This neighborhood in Hanoi, Vietnam is a relatively new development close to West Lake (Tây Hồ). It is currently home to the Korean Embassy with plans for multiple more embassies in the future.
Khu Ngoại Giao Đoàn is sometimes translated as Diplomatic Corps Area or Embassy Complex. It features a small lake and park surrounded by newly built apartment complexes and homes.
While this isn’t a typical tourist destination yet it is easy to get to from West Lake (Tay Ho) and is one of the more walkable areas in Hanoi so it is great for a day of trying restaurants and cafes.
While you are there you can go for a quick walk around Ngoai Giao Doan Park or a little longer walk around Peace Park (Công viên Hòa Bình).
1. Bún Dọc Mùng Gia Truyền – Quán Mẹ Gôm
- Address: Ngoại Giao Đoàn, B16, Embassy Garden, Bắc Từ Liêm, Hà Nội
- Type of Food: Bún Dọc Mùng
- Bún Dọc Mùng is a noodle soup dish with a load of tasty toppings like pork, meatballs, and veggies.
- Description:
- This is a small but busy restaurant that focuses on one dish: Bún Dọc Mùng. It is a dish you don’t hear about often but was one of my favorites.
- Recommended Order: Bún Dọc Mùng đặc biệt (noodle soup) with a side order of Quay (fried dough sticks) and a glass of Tra Quat (Kumquat Iced Tea).
- All of this was just 65K VND (about $2.60 USD) during my visit in 2024
2. Phong Dê Ninh Bình
- Address: BT 2.1, Đường Nguyễn Xuân Khoát, Hà Nội, Vietnam
- Type of Food: Goat. Lots of different dishes but almost all made with goat.
- Description: This is a good specialty restaurant that focuses on goat dishes from Ninh Binh (a city south of Hanoi).
- This is something I would make a special trip to the area for as it isn’t something you find on every street in Hanoi (although there are a few more goat restaurants on this same street).
- I would recommend coming to the restaurant with at least a small group so you can try multiple dishes.
- Recommended Dishes: I would plan sharing dishes with a group and order one meat dish per person plus 1-2 veggie dishes for a small group.
- Roasted Goat (dê quay)
- Goat Sausage (dồi dê)
- Sauteed Greens (rau muống xào)
- Stir Fried Goat (Dê xào Lăn)
- Drink: Beer (Bia Hoi)
3. Phở Thìn 13 Lò Đúc – Cơ sở Tây Hồ Tây
- Address: LKC35 Embassy Garden, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội 100000, Vietnam
- Type of Food: Phở bò (Beef Pho Noodle Soup)
- Description:
- Small phở bò restaurant that I believe is a part of a chain of phở bò restaurants. The phở is good but I wouldn’t make a trip from another part of town for it. If you are in the area and want some beef pho this is a solid option.
- Good place to eat with kids, they have options for ordering a small bowl for the kids and brought us a scissors to cut the meat and noodles for our toddler.
- Recommended Order:
- Your choice of Phở bò with a side of Quay (fried dough sticks) and a glass of Tra Da (iced tea).
- The phở sốt vang (wine sauce beef) is a good change up from standard pho but our favorite is the phở tái lăn. Phở tái lăn is your typical pho but the beef is seared in a wok before being added to the soup.
4. Coffee and Tea Shops
I tried many of the coffee and tea shops around this neighborhood while I was staying here and I didn’t find one that stuck out as the best. I will list a few that I thought were good but if you are in the area you can just walk down a few streets and find one that looks interesting or busy and give it a try!
5. More Options
This area has a lot of restaurants packed into a small area so there are a lot of places to try. There are Korean and Japanese restaurants a long with the many Vietnamese restaurants and I expect there will be more international flavors as more embassies are built in the neighborhood!
