Written by 
Updated on Nov 13, 2025
I strive to keep all content fresh, but details may change
The Top Specialty Coffee Shops of Hanoi
Hanoi’s specialty coffee scene has matured from one-off cafés to a curated roster of locations where origin beans, roastery identities and bar-setups are up to high standards. Each space experiments differently. Some reimagine the Vietnamese phin, others chase Nordic-style light roasts. Here are the top cafes I have tried and tested in the vietnamese Capital.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something. While clicking these links won’t cost you anything, they will help me to keep this site up and running.
Blackbird’s first cafe opened in 2018 at Chân Cầm, directly in the Old Quarter. The name references The Beatles’ song Blackbird. The coffee shop is narrow, typical Old Quarter footprint, with Blackbird’s signature burnt-orange facade, and a mix of wood and concrete inside. It’s compact but functional. Coffee covers espresso based, hand-brewed, Vietnamese phin, cold brew, and their signature egg coffee. Blackbird focuses on Vietnamese beans, sources domestically and highlights local origin. You’ll find specialty standards applied to homegrown coffee. The Chân Cầm location is laptop-friendly with strong wifi. Since 2018, Blackbird has expanded to two more locations: 63B Lãn Ông in 2019 and 11A Đặng Dung in February 2023.
refined opened its first shop Phin bar by refined. in April 2021 at Văn Miếu. This is where Vũ Đình Tú, who left his 9-5 to work in coffee, decided Vietnamese coffee didn’t need saving, it needed defending. While most of the specialty world worships arabica, Vũ bet on robusta, specifically, Fine Robusta, brewed the traditional way with a phin filter. By December 2022, the third location landed inside No Concept’s menswear store near St. Joseph’s Cathedral. The Nhà Thờ spot keeps refined’s signature look: an all-black slow bar where nothing distracts from what’s happening in the cup.
Nguyễn Phương Linh opened RAAW’s second location at 15 Hàng Buồm in 2022, bringing her Vietnam-only specialty program into the Old Quarter. Linh founded RAAW in 2019 as a small roastery focused on direct purchases from smallholder farms. She’s a Q Arabica Grader and judged the 2024 Vietnam Barista Competition, credentials that show up in how her cafes operate. The Hàng Buồm space runs two levels, concrete and neutral tones, with natural light, plants and generous seating. It’s calm for the Old Quarter, modern, minimal – the kind of place where you can hang out for ages. Apart from the typical specialty coffee menu it also offers a coffee flight. The so called Vietnam Road Trip sampler tasting let you compare 4 origins side by side.
ACID8 opened in 2019 as a two-story space almost entirely in red with tasteful interior. It’s filled with people who’ve made peace with watching their hand brew happen slowly. The signature move here is the aerated iced Americano—they whip it until there’s a foam cap that sits on top like something between a beer head and a cappuccino. The Vietnamese classics are available too: đen, nâu, bạc xỉu. They source beans from Vietnam and elsewhere, roast them in-house, and will happily geek out about processing methods if you ask. But they won’t lecture you if you just want your coffee. The place runs on this team model where everyone seems genuinely invested rather than just clocking in. They Have a sister project at Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi called The Coffee Man which is also worth checking out.
Down the alley Xóm Hạ Hồi, a few steps away from ACID8, sits the white-grey bar VULAB. Lê Quang Vũ, the pharmacist-turned-roaster behind VULAB, brought his lab instincts with him when he opened in 2023. Vũ holds SCA sensory certification and Q Grader credentials. He roasts in-house and and offers phin classics, Syphon, Aeropress, Moka pot, and more. When it comes to their beans VULAB get specific: they tier beans from common through rare, epic, all the way to legendary. Origins span Vietnamese highlands to Panama, Costa Rica, or Ethiopia. The space itself has clean aesthetics with a compact bar, round tables, and most notably, a very cute courtyard.
A small owner-operated team runs this Old Quarter cafe. It’s name comes from the saying broken crayons still color. The space holds just a few seats. There’s a wooden bar, a big street-facing window, and a vintage hi-fi hooked to a projector that loops jazz visuals. The design leans Japanese-minimalist, clean lines, nothing extra. When you lounge on one of the few chairs, the music plays, images drift across the wall, everything just slows down here. Coffee runs through a La Marzocco Linea Mini: espresso, pour-over, and cold brew. The house blend mixes Ethiopian and Vietnamese Arabica.
A quick note to start: Ta Cà Phê 2 relocated in 2024. The original Tây Hồ garden compound which I visited has moved to a new address. Ta Cà Phê operates as a seed-to-cup roaster, sourcing Vietnamese specialty beans from Sơn La, Quảng Trị, Đắk Nông, and Lâm Đồng. They serve both traditional phin, espresso, and manual brews. The brand leans heavily into education. Their blog covers brewing techniques and roasting fundamentals, and they offer training sessions for learners. Their approach is SCA-informed but rooted in Vietnamese coffee culture, honoring local traditions while applying specialty standards.
Capella Coffee Roasters is located in Tây Hồ, also known as Westlake, a 20-30 minute drive up north from the Old Quarter. This is a spacious, work-friendly setup where you’ll see a lot of expats settle in for hours with their laptops. It stands out for its art plastered walls and cozy vibe. The coffee program runs on single-origin beans: Kenya, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua. They roast on-site and offer both espresso-based drinks and filter brews.
A barista at Ta Cà Phê told me about PIN Cafe’n Clothes in the Old Quarter. It’s a clothing boutique with a coffee bar up front. The space is tiny and owner Han runs both sides herself. The coffee counter faces the street, racks of vintage-leaning linen and canvas behind it, hats and bags filling the gaps. You can sip a coffee while browsing shirts. The setup works because Han moves between roles easily: pulling shots, folding clothes, chatting with whoever’s sitting at the bar. Her pour over comes highly recommended. She brews by feel, adjusting grind and timing based on what the beans need that day. It’s intuitive rather than technical, which seems to bother coffee nerds more than it bothers the coffee. She curates her own bean selection, rotating through roasters she trusts.
More Coffee Stories from Vietnam