Nê Cocktail bar — Restaurant in Hà Nội

If a cocktail bar could feel like home it’d be Ne. The past few weeks have been spent in Vietnam, Hanoi being the main stay of the trip. At night we’d bounce around the city trying different cocktail bars. While we found several and enjoyed most, some more than others. Ne stood above the rest and frankly it wasn’t close. The menu entails a list of classics and signature cocktails and while some of the places have an overlap of the same the drinks were superior at Ne. We were lucky enough to sit at the bar and watched in awe these guys behind the bar do their thing. The staff is what makes this place. True artisans of their craft from the guys that make the bar revolve to the drink makers themselves. The phrase “this is the best place ever!” gets thrown out so often it has watered down the meaning of it. While I’ve been to some cool cocktail bars and have had good drinks all over the world, I’ve never experienced the feeling I felt while at Ne. It was like hearing my favorite song for first time or watching my favorite band up close. My brother in law and i were simply at a loss for words throughout. We closed it down only to come back the next night and do it all over again. This is my favorite bar I've ever been too and will make my way there every time I go back to Hanoi. Keep...

The bartenders do a great job and put on a nice show, especially with their popular Phở inspired cocktail. Which does actually taste great - the star anise, the cinnamon, the coriander, the chili. You can taste them all! Very innovative.

The service is okay. In the 1 hour we stayed there the customers played musical chairs a few times in order to get a turn at the bar to watch the Phở showmanship. Which I found slightly annoying personally as the place is tiny as it is and moving ppl around in such a small space is ... Less than ideal! So 1 star down for that. Another star down for forgetting my cocktail for about 15 minutes and having to remind them I had ordered another drink 😅.

The atmosphere cannot get more than 3* either sadly. The music is LOUD, the bar feels rowdy, the choice of music is questionable (not my taste personally but that's subjective). The space is small and there's A LOT of people rammed into the bar. Can barely turn around when it's full.

Drink prices seem expensive for Vietnam but as an international traveller you won't feel the price that much... We're talking 8-10 USD cocktails.

Tax and service charge not included in menu prices which requires some mental gymnastics to figure out the real price.

Worth going for the signature Phở and for...

We were recommended Nê Cocktail Bar by another excellent spot we visited in Da Nang, Đo Yêu, and it ended up being one memorable cocktail experiences of our trip.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with a complimentary vodka milk punch. It was smoothly delicious, and the perfect way to start the evening.

We ordered the Xu Dừa and the Phở Cocktail. The Xu Dừa was rich, savoury, and perfectly balanced. The Phở Cocktail was bold and incredibly unique. It genuinely tasted like phở, in a way that was both surprising and intriguing. "Watching it being prepared was an experience in itself, combining flair and precision in a way that made it feel like a performance.

The staff were friendly, welcoming, and very attentive to our needs. You could tell they had great team spirit, which created a really positive and comfortable vibe. There was live music when we visited, and the singers were truly talented — the kind you could easily see on a TV talent show!

The ambiance was warm and energetic, though it did get a bit hot inside. Also, the scented candle near the bar was a little overpowering, and the bar stools could be more comfortable. But honestly, those were minor details in an otherwise fantastic cocktail...