Little Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant Review (Lonely Planet)
Little Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant Review (Lonely Planet)
As recommended by Lonely Planet, we went to the Little Hanoi Restaurant in Hoan Kiem or also known as the Old Quarter of Hanoi. We walked for the whole day in Hanoi but the lovely winter weather made it easier for us, no sweat or tears.
We heard so many good raves and reviews on this restaurant and it was dubbed as “the must try restaurant in Hanoi”. The last stop before Little Hanoi was Dong Xuan market and we got lost on our inaccurate map and we found it thanks to the locals.
Little Hanoi as “recommend by Lonely Planet…”.
It was a restaurant on the first floor but it was not as packed as we imagined. Finnegan, the Irish bar next door was more happening. You can’t miss the sign, as the light lit signage reads “Recommend by Lonely Planet….”.
We took the steep steps onto the first floor and it was empty. We were sure we were at the right place so we didn’t bother and the interior itself was a beauty.
Interior of Little Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant.
The menu was strongly influenced by the Sino-Vietnamese culture. Some of the dishes available can be found in many parts of Asia influenced the Chinese community. Instead of taking the recommended dishes, we ordered two dishes on our preference.
Biere Larue anyone?
We ordered a large Biere Larue for 20,000 VND / US$ 1 and it was good. I tried to do some research on this beer and I couldn’t find it on the Internet, how disappointing. From what I read, Biere Larue is produced by Heineken International but not much info I can dig such as the history and so on.
Back to the food, it was the Deep Squid with sesame, butter, garlic and lemon for 80,000 VND / US$ 4 per plate. The squid was deep fried to perfection and coated with a layer of sesame with hints of butter, garlic and lemon. The sesame coating of the squid was slightly too much to our liking and it overshadowed the taste of the squid.
Next was the Grilled Pork with citron, chili and caramel for 70,000 VND / US$ 3.50. We thought this was above average, pork was cooked to perfection and it had strong hints of lemongrass instead of the chili and caramel.
We found comfort dining in Little Hanoi restaurant but the food was not as impressive as what we read.
The bill came to 175,000 VND / US$ 8 and it was indeed cheap. The food was overrated by Lonely Planet and it was just above average to our liking. To be fair, we didn’t try their recommended dishes and this was based on our preferences. Give it a try and we don’t mind to have an opinion or two for this restaurant.
Little Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant Address, Tel, Contact and Map:
Tạ Hiện, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 3828 4461
View Little Hanoi Vietnamese Restaurant as recommended by Lonely Planet in a larger map
