Hi guys, I’ve just come back from Vietnam. This is a charming country with hospitality people, natural sightseeing and diversity of culture, especially cuisine. One of the most attractive things to me is Vietnamese coffee. So, as a coffeeholic, I’m gonna share with you my 5 favourite coffee shops in Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam. These are also in the list of locals, so I believe that when you visit these places, you’ll learn much about Vietnamese coffee culture.
Actually, there are plenty of cafes on every street in Hanoi, and many are popular with tourists, such as Xofa, Highlands coffee, Trung Nguyen E-coffee, etc. Therefore, I’ll only mention the probably less popular ones that I found out through my trip.
Note: Many friends of mine asked me how I stayed in Vietnam for a long time. Actually I did apply for a Vietnam visa to enjoy Vietnam as much as possible, especially coffee 😀 I applied Vietnam tourist visa and got it through https://www.vietnamvisa.org.vn/. It’s very simple, I just registered on a visa application form online, paid money then waited for the approval letter. When landing at Noi Bai international airport, there was an agent help me to transfer my visa, so I didn’t have to wait for a long time. If you’re also a coffee lover like me, you should request one 😉
Now, let’s turn to our concerns.
1- Tranquil
- Address:
+ 5 & 8 Nguyen Quang Bich, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
+ 18B Nguyen Bieu, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
+ 15B Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
+ 3 Hang Manh, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi - Opening hours: 8:00 AM – 10:30 PM everyday
This is the shop with the most facilities compared to all the shops I’ll mention, and is also a place for those who come to study and work. I’ve just visited the facilities in Nguyen Quang Bich and Nguyen Bieu Str., and overall, Tranquil is totally like its name: extremely quiet and cozy, also smells of coffee that made me feel chill with every layer.
I’ve tried affogato and latte here, all are good. I also heard that grapefruit tea shakes isn’t a bad choice.
2- The Berryfield
- Address: 10B Nguyen Che Nghia, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM everyday
Another tranquil but not the above “Tranquil” =))) This is a tiny specialty cafe located on the 2nd floor in a small street in the heart of Hanoi. As a specialty shop, The Berryfield takes great care of coffee’s taste. You should come here to enjoy a real coffee’s world. I was very impressed with the vibe here, peaceful in the way that many people say that is inherent peace of Hanoi.
Cold brew and Bon Bon coffee didn’t let me down. The cold brew wasn’t too sour and easy to drink; while bon bon is gentle, floating when drinking. However, the staff here was a bit cheesy, they didn’t seem very welcoming. It was not until I asked them about coffee, that they were more relaxed, and passionately provided me with a variety of interesting information.
3- Drew coffee
- Address: 6B Cua Dong, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM everyday
While visiting Phung Hung fresco street, I saw Drew. It’s just a small but very crowded shop, which made me very curious and decided to turn in to see. Ohh, this shop named the drinks very interesting, which are August, November and December. According to a description from the staff, I’m pretty sure they were named because it was suitable for the weather in Hanoi at that time, isn’t it interesting?? :))) I chose December because it was a cold day. This is a combination of coffee and butter so it’s served hot only. OMG!!! How could this little cafe own such a delicious drink? The bitterness of the coffee and the greasy butter are an ingenious combination. This will probably be the most memorable drink in Vietnam for me.
4- Le Beret
- Address: 1H Phan Boi Chau, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
- Opening hours: 6:30 AM – 11:00 PM everyday
This is a small coffee shop with both inside and outside tables. With deep brown wood tone combined with yellow lights, Le Beret becomes extremely cozy and peaceful even though the outside is a busy downtown street. Another great plus point is the staff, extremely careful and paying attention to every inch. When I ordered a drink, the staff was very dedicated to advising which drink to choose, showing me how to enjoy my coffee. They were so interested in asking me if the drink was good enough, the music was too loud, etc.
I sat at the bar, and it was a pretty great experience, because the bartenders were very happy to tell me stories about their coffee and shop. And I also knew one thing, if you want something else that’s not on the menu, you can go to the bar to get their recommendation.
In Le Beret, you should try… hmmm, you know, it’s so hard for me to choose the best of the best, lmao :))). Coffee here is great, the vibe is also. It absolutely depends on your mood, your preferences to find the most suitable drink. Well, I think you should try Full Moon (on a hot day), Malibu coffee (on a cold day), they’re all made in their own recipe.
5- Blackbird
- Address:
+ 5 Chan Cam, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
+ 63B Lan Ong, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi - Opening hours: 7:00 AM – 9:30 PM everyday
Blackbird with orange tones always stands out in the street. Blackbird Chan Cam is petite, with a tiny attic; while Blackbird Lan Ong is much bigger, with 2 spacious floors. Both facilities have inside and outside spaces. On a nice day, I highly recommend you to sit in the outside space, sip coffee and enjoy Hanoi’s vibe.
In Blackbird, you should try “bạc xỉu”, kinda Vietnamese coffee with both fresh milk and condensed milk. No matter how many shops I went to, “bạc xỉu” in Blackbird is the most delicious, the most aromatic, not too sweet; its bitter coffee taste is slight, not too harsh, very easy to drink. In addition to the coffee, there is also delicious juice, tea and croissants, please try it.
Thanks a lot for reading till the end. I hope you can get some useful information or travel motivation from my sharing. About Vietnam visa, don’t worry if you don’t know much about the policy, the visa consultants of the agency I’ve mentioned will help whenever you need, just tell them.