Hanoi Garden Restaurant — Restaurant in Hà Nội

Avoid this restaurant - extremely disrespectful staff. I’m certain you can find food as good if not better elsewhere for a fraction of the price with staff who treat you in a somewhat respectful manner. My family and I had booked a table at this restaurant two weeks in advance and we were really looking forward to it, but we were forced to leave after only 10 minutes by how awfully we were treated by the staff. We left in disbelief. We arrived at the time of our booking and the table was not ready. This would not have been a problem however we were forced to wait in the courtyard in the rain getting wet whilst the staff tried to arrange the umbrellas above our table. They tried to adjust the umbrellas as two of the chairs were still getting wet from the rain, however they soon gave up and instructed us to sit down. We were then ignored and not given a menu or a drinks list. We had to try very hard to get the attention of a member of staff who then eventually brought over menus but not even enough for all four of us. We saw that the prices were slightly eye watering in comparison to other restaurants, but we didn’t get to try the food so I cannot comment on the quality of it, and clearly had the food and service been excellent the prices would have been understandable! With myself and my brother getting wet from the rain, I tried again to get the attention of a member of staff. Eventually a member of staff came over looking already frustrated and whilst I was explaining that we were getting wet they dismissed me with a shewing of their hands and walked away. I could not believe the complete disrespect shown. I must say that a few more members of staff soon came over and finally offered for us to sit inside (why had this not been an option earlier?!) however we really couldn’t stay after how disrespectfully we had been treated, to have been physically shewed by a member of staff is absolutely appalling and we left in disbelief. I have since read other reviews that comment on the manner of the staff which is both frustrating and disappointing. I don’t often leave reviews and I’ve never left a negative review but how my family and I were...

We’d rate our experience here a 3 out of 5, based mainly on the quality of the dishes and service.

Arriving hungry around 8:45 pm, we were glad they were still able to seat us. We ordered pineapple juice with mint, a Truc Bach beer, roasted beef in bamboo stalk, rock salt baked jumbo prawns, and stir-fried glass vermicelli with crab.

The roasted beef in bamboo was the first to arrive and turned out to be the highlight of the meal—tender, full of flavor, and nicely charred with a smoky grilled taste. Next came the vermicelli, which wasn’t quite what we expected. The “crab” resembled pork floss—dry, lacking in flavor, and definitely not the fresh crab we’d anticipated. The noodles themselves were quite bland, which likely explains the side of soy sauce that came with it.

We were especially looking forward to the prawns, but they were a real letdown. Served in a clay pot on a bed of rock salt, we got three jumbo prawns and one noticeably smaller one. Unfortunately, they were overcooked and slightly rubbery, lacking the sweet, fresh taste you expect from good prawns. Given that this was a recommended dish and came at a premium price, it was very disappointing. In hindsight, we should have gone with the char-grilled tiger prawns instead.

Overall, it was an average experience in a place that clearly has potential but didn’t quite deliver for us. The setting was quite nice as we sat outside in the courtyard with the sound of water coming down a stone wall.

Service was fine, they took our order and that was it. They did offer us a little chair for our bags but they didn’t clear our table when we were done. Considering we’ve had some excellent meals recently at a similar price point, this one just...

So much promise but poor execution. Maybe we caught them on a off night but very little about our experience was positive. Let me start with things that went well- the atmosphere is awesome. The patio is beautiful and the lighting is great. The creamy chicken soup was spot on delicious. The only item I would order again. Moving on to areas for improvement- the menu has very little description and the staff is unable to explain the dishes. We ordered the crispy tofu appetizer and it came out with soft tofu that couldn’t hold its breading or shape to be dipped in the sauce. The signature duck entree tasted like the duck had been reheated not fired fresh for the order, the sauce was overwhelming, and the herb salad needed some greens to break up the flavor, the crispy buns were meh. The braised beef shank needed to be braised for a few hours longer. It was too chewy and contained a lot of grizzle. The menu stated the shank would come with a pate which I was informed was “in the sauce”. I’ve never heard of that before but ok... we were charged for water even though other tables were told it was complimentary. The service was slow and inattentive. To make things worse men were using the women’s restroom when the men’s was totally available. This was very alarming. Overall I’m very confused by the high ratings for this restaurant. Sure you don’t sit on the sidewalk in a small blue chair but I’d take well executed street food over Hanoi...