The best restaurants in Hanoi right now

What is it? An attractive century-old townhouse where Hanoi's true headliner dish (sorry, phở) reaches its zenith. Thăng Long's gold standard version of chả cá - turmeric-marinated catfish served sizzling – has earned the restaurant a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Why we love it: Theatrical and immersive, your server arrives armed with a pan of pre-grilled catfish spitting heat and golden oil, then stir-fries it tableside with fistfuls of fresh dill and spring onions.

This isn't for show or for tourists; this is how it's always been done. The fish fries in turmeric-stained oil, lending a heady perfume to the dining room, while the marinade catches on the bottom of the pan invitingly. Many a hot pan has been sent flying in pursuit of those last caramelised bits. It's worth the risk.

Time Out tip: Google Maps may send you to Chả Cá Lã Vọng, which is just around the corner, on a whole street dedicated to the dish. Though they are said to have invented chả cá, we think the version at Thăng Long is even better. There are three branches of Thăng Long on Đường Thành Street; head specifically to 6B, the brightest and airiest room.

Oh, and do not wear white for this one.

Address: 6B P. Đường Thành Street, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
Opening hours: Daily 11am-9.30pm
Expect to pay: Around VND 200,000 per person for the full experience, including a couple of beers.

What is it? The place that provides the definitive pindrop on phở bò - a tightly packed Old Quarter spot serving perhaps the world's best Northern-style beef noodle soup to perpetual, snaking queues.

Why we love it: The signature broth achieves its subtle cloudiness not through overzealous boiling (though that thing has been rolling since 4am) but through gentle, judicious extraction of marrow, creating silky, natural sweetness and umami.

Their Northern-style broth (less palm sugar sweetness, more savoury, fewer herbs) represents hours of dedication and two decades of history, all to arrive at this point in your bowl. Noodles, made fresh daily, are just the right side of slippery.

In a city so transient and ever-changing, there's something reassuring about the same family recipe bubbling away from before dawn, every single day. The broth changes and intensifies in line with the city's undulating temperament as service wears on. It's kind of poetic.

Time Out tip: One for the masochists, the chilli sauce will punish the foolhardy. Start with a tiny drop and work your way up.

Address: 10 P. Lý Quốc Sư, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
Opening hours: Daily 6am-10pm
Expect to pay: Just VND 70,000 for a bowl that'll keep you full for hours. Cash only – pay at the counter after eating.

What is it? A temple of Northern Vietnamese home cooking, served in the most cerebral surroundings; a vintage wooden house that creaks and groans underfoot (or were those the groans of satisfied diners?).

Why we love it: There are no efforts to 'elevate' an already sophisticated cuisine at Tầm Vị, a restaurant that has earned its reputation by delivering on the implicit elegance of Northern Vietnamese food.

The origin story only adds to the charm: a mother-daughter duo with no restaurant training decided to share their family recipes in 2019, never chasing recognition. Four years later, Vietnam's first-ever Michelin Guide handed them a star.

Highlights include crispy cubes of tofu in a spring onion sauce that is so much more than the sum of its parts, and a pork belly and braised egg dish that understands the frankly obscene alchemy that occurs when melting pork fat makes friends with caramelised palm sugar. Both feature on the set menu.

Time Out tip: Book through Facebook Messenger and request the second floor for the most atmospheric experience.

Address: 4B P. Yên Thế, Đống Đa, Hanoi
Opening hours: Daily 11am-2.30pm, 5pm-9pm
Expect to pay: Dishes run from as little as VND 10,000 to the lofty heights of VND 200,000. The Trung Bắc Set feeds the whole table for VND 760,000. The fact that it's one of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant meals in the world is almost a moot point.

What is it? Deep in the bowels of the ultra-luxe Capella hotel, this is where Hanoi's Japanese dining scene reaches its apex. Don't let the casual 'izakaya' name fool you - while the grill takes centre stage, everything else here is thoroughly upscale.

Why we love it: While Hibana next door snags the Michelin star, Izakaya delivers equally compelling Japanese food in a more laid-back but still decidedly luxurious setting. The wagyu katsu sando verges on the absurd- it's that good.

With 70% of ingredients flown in from Japan twice monthly (we're talking live abalone, uni and spiny lobster), this is as close to Tokyo dining as you'll get in Southeast Asia. The daily changing teishoku set offers exceptional value, with each day bringing a different protein, a clever enticement to the solo business diners who have made this their de facto work canteen.

