Chapter Dining & Grill – Vietnamese Contemporary Fine Dining

[Independent Review] *Hanoi – Vietnamese Contemporary – Michelin Selected 2023

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We finally had the chance to try Chapter Dining & Grill.

What took us so long?

Initially, when the restaurant first opened, I mistakenly brushed it off as just another high-end steakhouse. This assumption was probably due to a couple of social media posts highlighting their premium, fire-grilled beef.

A few months later, I casually glanced over their menu again. It seemed interesting, featuring primarily Western-style food with a local twist, but it didn’t jump to the top of my must-visit list.

It was only this year, after noticing their selection in the Michelin Guide and their shift towards a single, multi-course tasting menu which changes every few months, and is explicitly dedicated to Vietnamese contemporary cuisine, that we thought, “We have to try this.”

Of course, I’m mainly to blame for not thoroughly researching what Chapter and its head chef, Quang Dzung, were truly offering.

However, it’s also evident that the restaurant has evolved since its opening, now boasting a very clear identity:

• Chapter is all about “Fine Dining.” You go there to enjoy a 13-course menu. Indeed, the experience lasts between 2.5 and 3 hours. It’s not the place for a casual, quick comfort meal.

• Chapter is Vietnamese food at its heart. Yes, it’s modern; Yes, it draws on foreign inspirations, but nearly every dish, with very few exceptions, immerses you in Vietnam and showcases the chef’s deep passion for the country’s gastronomy.

If this proposition intrigues you, just be mindful of the price.

This 13-course “Back Home” tasting menu starts at VND2,150,000++ without drink pairings. It’s significantly more than what we’re accustomed to spending in Vietnam, but it was absolutely worth it. We have added the full menu at the end of the article.

A True Fine Dining Experience

Let’s start with the “fine dining” aspect of the experience. Chapter Dining & Grill succeeded in many areas where I’ve seen other restaurants fail:

• Service and Execution: Serving 13 courses on time, each accompanied by explanations in both Vietnamese and English, is a challenging task. They managed this seamlessly, with each dish arriving perfectly timed and well-explained.

• Menu Structure: The fear of leaving too full or still feeling hungry is common after a multi-course meal, but this wasn’t our experience at Chapter. The progression from the “Amuse Bouche” to the “Dessert” was logical and engaging, with the journey narrated by cards explaining the story behind each dish.

A special mention goes to the palate cleanser that divided the meal in two. It was both refreshing and original, as seen in the photo below.

• No Fillers or Letdowns: Often, in a menu exceeding ten courses, some dishes can be disappointing. This was not the case for us with the “Back Home” menu, where every dish held its own. If I were to nit-pick, the Banh Mi didn’t quite hit the mark for me, but this is more a personal preference. It’s not easy to impress a French person with a puff pastry croustade.

• Wine Pairing: The menu was completed by two drink pairing options: one with wine (including 2 white wines, 1 sake, and 1 red) and a non-alcoholic selection (featuring 2 kombuchas and mocktails).

We tried both, and they positively contributed to the overall experience, even if the first two white wines weren’t particularly memorable in hindsight.

An Authentic Vietnamese Experience

Let’s now discuss the core of the menu’s success.

The restaurant’s branding emphasizes various cooking techniques, with a special focus on fire.

However, for us, the highlight was Chef Quang Dzung’s capacity to offer an authentic Vietnamese fine dining experience, specifically from Northern Vietnam.

Both Huong and I could identify and appreciate the local inspirations behind each dish. It’s even more accurate to say that many dishes were not just locally inspired but were elevated and personalized versions of classic Northern Vietnamese dishes.

You can even say that the first drink (a house-made rice wine) immediately set the tone.

For the menu itself, a notable example was the duck “tiết canh,” creatively using beetroot juice instead of blood, but the taste remains almost the same.

We also particularly enjoyed the Crab Noodles, which drew clear connections to Bánh đa cua. Considering the chef’s Hai Phong roots, where “Bánh đa cua” is a specialty, this came as no surprise.

The Tooth Fish paired with green banana and soy sauce impressed us as well. Its flavors reminded us of traditional Vietnamese clay pot dishes.

The Sweet Soup served with young rice was another highlight, offering an upscale version of the widely enjoyed “Chè” in Vietnam.

One exception to that would be the Beef Wagyu which was quality-wise faultless but gave us too much the feeling of “I already ate something similar in a great Western restaurant”.

Herbs and Sauces

How Chapter Dining & Grill managed to so well capture the essence of Northern Vietnamese cuisine in this menu, without falling into the trap of gimmickry, really impressed us.

Yes, elevating a cuisine known for its simplicity is challenging. And no, simply substituting beef with Foie Gras in a bowl of Pho doesn’t automatically make it a better or more refined version of the dish.

What makes Vietnamese food great is the use of a few simple ingredients, perfectly combined with the right fresh herbs and a flavorful sauce.

One dish that perfectly captured this was the Pork Iberico with Wild Leaves and Shrimp Paste. The Iberico pork had to be rolled in classic Vietnamese leaves (the ones usually served with Bún chả and Bánh cuốn) and then dipped into a peanut and fermented shrimp paste sauce.

This sauce stood out, as the peanuts added just the right amount of sweetness to balance the strong flavor of the fermented shrimp paste.

Another example was the Blue Belly Shrimp. Serving seafood in a tartlette might not seem like a traditional Vietnamese dish, but the herbs and fish sauce used brought you right back to Vietnam with the first bite, in case you had forgotten.

Final Thought: Fine Dining in Hanoi and Michelin Ambitions?

This post may seem a bit too enthusiastic, but to me, it highlights a significant trend in Hanoi and across Vietnam.

A new wave of chefs is pushing Vietnamese cuisine to new heights, confidently entering the fine dining space. It represents a shift from the longstanding perception of Vietnamese food as primarily street food, which was not just the expectation among tourists but also the preference among many locals.

Historically, I’ve noticed many Hanoians were more inclined to spend “the big money” on meals at Western or foreign restaurants.

The introduction of the Michelin Guide to Vietnam, which handed out its first awards in 2023, has undoubtedly contributed to this change.

I wrote a long piece on these first awards, available here: An opinion on the first awards given in Vietnam

Chapter Dining & Grill was recognized as “Michelin Selected” in the inaugural edition of the guide.

Trying dishes like their H’mong Black Chicken or their Hamachi fish with young bamboo makes it clear they’re aiming for even greater accolades, potentially a Michelin star.

While I’m not in a position to judge whether Chapter Dining & Grill deserves a star or not, what’s evident is that the possibility of receiving a Michelin star, typically associated with a surge of international tourists, and the growing readiness of local Vietnamese to pay for a new interpretation of their cuisine are fostering a market for restaurants like this.

This is great for the Vietnamese food scene in general and  I’m hopeful this trend will prove sustainable.

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Full Menu

A last word, it’s important to keep in mind that the experience described in the article is only the one we had with the ‘Back Home’ menu.

Chapter Dining & Grill’s seasonal menu is regularly changing, so if you visit and taste a different menu, we hope your experience will be just as good.

In any case, feel free to share your impressions with us!

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Practical information

Address: 12C Chan Cam, Hoan Kiem, Ha Noi

Opening Hours: Mon – Sat from 18:00 – 22:30

Price: ~ VND2.5M to 3.5M /pax

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restaurantchapter

Google Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pYBSWPXraL1YcHku6

All the places reviewed on this website have been personally tested by us and we paid for our meals. We are committed to informing readers clearly if there is any form of sponsored content.