Hanoi Food Guide: Dishes, Street Stalls and Prices

Northern Cooking: Clear Broths and Fresh Herbs

Phở was born in the north, emerging around 1900-1907 in Nam Định province, southeast of Hanoi. The northern bowl is the reference point: a clear, savoury broth with green onion, coriander, pickled garlic and chilli sauce, with quẩy (fried dough) on the side. The southern style is sweeter and cloudier, served with sprouts, hoisin, lime and basil.

Paddy crab and freshwater catfish anchor dishes such as bún riêu and chả cá. Many shops cook one dish and nothing else.

One Dish, One Shop

Hanoi stalls often make one dish, and the shop's name is frequently the dish plus the street it sits on. Copycat shops open next door to famous names, so match the exact house number before you sit down. Seating is small plastic stools on the sidewalk, sometimes just inside a family home, and that is completely normal.

The clock rules the menu. Phở is a breakfast dish running to midmorning, with some shops reopening in the evening. Bún chả is traditionally lunch, though some shops serve it all day.

Bánh cuốn belongs to breakfast, and chả cá fills lunch and dinner.

Phở Bò (Beef Noodle Soup)

Clear, lightly spiced beef broth over flat rice noodles with spring onion and herbs. Hanoi style is savoury and clear, with quẩy (fried dough) on the side. Eat it at breakfast or midmorning, and a few shops reopen in the evening.

A bowl runs roughly 40,000-80,000 VND (about $1.55-$3.10), with the top of that range in Old Quarter tourist spots. Phở Gia Truyền, 49 Bat Dan Street, holds a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand 2026 and opens 06:00-11:00 and 17:00-21:30 daily, cash only.

Phở Gà (Chicken Noodle Soup)

The same spices as beef phở but with a broth built from chicken bones and meat, served in soup or dry style. At Phở Gà Nguyệt the thigh is the favourite cut. It is a breakfast dish that stretches to late night, since Nguyệt opens until midnight, 06:30-00:00 daily.

Phở Gà Nguyệt, 5B Phu Doan Street, holds a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand 2026. Credit cards are not accepted, so bring cash. The MICHELIN food tour stops here on some of its options.

Bún Chả (Grilled Pork with Rice Noodles)

Grilled fatty pork patties and slices in a sweet-sour broth, with cold rice noodles, herbs and nem rán on request. This is the classic lunch, though some shops serve it all day. Expect roughly 40,000-80,000 VND (about $1.55-$3.10).

Tuyết Bún Chả 34, 34 Hang Than Street, holds a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand 2026, opens 08:30-17:30 daily and takes cash only. Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate bún chả at Bún Chả Hương Liên in 2016, which made the dish famous far beyond Hanoi.

Bún Riêu Cua (Crab and Tomato Noodle Soup)

A tomato broth with pounded freshwater paddy crab, fried tofu, banana flower, perilla and rice noodles. It is a northern, crab-centred dish, eaten at breakfast and through the morning. A special bowl runs about 40,000 VND (about $1.55).

Go in the morning, since this is a breakfast and morning dish, and follow the breakfast crowds rather than a printed address.

Chả Cá Lã Vọng (Turmeric Catfish with Dill)

Turmeric-marinated catfish is grilled, then stir-fried at your table with dill and spring onion, eaten with vermicelli, peanuts, herbs and mắm tôm. The Đoàn family ran the original in the Old Quarter from 1871 on a lane that was renamed Phố Chả Cá (Grilled Fish Lane), and that restaurant serves only this one dish. Lunch and dinner.

Prices vary widely between restaurants and with what you order, so ask before you sit down. The MICHELIN Guide address is a different restaurant: Chả Cá Thăng Long, 6B Duong Thanh Street, Bib Gourmand 2026, open 10:00-22:00 daily and cash only. Beware a fake map pin and go to number 6B.

Bánh Cuốn (Steamed Rice Sheet Rolls)

Delicate steamed rice sheets filled with seasoned minced pork, wood-ear mushroom and shallots, a northern dish by origin. Breakfast is the classic slot, though Bánh Cuốn Thanh Vân also serves it in the evening. An order runs about 35,000 VND (about $1.35).

Bánh Cuốn Gia Truyền Thanh Vân, 14 Hang Ga Street, holds a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand 2026 and opens 07:00-13:30 and 17:00-21:00 daily, cash only. In Thanh Trì, south of the city, a plainer version comes with just the sheets, chả lụa or fried shallots.

Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Baguette Sandwich)

A short crisp baguette split and filled with meat, pâté and pickles, sold at any hour as breakfast or a street snack. Expect roughly 15,000-45,000 VND (about $0.58-$1.74). The French baguette arrived in the 1860s and the Vietnamese sandwich style developed later, in Saigon in the 1950s, with no Hanoi-specific style documented.

