Hanoi’s Café Culture

Unlike tea-drinking neighbouring countries, Vietnam has a distinct coffee culture inherited from the once dominant French. In the past, only foreigners or the wealthy indulged in coffee drinking. However today, similar to ‘Pho’, Vietnamese noodle soup, coffee is a staple fuel in the Vietnamese daily life.

Early morning on the streets of Hanoi, locals congregate in quaint little coffee shops across the city, to enjoy their daily ritual while reading the newspaper or chatting with friends and colleagues. The tradition is not just confined to the morning in Hanoi, the city’s coffee shops are open until late at night to accommodate this popular culture.

Coffee shops can take any format, from quaint little parlours in crumbling old colonial buildings to modern pavement cafés under branded awnings. The older generation tend to gather in long established shops deep in the alleys, while young professionals prefer the more subdued surrounding of the Pho Co Quarter, and teenagers swarm to noisy terrace cafes in the heart of the city.

Visitors seduced by the heart-warming aromas can sample a taste of the city’s rich blend in any random street café. Hot, flavoured or iced, a cup of coffee provides the perfect opportunity to soak up the atmosphere and ponder this intriguing destination.

Hanoi coffee culture has also seeped into the tourist industry, with a number of new, upmarket coffee houses opening in classic, colonial buildings. The polished wooden floors, potted plants and plush upholstery, add a luxurious essence to the scene. This opulent style is a stark contrast to the authentic Hanoi coffee shop, but provides visitors a chance to appreciate Hanoi’s beautiful colonial designs over a delicious meal or relaxing drink.

The propaganda posters that flourished in Hanoi and elsewhere in the country during the Vietnam War have today been replaced by posters of government campaigns, yet this unique war-time art form has seen a renaissance as both national and artists take an interest in these once forgotten political masterpieces.

Today you can view original pressings of some of the most prized Vietnam War era propaganda posters at the aptly named Old Propaganda Posters gallery in Nha Tho. This quaint gallery specialises in rare Vietnamese propaganda art that was just over a decade or two ago considered of little value by many.

Gone are the days when you could find these vibrant posters in Hanoi’s junk shops for a snip, yet reproductions are affordable, widely available and easy to carry home. Even better; get the gallery to post your purchases home for you.