can't stand seeing it everyday. but What can I do.

Invertir en Oro said...

I always talk aboutthings that people talking or even mentioning

Anonymous said...

I vote for hanoi 17 saloon, been there 6 years now, still loving it. For those people complaining, it may have not have been their day. Anyway it has the atmosphere and it is there for the vietnamese not for tourists.

international online pharmacy said...

But It doesn't look like it is an awful place. Specially with the woman that she is playing pool there.