Era Restaurant — Restaurant in Hà Nội

What an exceptional experience we had this evening at ERA Restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam!

Not only was the dinner we enjoyed the culinary highlight of our holiday vacation in Asia, but the customer service and warm welcome was above and beyond any I have enjoyed around the world.

We were greeted warmly and seated in ERA's lovely dining room. When we ordered a round of cocktails to get the evening started, a delicious and beautifully-presented 'amuse-geule' (tasty bite-sized appetizer) was delivered to each of us. It consisted of a single bite fresh and savory spring roll along with a fragrent dipping sauce and a tantalizing mango juice shooter to inbibe right after the tasty treat. This amuse-geule was artfully-presented on a three-part oval porcelain dish. We were pleased right off the bat.

Then, we ordered an appetizer - crunchy spring rolls - and were so pleased when our gracious server Henry agreed to split the spring roll order, to bring us two vegetarian rolls and two made with pork, which gave us each what we wanted.

For our main course, we ordered two of the Hanoi Seabass entrées (#14) and one Bun Cha (#13) accompanied by a chilled bottle of Italian white wine. Our attentive waiter Henry appeared when the entrées were delivered to demonstrate how to best enjoy the Hanoi Seabass dish, which involved a quick but specific order of assembly to put the ingredients together in the provided porcelain bowl for maximal enjoyment. What a delicious repast followed! Our third party took equal pleasure in her Bun Cha!

When we were ready to progress to dessert, we chose egg coffees as the finishing touch. If you have never enjoyed this delight, ERA is the perfect place to try it out. Think 'rich capuccino' topped with an even richer and frothier sugared creme - something like having a crème brulé in a cup.

Somewhere along the line, our charming waiter Henry must have mentioned to his boss, the owner of ERA, that the was a small group in the restaurant who were really enjoying themselves. And thus, as we were enjoying our delectable egg coffees, ERA's owner, Mr. Nguyen Sy Duan stopped by our table to share a delightful after-dinner drink with us, and to chat for a bit. He taught us the typical Vietnamese toast "Một, hai, ba, dô!" ("One, two, three, in!"), except we learned it in French, which we were conversing in at dinner (Alors: 'Un, deux, trois, zoo'), and we learned about his impressive rise from first owning a 6-room hotel, to progressing ever-upwards to two small hotels and now two semi-large hotels and now this new (1 year old) restaurant. He obviously works very hard alongside his wife in building these successful enterprises, and by delivering a top-flight dining experience combined with exceptional customer service. Mr. Nguyen's is a very inspiring story.

We left ERA thoroughly satisfied, and optimistic about Vietnam's future, if there are more entrepreneurs like Mr. Nguyen out there building its...

This was a beautiful and intricate restaurant. We went during lunch time and there were locals sitting next to us which is how we knew the place is good. We got the catfish, fried shrimp, beef pho, fried spring rolls. The catfish, I would recommend having it here if you haven’t had fish in Vietnam yet. It was absolutely stunning with the dill and lemongrass underneath. The fried shrimp was similar to tempura but with a thicker and crispier batter. The sauce that came with it was the perfect combination with the salty and crispy shrimp. The beef pho tasted exactly how you’d picture pho just by smelling it. A perfect classic dish to match the restaurant. The fried spring rolls were beautifully made. I’ve had a lot of springs rolls during my trip but this restaurant would be in my top three for fried spring rolls.

Overall, you will not be disappointed if...

We searched for nearby restaurants & decided to give this Vietnamese fusion restaurant a try. The place is not big but is spread over two stories. Interior decor is western colonial. The menu was quite extensive and comprises largely Vietnamese fusion and BBQ seems to be a popular choice. As there were not much people when we visited, service was prompt & food was served quickly. We were impressed with the food quality & taste. I like the fried rice with pork in fish sauce - the texture of the rice was both fragrant & crunchy & Vietnamese spring rolls which was so crispy and flavorful. Prices are certainly on the higher side even by tourists standards but then food quality is good. If we ever come back to Hanoi, this restaurant will be on our list...