Update: Feb 2025

Hanoi – Heaven of street foods ranging from snacks to main dishes that get you full up all night or sweet deserts for desert lovers. Everyone can find their favourite when strolling around Hanoi’s Old Quarter. All the best street food is being sold here, and you can’t try it all in one day. I’m sure of this since there are too many good things to choose from. Let’s see some of our picks and taste them for yourself when you are in Hanoi.

Pho Bo (Beef noodle)

Pho Bo is arguably the most well-known Vietnamese soup. It was inspired by French settlers who commonly ate beef, whereas Vietnamese traditionally preferred pork, chicken, and fish (while using cattle as work animals). Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the number of soup kitchens has risen significantly, and Pho Bo has become the favourite dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in Hanoi and throughout Vietnam.

• Pho Bat Dan: 49 Bat Dan Street or 34 Au Trieu (google map)
• Pho Manh Cuong: 23 Hang Muoi Street (google map)
• Pho Thin: 13 Lo Duc Street (google map)
• Pho Ly Quoc Su: 10 Ly Quoc Su Street (google map)
• Pho Suong: 24 Trung Yen Alley, Dinh Liet Street (google map)

Hanoi’s Phở Xào (stir-fried pho) is a delicious twist on the traditional Vietnamese pho. Instead of being served in broth, the flat rice noodles are stir-fried until slightly crispy or tender, depending on the style. They are then combined with beef, fresh vegetables like bok choy or bean sprouts, and a savoury sauce made from soy sauce, oyster sauce, and garlic.

This dish offers a rich umami flavor, with a perfect balance of textures—chewy noodles, tender beef, and crunchy vegetables. Often enjoyed with a side of pickled chilli or a squeeze of lime, Phở Xào is a favourite street food in Hanoi, providing a quick, flavorful meal that locals love. It’s a must-try dish when exploring the capital’s vibrant food scene, whether you try it at a small roadside eatery or a well-known restaurant.

• Pho Xao Phu My: 45B Bat Dan Street (google map)
• Ba Thanh Beo: 11 Hang Buom Street (google map)

Pho Ga (Chicken noodle soup)

Phở gà (chicken pho) is lighter than beef pho, and it is a natural remedy for a common cold. Similar to beef pho, it is usually served with chopped spring onions, coriander, onion slices and also quẩy, deep-fried flour-based snacks that are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Locals tend to dip them into their soup to let them absorb the tasty broth. The Vietnamese prefer chicken thighs to breasts, so chicken thigh pho is a little more expensive.

You can find it at:

• Pho Ga – 15 Hang Hom street (google map)
• Pho Ga Nguyet – 5b Phu Doan Street Hoan Kiem District (google map)
• Pho Ga 26 – 26 Luong Van Can street (google map)
• Pho Tình: 42 Quan Thanh street (google map)

Bun Cha

Bun Cha has long been a staple in Vietnamese cuisine, loved by people of all ages. Whether it’s early in the morning or late at night, you’ll find locals savouring this flavorful dish at street stalls and family-run eateries. Originating in Hanoi over 60 years ago, Bún Chả remains a beloved culinary treasure, standing the test of time.

This dish is a harmonious blend of smoky grilled pork, delicate vermicelli noodles, fragrant fresh herbs, and a signature sweet-sour dipping sauce. Its perfect balance of flavours and textures makes it an irresistible choice for anyone who appreciates authentic Vietnamese cuisine.

You can find it at:

• Bun Cha Lien Huong – Bun Cha Obama: 24 Le Van Huu street (google map)
• Bun Cha Que Tre Binh Chung: 242 Hang Bong Street (direction)
• Bun Cha Tuyet: 34 Hang Than (google map)
• Bun Cha Nem 41 Cua Dong street (google map)
• Bun Cha 74 Hang Quat street (google map)

Cha Ca La Vong

Cha Ca La Vong gives its best taste when it is still boiling in a vegetable oil pan. Eating this special dish requires some techniques for the best enjoyment: grasp a piece of fish and then use a spoon to draw some boiling oil in the pan to pour onto it and eat with rice vermicelli, peanuts, coriander, dill, spiced fresh onion and an indispensable ingredient – mắm tôm (fish sauce).

