It’s almost impossible to overstate just how much Hanoi’s internationally-inclined culinary landscape has changed in recent years, and nowhere is this seismic shift reflected more succinctly than in its pizza restaurants.
Just a decade ago, you’d be lucky if a Hanoian pizza boasted mozzarella, marinara sauce, and a properly leavened dough; it was all cheese of questionable origin, a smothering of ketchup and a base more akin to a flour tortilla than anything else.
These days, it’s a whole different world, with both skilled Italian pizzaiolo and a young entrepreneurial spirit that Vietnam does so well both driving Hanoi’s pizza scene forward, upwards and to dizzying new heights.
So tonight, if you’ve decided to forgo your usual phở bò in favour of a margherita, diavola or capricciosa, then you’ll want to find the very best that the Vietnamese capital has to offer. We’re here to help with that; here’s our guide to the best pizzas in Hanoi.
Pizza 4P’s, Trang Tien (Old Quarter)
The proposition initially seemed a little hard to conceptualise. A Japanese pizza and pasta joint, with focus firmly falling on a Vietnamese farm to table ethos, with all cheese made in-house, and a menu of traditionally Neapolitan dishes alongside some seriously experimental stuff (scallop and sweet miso gratin pizza, anyone?)
It works, though, it really does. So much so that the restaurant has proliferated both here in Hanoi and in its southern sibling Saigon, as well as in several other Vietnamese cities, and one in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Further expansions into greater South East Asia are very much in the works.
You can go to 4Ps and stay on the straight and narrow; a simple margherita and a glass of red would see you on your way more than happy, though you ‘d be foolish to miss out on the excellent ‘Japanese Carbonara’, heavy on the seaweed and as creamy as you like.
The headlining act here, though, is the restaurant’s burrata, made using cream from the restaurant’s farm in Da Lat, a place known as ‘Eternal Spring’ for its unique, mild and fresh climate. The terroir comes through in the burrata, light and cooling, and perfectly poised sitting atop a parma ham pizza. For those members of the group who like to try as much as possible, the 4P’s ‘half and half’, where you can also choose how many slices it should be cut into, is a no brainer.
There’s also an enjoyable sense of time and place in the 4P’s menus, with the Phnom Penh branch serving a Cambodian fish curry noodle soup pizza, and the Hanoian outposts currently dishing up a Cha Ca La Vong pizza. For the uninitiated, cha ca is one of the city’s most beloved dishes, mixing turmeric-marinated catfish with noodles, spring onions and dill, and served with funky shrimp paste dipping sauce. Though the idea of a pizza topped with fish, shrimp paste, fish sauce and cheese might sound a little left-field, it really does work!
Our favourite branch in Hanoi is the original on Trang Tien street, sitting proudly on the outskirts of the ever-bustling Old Quarter. Here, you can pull up a stool at the restaurant’s counter and watch the dexterous chefs pulling dough with an easy, breezy efficiency. Though we’re tempted to call this one ‘dinner and a show’, it’s perhaps a little more ‘therapeutic’ than ‘theatre’.
The message here is all about spreading the love (the name means For Peace) and we’re certainly enamoured with this place.
Read: How to spend 48 hours in Hanoi
Website: pizza4ps.com
Address: 43 Tràng Tiền, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Pizza Belga, Au Co (West Lake)
That said, our favourite pizza in the whole city is a relatively new addition to the Hanoi dining scene; Pizza Belga on Au Co.
Pizza Belga is as close to an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria as you’ll find on this side of the world (except perhaps at Bangkok’s Peppina). Here, the pizzas are cooked hard and fast for only a minute the restaurant’s bespoke wood-burning oven, topped with only the freshest ingredients before being blasted in that sweltering 500°C.
The results are nothing short of magnificent – with a soft, digestible crust blistered and burnished in all the right places, and carefully sourced ingredients maintaining their very essence. The tomatoes taste of life and vitality, the mozzarella creamy, not caramelised.
Yep, this is pizza as it was intended, with slices you’ll want to pinch and fold in true Neapolitan style (something not possible with the harder, crisper rendition you’ll find in most Hanoian pizzerias), which is a hugely satisfying way to spend a meal.
There’s also some great homemade pasta dishes, signature desserts and a selection of hugely drinkable Belgian craft beers. It’s a formula that’s clearly working for team Belga, as a second branch has now opened in the Old Quarter, on Hang Be. Fingers are firmly crossed for a third opening up in our neighbourhood!
