My list of saved places in Hanoi had just one bar, Tadioto, and Google currently shows it as temporarily closed. So all six bars here are ones I added on the advice of travel guides (34travel's Hanoi guide, Fodor's and Culture Trip) and checked on Google: open, rated 4.4 or higher. I have no notes of my own on them; the descriptions are put together from Google Maps reviews. Pasteur Street's craft beer is in the where to eat piece, and The Hanoi Social Club's evening cocktails are in coffee.
Prices are Google's average spend per person; entry fees come from reviews. Valid as of 7 October 2026. Rate: 100,000 ₫ ≈ $3.85.
In short
- The most Hanoi cocktail there is: the phở cocktail, spiced like the soup, at Nê on Tống Duy Tân, near Train Street.
- Quiet and good value early on: two-for-one classic cocktails at Polite & Co from 18:00 to 20:00.
- Craft beer with a lake view: around twenty taps of Vietnamese beer at Standing Bar on Trúc Bạch.
- Live music: jazz every night at Binh Minh Jazz Club by the Opera House; there's a cover charge.
- Tây Hồ: the Kumquat Tree speakeasy (closed Mondays) and The 100 Garden beer garden, both far from Phố Cổ, so take a taxi.
Cocktails
Nê Cocktail bar
Hoàn Kiếm · cocktail bar · 200,000–300,000 ₫ (≈$8–12) · Sun–Thu 17:00–1:00, Fri–Sat 17:00–2:00
Google Maps · Facebook · 3B P. Tống Duy Tân
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 870+): a small, dim bar built around one long counter near Train Street, with cocktails based on Vietnamese flavours. The star is the phở cocktail, spiced and savoury like the soup itself, and the menu goes further still, with one drink made with chicken salt and pickles. The bartenders love to talk you through the drinks. On the downside, not every cocktail lives up to a top-tier bar, and a beer with fries comes out expensive.
Polite & Co
Hoàn Kiếm · cocktails and whisky · 200,000–300,000 ₫ (≈$8–12) · Sun–Thu 17:00–0:00, Fri–Sat 17:00–1:00
Google Maps · 5b Ng. Báo Khánh
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 1,200+): a calm, low-lit bar in the Báo Khánh lane by Hoàn Kiếm lake, with a good whisky selection. From 18:00 to 20:00 classic cocktails are two for one; the Old Fashioned and the Negroni get the praise. The bartenders speak English and help you choose. A DJ plays at weekends; the signature cocktails are hit and miss. Children can only sit at the tables outside.
Kumquat Tree Speakeasy Bar
Tây Hồ · speakeasy · 200,000–300,000 ₫ (≈$8–12) · Tue–Sun 18:00–2:00, closed Mon
Google Maps · Facebook · 63 Ng. 52 Đ. Tô Ngọc Vân
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 410+): a speakeasy in the Hồ Tây area with an unusual entrance and an interior where every detail is thought through. Reviewers praise the inventive menu and bartenders who will build an off-menu drink around your taste. Many warn that the drinks go down far too easily. Early on a weekday it's quiet enough to chat with the bartender.
Beer
Standing Bar: Craft Beer, Tapas & Grill
Trúc Bạch · craft beer · 100,000–300,000 ₫ (≈$4–12) · Mon–Fri 15:00–0:00, Sat–Sun 12:00–0:00
Google Maps · website · 170 P. Trấn Vũ
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 1,100+): one of Hanoi's first craft beer bars, with around twenty taps of Vietnamese beer, seasonal and hard-to-find brews included. Upstairs there's a terrace looking over Trúc Bạch lake. There are tapas and grilled food to go with it, though the mini burgers really are mini. You order at the bar and the stools are tall and hard, so it's best with a group.
The 100 Garden
Tây Hồ · beer garden · 100,000–200,000 ₫ (≈$4–8) · daily 11:00–23:00
Google Maps · Facebook · 41 ngõ 2/238 Đ. Âu Cơ
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 410+): a big garden away from the centre with plenty of craft beer, wine and spirits, a happy hour and room for any group. It often hosts food festivals with pop-up kitchens and live music, which make it loud and crowded. Recent reviews say the kitchen is now run by Naco Taco with a Mexican menu, and on weekdays people complain about service: you can wait a long time for a waiter.
Live music
Binh Minh Jazz Club
French Quarter · jazz club · 200,000–300,000 ₫ (≈$8–12) · daily 17:00–23:00
Google Maps · website · 1 Tràng Tiền
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 1,700+): a jazz club next to the Opera House with live music every night from roughly 21:00 to 23:00; there can be six to eight musicians on stage, sometimes students. Entry is 100,000–150,000 ₫ (≈$4–6) per person, according to reviews. The cocktails are ordinary and you have to flag down the staff; book a table ahead through Facebook. Solo guests sometimes get an awkward table by the door.
One last thing
Plan the evening by area: Nê, Polite & Co and Binh Minh are a walk from Hoàn Kiếm, while Standing Bar, Kumquat Tree and The 100 Garden lie to the north, towards Hồ Tây, an easier trip by Grab. And arrive early: happy hours and the quietest time in the bars are before 20:00.
More on Hanoi: where to eat, coffee, what to see and buy