The Best Pho in Hanoi, Ranked
2024-11-24 · 5 min read
Pho Thin at 13 Lo Duc Street has been serving pho bo since 1979 and does exactly one thing: beef pho with a clear, deeply savory broth and sliced rare beef that cooks in the hot soup as it arrives. There is no menu because there is no choice. You sit on a tiny plastic stool, receive your bowl, and eat one of the most perfectly calibrated soups on the planet. The broth is the star.
Pho Gia Truyen at 49 Bat Dan is the line everyone tells you about, and the line is honest. This tiny shop produces a broth so rich with beef bone and star anise flavor that it borders on decadent. The noodles are fresh, the beef is sliced thin, and the condiment tray lets you customize with chili, hoisin, lime, and fresh herbs. Arrive before 8 AM or expect to wait.
Pho Cuong on Hang Muoi Street in the Old Quarter serves a version with a slightly sweeter, more aromatic broth than the more austere northern style. The addition of a fried breadstick, quay, for dipping into the soup adds a textural element that transforms the eating experience. It is a small detail that makes a significant difference.
Pho 10 Ly Quoc Su is the spot that locals send tourists to because the quality is high and the experience is manageable. The broth is clean and balanced, the portions generous, and the seating less chaotic than the old quarter legends. The chicken pho here is arguably as good as the beef, with a delicate broth that showcases the difference between the two traditions.
What separates Hanoi pho from pho everywhere else is restraint. Southern Vietnamese pho piles on herbs, bean sprouts, and hoisin. Hanoi pho is stripped back: broth, noodles, meat, and a few herbs. The philosophy is that if the broth is right, it needs nothing else. After eating at any of these shops, you will understand that the philosophy is correct.