Address: 225 Đ. Âu Cơ, Quảng An, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Website: pizzabelga.com
Dragoncello, Ve Ho Xuan La (West Lake)
From the owners of popular West Lake pizzeria Da Paolo (now sadly closed; RIP) comes Dragoncello, where the proposition is very much the same, just on the other side of Hanoi’s largest liquid expanse.
While the menu spans Italy, with dishes from Milan such as ossobucco over saffron risotto, and the city’s famous breaded veal cutlet, as well as Emilia Romagna inspired ragus, when it comes to pizza, just like Da Paolo, it’s another Neapolitan-adjacent affair, with the onus on Italian authenticity, both on the product and experience. So, that’s a warm welcome, an expansive wine list of big-drinking Italian reds, and, of course, pizza done in a style that would sit proudly on a Naples dining table.
From the city via Hanoi, we’re especially in love with Dragoncello’s signature pizza fritta – filled with ricotta, mozzarella, ham and just the faintest smattering of tomato sauce to keep things interesting, before being deepfried until golden and blessed with air bubbles, it’s a wonderful piece of work.
Enjoy this one all to yourself (you won’t want to share!) alongside a bottle from arguably Hanoi’s best collections of imported Italian wine, and you’ll leave happy, satiated and just a little bit squiffy. Perhaps leave your bike at home for this one!
Address: 201 P. Vệ Hồ, Xuân La, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Website: dragoncello.vn
Luna d’Autunno, Nam Ngư (French Quarter)
Having been open since before the turn of the millennium, Lana d’Autunno is one of Hanoi’s original Italian restaurants, serving slap-up spreads from Bel Paese long before originality and authenticity became the key driving forces behind pizzerias in the city.
Placing emphasis on using premium imported ingredients, classic Italian recipes and resolutely not fucking with the formula, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a Bolognian trattoria when you enter Luna; all terracotta tiles, dark-wood tables dressed in chequered tablecloths, and photos of Italian landmarks adorning the walls.
On the plate, excellent pizzas, served with a thinner, crisper than some of the restaurant’s contemporaries, but no worse for it, and freshly made pasta are the order of the day. Over 70 brands of Italian wine from 10 Italian provinces complete the offer here.
Whilst you’re visiting the restaurant, check out the Italian deli on the first floor, selling premium imported ingredients for when you fancy cooking up a midweek pasta at home. Because you can’t eat out every night, right?
Luna now has restaurants in both Hoi An and Da Nang, too.
Address: 27 P. Nam Ngư, Cửa Nam, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Website: lunajsc.com
Crust Pizzeria, Dang Thai Mai (West Lake)
For something a little different, Crust Pizzeria celebrates a love story in three parts; an Englishman and a Vietnamese woman fall in love, have their honeymoon in New York and fall in love with the pizzas there, and return to Vietnam to open their own New York-style, by-the-slice pizza shop.
The rest, as they say, is history, with Crust arguably Hanoi’s best place to pick up a single slice of crisp, fully-loaded New York pizza that has the structural integrity to cope with the requisite generosity of toppings. You’ll want to stick with the all-American assignment here, and order a Crust Pepperoni with extra sliced jalapenos and plenty of crust dippers. Yep, it’s that kinda place, and sometimes, that’s all you want from your slice…
Address: 3 Ng. 12 Đ. Đặng Thai Mai, Quảng An, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Vietnam
Website: Crust Pizzeria | Hanoi | Facebook
NYC Pizza, Ma May (Old Quarter)
For something similar (though we’d say perhaps a little greasier compared to Crust’s drier offerings), NYC Pizza ticks the box.
Hanoi’s first by-the-slice pizza shop (and still with huge slices clocking in at under 50’000 VND), the proposition here is simple; a compact list of 5 daily-changing slices, a simple air-conditioned dining room with views out into the madness of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, and local lager sold by the can. With a slice and beer combo giving you change from 100’000 VND (£3.50) and served in the time it takes you to order a second can, NYC Pizza is a great place to fuel up before you hit Bia Hoi Corner and the surrounding pubs and bars of the OQ.
Address: 24 P. Mã Mây, Hàng Buồm, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội 10000, Vietnam
Website: nycpizzahanoi.com
What more could you want?