Cha Ca Thang Long — Restaurant in Hà Nội

Chả Cá Lã Vọng / La Vong Grilled Turmeric Fish And Dill (VND ₫170,000) @ Chả Cá Lã Vọng. . What else can be said about Chả Cá Lã Vọng, that hasn't already been widely publicised? . That the dish of Chả Cá Lã Vọng / La Vong Grilled Turmeric Fish And Dill was first created by couple Doan Phuc and Bi Van, and served to revolutionary soldiers? . That on the urging of friends, they established a restaurant of the same name in 1871, which also served as a rebel hideout? . That the restaurant quickly became a favored dining spot of locals, and also the very aristocrats and colonial officials it sought to unseat? . That as their popularity grew, some copied the dish and opened competing stalls with similar names, leading to the entire street being renamed to Chả Cá street in veneration? . That the dish has come to be regarded as synonymous with Hanoi, and an iconic dish of Vietnam? . Yes, Chả Cá Lã Vọng is all this and more. . For over 150 years, the Doan family has continued running Chả Cá Lã Vọng, still selling that 1 single dish, made the same way it's always been. . The various accoutrements work together to create the overall experience. You're meant to combine a bit of everything in each mouthful, the silky soft thin Rice Vermicelli Noodles with mild grainy sweet notes, the crisp fresh Spring Onions and Coriander with vegetal herbal sweet bitter flavour, the crunchy Roasted Peanuts with nutty flavour, and the fresh sliced Chili which lends a spicy kick. . Everything is dunked or dipped into Nước Chấm / Vietnamese Dipping Sauce, which lends lovely tangy zesty sour salty savoury sweet flavour. . The turmeric marinated catfish, tender and moist with bright spice savoury salty sweet flavour, and the crunchy dill soaking up the fish oil and spices, creating bold vegetal savoury sweet herbal spice flavour. . Together with the assorted accoutrements, the intriguing muskiness contrasted by the freshness of herbs and seasoning, creates an unforgettable...

First time, everything was great! Second visit is not great. The food is still good tho,.but the services of the women on the door is bad. I think she is the manager (as she seems very bossy). First she asked me how many people and asked me to sit somewhere. I waited for my friends for a while, meanwhile the other staff gave me the menu, and prepared the table with stuff. The next table seems to need a menu and some bowls too, and the other staff just took what he needs from my table without even saying a word, not a word, no smile, no gesture, no manner at all. But I ignore it, since I don't really need them yet.

After a while my friends came and he is new in Hanoi and wanted to see the menu. This manager said, we only have 1 type of food, fish. And i tried to tell her, yes but can we please have a menu. And she insisted 'we only have 1 dish'. My friend somehow wanted to see the menu as maybe he wanted to see the price, or drinks options, but this bossy lady still insisted instead of just walking a few seconds to get us the menu.

Seeing my friend insisted wanted to see menu, i explained to him that the restaurant also has fish gut. Then after ordering food, the manager asked what drink we wanted.. I don't know what drinks you have! You just talked so rudely, no smile, just give that attitude "tell me what you want even i don't give you the menu!!!!"

First impression of my friend of vietnamese people : Rude! My second impression of this restaurant : bad

You should hire a better manager, who understands what service is, even on a busy night.

Another note : this lady shouts to other staff here and there about arranging table. Not sure why nobody in the restaurant never think to buy a walkie talkie. 5 star food with 1...

For our first meal in Vietnam, we wanted to try something more unique to Hanoi. By popular recommendation both online and from our hotel, we decided to visit Cha Ca Thang Long for lunch.

The restaurant seems to have two physical branches several units apart, along the same street. When we approached the first branch, it appeared closed, but the service staff directed us down the street and through a beautifully decorated alleyway (see photo) to the second location. The ambience was stunning and the interior was posh. We were seated and shown a simplified menu in English, presumably for tourists. The Cha Ca set meal is VND 176,000 per pax, with drinks being an additional VND 10,000 to 40,000. Besides the set meal, we ordered Hanoi beer and passion fruit juice.

As one who isn't a big fan of greens, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the meal. Cha Ca is essentially pan fried fish (bones removed) with dill and spring onions, eaten with rice vermicelli (i.e. thin rice noodles), fish sauce, mint, coriander, and chilli (if you want). The dish is simple, fragrant, and flavourful, attributed in part to the fresh ingredients provided. The set comes with a serving of fried fish spring rolls too, which were crunchy and tasty. Having never eaten Cha Ca before, we welcomed explanations in English from the service staff on how to cook and consume the dish.

Overall, while the experience was somewhat touristy and a little pricey relative to food prices around, we appreciated the enjoyable dining experience and felt reassured by the cleanliness of the restaurant. Would certainly visit again should we find ourselves in the Old...