Buy it where the local queue is longest rather than at a named shop.

Xôi (Sticky Rice)

Sticky rice with toppings such as roast pork, Chinese sausage, egg or beans, wrapped for the road or eaten at a stool. It is closely associated with Hanoi and Nam Định, and works as breakfast or a travel snack. A special mixed portion runs about 45,000 VND (about $1.74).

Pick a stall with a steady morning trade. Kem xôi, sticky rice with ice cream, shows up as a dessert on several food tours.

Nem Rán (Hanoi Fried Spring Roll)

Pork, mushroom, noodle and vegetable filling wrapped in rice paper and deep fried, the northern name for what the south calls chả giò. Order it with any meal, and most commonly alongside bún chả. The bún chả shops serve it.

Miến Lươn (Eel with Glass Noodles)

Eel two ways: miến nước is an eel soup over glass noodles, while miến trộn or xào pairs crisp fried eel with the same noodles. Eaten all day, and Miến Lươn Đông Thịnh keeps 06:30-22:00 daily. The soup runs about 45,000 VND (about $1.74) and the fried version about 65,000 VND (about $2.52).

Miến Lươn Đông Thịnh, 87 Hang Dieu Street, holds a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand 2026 and takes cash only. The MICHELIN food tour stops here on some of its options.

Bánh Xèo (Sizzling Pancake)

A crisp turmeric pancake wrapped with fresh herbs at the table. In Hanoi it runs from lunch into the night. A plate at an ordinary shop runs about 20,000 VND (about $0.77), which is not the price at Mr Bảy.

Mr Bảy Miền Tây, 79 Hang Dieu Street, holds a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand 2026, opens 11:00-23:00 Monday to Friday and 11:30-23:00 at weekends, and does not take cards. The MICHELIN food tour stops here on some of its options.

Cà Phê Trứng (Egg Coffee)

Egg yolk, sugar and condensed milk whisked into a cream poured over robusta coffee, often served warm in a bowl of hot water. An any-time drink and a classic afternoon stop. Café Giảng at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan Street, entered through an alley, is where egg coffee started: Wikipedia credits Nguyễn Giảng with inventing it in the late 1940s when milk was scarce, and the café says it has served egg coffee since 1946.

The entrance is easy to walk past.

Chè (Sweet Dessert Soup)

A broad category of sweet drinks, puddings and desserts built from beans, tubers or sticky rice, served cold or warm. An afternoon and evening treat, with an order running roughly 10,000-25,000 VND (about $0.39-$0.97). Pick any stall with a deep row of tubs and order by pointing.

Bia Hơi (Fresh Draught Beer)

Very light lager brewed daily and served fresh from steel barrels at small bars and street corners, mainly in the north, at about 4.1-4.3% ABV. An afternoon and evening habit, and the Tạ Hiện street junction in the Old Quarter is the corner most visitors head for. A glass runs roughly 10,000-15,000 VND (about $0.39-$0.58) in local spots and about 25,000 VND (about $0.97) in tourist areas.

Pair it with nem rán.

MICHELIN Guide 2026 Street Food in Hanoi

Each row names a stall that the MICHELIN Guide 2026 lists in Hanoi, the dish it is known for, the street address, its distinction (a Bib Gourmand marks good food at a moderate price) and the opening hours on its MICHELIN page. Famous stalls have namesakes nearby, so match the house number before you sit down.

Typical Prices

The table gathers the going rate for the dishes and drinks you will order most, in dong with the dollar conversion. Most figures come from a single commercial price guide, so treat them as a range rather than a bill. Tourist-area prices sit at the top of each range.

A Day of Eating in Hanoi

Three day budgets cover most trips. A street-food-only day runs roughly 150,000-220,000 VND (about $5.80-$8.51). A mixed day of street stalls and casual restaurants runs roughly 350,000-550,000 VND (about $13.54-$21.28).

An upscale day runs roughly 900,000-2,000,000 VND. The Old Quarter tourist core charges more for the same food: a bowl that costs about 45,000 VND a short walk away can hit 80,000 VND at a tourist address. For the full breakdown, see cheap food in Hanoi.

Cash, Prices and Tipping

Carry cash. Many family eateries are cash only, and the MICHELIN pages list cash only at Phở Gia Truyền, Tuyết Bún Chả 34, Chả Cá Thăng Long, Miến Lươn Đông Thịnh and Bún Chả Đắc Kim, while Luk Lak takes Visa and Mastercard. Carry small bills.

Tipping is not expected: rounding up 2,000-5,000 VND at a street stall is optional, 5,000-10,000 VND is kind at local pho shops, and 20,000-50,000 VND or 5-10 percent suits mid-range restaurants for exceptional service. Check the bill for a 'phụ phí dịch vụ' service charge, usually 5 or sometimes 10 percent.

