Street · Hanoi
Tạ Hiện ("Beer Street")Phố Tạ Hiện
Come after 19:00 for a draft beer on a plastic stool, ideally Friday to Sunday when the Old Quarter streets around it close to traffic; by day it is an ordinary lane and not worth a detour.Come after 7:00 PM for a draft beer on a plastic stool, ideally Friday to Sunday when the Old Quarter streets around it close to traffic; by day it is an ordinary lane and not worth a detour.
Map to the start
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Length
200 m0.1 mi
approximate
Walk end to end
4 min
without stops
Traffic
Car-free at set times
Best time
19:00–23:00, busiest Friday and Saturday7:00 PM–11:00 PM, busiest Friday and Saturday
At a glance
- Length
- 200 m0.1 mi
- Start
- North end at Hàng Buồm
- End
- South end at Hàng Bạc
- Traffic
- Car-free at set times
- Currency
- VND
Decide
What the street is for, and when to be there
At a glance
Hanoi's best-known drinking street: a short Old Quarter lane lined with bars and street-side beer stalls where visitors and locals sit on low plastic stools until late.
Getting there
No metro nearby. Walk 5–8 minutes from the north end of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, or take a car to Hàng Buồm or Đinh Liệt and walk in: cars cannot reach the lane on busy evenings.
Traffic and walking hours
Car-free at set times. Part of the Old Quarter weekend walking-street area: closed to motor traffic Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, roughly 19:00–24:00 (check). Other nights bikes squeeze through the crowd.
Hours change for events and holidays: check locally.
Reading the address
Morning, afternoon, night
Best time: 19:00–23:00, busiest Friday and Saturday
05:00–11:005:00 AM–11:00 AM local time
Shuttered bars, delivery bikes and residents; a few cafés and phở stalls open. Nothing to see.
Best time: 19:00–23:00, busiest Friday and Saturday
See & do
The stops in walking order, then where to shop and what to eat
Walk this street
↓ about 2 min · 120 m390 ft
↓ about 2 min · 120 m390 ft
Minutes are walking time at an easy 5 km/h3 mph with a margin for crowds; add time for shops. The GPX opens in Organic Maps, OsmAnd or Google My Maps.
Where to shop and what it costs
- Street beer stallsDraft and bottled beer served to plastic stools on the pavementAsk the price before you sit₫10,000–45,000 (≈ US$1–2) / drinkPrice check →
- Bars with upstairs seatingCocktails, imported beer, loud music; a way to watch the street from above₫60,000–180,000 (≈ US$3–7) / drinkPrice check →
- Snack cartsDried squid, grilled skewers, fries and nem chua rán brought to your stool₫30,000–120,000 (≈ US$2–5) / platePrice check →
Typical buys
- Draft beer (bia hơi) at a street stallStreet-stall price; bars charge more₫10,000–25,000 (≈ under US$1) / glassPrice check →
- Bottled local beer₫25,000–45,000 (≈ US$1–2) / bottlePrice check →
- Cocktail in a bar₫80,000–180,000 (≈ US$4–7) / drinkPrice check →
- Fried fermented pork (nem chua rán) or peanuts₫40,000–100,000 (≈ US$2–4) / platePrice check →
Ranges, not quotes: prices move with season and exchange rates; the equivalent in your currency is approximate. Checked Sep 2026.
Eat on or near it
- Snacks on the streetMost stalls only serve drinking snacks; eat dinner first on the surrounding streets.
- Cà Phê GiảngEgg coffee five minutes' walk east on Nguyễn Hữu Huân; go before the beer.
- Xôi YếnSticky rice with toppings, a cheap filling dinner ten minutes' walk away.
Sights on the street
- Lương Ngọc Quyến junctionThe crossroads in the middle is the densest part: the classic view of stools in every direction.
- Old Quarter night marketRuns north from Hàng Đào on weekend evenings, a few minutes west (check).
- Thăng Long Water Puppet TheatreEvening shows on the lake's north shore, 8 minutes' walk; book the show before the beer.
Practical
Getting a ride there, what goes wrong, and access
Show the driver
Show the driver
Cho tôi xuống ở đầu phố Tạ Hiện, góc phố Hàng Buồm, phường Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội.
Please drop me at the Hàng Buồm end of Tạ Hiện Street, Hoàn Kiếm ward, Hanoi.
On weekend evenings cars stop at the edge of the walking-street area; walk the last few minutes.
Safety, traffic and scams
Pickpockets and phone snatching in the crush medium
Police sweeps of pavement seating low
Motorbikes through the crowd on weekdays medium
Scams and traps
- Menus without prices: ask the price per glass or bottle before ordering, and count bottles on the table before paying.
- Snack sellers set food on your table unasked and then charge for it; hand it back straight away if you don't want it.
- Change handed back in the wrong notes (₫10,000 vs ₫100,000 look similar in dim light): check it.
Accessibility
- Flat but crowded: after 20:00 the lane is a mass of low stools, with almost no clear path for a wheelchair or stroller.Flat but crowded: after 8:00 PM the lane is a mass of low stools, with almost no clear path for a wheelchair or stroller.
- Seating is low plastic stools; ask a bar for a normal chair or an upstairs table.
- Toilets are inside the bars, often up steep stairs.
Photo tips
- Shoot from an upstairs bar balcony at the Lương Ngọc Quyến junction around 21:00 for the full sea of stools.Shoot from an upstairs bar balcony at the Lương Ngọc Quyến junction around 9:00 PM for the full sea of stools.
- Ask before photographing people drinking up close.
A line of history
The lane is named after Tạ Hiện, a 19th-century commander who fought French colonial forces in northern Vietnam. Its beer-stall scene grew over the last two decades from the cheap draft-beer corners of the Old Quarter into a nightly street party.
Combine with
- Hàng BạcWalk south onto Hàng Bạc for silver shops before the bars fill.
- Hàng MãPaper lanterns and ritual goods ten minutes' walk north-west; best before dark.
Questions people ask
Is Tạ Hiện safe at night?
Generally yes: it is crowded and lit until late. The common problems are pickpockets, unpriced orders and motorbikes, not violence.
Can I bring children?
Early evening, yes, for a look; after 21:00 it is loud, crowded and alcohol-centred.
Deep dive
Sources; hours, rules and prices change, so check before you go