Hanoi Hannah

So it seems to be the place all the cool kids like to hang out and be seen. It’s also the kind of place where the staff are way too cool to be serving you and give you a bit of totally unnecessary attitude on the side. (No tip obviously)
The music was very loud and so not conducive to convo. But the food was yummy. They nailed the flavours and had a very tempting menu.
And they had my old favourite, Beer Lao… so that scored brownie points.

Had a delicious and plentiful meal here. Good value for money. Staff were exceptional with prompt, friendly service. The Vietnamese Beef and Lemongrass Rolls were excellent. Just loved the BBQ Pork salad. Seating is a mix of outside café style and indoor tables and bar stool tables. Just loved the whole experience and will return on next trip to Melbourne!

HH is Overpriced and one of the staff was really rude. It feels like White culture ripping off Vietnamese. Better off finding an authentic Vietnamese place that’s cheaper and better.

As a proud and patriotic north-​sider it takes something big and bold to get me to travel to the other side of the river. It was a slight hangover on a Sunday morning and the promise of a Bloody Mary «to end all others» that got me in the car and down Punt Road.
Hanoi Hannah is part of a trio to have infiltrated South Yarra in the last year, and a love of Vietnamese food is what pushed us to this particular venue. The attention to detail in the décor was exceptional. My co-​diner lived in Vietnam for quite some time and was blown away by their efforts. The netting holding up small plastic chairs on the roof is a throwback to practically the only form of seating when dining out on the Streets of Viet.
Obviously we started with a Bloody Mary, which was a meal unto itself. It includes three fresh spring rolls as a garnish — A GARNISH. For $ 17 it’s pricey but well worth it. We then went with the Peking Duck rice paper rolls and Sticky Pork with Betel Leaf. HOT TIP: If you see betel leaf on a menu — ORDER IT.
While we certainly didn’t need it, we dined on a main meal of a Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli Salad, which was tasty but definitely not the highlight of the meal.
Next time I would certainly stick with a variety of smaller dishes rather than getting an entrée and main, I recommend you do too.

Really tasty and well priced phở and rice paper rolls in a super casual spot. There’s two outlets next door to each other. One is slightly more bar oriented with great cocktails, the other is more express food all day, but both chill to grab aforementioned dishes in. Now I live nearby will def stop by often :)

Best Phở in town. The Chicken Phở is amazing. Such a tasty broth. So fresh and delicious. The yellowfin tuna & wasabi mayo are the bomb.

I’ve been here a couple times and both were good experiences, food was good, service was good enough and there’s a really awesome busy atmosphere about the place. One thing that was a tad frustrating was the overall prices were great for the food but my friend ordered a «home made» lemonade and we even asked the waitress she said it was even though we were sitting at the bar and could see when he made it was blatantly just a can of schweppes lemonade and some lime juice. Not legit. Other than that it’s a good date joint.

Really enjoyed the food here, the beef phở was amazing and the meat was tender! Love the fresh coconut water too. Delicious! Shame about the service though, a couple of the girls were a bit rude and blunt, not very warm/​friendly.

Fantastic food and inventive set up! Our friend recommended this spot as I was craving some phở. We almost walked by the place on High Street as the sign isn’t huge, but they have a cover over the sidewalk seating so, look for that.
I got the blood orange and thai basil slushie (non alcoholic) and the poached chicken phở and Brian O. got the soft shell crab. We were both really impressed. The food was So good. The best phở I’d ever had, with the most tender white meat chicken, best textured noodles, and flavorful broth. The slushie was mind blowing and I wish I could get one here at home!
It seems like this spot gets really crowded during normal lunch/​dinner times. We stopped in at 2pm (ish) and it wasn’t busy, but busier than a lot of places at that time. So, consider ordering takeout. The food is so good it doesn’t need ambiance.

Have been meaning to get here for a while. We did Dunch — late lunch early dinner — at 3.30pm. It was relatively quiet except for the explosive music. Service was prompt, friendly and food tasty, filling and looked good. Salad dressing had way too much fish sauce for me and therefore overly salty — next time I’ll ask for the salad dressing on the side so I can control the amount. Lots of flavours though and worth a try. My dining companion had the pork ribs and was disappointed– not flavour wise, but was expecting a large platter of ribs and not just four ribs and slaw. He’s old school. Flavour was good nonetheless.

