Eating Hanoi, one plastic stool at a time

The best meals in the Old Quarter come on a stool ten inches off the pavement. A guide to where, when and what to point at.

Hanoi eats outside. Every corner has a specialty and a crowd that knows exactly when it is ready.

Mornings are for pho and bun cha, late afternoons for snails and beer, and midnight for whatever the stall by your hotel is still frying.

Our designers keep a short list of stalls they trust, and a guide who will happily order for you.