Madame Hien - Vietnamese Restaurant Hanoi

This is a restaurant not to be missed in Hanoi. Excellent atmosphere, service and food. We got it recommended while in Hanoi and are grateful we got here. You can sit both outdoor and indoor. We had a lovely lunch as you can see from the pictures.

We got there at 5 pm as Google said they were open but we were told the set menu dinner service starts only from 6 pm and the happy hour (buy 1 get 1 free) from 5:30 pm. We were offered a seat inside even though we got there early than said the opening hours. We had the Signature tasting set menu 900,000VND per person and boy, there was so much food! The food was fresh, chef's great skill and high quality products put in. Foie gras pho was out of this world and in fact, everything we had on the set menu was amazing. We were happy, satisfied and full after the dinner!

Wonderful Vietnamese dishes! New experience to taste bud. The building itself is historical. Right at the middle of old town. Yes, traffic a little challenge to get there but it pays off.

We went for lunch. Grand parents and 9 year old were all happy with the food. We ordered the specials so we can try new dishes and even though we were not quite sure what we were eating, everything was super tasty and fresh. The staff were very nice too. There was a little cat walking around the tables. We wanted to go back in the evening and arrived around 9pm on a Saturday night. Unfortunately the kitchen was closed.

The food was good here but it’s sometimes hard where it’s traditional recipes over engineered for tourists. Having said that it’s still a beautiful venue. We had the red Tuna which we agreed with the tuna would be cooked medium rare. It came out without a touch of pink. It’s hard in a lot of Asian restaurants especially in Vietnam and Thailand to get Tuna cooked rare. Perhaps you will have more luck. The taste was still excellent. My caramelized pork had flavor but only the fatty pieces were tender. The deep fried shrimps were OK. Again a the sesame coating was plentiful but crisp and did in my opinion integrate well with the dish. I’d shell the base of the shrimp more to make it an easier dining experience. The tamarind sauce was good. Finally the chocolate pudding was good. I always do struggle where the portion sizes vs the west are so small. In a desert that costs so little to make you could double the size and keep the customer happy. Especially as the cake did not contain any explosive chocolate center. Ice cream was good. The ambience of the restaurant is good with both outdoor and indoor options. Staff were well presented and friendly. Note Google says it’s open all day. It’s not. They provide a snack menu to cover between lunch service and dinner. Should be made clear.

The main reason we went there was the Duck 3 Ways and that was delicious even though they could have portioned it differently so you‘d have the same amount of duck each way. The service was okay, not really what we expected from this sort of fancy restaurant. What we were super disappointed about was that our food has arrived at different times. This might be a thing here in Vietnam as we have had that happen a lot while visiting. The disappointing part is that this is supposed to be a high class restaurant and I think they should be able to schedule the food correctly. We have ordered one starter and two main dishes. My main dish arrived after waiting a lot of time, then the starter arrived and after waiting a long time again my boyfriends food (the duck) has arrived. By then, I have already eaten up my dish completely (and no, I am not a fast eater…) which would otherwise have been cold by the time his food arrived. We then asked if we could order dessert and the waiter told us that we would have to wait another 20-25 min for the dessert which would have been fine if we hadn‘t already waited so long for our food. An idea would be to let the guests know that dessert takes a few minutes to prepare so if they don‘t want to wait they could order dessert right away so they could get it immediately after having the starter and the main dish. We decided to skip dessert seeing as it was rather cold and windy that day and we were sitting outside as we did not make a reservation. I guess the atmosphere was bad for us because of the weather (which was ovbviously not the restaurants fault but there would have been ways to sort of „make up“ for it) and the absolut long wait. All in all it was one of the worst experiences I had in Vietnam even though it was obviously not super bad. I would not go again and would not recommend it to our friends and family.

A nice setting in a what looks like a converted old home. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. There is a nice sense of history in the building which adds to a nice atmosphere while dining. The staff are friendly and attentive and helpful. The food is presented well. The restaurant is worth trying if you’re looking for contemporary Vietnamese food. When it comes down to the flavours, I still feel the street food in Hanoi is tastier. Definitely worth a visit, but it won’t blow you away. I washed it all down with some Long Island Ice Teas which were surprisingly strong. As a foreigner, the final price was actually quite decent for what you get.

Now I'm sad that I don't live in Hanoi so I could come here more often! Excellent food. The 5 coloured fried rice was next level. Nem with pork as well. Service is so friendly and helpful. Great variations and selection of classic Vietnamese dishes. Definitely recommended! ♥️