Hanoi’s Oldest Coffee Houses
Hanoians have drunk coffee for more than a hundred year since the late 19th century when the French brought it – “such drink which is as dark as sewage and tastes bitter” according to an old newspaper then – into Hanoi. Coffee was meant in the first place to serve French soldiers and officers staying in Vietnam during the war, and later, Vietnamese people – mostly revolutionary scholars or students who just came back from France, though. As it was an unfamiliar and luxurious beverage at that time, it was not until the very first coffee houses were opened by Vietnamese owners in the 1940s that people from all walks of life started to have coffee as a common drink besides green tea and “nước vối” (a drink that is cooked from leaves of a tropical tree whose scientific name is Cleistocalyx operculatus). Roasting, grinding, making coffee in their own distinct, delicate way without much change over the years, these cafes have stood the test of time and are still in business now, becoming a reminder of Hanoi’s old days.
Contents
Giảng
Giảng, one of the most popular cafés in Hanoi, was named after its founder - Mr. Nguyen Van Giang - a former bartender at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel from 1930 to 1945. After retiring, Mr. Nguyen himself created a new kind of coffee inspired by cappuccino - the egg coffee or “cà phê trứng” - and opened his first shop in 90 Cau Go in 1946. Egg coffee is the concoction of espresso, condensed milk, a little sugar, butter, cheese and egg yolk, resembling a tiramisu in taste. Except for the espresso, all the other ingredients are mixed until they become a lovely creamy foam in a small cup by a bamboo whisk originally – which is now replaced by a stainless steel one or egg beater. The mixture is then poured over the coffee to complete the drink. Giảng offers you two versions of this wonderful beverage - the hot and the cold one. Should you find espresso layer of egg coffee too bitter, try hot egg chocolate – “ca cao trứng” instead. And for you guys who don’t, why not trying all at one time as a coffee cup here is pretty small and may make you feel like having one after another.
Address:
- 39 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
- 106 Yên Phụ, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi
Open – close: daily from 7.30 am to 22.30 pm.
Phone number:
- 04 3294 0495
- 098 9892 298/ 090 3479 032
Price: 15.000VND – 33.000VND ~ Egg coffee: 25.000VND & Egg with Chocolate: 20.00VND
Đinh
Situated on the second floor of a small old house in 13 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Dinh was named after this street and opened by the daughter of Mr. Nguyen Van Giang - Mrs. Bich in 1984, who was a former high school teacher. This used to be a popular spot for students in the 1900s as the price was pretty cheap while the coffee was delicious and the owners were very friendly. Dinh is still at the same address nowadays and because it is very small while everyone wants to have a seat in the balcony outside, make sure you set off early and don’t come at weekends as it would be very crowded. Last but not least, egg coffee is also Dinh’s specialty but it has a different taste from that of Giang. Try and experience yourself. The coffee shop opens the whole week from 7.00 am to 21.30 pm.
Best Hidden Vintage Coffee Shop in Hanoi
Follow us to one of our favorite hidden cafes to taste a fabulous egg coffee in Hanoi! To look up more vintage cafes, here comes our guide: http://bit.ly/vintagecafeHNTell us your favorite cafe in the city below!
Posted by Maze Vietnam on Sunday, December 17, 2017
Video shot by Chi Le & Van Duong | Edited by Van Duong
Address: Second floor of a bag store, 13 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
Open – close: 7.00 am - 21.30 pm (whole week)
Phone number: 04 3824 2960
Price: 12.000VND – 20.000VND ~ Egg coffee: 20.000VND
Nhân
Opened in 1946, Nhân café has been run by Mr. Thi’s family for decades. Starting out as a meeting place for Vietnamese communist people during the war, Nhân is now a well-known coffee shop with many branches, but the most popular one is still that in Hàng Hành. Famous for its self-roasted coffee bean, Nhân café will definitely please even the most punctilious drinker.