Hanoi Hannah is a pretty great take on Vietnamese street food, with just a few hipsteresque tweaks to set it apart from all the other amazing authentic Vietnamese restaurants that Melbourne has to offer.
The menu is made for sharing with plenty of options and smallish servings & it’s reasonably priced for those who do share. We tried the yellowfin tuna rice paper rolls, Hanoi style spring rolls (we wanted chicken ribs but they’d run out), Porkbelly sliders and the lemongrass beef vermicelli salad. The yellowfin tuna was phenomenal — out of this world good. The Hanoi style springs rolls and Porkbelly sliders were both really good. The salad wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was still pretty darn tasty.
Food aside, there’s an extensive beer, wine and non-​alch menu (Homemade lemonade was really delicious) and the décor is really fun and feels very festive. The staff are lovely and very attentive and my only gripe was that the music was a tiny bit too loud but I forgave them because the soundtrack was great.
My one tip is that HH gets BUSY. The space is pretty small, so go early/​late or be prepared to wait. We arrived pretty late on a Sunday night and the place was still packed. That being said, the food arrives pretty fast so I can imagine turnover being relatively quick.
I’ll definitely be back to HH — I need to try the softshell crab and chicken ribs!

Most of these reviews will mention the food (which is awesome, don’t get me wrong: Vietnamese street food =), but the customer service deserves a mention too. It’s nice going to a place and genuinely feeling like the staff give a shit about your experience. We were waiting at the bar for food (not an excessive amount of time) and one of the waiters overheard us moaning about the wait time. He then asked what we’d ordered, instantly followed it up with the kitchen, and knocked a decent bit of $$$ off the bill for our trouble. So to the dude in the Dillinger Escape Plan t-​shirt: thanks, bro! We’ll definitely be back.

I’ll start by saying Hanoi Hannah («HH») — as far as I could see — has no one Vietnamese (or even remotely Asian) working there! (Not that it’s a requisite; nevertheless, the moniker may connote such stereotype.) This is a decidedly hip and with-​it joint for those with room on their credit card. (The single «$» sign is wholly inaccurate when it comes to HH’s prices.) That said, these small «anomalies» are easily put on the back-​burner when it comes to the fabulous tapas-​style dishes! HH is one of those eateries where sharing multiple dishes is definitely the way to go to avoid hunger pangs, as single orders simply would not satiate most patrons’ appetites — unless you tend to eat like a bird!!!
Since this was our first time at HH, our wait-​gal, young newbie Juliette, was über-​friendly and helpful in assisting us with our choices. We started with the Salmon Tartare (fresh, diced salmon, bonito custard, and native lime served with nori crackers; $ 15) and Charlie’s Fried Chicken Ribs (six deep-​fried chicken ribs — tender and surprisingly meaty! — with a spicy honey sauce; $ 14). Both dishes were simply phenomenal! The chicken ribs were done like American buffalo wings, only these ribs have a single bone and a lot more meat on ‘em! Naturally, both meals were gobbled-​up lickety-​split! Next round came Snapper Dumplings (snapper, chili, lime and black bean; $ 12.50) and Prawn Dumplings (har gow-​styled steamed prawns, bamboo shoots, and corn; $ 12.50). OMG scrumptious!!! Our final savory dish was the Duck Dumplings (Peking duck, aromatic broth, tofu and Asian mushrooms; $ 14), which, in our opinion, was the «least favorite» of our entire meal — which is not to say that it was bad, because it really was oh-​so good; it simply was more «ordinary» than the other entrees. The Peking duck flavor was quite pronounced and flavorful; the small, diced tofu wasn’t particularly necessary. As a finish, my partner went with the Peanut Butter Mochi ($ 12.50), which he stated was amazing! And, too, a small platter of three distinctly different sauces («Charlie’s Sauces») are there on the table for your use: black vinegar and chili soy; a shallot and ginger concoction (my fave!); and Red Nam Jin (which tastes like a srirachi mixture. All three do-​it-​yourself sauces were deliciously savory and complemented the various entrees perfectly.
Three glasses of Heathcote’s Red Claw Shiraz ($ 13 per single glass; the barmaid left us the bottle), and a glass of «Lemonade» (Sprite; $ 4), helped wash all of this deliciousness down… (Our entire meal came out to $ 123.50.)
The entire staff of HH was absolutely top-​notched and really cared about making sure everyone was enjoying their experience! In short, I cannot recommend Hanoi Hannah anymore highly! With so many far-​less expensive Vietnamese restaurants in town, the packed house at Hanoi Hannah’s pretty much made its point that you cannot put a price on superb flavors and a memorable dining experience!!! WOW!!! :D

Great phở. The broth was tasty and it came out quick. I ate at the express side which was super informal for my walk to work

