Kali — Restaurant in Hà Nội

This is a great spot to hang out at for a meal. Family-friendly with some kid-oriented areas to run around a bit safely away from the fairly busy and narrow street out front. Staff is all very friendly and eager.

The menu is Mediterranean-inspired, but you won't be convinced you're in Greece by eating here. Pitas & salads are the main dishes along with a smattering of traditional appetizers like hummus. I had the Arnaki lamb pita and it was almost indistinguishable from any other kind of meat due to a sauce that colored the meat red and looked identical to the sauces used in other meat pitas I saw people eating. The hummus was tasty and served with a respectable side of sliced cucumbers and carrots as well as what I presume is home-made pita bread. The bread is very light and more reminiscent of a rice-flour creation than the pitas I'm used to. It's served with a dab of pureed, carmelized onion on top that I wouldn't miss if it wasn't there.

There are a selection of fruit drinks, hot & cold teas, beer and about half-a-dozen cocktails. Their signature Kali cocktail was very light and refreshing and balanced very well the bitterness of the aperol and gin with the fruity sweetness of watermelon.

The food is good, the cocktail was better, the view is impressive (both the lake as well as people watching on the street). I'd argue it really isn't well-executed Greek or Mediterranean flavor as a whole but that shouldn't stop anyone from trying it out...

Pros: Great location, they even have a private parking lot. Although it’s hard to notice for the first time arrival. Nice decoration & great taste in music. Lake view. They accept card payments and didn’t charge 3% extra like many other restaurants here. Reasonable price. Definitely a great place to relax with your friends.

Cons: Food quality. We ordered a sea platter and didn’t enjoy it. It was not the Mediterranean cuisine we expected, it was just oily fried food. They put oil into their food even more than Chinese dishes. Fish were oily, the squid was the same, dips and hummus were covered in oil and pita were soaked in oil too. This place doesn’t have air-con. Wonder how hot it’d be in the summer.

= I highly recommend to order drinks only when you...

I’ve been eating here since Kali first opened a few years ago. The prices have increased — specifically, dish is now 70,000 VND more expensive, while the portions are smaller. The drinks were also made incorrectly. I ordered one thing, but the kitchen made something else. I informed the staff, but no one cared or listened, even though the place was nearly empty. Service deserves a 1-star rating. I had also noted dietary restrictions in the order, but the kitchen didn’t follow them and refused to redo the dish. The management is poor, prices have gone up, service has gone down — as a loyal customer, I’ve decided to stop coming. I wonder if we were treated this way because we’re Vietnamese, and...