Address:
- 39D Hàng Hành, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
- 9 Láng Hạ Street, Ba Đình District, Hanoi
- 143 Nguyễn Thái Học, Ba Đình District, Hanoi
Open – close: 8.00 am – 22.30 pm
Phone number: 098 4444 254 (39D Hàng Hành, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi)
Price: 25.000VND - 50.000VND
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Thọ
Founded in more than 20 years ago and considered as a cafe with delicious coffee and low price, Thọ attracts many locals despite locating in a coffee street named Trieu Viet Vuong full of coffee shops. Milk coffee and “nếp cẩm” yogurt are two most preferred by drinkers when coming here.
Address: 117 Triệu Việt Vương street, Hai Bà Trưng District, Hanoi
Open – close: 9.00 am – 2300 pm
Phone number: 04 3629 29597
Price: 15.000VND - 40.000VND
Thái
Another choice for you when dropping by Triệu Việt Vương street is Thái café. Like Thọ, drinks at Thái are quite cheap. This cafe was once listed in 'Top 100 best coffee products in Hanoi' and one interesting thing should be mentioned is that Thai Coffee has been using only one coffee roaster that has been passed through 3 generations in this family business. Moreover, even if you just order a 3000VND iced tea – approximately 0.14 $, you can spend hours chatting with friends here - in a cozy place.
Address: 27 Triệu Việt Vương street, Hai Bà Trưng District, Hanoi
Open – close: 6.00 am – 22.00 pm
Phone number: 04 3822 6922
Price: 12.000VND – 35.000VND
Năng
Many Hanoians say that getting up early with a cup of coffee at Năng, a more than 50-year-old coffee house, on weekend is a lovely relaxing thing to do. Although it is located in a small bustle street of Hanoi making parking quite difficult, Năng still enchants the locals, especially the artists, by its strong coffee and traditional decorations around the shop. The café is, of course, crowded all day but do come and have a drink as it is worth trying. One last thing to bear in mind, the coffee shop’s name is “Năng” – not “Nắng”, watch out!
Address: 6 Hàng Bạc, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi.
Open – close: 8.00 am – 23.00 pm (whole week)
Phone number: 04 3824 0459
Price: from 15.000VND
Lâm
Lâm café was opened in 1952 and named after its founder – Mr. Lâm. The coffee bean here is naturally ground without adding any additives and has a distinct taste. One plus mark for this café is that there are many art pictures of famous painters featuring people and ancient streets of Hanoi, giving you a feeling of living in the capital city decades ago.
Address:
- 60 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi. (1)
- 91 Nguyễn Hữu Huân, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi. (2)
Open – close: 6.30 am – 22.30 pm (whole week)
Phone number:
- 04 3824 0459 (1)
- 090 455 85 68 (2)
Price: 15.000VND – 50.000VND
Nhĩ
Nhĩ used to be one of the top 4 cafés in Hanoi along with Nhân, Giảng and Dĩ long time ago (Dĩ is an old café but it is now hardly found in Hanoi and people rumor that it is out of business). Although it is not a spacious café like any other old coffee shops, Nhĩ is always crowded. One special thing is that the café does not have its name on the signboard – all you can see is “cafeteria” – “café giải khát”. So, make sure you come to the right address! And once again, the café’s name is “Nhĩ” – not “Nhi”, don’t be mistaken!
Address: 2 Hàng Cá, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
Open – close: 7.00 am – 22.30 pm (whole week)
Price: 15.000VND – 33.000VND
Mai
The last coffee shop on our list today is Mai café. Mai was opened in 1936 and in the first place just sold packed roasted coffee along with raw coffee bean. Mai’s coffee is distinct for its aroma that can be traced from far away. Nowadays, besides selling coffee bean, it serves coffee at a store as well and if you feel like, you can make coffee yourself right here. Last but not least, the price here is quite high compared to other shops with the cheapest drink is black coffee(hot/cold) – 34.000VND (1.5$).
Address:
- 96 Lê Văn Hưu, Q. Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội (1)
- 79 Lê Văn Hưu, Q. Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội (2)
- 52 Nguyễn Du, Q. Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội (3)
- 75 Trần Nhân Tông, Q. Hai Bà Trưng, Hà Nội (4)
Open – close: 7.00 am – 22.00 pm
Phone number:
- 04 3822 7751 (1)
- 04 3822 9653 (2)
- 04 3822 7713 (3)
- 04 3822 9652 (4)
Price: 34.000VND – 100.000VND
That's all about the beauty of the five Vintage Coffee shops in Hanoi. They always stay in all Hanoians' hearts. How about Saigon - the country's largest city. To see all the Vintage Coffee Shops in Saigon, click here
Oh..it took a good about of observation at my end to figure out the difference in the name of the coffee shop. I am not sure what difference that makes to the pronunciation of the name though! Above all, the coffee looks just wonderful!
