All Reviews
Still my number one coffee spot, where the coffee feels like velvet in your mouth. They do ready made ice coffee mix in bottles which you can take home and add ice and condense milk too-it helps a lot when you can just never get your drip coffee to taste the same way as it does in the cafe!
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the ugliest building has the nicest view and the most ordinary food & drink in Hanoi
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I think the reason Solace doesn't get a better ranking is because the people who enjoy the place are probably still drunk somewhere.
It's a big sweatbox with top 40s hip hop where people go to have a good time after 12. To say that the crowd is this or that implies that you're in a state where you can notice the people around you, which is not the place you want to be if you go to Solace. The pervasive groping (by men for men) is the only thing that bugs me. Other than that, its a great place to go act stupid.
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Amigo is centrally located and could be a winner, but is unfortunately totally mediocre.
How many cafes have you been to in this city that just don't quite pull the trigger? Add this one to the list.
I don't quite get the "...good products" comment. Tiger and Heineken are pretty universally available around Hanoi, and the food here is mos def nothing special.
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A Hanoian blogger, Stickyrice, called this place a find. But to me, it was a big disappointment.
It was far from being a Thai restaurant. Aside from not being hot enough, at least in the dishes that I ordered, the coconut milk that they claim to use in their curry tasted more like coconut water.
And for the quality of the cooking (which was as prosaic as they come), the price was steep. 231K for 3 insipid dishes. The mathematical equation sign was way out of balance. It did not compute. I would even dare to say that I can whip up better thai food than the cook in this joint, even if I buy the ingredients myself with only half the amount that I paid.
Maybe it's because I spent some time in Thailand and regularly gorged myself on Thai food, or because I come from a country where cooking with coconut milk is as regular as a daily shower, but I think that the Thai cooking in this place deserves only 3 stars at the most, and that's being generous.
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think the rows of complex hotels-restaurants-dorms in hang bac,hang be.. r of the same quality. cheap and nasty.
recommended for cheap backpacks only.
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Red Apple is Prince 79 Hotel's attempt at a restaurant. There really is no reason to eat here unless you happen to be staying at the hotel and need something quick and easy.
Their menu is a mixture of Vietnamese and Italian dishes, and from the looks of everything I've seen here, most are not decent representations of either cuisine. I decided to get a small sample of both. The "cha ca" was a platter of old, dry, microwaved fish jerky with rice paper, and the "pizza bread" was a normal baguette with a little ketchup and something that resembled mozzarella cheese, but had no distinguishable taste.
They advertise several vegetarian dishes, but I'm not going to bother trying them.
The friendly waitresses and cleanliness are the only factors keeping this place from achieving a one-star review.
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The general ambiance here is very enjoyable, and much (but not all) of the huge amount of art adorning the walls is excellent. Perhaps sensitive souls might find a couple of anguished expressionist portraits to be slightly unsettling to look on while eating. I like them, though, and even tried (unsuccessfully) buying one of them once.
The antiques (?) and traditional furniture are also nice to rest your eyes on. I prefer not to rest my bum on the furniture however, since the dining area upstairs, where you sit on the floor, is more intimate and enjoyable than the downstairs table seating.
This is not a very touristy place, and a great part of the typical crowd you will encounter here are Vietnamese families. That means it can get quite noisy on a Saturday evening, and you should be prepared to have kids playing and running around your table. For me, that just makes the restaurant feel more alive and relaxed. But this is not the place to go for a romantic candle-lit dinner.
The food can be a bit uneven. The Bo Luc Lac is really great, so is the tofu in tomato sauce. The Nem are not that amazing, and some of the meat dishes are bloody horrible: stay away from the "fighting cock" and the buffalo meat. Both are almost impossible to eat, even if you wash them down with copious amounts of beer, since the texture is like a mix between rubber and wet wood. Given that the prices are so low, I usually try to order something new every time - along with a tried and trusted option as backup. And the menu has plenty of interesting options to explore, which you will not see in that many other establishments around town.
The staff are indeed, as has been pointed out, not very attentive. Neither is their English very good. But they are friendly and pretty cheerful.
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This Highlands really isn't much use for anything more than its convenient location and free wifi. The seating sucks, and there are always way too many tourists taking up time and space. Also, its open plan design offers no privacy and feels more like the school cafeteria in Fast Times than the obvious attempt at Central Perk.
And the cake? I didn't find it so incredible.
