Following up on my guide to cafes in Ho Chi Minh City I now present my guide to cafes in Hanoi.
In my previous cafe reports I have usually had at least a month to try out the cafes of each city. My trip to Hanoi was for one week, so this meant I had to pace my cafe visits in addition to making time to revisit my favourites. It was something of an occupational hazard to visit so many cafes in a week, but it was worth it.
Like in Saigon there are a countless amount of cafes all over Hanoi, ranging from vendors with little plastic chairs on the side of the street, cafes in the front room of family homes, and smoky karaoke dens. For street cafes you won’t need my help: you only have to walk outside your hotel and you will soon find a cafe. For the purpose of this blog I have listed cafes that have wifi and are suitable for digital nomads to work in.
At the end of this post I’ve also included some cafes that you should visit for a different coffee experience.
Hoan Kiem District
Puku Cafe & Bar
I arrived in Hanoi with my friend Dan, who is also living in Saigon. He came to Hanoi to soak up the writerly vibes that this city emanates while finishing his book. I was happy to have a fellow cafe fiend on the trail and he recommended we come here first. This was a great first choice and we ended up revisiting a few times over the course of the week. They serve good espresso coffee and it is open 24 hours, in case you want to work or hang out into the wee hours.
Location: 18 Tong Duy Tan, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Website: foursquare.com/v/puku-caf%C3%A9–bar/4c264ed4f1272d7f285686c5
Other Reviews: Our Man In Hanoi
Comga Cafe & Bar
A sister cafe of Puku (or I’m assuming they are seeing they both have the same distinct typeface), this cafe also serves Lavazza coffee and has indoor and outdoor seating upstairs.
Location: 1 Cua Dong (corner Hang Ga and Cua Dong), Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Website: www.facebook.com/COMGACafeBar
The Hanoi Social Club
As soon as I walked into the Hanoi Social Club I had this sensation of feeling at home. As it turns out one of the co-owners is from Melbourne, which explains that homely feeling for me. If I was living in Hanoi I would be a regular here for sure.
Location: 6 Hoi Vu, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Website: www.facebook.com/TheHanoiSocialClub
Other Reviews: Rusty Compass
Cong Caphe
Cong Caphe have six branches in Hanoi. I like the arty vibe of this cafe group and I ended up visiting three of the six. I would have liked to have completed the Cong set of six, but there is only so much coffee you can drink in a week.
The cafes are decorated with communist posters and American-Vietnam War era trinkets, and serve different styles of Vietnamese coffee. My favourite branch is on Nguyen Huu Huan in the Old Quarter, which has a corner balcony upstairs overlooking the crazy streets of Hanoi.
Location: 35A Nguyen Huu Huan, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi (and other locations)
Website: congcaphe.com
Highlands Coffee
Highlands Coffee are a chain that can be found across Vietnam, so you won’t need to try hard to find a branch. I just wanted to add this one for the location. If you go to the roundabout at the northern end of the Hoan Kiem Lake there is a giant building that occupies a whole block. There are several cafes inside that overlook the lake, and I thought the Highlands was the best pick of those cafes.
Location: 5 Dinh Tien Hoang St, Hoan Kiem Disrict, Hanoi
Website: foursquare.com/v/highlands-coffee/4b4d4e69f964a52073d026e3
Moca Cafe
Moca Cafe is near St Josephs Cathedral and is set in a lovely colonial era building.
Location: 16 Nha Tho, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Website: 4sq.com/myy3sq
Joma Bakery Cafe
For those who have been to Laos, you might remember Joma from Vientiane and Luang Prabang. There are two branches in Hanoi and there is a bakery attached to the cafe (and a good one at that). I went to the one near the Cathedral.
Location: 22 Ly Quoc Su, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Website: www.joma.biz
Ba Dinh District
The Kafe
One of the hippest cafes I visited, and another cafe with some Australian influence (the head chef is from Sydney). It was crazy busy when I went, though that might have been due to it being a public holiday.
Location: 18 Dien Bien Phu St, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Website: www.thekafe.vn
Copyright © 2014 by Nomadic Notes. This article was written by James Clark and originally published at nomadicnotes.com
