'Food paradise' around Hanoi Cathedral, attracting visitors from morning to night

Hanoi Cathedral is an attractive destination for domestic and international tourists. Not only does it have a long history, ancient and unique architecture, the area around the church is also considered a "culinary paradise" that attracts lovers of the capital.

The area around Hanoi's Cathedral is always crowded and bustling. Photo: Huy Nguyen

A series of famous pho restaurants

Visiting the Hanoi Cathedral area early in the morning, visitors can enjoy delicious pho at Pho Tu Lun Au Trieu, Pho Oanh Tho Xuong or Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su.

Located next to Hanoi Cathedral, Pho Tu Lun is always crowded with customers every day. Here, it is not difficult to see customers lining up or arranging plastic chairs, carrying pho and enjoying it on the sidewalk.

This pho restaurant was awarded Michelin's Bib Gourmand (good food at affordable prices) award for 3 consecutive years, from 2023-2025.

Unlike most pho restaurants in Hanoi that use clear broth, the pho at this restaurant has cloudy, fatty broth. The fresh beef is sliced ​​by machine, but before serving the rare pho, the owner uses a knife to pound it, then flattens it, skillfully places the meat in a bowl, and pours boiling broth over it.

This method helps to retain the sweetness of the meat. Each bowl of pho at the restaurant costs from 55,000 VND.

The cloudy, rich broth is the restaurant's signature. Photo: The Bang

Just a few hundred meters from Pho Tu Lun Au Trieu is Pho Oanh restaurant in Tho Xuong alley, also famous and crowded, with the flavor of Pho Nam Dinh .

During the morning rush hour, especially on weekends, dozens of tables and chairs inside and outside are packed with customers. The restaurant owners have to put plastic chairs on the sidewalk of their neighbor’s house so that customers can sit and eat pho.

The front of Pho Oanh restaurant is always crowded every morning. Photo: Huy Nguyen

The rare beef is thinly sliced, pounded, and quickly poured into boiling pho broth to retain its sweetness, aroma, and nutrients. The crispy brisket at the restaurant is always fresh and cooked just right. The restaurant's pho is affordable, starting at 40,000 VND/bowl.

Pho Oanh has the flavor of Nam Dinh pho. Photo: Linh Trang

Another famous pho restaurant located not too far from the Cathedral is Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su. The restaurant has been on the Bib Gourmand list for 3 consecutive years. The restaurant is often full and customers have to wait in line in front of the door, especially foreigners. Pho here costs from 70,000 VND.

"Snack paradise"

Grilled fermented pork rolls are a famous snack in the area of ​​Hanoi’s Cathedral, usually sold from early afternoon until night. The rolls still retain the bright pink color of the meat along with a sticky glue covering the outside, slightly charred, placed on a layer of green banana leaves.

Grilled nem chua is served with a small bowl of chili sauce with jicama and green mango. Diners can order additional snacks such as french fries and fried nem chua.

Grilled fermented pork roll is a famous snack that attracts young tourists. A plate of food like the one in the picture costs 220,000 VND. Photo: Huy Nguyen

A must-try snack near the Cathedral is Banh Goi Goc Da. Although the shop is small and simple, with only a few simple tables and chairs, it is often packed with customers during rush hour.

The hot banh goi dish has a beautiful golden color, thin, crispy crust, fatty and fragrant filling of meat - wood ear - shiitake mushroom - vermicelli - Chinese sausage. The cake is served with a dipping sauce mixed according to a traditional recipe, a few small slices of papaya and a plate of raw vegetables. Banh goi costs 14,000 VND/piece.

In addition to banh goi, the restaurant also has shrimp cakes, fried cakes, fried spring rolls, tapioca dumplings... Photo: Huy Nguyen

Every autumn, when visiting the Cathedral, visitors can easily see rustic green rice stalls. The fragrant sticky rice grains are wrapped in lush green leaves. Eating green rice and sticky rice with green rice are included in the list of "must-do things in autumn in Hanoi".

Visitors can sit and sip a cup of egg coffee, enjoy fragrant sticky rice, or sweet sticky rice and watch the streets around the Church.

Green sticky rice attracts diners. Photo: Huy Nguyen

Eel vermicelli and rib porridge warm the stomach

Next to the Cathedral is the famous Ngo Huyen rib porridge shop. The dish is cooked from ground rice flour and bone broth. The porridge is soft, smooth, and sticky without any rice grains. The pork cartilage is cleaned and simmered just right to be crispy but not hard.

Each bowl of porridge is usually topped with 2 fried breadsticks and some dried pork floss for more flavor. Each bowl of porridge costs from 30,000 VND.

Right at the intersection of Chan Cam and Ly Quoc Su, there is a famous and crowded Chan Cam eel noodle shop. Each bowl will have vermicelli and blanched bean sprouts, cucumber mixed with vinegar and spices, shredded carrots, Vietnamese coriander, coriander, crispy fried eel or soft eel depending on the customer's preference.

Fried eel must be crispy, not hard, not burnt or soaked in oil. When you reach the end of the bowl, the eel is still crispy.

Chan Cam eel vermicelli restaurant was selected and introduced by Michelin Guide in the Bib Gourmand list in 2025. Photo: Linh Trang

Mixed vermicelli is combined with a mixed sauce made from soy sauce, seasoned harmoniously with sour, salty, sweet and slightly spicy flavors. Meanwhile, the vermicelli soup is poured with a ladle of hot broth, fragrant with the smell of eel, rich in flavor and naturally sweet, without the sweetness of MSG.

For eel salad, the owner combines ingredients such as bean sprouts, thinly sliced ​​banana flowers, cucumbers, carrots, shallots, herbs, adds crispy fried eel and mixes it with sweet and sour sauce. This dish is refreshing, rich and crunchy.

Eel vermicelli at the restaurant costs from 45,000-60,000 VND/bowl. Photo: Linh Trang

Hanoi is among the top destinations for viewing autumn leaves in the continent . Along with many famous names such as Nami Island (South Korea), Kyoto (Japan) or Jiuzhaigou (China), Hanoi is the only representative of Vietnam to appear in the list of the most beautiful destinations in Asia to view autumn leaves announced by Time Out.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thien-duong-am-thuc-quanh-nha-tho-lon-ha-noi-niu-chan-khach-tu-sang-den-toi-2455162.html