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I agree with some of the previous reviewers in that you can't expect an authentic Mexican meal in Vietnam. Furthermore, with a name like Havana Club for a Mexican restaurant I don't think they're really going for authenticity, and if so, their geography leaves a lot to be desired. As TexMexViet goes, however, this place was pretty tasty. The nachos left something to be desired, not nearly enough guacamole or sour cream on the side to suffice, and softish corn chips a little unlike what I've seen before (and I lived in Mexico for 8 months). But the flavours were good and simple. At the end of the day, Mexican food of this sort (moles and southern specialties aside) is pretty bloody simple and shouldn't be too hard to do well - tomato, coriander, lime, salt, chilli, onion, with rice, meat, beans and varieties thereof in either flour or corn tortillas, maybe some salty cheese. If I can cook it I promise its not too challenging. The quesadillas were about right; the fajitas were fantastic, a generous portion served in a claypot with tortillas and salsas and condiments on the side so you can make them yourself, just as they should be. The burrito also looked pretty tasty from the other side of the table. The place also has charm. When my friend arrived early to meet us and asked what time it was, the bartender replied "Happy Hour". Now it may be this guy didn't fully understand the question but I prefer to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's just really in character when it comes to playing the latino bartender - either way, good call. The cocktails were really tasty. Mostly citrus based, just as in Mexico, where there are so many limes they simply have to put them in everything, and really strong. From Mojitos to Sex on the Beach to some Electric Lemonade or the like, they were much better than I expected and decent value for money. Like other reviewers I didn't have the courage to fork out upwards of 400k for things such as steak, but I liked the TexMexViet menu. The decor is kinda fun too, pictures of Fidel and Che among other random latino looking wall pieces and empty, and full, bottles of alcohol (not always Havana Club either) used as decoration. I thought perhaps with Mexican food there might be a few premium tequila options, but was disappointed to just find crappy Cuervo Gold. Good fun though, this place, especially with a group, and with the various special evenings it could probably come out cheaper than it was for me if you timed your visit.
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Really great place for Japanese Pancake. I was told by Japanese friends that it was their specialty.
Really great food and nice staff.
I've been there already 3 times and was never disappointed.
Highly recommended!
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It's hard to pinpoint this one, which I guess means the drinks, food, and service are somewhat inconsistent.
On my first visit several months ago I had a perfect iced latte, which I continued to order just to stay on the safe side. Eventually I switched to the strawberry-banana smoothie, which was equally enjoyable.
Then I got adventurous and decided to have lunch. The first meal was a success - a simple panini, toasted to perfection (back when they had focaccia; I didn't realize they ran out). So a few weeks later I ordered another panini, but it was puny and disgusting. I gave up on the food.
With the recent cold snap I decided it was time for a hot latte, which I now typically order to take away. It's sometimes painful watching the barista trainees stumble through the process of making a drink, only to have it come out all wrong. At least they are friendly (or at least they have a smile plastered on their faces at all times).
I still go in often, and now the Vietnamese manager recognizes me and knows exactly what I'll order. This is a nice change of pace from when she tried to sell a half-full granita, saying we had to pay more to get a full cup. (The Aussie mgr stepped in on that one.)
Give it a try and stay positive - most likely you'll have a good experience.
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I only visited Bookworm once at the old location, so I can't really compare the stores, but they are definitely top of the list when it comes to buying new or used English books.
I love giving books as gifts, especially to children. I recently browsed through their selection of picture books and I was pleasantly surprised by the variety in level and content (lots of great non-fiction for kids).
As mentioned by other reviewers the owners are extremely friendly and helpful, even if that just means getting you out the door quickly when you're clearly in a rush. Hopefully my next visit will be more leisurely and I can find some gifts for myself.
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I second everything Finnamacool said. I've been going every now and again since I arrived in Hanoi in Feb and have yet to be disappointed. Great food, and great value for money. I've often gone near 7 pm to find them shutting down; having run out of food so best to get there 6:30 max.
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Walked in and got my teeth cleaned. Was in and out in 20 minutes, and it was a thorough job. My teeth are sparkly clean. For 100,000 dong, I fear it may become addictive.
