Hanoi Train Street Café Special Review: Southern Vs Northern
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Are you visiting Hanoi Train Street? This blog post provides a full Hanoi Train Street Café review for your upcoming visit there.
Needless to say, the Hanoi railway is one of the must-go icons for your visit to Vietnam. It opens daily from early morning around 7 am to around 11pm with over 5 trains. For us as tourists, taking photos on the train track, chilling out of the café there, and most importantly feeling the close distance with the train passing by is the target.
Before we get into the Train Street café review, you should know that there are two sessions of Hanoi Train Street open for tourists. The first one is on the Northen side near “P Tran Phu” or just search train street on Google Maps. Another one is on the Southern side near “D Le Duan” or by searching Hanoi 1990s TrainStreet Coffee on Google Map.
Both sides have good café for your zero-distance train experience. Before the comparison, let’s look at what to expect from the cafes.
Hanoi Train Street Café Review – Menu & Environment
All the cafes at the sides of the railways there offer very similar menus. For drinks, of course, you would expect all Vietnamese coffees including black, milk, coconut, and egg coffees. After all, drinking coffee at the side of the track feeling the train passing by is the goal. My recommendation is to have an egg coffee there if you have not done so.
Other than coffee, soft drinks, local beers, mocktails, and cock tails are also available. The beers are especially perfect if you go there in near evening.
For food, they have all common Vietnam options including Bah Minh (Vietnamese subway), and fried rice and some even offer Pho (soup noodles). Don’t expect the food to be outstanding, although it is acceptable). If you are interested in Hanoi street food, check out our other post. This post is for Hanoi Train Street cafe review only.
Given it is the most touristy place in Hanoi, the café owners have well-decorated their shops to fulfill your (or your IG’s) needs. From the shop’s exterior to the interior, you will find different local art and graffiti for photos. In Northern Train Street, most cafes would even put up traditional Vietnam lanterns for decorations.
Is the café at Hanoi Train Street expensive?
You should expect premium prices at the cafes there. After all, it is a tourist icon with no entrance fee. In general, the price is around 20 – 30 % higher than city center (i.e. old quarter). The cafes on the Southern side would be slightly pricier than the North.
Despite, the price it is still far from expensive in Western or even Asia Countries standard. Imagine the photos you take on the trail, the video you shoot while the train passing by, the nice graffiti decorated, and the safety guide from shop owners (yes they will ensure you are safe and give you a heads-up before the train passes by). This value-adding experience seems to far outweigh the price.
I will list some item prices below for your reference.
| General Price in Hanoi Train Street Café | |
| Drinks: | Price |
| Black Coffee | 40,000 VND ~1.6 USD |
| Milk Coffee | 45,000 VND ~ 1.8 USD |
| Coconut Coffee / Egg Coffee | 55,000 VND ~ 2.2 USD |
| Juice | ~50,000 VND ~ 2 USD |
| Soft Drinks | ~ 25,000 VND ~ 1 USD |
| Tea | ~ 40,000 VND ~ 1.6 USD |
| Beers | ~ 45,000 VND ~ 1.8 USD |
| Cocktails | ~130,000 VND ~ 5.2 USD |
| Food: | Price |
| Beef / Chicken / Vegetarian Pho | ~ 60,000 VND ~ 2.4 USD |
| Beef / Chicken / Egg/ Vegetable Fried rice | ~ 70,000 VND ~ 2.6 USD |
| Beef / Chicken / Vegetable Bah Minh (Vietnam Subway) | ~ 50,000 VND ~ 2.2 USD |
| Other snacks i.e. French Fries, Prawn Crackers, Popcorn Chicken | ~ 50,000 VND – 80,000 VND ~ 2.2 USD – 3.2 USD |
Southern Train Street Café vs Northern Train Street Café
The menu and price level have no notable difference for both train streets. You may consider the below points before choosing which side of the Hanoi train street to go to.
| Hanoi Train Street Café Review South Vs North | |
| Distance | Northern Hanoi train street is closer to Hanoi Old Quarter, reachable within 10 minutes walking distance. Meanwhile, the south side is farther with a walking distance of around 25 minutes from Hanoi Old Quarter. |
| Environment | Northern Train Street has more cafes, thus more graffiti and decorations for IGable photos. With the lanterns well placed on both sides, it is especially beautiful even during the non-train hour. The southern part has fewer local arts with fewer cafes and no lanterns. |
| Proximity to the train | The train will pass by you close on both sides. Comparatively speaking, you will have a more “heart-beating experience”, as the alley at Southern Train Street is narrower. |
The best Café at Northern Hanoi Train Street
In northern parts, most cafes are similar with similar menus and nice decorations. The cafe I recommend would be the “A76 café” in the middle of the train street. First, it has the best egg coffee in Hanoi and second, it has the best angle for taking photos of the training passing by other well-decorated cafes there.
Again the cafes on the north side are in general quite good especially the ones near A76. So just pick one you feel is the best.
Accurate Hanoi Train Street schedule
Hanoi Train Street Time Table in 2024 was 745am, 850am, and 920am. 1135am, 320pm, 530 (Sun-Sat only), 620pm (Sun-Sat only), 715pm,820pm,910pm,940pm and 10 pm. However, the accurate train schedule or the time they pass (South or North) could be different.
So the best way to locate the accurate schedule is the pick one café and ask them via WhatsApp. Just picking either A76, Hanoi 1990s or any other café is fine. The number you can find them via Google Maps. For example, the 745 and 820 pm train were canceled on the day of my visit.
So you better check in advance to confirm. Alternatively, you can check the official website for the Vietnam train but you would not know the passing time and it would take more time to check.
Conclusion:
I hope our Hanoi Train Street Café Review will help your trip planning in Hanoi. If time allows, you should go there at least three times during your travel. Ideally, visit the North and South part once in the morning and the North part once in the evening to get the most.
