Enjoying imported wine in Vietnam is an expensive pleasure. That does not mean Hanoi lacks good places to do it.
Before getting into the list, one common misconception is worth addressing. It is wrong to assume the wine scene here is an expat one. Vietnam has plenty of wine lovers and good sommeliers, trained locally or abroad.
That said, it is true that for years the Hanoi wine scene was fairly limited, revolving around a handful of bars and Western restaurants.
Things have changed fast. With the “vang vỉa” trend (pavement wine) Hanoi has seen an explosion of openings, from coffee shops with wine on the menu to more sophisticated wine bistro concepts.
This list covers places we have tried and liked in no particular order.
1. Bouchon
Bouchon now has three branches, and they all reflect the personality of the owner. Hải Hà trained in France, then came back to Vietnam and won a series of awards here and across Asia. He worked as a sommelier in several restaurants before opening Bouchon.
In his venues, he has been running regular workshops for years, sharing his passion for wine with the local community.
As for the wines, the value at Bouchon is real. Every branch runs a buy one get one free deal on wine by the glass between 3pm and 6pm.
Our one regret is the by-the-glass list itself. It leans on the big trading house names, which is the safe commercial choice, and it does not show much of what the owner actually knows.
I had the chance to interview Hải Hà about pairing wine with Vietnamese food, a subject he is passionate about. Worth a read if the question interests you.
Read: Pairing Vietnamese Food with Wine: A Sommelier Explains
We like:
- The value for money during happy hour.
Practical info:
- Google Map:
- Facebook: fb-bouchon
2. THỞ – Wine Space
Located outside the main tourist and expat areas, THỞ Wine Space is worth going out of your way for. The space is both a wine store and a wine bar, with a large balcony and an indoor room.
In our eyes, THỞ stands out in a few ways. On our last visit the by-the-glass list had some genuinely unusual choices, such as a Moldovan wine and a good natural wine from Western Australia. Better still, the staff were knowledgeable and happy to explain why those bottles were on the list.
The food also goes well beyond the cold cuts and cheese combination you find in many places. THỞ serves a good range of small plates that take their inspiration from several cuisines. The menu rotates with the seasons.
THỞ also runs regular events around wine, including monthly tastings, which makes it a genuine meeting point for wine lovers in the area.
We like:
- A by-the-glass list that takes real risks, with bottles you will not find elsewhere.
- Small plates that go well beyond the usual cheese and cold cuts.
Practical info:
- Google Map: 207 Đội Cấn, Ngọc Hà
- Facebook: fb-tho
3. Cork and Bottle
With its large expat community, Tây Hồ has plenty of bars and pubs, but strangely few wine bars. Cork & Bottle fills that gap, with a great location beside West Lake on Quảng An Street.
The place is owned by Vinifera, a major local wine importer, which allows it to offer a very long list covering both Old World and New World wines.
But the real reason for its popularity among expats (and with us) is the happy hour: buy one get one free on wine by the glass, every day from 4pm to 7pm. Do not expect a grand cru during those hours. Still, in a country where imported wine is this expensive, it is a genuinely good deal.
Regular wine events are hosted here as well.
In the Old Quarter, Cork & Bottle recently took over the Funtasia cocktail bar and turned it into a wine bar, while keeping the cocktails. A useful addition if Tây Hồ is too far for you, but we prefer the setting of the Quảng An branch by the lake.
We like :
- A great happy hour deal by the lake
Practical info:
- Google Map:
- Facebook:
4. Colette
Colette is technically more a restaurant than a wine bar, but it was impossible to write this article without mentioning it.
The place offers what I believe is the largest selection of wines by the glass in the city, with over 30 options. This variety is made possible by high-end wine dispensers that preserve the bottles after opening.
A real effort has gone into making each option beginner-friendly, with the recommended food pairing clearly stated.
The food menu is built around traditional French bistro dishes, well executed. That is why Colette also appears in our list of the best French restaurants in Hanoi.
And if you are not in the mood for a full meal, do not worry. You are welcome to order just a glass, and the place also has a good selection of appetizers, cold cuts and cheese boards.
We like:
- Largest selection of wines by the glass in the city
Practical info:
- Google Map: 12 P. Lò Sũ, Hoàn Kiếm
- Facebook: fb-Colette
5. Tannin
When I arrived in Vietnam nearly 20 years ago, Tannin was the place everyone recommended if you wanted a real wine bar in the Old Quarter.
Hanoi has changed a lot since then, and competition on this specific segment is far more intense. Tannin has grown too, with a second branch in the Kim Mã area.
It remains a safe choice for wine lovers. The owners put the cellar at more than 500 bottles, and the by-the-glass list is carefully built. Tannin still deserves its place on this list.
That said, we have the feeling the place has been living on its reputation for a few years. The happy hour deals are unimpressive and priced at the higher end. The food menu at the Old Quarter branch stops at a few cold cut and cheese boards.
That may explain why the venue was so quiet on our last visits.
We like:
- An old-school wine bar with a large selection
Practical info:
- Google Map:
- Facebook:
6. Vin Hoi
If Tannin is not to your taste, Vin Hơi offers something radically different. The name is a play on bia hơi, the cheap draught beer Hanoians drink on plastic stools, and that is the whole idea.
The French-Vietnamese couple behind it chose to serve wine with small plates in the spirit of nhậu (the Vietnamese way of drinking over shared dishes) rather than open one more Parisian-style bistro.
