Chả cá
Turmeric-marinated grilled fish, served sizzling with dill and rice noodles. A Hanoi specialty.
- Where to find it
- A street in the Old Quarter is literally named after the dish. Several houses along it serve it; the originals and the imitators sit side by side.
- When it is sold
- Lunch and dinner. It is a sit-down, order-for-the-table dish.
- What it costs
- 150,000–250,000 VND per person
How to order it
Priced per person and it is the only thing on the menu. Let the dill wilt in the pan before you serve yourself — raw dill is harsh.
We list neighbourhoods rather than street numbers: Hanoi stalls move, and a wrong address is worse than none. The guides below name specific places we stand behind.
3 guides mention Chả cá
Chả cá: the one Hanoi dish that is a restaurant
Turmeric fish finished at your table in a pan of dill and spring onion. Chả cá is priced per head, has no menu to speak of, and is the only Hanoi dish you should sit down properly for.
Hanoi 3-day food itinerary: the route I'd send my mum on
Three days, three meals a day, nine neighborhoods. A pace-it-properly Hanoi food trip with morning, lunch and dinner stops, plus what to do between meals.
What to eat in Hanoi: the complete food guide (2026)
The best food in Hanoi, dish by dish — 20 must-try dishes in the order to eat them, what each costs, when it is sold, and a full index of every dish guide on this site.