Maison 1929 Vietnamese Restaurant — Restaurant in Hà Nội

Our first trip back to Hanoi since 2016 on our way to a virtuoso cruise on Halong bay and then the Four Seasons Nam Hai, we were so excited to still love Hanoi, despite it being a lot busier with a lot more backpacker types.

We chose to rent a house nearby this restaurant for our four day break between the Ritz Carlton Langkawi, and heading to our cruise on Hallong Bay (which is how we came to Hanoi almost 10 years ago).

We have sat upstairs on the balcony, downstairs on the street, every night. The wine selection in Hanoi is of course not phenomenal, but they have a drinkable one for Vietnam, so we have ended our nights here before going back to our house and sitting on our balcony, as we work on NYC hours (and eat after midnight worldwide, so have not eaten here), even though we primarily live in our London house.

Tonight was our final night in hanoi before we leave for our cruise early in the morning, so as we wanted to visit for our final time, we were excited to see the balcony was basically empty, there was only one table taken of the three, so as they were only open for another hour or so, Everyone eating dinner fairly early here in Vietnam like most places worldwide, we asked if we could sit upstairs on the balcony like we have done before, just for a couple glasses of wine.

They told us that the manager said that we could not sit on the balcony, only for dinner. We stated well, you are closing fairly soon, two of the three tables are open, we will be here for less than an hour, and we are happy to move should anyone arrive for dinner and you have a need for the tables.

Unfortunately, they did not allow it.

We walked by about an hour later, on our way back to our house, and surprise surprise, they were closed. No one ever sat there.

A shame that after visiting multiple days in a row, four of them in fact, ordering over four glasses of wine every night, and in a consistently basically empty place, that they preferred to have empty tables in the hope of someone off the street finding this place within an hour of close (which they never did), to serving glasses of wine to repeat customers that already said they would be happy to move if by some miracle stragglers came in off the street for dinner...

The star dish for my wife and I had to be the sea bass. It wasn't just the freshness of the fish. That would be basic for a michelin bib gourmand featured establishment. But it was the passiofruit based sauce that lifted this dish to divine levels of palate pleasures! So subtle and truly complementing the fish for a unique taste, I have to give credit to the magnificent sauce.

We also had the spring rolls (pork and mushrooms), and what impressed us was the thin, crispy skin that revealed a mouthful of fillings with each bite.

Then came the crispy roasted pork belly. They did apologise that it was a little overcooked, and while I had to admit it was, it didn't ruin it for me in any way. In fact, the notion that it could have been better had me thinking - wow, really? 😁

The place has an upper level, but they were fully booked for a private event upstairs, so we had a table on the ground level. There was a group of 10 to 12 pax at one corner, and ourselves as a table of 4 on the opposite side, and another table for 6 behind us.

Service was ever attentive despite being busy, and it was all hands on deck. We were unfortunate to have had the ceiling aircon springing a leak close by to us, and they were apologetic about it, no biggie for us, it wasn't an anniversary dinner for two anyway 😅

The bill came up to USD50 (VND1.25m) which was reasonable for the quality of food we got, especially in Vietnam where F&B pricing vs quality ratios are one of the best in the world. Note that we didn't drink any alcohol, so obviously that kept the bill at very...

After spending a full day exploring the Old Quarter, we were exhausted by 8 PM. That’s when we saw a restaurant and decided to step inside. We were guided to the second floor, and from the moment we sat down, I was genuinely surprised — not just by the food, but also by the level of service. The food was absolutely fantastic. I especially want to highlight the chocolate cake and the shrimp dish — both were delicious and exceeded my expectations. But what truly made the experience memorable was the waiter named Q U A N. He asked us where we were from, how we felt about the food, and even opened up about his dreams and plans for the future. It was a sincere and personal interaction that I’ve never experienced from any server in Vietnam before. When we finished and went downstairs, the first floor was already closed. It looked like QUAN was the only one still working upstairs. His dedication and warmth left a lasting impression on me. Honestly, someone like him should be working at a five-star place like Sofitel Legend Metropole. I will definitely come back at the earliest chance I get, and I truly recommend everyone — if you visit this restaurant, head up to the second floor and hope to meet Q U A N. He is an...