You can find it at:

• Cha Ca Thang Long: 2D or 6D Duong Thanh street  (google map)
• Vua Cha Ca: 1 Dinh Tien Hoang street (google map)
• Cha Ca Phan: 20 Xom Ha Hoi Street (google map)

Bun bo Nam Bo

Bun Bo Nam Bo (beef noodles in the South) is also known as stirred beef vermicelli. This dish is described as simple and elegant. Instead of using sophisticated broth like Pho, the sauce is used for Bun Bo Nam Bo. Fresh, raw vegetables, fried onion, roasted peanuts, and bean sprouts are indispensable elements. The beef used for the dish is well-soaked in sugar, fish sauce, pepper, and other seasonings.

You can find it at: Bach Phuong 73-75 Hang Dieu street (google map)

Fried fermented pork roll

If you ask every Hanoian what their favourite snack is, most of them will say Fried pork roll. For easy understanding, it’s like Vietnamese pork sausage eaten together with a dip in chilli sauce. The fried pork roll is usually a snack for an afternoon when people sit in small plastic chairs in the street with their friends. The side dishes of fried pork rolls are fresh cucumber or yum bean with a cup of iced tea.

You can find it at:

• Tam Thuong Alley (google map)
• Ngot Ran – 38 Hang Bong street (google map)

Bun Thang ( Hot rice noodle)

Yes, Hanoi is a paradise of noodles. You can’t count how many kinds of noodles that Hanoi proudly has. However, in my opinion, Bun Thang is the special signature noodle that you can only find the best in Hanoi. The “Thang” in its name originates from the way the dish is prepared. Because it takes so many ingredients to perfect the dish, people link the process to the process of old Vietnamese pharmacists preparing herbal medicine for their clients/patients.

You can find it at:

• Bun Thang Co Binh – 29 Cau Go street (google map)
• Lan Lun – 5 Hang Thiec street (google map)

Banh Cuon (Steamed pork wraps)

Banh cuon is a pork and mushroom filling wrapped in freshly steamed rice paper and topped with crunchy fried shallots. Fish sauce, chillies, and fresh herbs are served alongside. Eat it all in one bite for maximum deliciousness! Cinnamon pork is often offered as an accompaniment, too.

You can find it at:

• Hong Anh 37D Hang Vai Street (google map)
• Quang An 71 Hang Bo Street (google map)
• Thanh Van – 12 Hang Ga Street (google map)

Xoi (sticky rice)

Xôi is a sweet (ngọt) or savoury (mặn) Vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice and other ingredients. It will be a big miss if you come to Hanoi without trying “xoi”. Made from sticky rice, xoi has as many variants as you can imagine. “Xoi” is a very common food in Vietnam, and one can find it anywhere from the roadside vendors to luxuriously traditional restaurants. Xôi is a common on-the-go breakfast item and a popular snack nationwide.

We have 2 kinds of xoi: bean xoi and salt with sauce and meat

• Bean Xoi: sticky rice with beans such as corn, peanut, back bean, and green beans with sugar on the top
• Salt xoi or Xoi xeo: sticky rice coloured yellow, topped with fried onion and ground mung beans (~VND 15,000), sauce, pate, grilled pork, beef jerky or Chinese sausage (lap xuong).

You can find it at:

• Xoi Cat Lam: 24B Duong Thanh Street (google map)
• Xoi Bu – 61 Lo Duc street (google map)
• Xoi Yen – 35B Nguyen Huu Huan street (google map)

Banh duc (Hot rice cake)

Banh duc (rice cake) is a cake made from non-glutinous rice flour. In the north, it is typically garnished with savoury ingredients such as ground pork, grilled ground shrimp, fried onions, sesame seeds, salt, peanuts, lime juice, and soy sauce or fish sauce.

