Nhà hàng 1946 Cửa Bắc — Restaurant in Hà Nội

The restaurant is a little way down an alley and is very cute with some staff dressed in military uniforms. You're greeted by yummy food smells the moment you step in the door, cool air from the air-conditioning (which was sorely needed in the 37°C heat) and was mostly filled with locals - always a good sign for adventurous travellers.

The staff don't really speak English, except for one gentleman who tried very hard to help us and recommended some really yummy salads. But to fully enjoy yourself in Vietnam (or really any foreign country that doesn't speak English that widely), just take it easy, ask for recommendations and don't get upset if something gets lost in translation.

I ordered the steamed mountain chicken but it came fried, and he tried to Google translate it to us that it can be prepared many different ways and he tried to pick one to suit us. It actually turned out to be a stellar dish, cooked with lime leaves, and with a very pleasant gamy taste, lean, and very aromatic. Happy surprise!

Everything else was delivered on point: I highly recommend the duck and coconut stem salad, beef and banana flower salad, a sour canh cua soup with minced meat, pineapple and starfruit slices and the eel cooked in bamboo was soooo good - it comes with a pounded herb mix that adds a lot of depth to the dish.

There were so many other interesting dishes we wanted to try but needed more stomach space for: wild boar, snail meat rolled into balls, and some interesting vegetables we've never seen before.

Come here if you want something different, have an open mind and love adventure, and can be patient with the language barrier.

PS: Charges for wet towel service and peanuts and etc are commonplace in mid to high-range establishments across Asia,...

I really enjoyed my meal here of which I was actually looking for a cafe but this alleyway caught my eye and the design and beautiful yellow of the building plus colorful pinwheels were spellbinding. The Michelin star sign was a plus so I walked in and was initially seated in a corner seat at the back of the room but I asked to change to the window seat as it felt too stifling cold further in.

The 2nd floor dining area seemed busy / full with groups. I enjoyed having the first floor entirely to myself while I dined. Thought the music was too loud at first but they obliged when I asked them to turn it down a bit

The dishes are meat heavy but they do have a few vegetarian dishes like sweet potato and tofu and steamed vegetables. I ordered tea which was lightly sweet, iced, and paired very well with the dishes I ordered. Overall the dishes I ordered were tasty, and loved being tucked away in a calm yet visually stimulating setting. I tend to be a slower eater preferring to take my time so ambience is very important to me to feel like I want to linger. Beautiful dishware. Love the quality.

At one point a woman with mangosteens on a cart walked by and waved at me through the window. Such great timing. I LOVE mangosteen and went out to purchase a handful which I enjoyed there in the restaurant as a bit of dessert.

Excellent dining experience and setting / location that would not have otherwise stood out it to me had I just seen it on Google maps. Was def serendipitous how I wandered here and the elements that drew me in when I happened to be...

We weren’t expecting expecting much but boy was the food delicious! Service was pleasant, someone leaped at the opportunity to seat us which got me equally excited!

We ordered 4 plates of food and rice between 2 and our server, who was quite a fun guy, told us to stop at 4. It was delicious

The morning glory in all its perfect garlic goodness, was stir fried to perfection, and accompanied by a sweet soy sauce with fresh chilis. An accompaniment I’ve never had but happily welcomed.

The fried grab was a little painful to eat with the spiky pincers and leafs so you have to be careful, but with how delicious it was, it was worth it. Paired with the lemon and salt dipping sauce was perfection.

Omg next was the eel, whatever fermented slightly spicy sauce it was paired with was delicious, soft, succulent eel, not overcooked, meat was so bouncy still, what a delight! We ate it with the mint and small perilla leaves on the side and that was YUM!

Lastly we got the fried chicken with fish sauce, there were certain bits that felt a little drier than other bites, but comes with the territory of some chicken parts that are less forgiving with being overcooked. But the chicken skin was fried to perfection, perfect crunch with the fish sauce and there must’ve been sugar somewhere because the slightly sweet note made it such a well rounded dish!

Iced tea was gorgeous, gave us wet towels for our hands, and showed us the proper way of enjoying some of these dishes.

All for an incredibly affordable...