WineCorner Hanoi — Restaurant in Hà Nội

Quintessential modern Hanoi restaurant trying to offer a gourmet dining experience at gourmet prices but the quality and service is just not there yet. The restaurant is beautiful. The ambience is on point. The service is attentive - but maybe too attentive. One waiter is constantly hovering near us at all times while the others are standing around doing nothing except staring at us while we try to enjoy ourselves. The times I did make eye contact with the other waiters, one looked terrified and the other just looked she wanted to be anywhere but there. The salad comes and it's... a bowl of arugula. Like four bites and it's over. The oxtail soup is more like a thin layer of sauce on a plate. The lasagna gets the job done, but it could have easily been frozen. When you're in a city that will serve you dumploads of good local food at fractions of the price, this just doesn't make any sense. If you're gonna charge more, you need to understand what we're looking for when we decide to take a chance on your pricey restaurant: good portions of food prepared with real attention to detail, served by a team of people who work together well and look like they are remotely enjoying their job. This is a common problem in Hanoi, where fine dining at least in the western sense is relatively new. It boils down to training your staff not just on what to cook and what to charge, but how to cook it, how to approach your customers. You have a beautiful restaurant and you obviously put a lot of work into it. But you're missing the most important pieces.

Update post-reply: thank you for your offer, but that brings us to another thing you'd do well to understand. Many Western people LIKE the bar, more than a table. The bar is not just a piece of furniture that makes the restaurant look good, and it's not just a tall table to help kitchen staff get the food to the waiters. The bar is for people who want to drink and soak up the vibe of a place, maybe talk to some other customers. Maybe eating at the bar is a bit unusual in Hanoi, but not in the West, and you're trying to be a Western restaurant. The bar IS a bit narrow, and maybe management should think about making it a bit bigger. Personally I don't eat in any restaurant...

So close to a total 5 but I had to give a little feedback on the overseasoning across the board. We got a couple of wine by the glass which during happy hour came with mini cold cuts and cheese platter, great little touch. For our starter we had the cheese filled smoked sausage. This came with a little bread and was very tasty. Main dishes were roasted smoked Goose for my wife which was served with arrugala and I went for the Australian Ribeye with sauted mushrooms and brussel sprouts and a couple of sauces. Like I said the only issue was that the steak was a little over seasoned but also there was plenty of seasoning on the sides and in the sauces. Combined this pushed it over on the level of acceptable seasoning. I did speak with the restaurant owner and he was very receptive. There is no doubt that they are using quality produce, they just need to treat it respectfully. I would still recommend this lovely little spot, it beautifully designed and the ambience is lovely. Best of luck for the future....

I had the filet with grilled corn on the cob and fries, my favorites. The steak was cooked perfectly. The steak juices were plentiful and great for putting my fries in to soak up. Mmmmm. ALL of the food was very flavorful. The bread brought to the table before the meal was toasted and warm. Our waiter was great. He was very attentive and knew the perfect times to check on us. All staff was very friendly. The beer was cold. The bathrooms were clean and visually presentable with a stack of clean rolled washcloths for drying your hands and a bin to place it in once used (no thin paper towels that don't work). The owner greeted each guest at their table and was genuine. The atmosphere was relaxing with great ambiance. The restaurant was very clean and modern. The temperature was spot on, not too cold. I will rank this as my favorite restaurant and...