Compare the Bookable Tours

The table lines up the bookable walking, riding and cooking options on GetYourGuide and Viator, with the price per person as listed and the one thing to confirm before you pay. Prices are the lowest option on each listing.

Train Street on a Food Tour

In 2025 the Hanoi Department of Tourism told travel businesses not to organise tours to the trackside café street, with barriers, warning signs and monitoring already in place. So a tour listing that names the stop cannot guarantee it. Access can be blocked at entrances such as Phùng Hưng and Trần Phú on the day, cafes may be shut, and trains through the strip are being cut: the Ministry of Construction agreed to reduce passenger frequencies and halt freight, with a full passenger halt possible if fully implemented, and no confirmed end date has been announced.

The sensible approach is to book the tour for the food and treat any Train Street stop as a bonus. The details are compared in Hanoi food tours compared.

Walk, Ride or Cook

Walking suits a first visit: the evening tour with 7 tastings includes all food and drinks for $28. If you want to cover more ground, motorbike food tours run 3.5 to 4.5 hours from $47.60. If you want the skills instead of the meal, cooking classes pair a market visit with a hands-on class of 4 to 5 dishes from $36.

To eat at guidebook stalls without research, the MICHELIN food tours start at $24 for a 2-hour walk with 3 stops, and the jeep, Vespa or motorbike version runs 4.5 hours at $69. On a tight budget, the cheapest street food walk costs $15 for about five dishes.

Egg Coffee and Hanoi Coffee

Cà phê trứng, or egg coffee, is egg yolk, sugar and condensed milk whisked into a cream that sits over strong robusta coffee, often served warm in a bowl of hot water. Wikipedia credits the invention to Nguyễn Giảng of Giảng Café in the late 1940s, when milk was scarce. The café itself, at 39 Nguyen Huu Huan Street in the Old Quarter, says it has been serving egg coffee since 1946.

Iced milk coffee, cà phê sữa đá, costs about 15,000 VND (about $0.58) in local cafes but roughly 45,000 VND (about $1.74) in the tourist area, so a short walk away costs less. If you want to make it yourself, the Hanoi coffee class teaches egg, coconut and salted coffee over 2 hours from $24 per person.

Chè and Sweets

Chè is a broad category of sweet dessert soups, drinks and puddings made from beans, tubers or sticky rice, eaten in the afternoon and evening. A serving runs roughly 10,000-25,000 VND (about $0.39-$0.97). Several Old Quarter food walks end with sticky rice and ice cream (kem xôi), so you can try a sweet without hunting for a shop on your own.

Bia Hơi on Tạ Hiện

Bia hơi is fresh draught beer, a very light lager of about 4.1-4.3 percent ABV brewed daily and poured straight from steel barrels in small bars and street corners, mostly in the north. A glass costs 10,000-15,000 VND (about $0.39-$0.58), which keeps a long evening cheap. The Tạ Hiện street junction in the Old Quarter is the corner most visitors head for.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 19:00 to 24:00 the Old Quarter walking street closes Hàng Đào, Hàng Ngang, Hàng Đường and Đồng Xuân to traffic, so you can drink and stroll between stalls. Hours may change on major holidays.

Ordering Without a Menu

Most small restaurants have no printed menu. The signature dishes are written on the wall. Walk in, take a seat on the low plastic stools, and point at what the locals are eating if you are unsure.

The best places do one or a few dishes only, so there is rarely a choice to agonise over. A few words help: bò is beef, gà is chicken, chay is vegetarian, bún is rice noodles. The Google Translate camera helps with the wall.

At restaurants you pay after the meal, but at street stalls you pay when you order. Many family eateries are cash only, so carry small bills.

Copycat Shops and Tourist Prices

Famous stalls attract copycats that open next door, so match the exact house number against the MICHELIN Guide address before you sit. Chả Cá Thăng Long is at 6B Duong Thanh Street, and a fake map pin has led people astray. Prices also climb in the tourist core.

A bowl of phở bò can cost 80,000 VND (about $3.10) inside the Old Quarter and about 45,000 VND (about $1.74) a short walk away.

Vegetarian Food in Hanoi

The word to look for is chay, which means vegetarian on a menu. At small shops vegetarian food is often cooked in the same pot as meat, so ask. The MICHELIN Guide lists a vegetarian restaurant, Ưu Đàm, with a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 guide, at 55 Nguyen Du Street, open 10:00-22:00 daily.

Before booking a food tour, ask whether it can feed you. The small-group Old Quarter walk with bún chả and egg coffee offers special vegetarian and allergy menus on request, and the evening tour with 7 tastings says it caters to vegetarians if you tell the guide in advance.