Luk Lak Vietnamese Restaurant — Restaurant in Hà Nội

Really enjoyable late lunch at Luk Lak.

They had some really tasty coconut drinks which are well worth trying and something very different. Great flavours - the lemony apricot one was really good.

We ordered a few dishes. The carp, the smoked pork belly, ban cha (grilled pork with noodles, herb and Viet style dressing) and lemon grass rice.

Fun to have them crisp up the smoked pork belly table side (though some parts could of been a bit more crispy) but the plum smoke on the meat was really good - served with a garlic chilli hot sauce. The carp was very meaty and something I’d not tried before. The sweet and sour sauce with it, we were warned would be spicy, but it was more sour than spicy. The fish had crispy skin and a gelatinous layer before the white meaty flesh - so quite unusual. The lemongrass rice though was, surprisingly good, it had ginger through it as well and I suspect turmeric to give it some yellow colour. The bun cha components were all good but it felt like it needed something to bring them all together. Apparently you mix everything together but the bowls we had were small and there was not much sauce for the amount of noodles and herbs. So bit of a mis match. The serving staff didn’t provide any guidance on what to do. We would have appreciated a little more interaction / help with staff on that front and in general.

The place has lots of...

We visited Luk Lak Restaurant in Hanoi after seeing it recommended in the Michelin Guide with a Bib Gourmand distinction. The location is convenient, right near the Opera House, and the restaurant itself is spread across three nicely decorated floors, creating a pleasant and welcoming ambiance.

The menu offered an impressive range of dishes, with photos and detailed English descriptions to make ordering easy. The staff were lovely—very friendly and attentive, adding to the positive atmosphere.

For our meal, we chose the following:

• Cua Lột Sốt Me Cuốn Bánh Tráng: Deep-fried soft-shell crab wrapped in rice paper with fresh herbs and seasonal vegetables, served with tamarind sauce. • Gà Nướng Tú Lệ: Grilled chicken with lime leaves, accompanied by sticky rice from Tu Le and special house-made sauces. • Vịt Cháy Tỏi: Pan-seared boneless duck with garlic from Ly Son, Thai basil, and pickled bamboo shoots.

The portions were generous, and the presentation was good. However, the flavours didn’t quite meet our expectations. The lime leaves in the grilled chicken were almost imperceptible, and while the duck dish was better, it wasn’t particularly memorable. Overall, we were a bit underwhelmed given the restaurant’s reputation.

It’s worth a visit for the ambiance and service, but the food might not leave a lasting impression.

(Also posted to my food blog on Instagram...

A huge mistake and lie… We came here with an expectation since it’s in Michelin list but such a big disappointment… We ordered grilled chicken that is quite expensive but it was the hardest and tasteless chicken I’ve ever had in my life. It comes with 2 sauces: one with lemon or yuzu ( that was nice) and another one with tomato and garlic was very tasteless. I think in general everything was just tasteless here. For instance, we had mushroom spring rolls that was also tasteless. It comes as 5 pieces and we only had 2, the rest we just left because it doesn’t have any taste. Lastly, we had catfish soup and it was also very tasteless. Almost like a plain water with tasteless chopped fish inside so again we didn’t finish it. The portions are huge, very irrelevantly. For example the soup comes in a ramen bowl. You just can’t finish! Also the spring rolls. With one portion you can easily get full. Also the prices are quite high.. We were very much disappointed and leaving with an empty stomach… Unfortunately couldn’t finish anything here, such a waste of food. Very sorry.. (The best thing was the sticky rice comes with the chicken...