You can find it at: 28 Hang Be street (google map)

Fried soya cheese with sauce of maserated shrimp noodle

The famous noodle that not every foreigner would have a bravery to try because the smell of the shrimp sauce. But we Vietnamese love it since behind the smell (which is unavoidable) the taste is pretty sweet and the combination of rice noodle, soya cheese and shrimp sauce brings joy to your mouth. Hanoians also add sliced boiled pork and its black pudding for more flavor while chewing.

You can find it at:

• Bun Dau Co Hoa – 25 Au Trieu street (google map)
• Bun Dau 1 Dong Thai – Hang Buom (google map)
• Bun Dau Huong 55 Phat Loc alley (google map)
• Bun Dau Co Tuyen 31 Hang Khay street (google map)

Bun Oc (Snail noodles)

Like the French, the Vietnamese eat snails, but not the same kind. They eat Oc (Vietnamese freshwater snails), which are smaller and chewier than their land-based cousins. Cooked snails are arranged neatly in a bowl of bún (rice vermicelli) with fried tofu and fresh herbs. The dish is finished with a hot, sweet, and sour broth poured over all of the cold ingredients. Finally, a few slices of cooked tomatoes are placed on top.

You can find it at:

• Bun Oc Co hue: 43 Nguyen Sieu street (google map)
• Bun Oc Suon 57 Hai Ba Trung Street (google map)
• Bun Co Them: 6 Hang Chai street (google map).

Bun Rieu

Bún (rice vermicelli) wonderfully complements shellfish, and it is eaten with both ốc (freshwater snails) and riêu (minced freshwater mini crabs). Similar to bún ốc, bún riêu is served with fried tofu and, sometimes, thinly sliced beef fillet.

You can find it at:

• Bun riêu Trang: 23 Nguyen Sieu street (google map)
• Bun ziu Co Yen: 54 Hang Bun street (google map)

Mien Luon (Eel noodles)

The main ingredients of miến lươn are miến (cellophane noodles), lươn (eels), fried shallots, bean sprouts and cilantro. The eels are usually deep fried to eliminate their fishy smell and to add a tasty, crunchy touch to the dish. In Chân Cầm street, Minh Lan restaurant specializes in eel dishes, and apart from eel noodle soup, you can also try eel soup and stir-fried eel noodle.

You can find it at:

• Minh Lan: 1 Chan Cam street (google map)
• Quan Luon – 34 Yen Ninh Street (google map)
• Dong Thinh: 87 Hang Dieu street (google map)

Bun Ngan

Bun Ngan is a lesser-known yet delicious dish in Hanoi’s vibrant street food scene. This flavorful noodle soup features tender braised or boiled ngan (is a species of goose, but it is smaller in size and has more tender meat compared to regular geese), served with soft vermicelli noodles in a fragrant, savoury broth. The broth, typically simmered for hours with goose bones, and various spices, creates a rich and deeply satisfying taste.

A bowl of Bún Ngan is often garnished with fresh herbs, bamboo shoots, and sometimes a hint of chilli for an extra kick. Some variations include a dipping sauce made, adding a unique umami flavour. Would you like me to add recommendations for good places to try Bún Ngan in Hanoi?

You can find it at:

• Huyen Anh: 39 Nguyen Du street (google map)
• The Gioi Ngan: 49 Ngo Quyen street (google map)

Boiled snail

In the list of Hanoi street foods, perhaps boiled snails are a delicious dish that many people mention. Unlike fried or roasted tamarind types of snail in Saigon, genuine snail in Hanoi is one kind of swirl, rock or jackfruit snail, which is commonly known by the familiar names as “big snails, small snails”, boiled with lemongrass and lime leaves, served with chilli sauce with fresh ginger, taken by real grapefruit linen or 1 sharp tinplate pieces.

You can find it at: Ha Trang – 1A Dinh Liet Street (google map)

If you’re searching for a great place to enjoy lunch or dinner, we’ve curated a list of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Hanoi for you to explore: https://alotravelasia.com/top-restaurants-for-lunch-and-dinner-in-hanoi-old-quarter/