Cafe Lam

Hanoi coffee culture is a bit different compared to the rest of Vietnam with low chairs and tables and sometimes just plastic chairs acting as both chairs and tables. I like this style very much and after 10 years in Hanoi sitting this low, I feel very comfortable.

Beside my favorite Cafe Nang, I sometimes go to Cafe Lam for a cup of coffee or juice for a change. Cafe Lam is located on Nguyen Huu Huan street and consists of two traditional old houses joined together. This cafe is very popular among all age groups in Hanoi and the number of customers leaves no doubt about the quality of their coffee and juices. The staff, who are amonst the most friendly in the city, serve the hot coffee with the cup sitting in a bowl of hot water; very cute. Their coffee is perhaps a bit stronger than average but not bitter at all. One of the features of this cafe is the photos and paintings lining the walls, making the experience of having coffee here quite a cultural one as well.

Their prices are pretty standard for Hanoi and, like the coffee culture in many of the cafes here, the best part is that you can sit on the pavement out front (away from the smokers!) to observe the passing side-show.
Cafe Lam
Nguyen Huu Huan
Hanoi

PS: I have gone off this coffee shop as of yesterday because when I took one of my foreign street food tour client there, I discovered they have a policy to charge foreigners more. I will not be going back!!!

Hanh Cafe

Nguyen Huu Huan is a street full of cafes that I drive along almost every day. It's weird that I've never ever stopped in at any of these cafes to give them a try. But today my favorite cafe was way too busy and a friend recommended that I should taste the coffee at Cafe Hanh which is just a minute around the corner. As it was the weekend, they were busy as well but we landed a spot at the corner where two people had just left. On a bright and hot sunny day, we were lucky to be under the shade of a big old banyan tree.
Cafe culture in Hanoi is way different compared to the south, not necessarily in terms of the quality or quantity, but just about the atmosphere; the people spreading along the footpath, chatting and enjoying their coffee, no matter how busy or dangerous the street is. Having coffee in these kinds of locations is a great way to observe the happenings in the old quarter of Hanoi.

I love looking at the different ways people serve and even drink coffee in the old quarter. No matter if you are rich, famous or poor, everyone sits at the same kind of low tables and chairs. Most cafes in the old quarter use plastic chairs and tables because its very easy to collect them up especially when the police are patroling. Businesses are not supposed to take up the footpath with their goods or chairs and tables so when the police come, it's quite amusing. The customers stand up with their coffees while the staff move these plastic chairs so they will not be confiscated. Of course, it's back to normal after 5 minutes when the police have disappeared.

That's quite a normal part of Hanoi nowadays though I'm sure tourists get really confused if they experience it. But it's something that tourists shouldn't miss - sitting in the old quarter for half an hour, watching the craziness.
Don't forget to say, khong duong (no sugar) or it duong (only a little sugar) because black coffee comes with the sugar already in it. For white coffee, sweet condensed milk is always used. Yum!

Cafe Hạnh
51 Nguyễn Hữu Huân
Hoan Kiem - Hanoi

Cafe Nang

For the last 10 years I've been drinking coffee at the same cafe in the middle the old quarter. It sounds like I'm a creature of habit but I love the coffee here, the people and the customers. I meet other regular customers all the time and sometimes we have a chat. Sometimes they help me to buy produce from the travelling vendors such as flowers, food, meat or sometimes order my lunch.

I would say Cafe Nang, 6 Hang Bac street is one of the oldest cafe in town and is busy for most of the opening time. The owner is an old lady with a very sweet smile who wakes up everyday at about 3am to prepare the coffee before walking around Hoan Kiem lake for exercise before heading up to her favorite Pho shop for breakfast. She gets back to her shop (the house is upstairs)and returns to sleep until 12 or 1 pm. Then she goes down to help her daughter to run the cafe. She makes the best coffee, even better than her daughter. The cafe also serves seasonal juices as well, passion fruit juice being my favorite and the staff know that I like to drink it with the seeds while other customers don't. The cafe's staff changes sometimes but they do remember the customers' choices very well and for me, it's white coffee with lots of condensed milk. Whenever I sit down, my coffee is put on my table instantly and tastes perfect every time. Can't complain at all!!!!

While there are an increasing number of cafes around the old quarter, it doesn't seem to impact on her business. The reputation of Cafe Nang is obviously strong. Customers sit on low wooden chairs at low wooden tables and in the peak times, people have to sit on the other side of the road but nobody seems to worry about that. They come to Cafe Nang to enjoy the coffee and the great atmosphere. observing the tourists walking by. It's probably the best place for people watching in Hanoi.

