Hanoi is fascinating, day and night. It is not an especially formal city with many tourists keen to enjoy the environment of the street, food and drink. Every night, there are locals and visitors to Hanoi sitting on plastic stools, eating freshly made food from a street vendor or drinking the local beer. Hanoi tours usually include time near Hoan Kiem Lake and this is the district where there are many of the best bars and pubs in Hanoi. A Hanoi travel guide identifies this district as a place where strangers to the city can immerse themselves in Hanoi life. Here are a few places, just a small selection, where you can enjoy a drink and the atmosphere of Hanoi:

King Pirates Pub in the Old Quarter uses the theme of pirates; it offers a fun night where you can actually walk the plank. If you drink 5 shots of rum, you will get a free T-shirt but rum is just one thing on the ‘’menu’’. Local beer and wine are popular as well as a range of cocktails.

Lan Chin has its tables and chairs under a corrugated iron roof, a beer hall popular with locals and offering beer that is better than Bia Hoi which is relatively weak.

La Salsa is a place where many people meet before dinner. There are snacks and tapas with a French cuisine restaurant upstairs if you haven’t chosen anywhere for dinner yet. It sells cocktails as well as having a great wine list.

Legend Beer is a third-floor bar with a terrace where patrons can look down on the busy traffic and Hoan Kiem Lake. There is plenty on offer; beers, stout and lager and it brews many of them itself.

Le Pub near Hoan Kiem Lake has daily promotions as well as a great range of drinks, local and imported, including wines and spirits.

Mojito Bar & Lounge in the Old Quarter specialises in cocktails. There are specials on Wednesdays and Thursdays in a venue with great music, unique décor and a koi carp fish pond.
O’Leary’s Sports Bar in Hoan Kiem brings all the latest sports on 50 screens. It has a very comprehensive list of drinks and a terrace where you can watch the streets below if sport is not your thing.

Polite Pub is another offers sports TV, the chance to play pool and a daily ‘’Happy Hour.’’
R&R Tavern attracts an older crowd, largely ex pat. It plays classic rock and twice a week the music is live. Draught beer, spirits and cocktails are all on the menu with a food menu available as well.

Rockstore is a music bar with a stage and dancefloor. It plays many of the classics from Beatles to Jimi Hendrix, shows sport and offers a game of pool.

Press Club is upmarket. Located near the Opera House, it concentrates on quality, service and product, offers promotions on Thursday and live rock music through to Sunday.