The New Hanoian

Well, as far as I saw, this restaurant is really worth trying. As for the food, I only tried the pork ribs (or something similar, my memory leaks a bit here) but if everything is like this, it's great.

Apart from this, I saw a nice and quiet atmosphere, very friendly staff, a good selection of wines... Definitely a place I would go back to.

We've been here several times and its always been very exquisite and tasty food, with a friendly, personal touch to the place. A trusted restaurant for just having a quiet, delicious Western/Fusion dinner with good service and large drink selection.

b(LA)h: What happened to the flavor? We ended up trying all the soups in search of something called taste. The soups sounded so delicious on paper like the lentils with smoked ham. We even ended up sending back a dish because the pork was like chewing on a chicklet. We also tried a few starters, like the salmon with creme fraiche but three tiny, thin pieces for 150,000?

So-La: I can only sing your praises for the service which was nice, quick and pleasant. But I was ready to get out of there and move on from the experience.

** your menu sounds delicious,it truly tempted us when we were walking by but it certainly did not satisfy our palates.

Went here on a trip to Hanoi. I thought the food was great but the service particularly a tall caucasian gentleman who was either the owner or manager awful. He was more concerned with the women in the restaurant than anything else, including the service given to the other patrons. Our simple appetizers took 30 minutes to come out of the kitchen and his only response when we complained was "you need to be patient". Pity because the food was good but I'll go someplace else next time.

I've been here a couple more times since my last review and there's really no reason why La can't live up to expectations... but it doesn't quite make it.

Most notably, there are no vegetarian mains on the menu - most strange in a western restaurant. The most they can offer is a pasta with the meat taken out or an onion tart. Not very exciting. Vegetarians beware!

And yes, the meats are all well cooked, or overdone, and drowned in gravy. Even after the staff ask you how you like your meat done.

Thirdly, get a wine fridge people or keep your wines somewhat chilled. A warm pinot noir on a hot summer night is a less than happy experience.

Yes, the staff are friendly and there's plenty of ambiance but the food is not quite worth the money.