The adjacent sake bar – the country's most stacked – houses bottles you won't find anywhere else in Vietnam.

Address: 11 P. Lê Phụng Hiểu, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 11.30am-1.30pm, 6pm-10pm
Expect to pay: There's no two ways about it; this is a blowout, though costs can be kept down via the daily lunch teishoku sets, priced at VND 580,000. Go all out, and you're looking at VND 3,000,000 a head, before sake.

What is it? A capacious villa and open-air courtyard transformed into Vietnam's most stylish food court, serving street food favourites from the country's three main regions.

Why we love it: The definition of a safe bet and all the better for it, Quán Ăn Ngon solves the eternal traveller's dilemma: how to try all the street food from all of the country, in the quickest way possible?

Food stations ring the flora-filled courtyard, and chefs prepare everything from Sài Gòn-style cơm tấm to local favourite bún chả. Outside of these ochre-yellow walls, it would be sacrilege for those two to share a table. Here, a safe space, it's actively encouraged.

Yes, it's pricier than street stalls, but you're paying for consistency, comfort, and the ability to order 10 different one-plate wonders without getting on a plane between each. The boisterous atmosphere, packed with more locals than visitors, adds to the market-like energy.

Time Out tip: It's surprisingly difficult to find a good Central Vietnamese bánh xèo in Hanoi, but it's the sleeper hit here. Staff will demonstrate the proper wrapping technique if you look confused or your chopstick dexterity momentarily deserts you.

Address: 18 P. Phan Bội Châu, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
Opening hours: Daily 6.30am-10.30pm
Expect to pay: VND 50,000-200,000 per dish – perfect for group grazing.

What is it? Once a narrow Old Quarter shophouse, now Hanoi's most sophisticated wine bar. Here, the fortunate few who nab counter seats watch tasteful, well-balanced Mediterranean plates being made in real time. Dinner and a show, basically, and even better than the stuff happening around the corner at the Opera House.

Why we love it: Etēsia brings big metropolitan energy to Hanoi's dining scene with a cellar that borders on obsessive – 350 bottles strong with a Burgundy collection that would make a Beaune négociant weep.

Ideal for the indecisive, they pour some seriously premium drops by the glass thanks to an imported Coravin (which extracts wine through the cork). In practice, this means you can taste that 2015 Barolo without committing to the whole bottle. Upstairs, the Bo / en cocktail bar keeps the party going ‘till late.

But it's not all about the booze - the light, bright, seafood-led small plates employ Spanish and French techniques to satisfying effect, with the odd Vietnamese flourish and a recurring use of acidity keeping things interesting.

Time Out tip: Hit that 5pm to 7pm happy hour hard – BOGO on wines means you can taste your way through their Champagne Récoltant-Manipulant collection without selling a kidney.

Address: 14B P. Lò Sũ, Hoàn Kiếm, Hanoi
Opening hours: Mon-Thu 5pm-9.30pm; Fri-Sun 11am-2pm, 5pm-9.30pm
Expect to pay: Around VND 2 million per person, depending on how deep you dive into that wine list.

What is it? When Michelin arrived in Vietnam, Gia swept the awards - a star for the restaurant and Young Chef honours for chef Sam Tran, who became the country's first female Michelin-starred chef. For contemporary Vietnamese fine dining, nowhere else in Hanoi comes close.

Why we love it: Meaning 'family' or 'home' in Vietnamese, the chef spent her formative years training in the kitchens of Australia, missing the food of home and dreaming up the dishes that are now served here. You can taste that sense of love and longing in every bite.

Dishes of just three or four ingredients boast remarkable clarity of flavour and sense of place, bolstered by a groundbreaking fermentation lab that's visible through illuminated glass walls.

You'll get up close and personal with all those effervescing Kilner jars, as guests receive a kitchen tour with the chef - an intimate touch in a restaurant full of them.

Time Out tip: The Temple of Literature is just opposite Gia. Combine both for the perfect cultural day of old and new Vietnam.

Address: 61 P. Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hanoi
Opening hours: Tue-Thurs 6pm-9pm, Fri-Sat 11.30am-1.30pm, 6pm-9pm
Expect to pay: Around VND 4,000,000++ per person for the 12-course tasting menu and wine pairing. There is a shorter, cheaper tasting menu at lunch.