Phở Bò, Bún Chả & Nem — Restaurant in Hà Nội

If you’re exploring Hanoi’s culinary scene, three iconic dishes you must try are Phở Bò (beef noodle soup), Bún Chả (grilled pork with noodles), and Nem Rán (fried spring rolls). Here’s an overview of each, along with recommended spots to savor them: 

🥣 Phở Bò (Beef Noodle Soup)

Phở Bò is a quintessential Vietnamese dish featuring a rich, aromatic beef broth, tender slices of beef, and rice noodles, garnished with fresh herbs. It’s a staple in Hanoi’s food culture.

Top Places to Try: • Phở Bò Ấu Triệu: Recognized by the MICHELIN Guide, this eatery offers bowls with raw minced beef, tender flank, and tendon in a rich bone broth, complemented by rice noodles and spring onions.  • Phở Bò Hàng Đồng: Praised for its fresh and tasty phở, this small venue provides an authentic atmosphere with local patrons, offering well-priced meals. 

🍢 Bún Chả (Grilled Pork with Noodles)

Bún Chả consists of grilled pork served in a flavorful broth, accompanied by rice noodles and fresh herbs. The dish is known for its balance of sweet, sour, and savory flavors. 

Top Places to Try: • Bún Chả Hương Liên: Famously visited by President Obama and Anthony Bourdain, this restaurant serves delicious bún chả with char-grilled pork in a savory broth.  • Bún Chả Ta (Nguyễn Hữu Huân Street): A MICHELIN Bib Gourmand recipient, this spot offers tender, smoky grilled pork with well-seasoned meat patties and smooth rice noodles in a balanced soup base. 

🥟 Nem Rán (Fried Spring Rolls)

Nem Rán, or fried spring rolls, are crispy rolls filled with a mixture of ingredients like minced pork, mushrooms, and glass noodles. They’re typically served with fresh herbs and a tangy dipping sauce.  

Top Places to Try: • Quán Nem Restaurant (Giang Võ Street): Known for its excellent nem, this restaurant offers a well-organized setting with accommodating staff and amazing food at affordable prices.  • Quán Nem Restaurant (Hoàng Đạo Thúy Street): Another branch praised for having probably the best nem at a restaurant, despite a brief menu. 

Each of these dishes offers a unique taste of Hanoi’s rich culinary heritage. Enjoy your...

After a few very disappointing restaurant experiences this place was an excellent find. It seems like lots of restaurants in hanoi ask customers to leave reviews and stand there while they do it or bribe them with freebies for 5* reviews and check the review before they get their compensation. Not the case at all here as I don't often leave reviews, I just wanted others to have a nice dinner, we happened to walk past after a hugely disappointing pho at Pho 10 and came back last night to find it as the food had looked really good, tonnes of fresh herbs and nice meat. They have 2 menus, basic tourist menu with the best sellers and a larger menu with some more exciting items (hubby had the lemongrass bbq pork and we shared some garlic morning glory which was a mountian enough for 4 people). My bun bo was really good, probably one of the best things I ate in Hanoi. The restaurant seems to be pretty clean and they have a food prep area out front with glass so you can see the food fridges etc.) Can confirm do not have upset tummy today. It's a little more expensive than some other places but still very reasonable for good food. 100%...

Asked the waiter for no peanuts on my meal because I’m anaphylactic, which he acknowledged and understood. My food then came out with peanuts and I told the waiter and he sent it back. There’s a window that looks into the kitchen and we saw them picking off the peanuts and other staff looking to make sure he got them all off. Not only that, they were using their bare hands to pick out the nuts, THEN put extra shallots on top and mixed it a bit to hide any peanuts they might have missed…WTF! We then told the waiter you cannot just scrape the peanuts off, as I am that allergic that I will die if I eat them. He just kept agreeing and speaking over us as we were trying to explain the severity. Eventually we got a fresh bowl without the peanuts, but wasn’t even worth it in the end as the food wasn’t even close to being nice, especially for the high price it was. Do not eat here if you have allergies or want a good meal. I might not of been alive to write this if it wasn’t...