Paolo & Chi Pizzeria Lounge — Restaurant in Hà Nội

These ratings don't make sense to me. The service was poor.

I arrived at 1pm on a Saturday and I was the only one at the restaurant (already a bit weird). The person serving me couldn't speak English and couldn't answer basic questions about vegetarian items. This was alright as I used Google Translate to clarify, but I was initially a bit surprised as this was an "upscale Italian" restaurant in Westlake.

I ordered a bruschetta and pasta arrabiatta. It took more than 30 mins to serve the bruschetta. Not sure how it could take that long? I was literally the only one there and there were no other customers or delivery orders. They did not serve any complimentary bread/olive-oil like similarly priced Italian establishments in the area.

The pasta was served 15mins after the bruschetta (~45 mins since I ordered). The pasta was solid but not spicy at all -- I would not call it "arrabiatta" in any way. Just regular, well seasoned tomato sauce pasta.

The toilet wasn't very clean and had no ventilation whatsoever (not even a fan). I found this extremely weird.

Maybe this place functions better in the evenings, but I would not visit again for lunch as they seem unequipped to deal...

My only regret about visiting Paolo & Chi’s tonight was that I hadn’t done so earlier.

Everybody in Hanoi knows about and talks about this place and for some reason I simply harden gotten round to visiting this exquisite little bistro in Tu Lien. I guess I’m just one of life’s late adopters.

We ordered the mussels marinara and a meat lovers pizza to share. The marinara sauce was perfectly seasoned and had the right hint of sweetness emulsified against the brine of the mussels. The linguine was perfectly Al dente. Not to mention a beautifully presented plating.

The pizza. I LOVED their dough! Perfect thickness with an amazing crispness yet light. Great quality toppings, particularly the house made sausage.

Wrap it all up in a charming bistro ambience hidden behind a leafy entrance and you have the perfect dining experience at your fingertips.

Staff were wonderful too. Attentive to our order, giving us reassurance by repeating our orders back and setting our place when delivering our orders.

Cannot fault Paolo & Chi’s. I might have discovered it late, but am glad i live nearby so I can make up for lost...

the food, atmosphere and service made this such a lovely evening! highly recommend the garlic mussels: full of flavor and so perfectly cooked. got the potato wedges as a side, which unfortunately sort of tasted like the frozen reheated ones you get at the cafeteria, but better seasoned… arugula prosciutto pizza was great on the other hand, with a thin crispy dough and balanced toppings. tiramisu wasn’t exactly authentic, couldn’t tell what they use instead of the classic mascarpone-egg cream but it didn’t taste as fresh as it’s supposed to. on the more expensive side.

we had the most attentive, kind server! he paid a lot of attention to details and was always there when something was needed. was really transparent with the bill and the change he gave us, which is not at all the norm here lol. dishes came (hot) in the correct order with little wait (if you care about that sort of thing).

the inside area is very cozy and elegant with comfy couches and low tables, makes dinner feel...