Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [275]
Hanoi and around | Drinking, nightlife and entertainment |
Bars, pubs and clubs
Hanoi’s bar and club scene can’t be described as wild, but the choice of nightspots is improving. You’re no longer restricted to characterless hotel bars or psuedo-pubs, as the number of dedicated drinking holes, some of them packing a bit of designer flair, gradually increases, particularly on Ta Hien, a street packed with funky bars. Nevertheless, the busiest venues are without doubt the bia hoi outlets selling pitchers of the local brew. The most popular spot for foreigners to experience the bia hoi is at the cluster of outlets on the junction of Ta Hien and Luong Ngoc Quyen, known as “Bia Hoi Corner”; on busy nights customers sit across the junction, moving their plastic chairs in and out like a tide as the police come and go. Also worth trying is Bia Tuoi Hoang Dat, at 124a Hai Ba Trung, an upmarket bia hoi on four floors. Note that the Vietnamese tend to drink early, and by midnight few bars remain open. The following establishments are all marked on the Central Hanoi map "Central Hanoi" unless otherwise specified.
Culi Café 40 Luong Ngoc Quyen. An Aussie-owned café-bar-restaurant in the Old Quarter. Choose between bar stools and music/sports videos in the downstairs bar or the chilled lounge above. Prices are cheap and the food’s not bad.
Dragonfly 15 Hang Buom. Part stylish bar, part lively club, part comfy lounge, this venue has something for everyone; one of the better places to be locked in when the police are out on prohibition patrol.
Finnegan’s 16a Duong Thanh. Quite why so many backpackers spend their Hanoi evenings in an Irish bar is open to question, though it’s true that good Guinness goes down well anywhere. This is certainly the place to meet fellow travellers.
Funky Buddha 2 Ta Hien. A focus on fixtures, fittings and lighting has made this one of Hanoi’s best-looking bars, and the drink prices remain reasonable too.
Half Man Half Noodle 62 Dao Duy Tu. Friendly little bar hidden away in the Old Quarter and a haunt of Hanoi’s English-language teachers, though don’t expect much action before 11pm.
I–Box 32 Le Thai To. Indulgent sofas, mock leopard-skin lampshades and vampish red velour set the tone in this café-bar. It’s great for a quiet drink during the day, and in the evenings they often crank up the atmosphere with live music. Happy hour 5–8pm.
Inside Bar 28 Hang Hanh. One of Hanoi’s more bizarre bars, this tiny drinking hole tucked down a corridor is not for claustrophobics. It’s friendly, though, and cheap and generally stays open into the wee hours.
Jazz Club Minh 31 Luong Van Can 04/3828 7890. Live jazz every night led by the charismatic – and highly accomplished – Quyen Van Minh, Hanoi’s answer to Ronnie Scott. Performances start at 8.30pm.
Le Pub 25 Hang Be. A good range of drinks at reasonable prices – including genuinely cold beers – plus above-average food, decent music and friendly bar staff ensures a real pub atmosphere at this English-run outlet in an Old Quarter tube-house. There are different drink promotions most days.
Loo Pub 1 Ta Hien. With toilet-shaped seating and deliberately suspicious-looking brown sand on the floor, this bar is one of the most distinctive – and noisy – in Hanoi. Worth a peep, if only for novelty value.
Mao’s Red Lounge 7 Ta Hien. Cheap prices and strong cocktails make this two-level bar one of the most popular places on Hanoi’s nighttime strip; at weekends, it can achieve a rowdiness quite at odds with its loungey setting and mood music.
Red Beer 97 Ma May. Microbrewery serving lip-smacking Belgian Red Beer and German pilsner lager, plus a limited range of soft drinks. Some of the food has a certain beery touch, too, such as steamed cuttle fish with Red Beer.
Roots 2 Luong Ngoc Quyen. The reggae and Latin music pumping out of the sound system make this a weekend favourite for those who want