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Like some of the other reviewers I can't find enough good things to say about Green Mango. Having now been there enough to get to know staff and management personally I am a little biased, but it simply ticks all the boxes. The venue itself, and decor, is simply stunning, which creates a really warm and cozy environment, especially but not only for a date. There is often some pretty good live music, they know how to make cocktail, the staff are lovely and attentive, and finally, the food is probably consistently the best European style cuisine I've had in Hanoi (they also do Vietnamese, but I tend to save that for cheaper places). I've never had a bad meal and I've now been through almost the entire menu, which is admittedly small, but they just expanded it slightly. Among the many highlights for me is the scallop salad, white pizza, or lamb shank, and finally it is one of the few places I fully trust to properly cook a fillet mignon. What I also like is that you can actually adjust the menu slightly without fear of everything going pear-shaped. Switching the lamb shank polenta for potato mash, for example, is not a problem, you might have to speak slightly slowly (if you're speaking in English, which, surprise surprise - I tend to do!) but the staff won't walk away until they've actually understood what you asked for rather than taking a wild stab. The freshly baked bread which comes out when you sit down also deserves a mention. Finally, Mr. Hai and team are now beginning to consistently throw some of the better fundraisers and Saturday night parties Hanoi has going, with great food, obviously, good drinks, and wonderful music. The new happy-two-hours addition just makes the place all the more irresistible.
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A fantastic and reliable sandwich outlet. Apparently this place has Hanoi's largest cheese selection, which makes sense, and also has a wonderful variety of cold cut meats. They're sandwiches are generously sized for between 50-70k dong, depending on how fancy you go in the cheese and meat category. Symo's review was spot on, and I only wish he'd or someone else had told me about this place long ago. In addition to take away sandwiches to munch down while people watching at one of the local parks, on the one occasion I nipped upstairs to try the restaurant for lunch I was pretty surprised to find a fairly upmarketish French restaurant, with no hint of the deli sandwiches downstairs. The 89k lunch menu, however, is simply great value. As previous reviewers have mentioned, you get three small but tasty courses, including a steak or even duck option for the main, and I had a simple and delicious tomato, fresh basil and feta salad for entree. For curiosity's sake I'll continue to try every deli in Hanoi on the hunt for an even better lunchtime sanga, but in the meantime this place is super reliable, pretty reasonably priced for a French delicatessan (except for the booze, which is very steep, consistently a few 10s of thousands higher than a local Vietnamese shop), and conveniently delivers if you don't have time or can't be bothered getting out of the office at lunchtime. Appropriately named, well done Au Delice and keep up the good work.
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Fox Music & Movies has been my steady supplier of films for a couple years now, and I don't have any reason to change.
They are THE place to go for independent films, documentaries, foreign films (a large selection of Japanese, French, Chinese, Korean, British, and Scandinavian, among others), blockbusters, and just about any other genre you could imagine. They also have an impressive selection of zombie films, by the way.
Each genre is separated into its own little bin to make browsing more convenient. Admittedly, browsing can be a chore at times, as they seem to cram WAY TOO MANY dvd's into those tiny bins. It's a lot easier if you take out several discs and place them on the floor while you flip through the remaining discs.
If you're looking for a specific movie, don't waste your time flipping through the thousands of titles. Just write down the name and hand it to them, and they can easily look it up on the computer and pull up a copy.
There is an issue with quality control at this shop. At least one or two out of every ten discs has problems. It might be the wrong title. It might not play at all. They will need to get this ironed out if they want to compete with some of the other big players in town.
Fortunately, they have no problem exchanging bad discs for anyone. I just toss mine into my motorbike seat and drop them off for exchange whenever I'm in the area. They've never given me any crap for bringing discs back.
Even if you don't have a film in mind, stop by some day and flip through those old bins. It ain't pretty, but you'll find some pleasant surprises.
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During my stay in Hanoi, several family members & friends showed up in Hanoi. Due to the great experience with this small, elegant and nice place I put all of them in the "Golden Sun Hotel". The owner Ms Moon and her staff are without exception just perfect and offer a very relaxing retreat in the middle of the old quarter: exceptional friendly, professional and enthousiastic. They also help in arranging tours - believe it or not: their prices for flights to Laos are cheaper than the ones quoted by Vietnam airlines!
The rooms are elegantly furnished and the bathrooms are western standard. If you go for a more spacious Deluxe Room you even have a nice view overlooking Hoan Kiem, as well as from the breakfast room on the 7th floor (elevator). Breakfast is included and tasty, "a la carte" style". The Hotels also provides free Welcome bottles of water and fresh fruits, a (cheap) minibar and free internet access to their guests. Golden Sun is located in the quiet Hanh Hanh Street, which means directly in the centre of the old quarter, but not noisy at all and very few traffic. Can not recommend enough this Hotel, and all my visitors staying at this Hotel raved about the rooms, view, location and staff.
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this is truly a place for hard-core film nerds..with a huge selection of obscure, hard -to-find movies...
the smart pretty pregnant landlady is very helpful (with her english skill & film knowledge..).
i'd gladly give 5star if their other shift's silly staff didnt put in wrong movies ,at times.
anyway , the people dere r friendly & eazy 2 deal with.
highly recommended
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