Busy busy, but great service and delicious food!
Shared the pork spring roles (highly yum) and had the vermicelli noodles with chargrilled chicken. Great fresh ingredients, and extremely yummy. Beef phở also got a good review from my dinner company.
It’s a very cool place — Ultimately you can get pretty similar food much cheaper at a bunch of Vietnamese restaurants around town, but these guys have a great thing going on, and the general atmosphere made it really worthwhile.
Definitely worth a visit, but get in early, it was packed out on a Thursday night.
UPDATE: I’ve since made a second visit, and it was just as good, if not better! Couldn’t resist the vermicelli again, but also tasted the pork belly sliders which were tiny but mouth wateringly delicious. Washed it all down with a lovely Sierra Nevada beer. Once again, incredibly busy, so be prepared to chuck your name on the waiting list and go for a stroll before your feed.

«How long has this been going on?», I asked myself after my first visit to Hanoi Hannah in High Street, Prahran on Friday night. I mean, what’s not to like? Great food, even greater cocktails (priced between $ 13 and $ 16), friendly laid back staff and character to burn. Think distressed brick wall behind a green pressed metal bar peppered with Vietnamese themed prints, painted concrete floor (more concrete than paint), groovy acid jazz soundtrack, bottles of booze in little fruit box like shelves, and tables on the footpath for those balmy evenings.
I started with a Vietnamese Mai Tai — two different types of rum with almond syrup, orange and pineapple juice served in a tall glass with mint and lots of ice. Yummy — just what the doctor ordered after a hard week at work. I happily sipped away on this while waiting for my first course — coconut marinated pork ribs.
These were delicious; served in a spicy coconut sauce. and covered in a carrot and mint salad with a little lemon juice and lemongrass to give it some extra kick. The meat was tender, succulent and tasty. Great dish and great value at just $ 13. At first I was surprised that there were no knives in the cutlery box on my table, but the pork was so tender I could carve it with a spoon.
The crowd is eclectic; I had an elderly couple on one side and a table of schoolgirls on the other. And honestly, you could find a lot worse ways to spend your pocket money. At any rate, I’ll definitely be spending some more of mine here.

This place used to be my local go to for cheap excellent food. The soft shell crab & school prawns are not everyones cup of tea as they come whole & in their shell but for me that is what makes them so unique & different oh & did I mention they taste good! Very small busy place & if you go on a wknd expect an hour plus wait but you give your number go to one of the many bars around & they call you when your table is ready.
On Sundays I found alot of their food was sold out & they do not serve a full menu during lunch service. Pork belly sliders, do it!

I have officially eaten all but three things on this menu. Everything is good. And definitely worth the inevitable table wait (unless you have a problem with hip hop then maybe just get takeaway). The tuna cold rolls are amazing. Amazing. The viet spring rolls with the herbs and lettuce make you believe that you are not eating deep fry and the BBQ items such as the squid are smokey and great to share. The phở is also good and you have the option of veg or beef stock with the mushroom version. The cocktail list has all of the perfect combinations and are always great to have as a refresher after putting too much chili on your salad/​phở/​etc. Wine list is nice and affordable and the place has seriously good atmosphere. Lone diners can sit at the bar and still feel like they have company. See you there.

What to do when you arrive at a place that’s screamingly
popular? Be on your game, and snare a table in the sun,
quick smart.
It’s still relatively busy for a mid-​week lunching session. And whilst
it still had some calm, being not as busy as night, the meal got out to us in good
time. I need to come back, or at least take another visit, to sample some
more of the other dishes such as spring rolls and snacks. I ordered the tender
beef phở, and for what it amounts to, it was quite good. I am a phở-​fiend, and
have been having it for about 8 years or so. This version is phở-​king delicious.
I“m also really glad that I don’t have to head out to the city, nor cross the yarra to
Richmond to get my phở fix. This will serve well for such purposes. Because
it’s near chapel street, you will get the inevitable douche bag factor as patrons.
At day time it’s almost non-​existent. I’m just glad I’m not here on a busy Friday Saturday night, that Melbourne is so obsessed with. All in all good.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, bánh mì is the best hangover cure known to man. The ones at Hanoi Hannah even more so, because they come drowning in mayo and with your own personal bottle of Sriracha on the table, you can just load that bad boy up and then scarf it down.
The beef one is pretty good. Rather than being sliced fillet, this one is minced and mixed with deliciousness (I presume lemongrass and crack), rolled in to sausage shapes before being grilled. Don’t even attempt to eat this on a day when you’re feeling virtuous, because the mayo and meat juices rolling down your hands while you hide behind your sunglasses will remind you how unhealthy this version is.
But hey, after a night on the turps you’ll do just about anything to feel human again — right?