Pasteur Street Craft Beer (Ấu Triệu)

Pasteur Street Brewing Company poured its first beer in Ho Chi Minh City in January 2015 and helped start Vietnam's craft beer scene, combining global brewing techniques with fresh Vietnamese ingredients. It now runs 15 taprooms across the country, three of them in Hanoi, and this one at 01 Ấu Triệu, tucked behind St Joseph's Cathedral just off the Old Quarter and a short walk from Hoàn Kiếm Lake, is the brewery's own pick as its cosiest Hanoi room. It is a bright, brick-and-concrete space with the brand's signature "Bia Crafted in Vietnam" branding on the wall, plus a small terrace, and holds around 100 people.

The beer list draws on the brewery's catalogue of more than 200 recipes brewed over the years with Vietnamese ingredients such as jasmine, passion fruit and black pepper. Regulars to look for include the Jasmine IPA (6.5%) and its big brother the Double Jasmine IPA (8.5%), the Passion Fruit Wheat Ale, a Pomelo IPA, Jasmine Amber, a Nitro Irish Stout and the 13% Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout. For something lighter there is a Craft Lager, a Blonde Ale and Bia Chanh Muối, a 2.5% salted-lime beer built for Hanoi's hot afternoons.

The taproom doubles as a restaurant, with a full dining menu and delivery menu, and there is live music every week. It suits both travellers looking for a break from the Old Quarter crowds and locals settling in for the evening.

Hours are 11am to 11pm from Monday to Thursday and 11am to midnight from Friday to Sunday. Pasteur Street also runs two further Hanoi taprooms, at 30 Cửa Bắc in Ba Đình and 122 Bùi Thị Xuân in Hai Bà Trưng, both open daily from 11am to 11pm.