There have been quite a lot of famous publications that have visited Hanoi and Cafe Nang is often part of their story. I'm sometimes involved in their stories as an interpreter to help the journalists to understand a bit more about the cafe and its proprietor's life. She took over from her father in law after he died and has been running the original Cafe Nang for just over 60 years. She buys her own coffee from the centre of Vietnam, stores it on the forth floor and roasts it herself twice a week. When the coffee is roasting, the area surrounding the cafe is full of the aroma of coffee. She told me she gets a lot of satisfaction from making coffee but she just cant do it all the time as she's getting old. She has transferred her experience to her children and they have since opened two other Cafe Nangs in town but they aren't as popular as the original.
If you are visiting Hanoi, come and enjoy the great coffee here. The price is the same for both tourists and locals. There is no need to worry about being ripped off here at Cafe Nang.
For a good coffee every time, you can't beat Cafe Nang.
Cafe Nang
6 Hang Bac

Tra Chanh Iced Tea

It's hard to find a seat at Tra Chanh at noon on hot days, especially just after lunch. I'm not sure how it got to be so famous and well-patronised. Not that long ago, it was a standard kind of cafe. I finally got the chance to try this place recently.

Most people who come here are young office workers and students. They come here during their lunch breaks for a drink and something sweet before heading back to work. Many conversations take place, ranging from lottery results to political scandals. I was sitting there for an hour listening to the customers' stories, which made me laugh, particularly the ones between girls about their boyfriends. Many of the young male tea drinkers were telling thier bad luck stories about missing lottery numbers from the draw the night before. It really gives a sense of what is going on in the minds of young Hanoians.

Tra Chanh serves one of the most popular street drinks in the old quarter of Hanoi. There are few options to choose from iced tea, served with slices of lemon, to coffee to sweet comsomme of banana.

Tra Chanh - 31 Dao Duy Tu - Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh City's Cafe

Coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City are very big and all look expensive due to the huge competition down there. Cafes try to outdo each other with decor to attract customers. The owners think that if they don't have the best shop then nobody will come.

In Viet Nam, people eat quite fast in restaurants or at home but they spend hours in coffee shops chatting with friends. Saigonese not only drink coffee when they go to coffee shop, though. They have plenty of options to choose from, including mixed juices, heavy liquor and cocktails. Some places make really good cocktails and some places make good juices. I can’t drink coffee a lot so that I usually choose fresh passion fruit or lemon juice.

In Saigon recently, I drank lots of coconut juice because the naturally sweet coconuts don't seem to be available in Hanoi and they cost triple the price. I love to simply drive around and stop at a coconut stall right on the street, ask for a cold one and drink it 100% in one go, and keep driving. Such a good summer drink.

@ Cafe, Napoli cafe, MTV cafe, Highland cafe… are the most popular in Saigon at the moment. They’re all in good locations and beautifully fitted. Some of these cafes also serve good value office lunches.

Highland Cafe

I wonder why people always go to Highland Cafes in Viet Nam. Even though they are a bit expensive, they seem to springing up everywhere. Lots of people I know say that they don't go to Highland Cafe to actually drink coffee, but rather they go there to drink fruit juices, have a chat and enjoy the comfortable environment. Another reason is that they are usually located right near or inside big office buildings near where people work.

In Hanoi, the most popular Highland Cafe is on West Lake, where you can sit on a floating boat looking over the whole beautiful lake and enjoy your drink with nice breeze and see the sun set in the afternoon. If you don't really like to sit outside then you can choose the air conditioned area right inside the boat. Hanoi's very hot at the moment.

In Ho Chi Minh City, I heard lots of people talking about the branch in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. This is a great location for watching passers-by. But I also sit inside when my friends can't stand the heat. I much prefer the juices and gin and tonics rather than coffee in this hot weather of summer.

Old Quarter

For 1,500Vnd you can have a glass of Bia Hoi- Draught beer, which can vary in quality but is maybe the cheapest beer in the world. You also can order a grilled pork stick with a bread roll which could be your dinner. In the old quarter in Hanoi, there is one particular corner (Dinh Liet) where there are three bia hoi bars where heaps of backpackers and tourists hang around.

A bit further up the road, Bia Minh's is a good place for meeting friends with cold beer and you can see things happening down on the street from the second floor. It has a very friendly owner but don't ever order Bò Lúc Lắc, which is horrible.

The Maquis is my favortie bar in Hanoi which has the most friendly staff, good music, nice pictures, good cocktails, and the only bar using stubby holders for keeping cold beer. A small, late night bar with charactor and so popular with French people who live in Hanoi.

The popular backpacker bar now is Le Pub which is not very far from the lake in Hang Be street. Cold beer, friendly staff and art exhibitions for expat artists are the highlights here.

How about coffee? Cafe Năng, yes, only 5000Vnd that you can have a greatest coffee in Hanoi and sit right on the pavement watching all kinds of action going past.

Another popular bar is the Polite Pub, a nice place to catch up with friends, where there is a happy hour til 8pm. It has a friendly owner, really good, cold draught beer and good music that keeps me coming back.