Nước vối sounds so interesting. I had never heard of it before. It’s interesting to learn about the history of coffee culture in Vietnam. I would love to explore one of the old world cafes in Hanoi. Giảng seems like a great choice.
This [post definitely looks like a locals guide for great coffee in Hanoi. Never thought this lovely town had such a long standing relationship with coffee. I love coffee and I don’t find a reason why I would not fall in love with Hanoi 🙂
This is a one stop blogpost for anybody hunting coffee in Hanoi. I like Mai the best since they give one the flexibility of making their own coffee — it’s definitely very interesting!
Coffee is an exhilarating beverage and it is always fascinating reading about its history and how it has spread to all parts of the world. It would be indeed a great experience to nurse a cup of coffee in one of these vintage coffee houses.
I love Vietnamese coffee very much. Each coffee shop has its own unique taste. Besides taste, I’d love to enjoy coffee in an old and vintage place like those in the post. Btw, I’m really in to the “egg coffee” one.
The coffee house named Giang attracts me most of all because the picture of the entrance looks like a gate to another mysterious world. I have not been in Ha Noi before, but I will soon book a tour to these places. So interesting!
I don’t usually drink coffee, let alone knowing and visiting these oldest coffee houses. It can be seen that some shops have been modernized, while some others still remain old and unique in a busy spot like Hanoi. Hope for a chance to visit those houses.
I am not the coffee-lover but these place is worth trying. I would try all of these with my friends. some of these places my become my favorite.
How neat to be able to go to some of the oldest coffee shops. I had to laugh at the intro, with how coffee was first described compared to how standard of a drink it is now.
I should visit them. So vintage. I am coffee-aholic and I love them.
Hanoi has so many coffee houses that have so much history. It’s clear that coffee is an important tradition in Hanoi and so many of these coffee houses are quite beautiful.
Vietnamese coffee is so strong but so so good! These pictures are absolutely incredible! Well done!
I love to try out different coffee houses when I travel. I would love to try a Egg coffee. The mix of espresso, condensed milk, sugar, butter, cheese and egg yolk sounds really interesting.
I love Vietnamese coffee. This place looks so cool, and I would love to site down and enjoy a cup of coffee there.
This is very cool. My husband and I love visiting different coffee houses especially when we travel.
I am not a heavy coffee drinker but visiting these old coffee house would be so lovely. There is a reason why the stores are open until now and I want to find out.
I LOVE coffee!! Never been to Vietnam but I would love to visit oldest coffee shops around the world. I didn’t know Hanoi has deep history regarding coffee!
Wow. These are so unique. The photos are great too. You did a good job of rounding up some fun places.
Great comprehensive coffee house list. I would really love to visit Vietnam again and try all of these!
I would love to visit there and try their coffee some day! I’m a coffee lover for sure (have been ever since I had kids!) Looks rich in flavor, yum!
My cousin visited this place when she studied abroad. I’m not a big coffee plan but I’d love some of the chocolate. Plus anything with such a rich history is worth a visit.
I totally love trying out new coffee shops. This one likes like a great one to try out.
I wish I could find them where I live, I would love to try them. The smell of coffee is so appealing, and I could not resist to drink it, I am a coffee lover. Thanks for sharing.
This was so intriguing! As much as I love a chain coffee house, I think the independent ones are best.
What a great list of Vietnamese coffee houses! And with lots of history, how fun.
I love coffee houses and since Hanoi is on my travel bucketlist, I am definitely going to pin this post for later
This place looks so cool, and I would love to site down and enjoy a cup of coffee there. I love all the pictures you use. They look so beautifull. I really like your idea. Thank you for all!!
I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this site. Thank you, I will try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your site?