The plates run from very simple to more elaborate preparations that show the background of Hải Trần, who cooked in a one-star Michelin restaurant in France. The menu changes regularly.
The wine list also differs sharply from traditional wine bars by leaning heavily on natural wine, which makes up most of it. By the glass, expect 140k to 250k.
The setting stays just as simple, down to the traditional Hanoi plastic chairs and tables on the top balcony.
Vin Hơi arrived at the right moment, at the peak of the vỉa hè trend.
How much of the concept is a gimmick is another question, since the prices are not those of a bia hơi. We suspect each guest will answer that for themselves. I personally bought into it. Huong has more mixed feelings.
We like:
- A large choice of natural wines (if you are into it)
- An original concept
Practical info:
- Google Map: 38 P. Hàng Bún, Ba Đình
- Facebook: fb-Vin Hoi
7. Samé
Great food, great wine. That would be my one-line review of Samé. It excels at both because of the collaboration between Hiếu Hà and Lincoln Vũ.
Hiếu’s cooking is rooted in his French training, with a personal touch. He is already behind Déglacer, a French bistro in Long Biên that we also like. At Samé the base is the same bistro repertoire, with terrines, frogs’ legs and moules-frites, while adding Vietnamese or even Japanese ingredients on top.
Lincoln Vũ is a recognised sommelier who has represented Vietnam in international competition. He advises several restaurants on their wine lists, including the one-Michelin-starred Gia. At Samé he has built a very ambitious list, and the ambition extends to the by-the-glass selection, with choices that are genuinely rare in Vietnam. One example: a Koshu from Yamanashi, made from Japan’s native white grape.
They also run regular events pairing wine and food.
We like:
- An excellent wine list, with by-the-glass choices you will not find elsewhere in Hanoi.
- Hiếu’s French bistro cooking.
Practical info:
- Google Map: 29 P. Lê Thánh Tông, Cửa Nam
- Facebook: fb-Samé
8. BLANK
If we are honest, what does the heavy lifting at BLANK is the atmosphere. With seats overlooking an open kitchen, regular DJ sets, and a room that is always lively, the place has filled a gap in the Old Quarter.
That does not make the wine and the food a footnote. The by-the-glass list rotates (unfortunately it is not published online) but we have never been disappointed by what was poured. For those with the budget there are plenty of serious bottles waiting to be opened.
On the food side, BLANK starts from comfort food and lifts it just enough that you are glad you ate it here rather than somewhere else.
We have also written a dedicated review of the place:
More: BLANK. Wine Bar & Kitchen: An independent review
We like:
- The atmosphere
- A concept which was missing in Hanoi
Practical info:
- Google Map: 9 P. Hàng Tre, Phố cổ
- Facebook: fb-Blank
Additional recommendations
A few more names worth mentioning. I placed them in this section not because the offering is weaker, but because they lean more towards the restaurant or the café than the wine bar.
ZAO
ZAO is a good representative of a new wave of restaurants led by ambitious Vietnamese chefs who blend the foreign influences picked up during their training with Vietnamese cooking.
Hương and I both liked the food, and a few months after our visits the place was recognised by the Michelin Guide as a Selected restaurant. A branch has since opened in Ho Chi Minh City. There are several wines by the glass, but what will bring us back is without hesitation the food.
- Google Map: 4 Ng. Huế, Hai Bà Trưng
- Facebook: fb-ZAO
More: ZAO Vietnamese Rooted Eatery: An independent review
Etēsia
This place could have sat higher in the list, since wine is a core part of the concept of this modern Mediterranean restaurant.
Etēsia’s layout is built around a central counter facing the open kitchen, where you can eat several plates along with a glass of wine.
We found the food more elevated than expected. The by-the-glass selection was less convincing, once you set aside the very expensive options poured on Coravin (a system that lets a bar serve a glass without opening the bottle). That said, if you order by the bottle your options will open up.
- Google Map: 14B P. Lò Sũ, Old Quarter
- Facebook: fb-Etesia
Greyhaus
Coffee by day, wine by night. I mentioned the rise of this kind of venue in the introduction, then no longer mentioned it. The reason is that many places followed this trend, not all of them survived, and in several the wine (or the cocktails) was more cosmetic than substantial.
That said, it would be wrong to say none of them suit wine lovers. First, in all honesty, there are many we have not tried. Second, some really do put as much care into the wine as into the coffee.
Greyhaus is one of them. More than ten wines by the glass, from natural to more classic choices, and a surprising alcohol-free Riesling: you are very likely to find something you want.
- Google Map: 55C P. Phan Chu Trinh, Cửa Nam
- Instagram: Insta-Greyhaus
Cocktails and wine
Hanoi has a great cocktail bar scene. Hương and I have really taken an interest in it and have already written extensively about it. That said, when writing this article we realised that a few names included in our best cocktail bar selection also offer good value for wine lovers.
I am thinking for example of Polite & Co, one of the longest-standing cocktail bars in the city, which has a good happy hour deal that applies to wines as well. And if you want a chance to step into the Metropole, one of the most iconic French colonial buildings, Angelina’s happy hour also applies to wines.
Google Map:
More: Hanoi’s Best Cocktail Bars: Recommendations from a Local
Craft Beers
If you are not into wine but into craft beer, I am not sure why you have read this article to its very end, but I do have something for you.
More: Top 8 Venues for Craft Beer in Hanoi – Recommendation by a local
