A Guide For Places To Visit In Hanoi Vietnam For French Pastries

The French are known for having such mouth watering cakes, pastries and sweet delights… And if you’ve been to France, you eat with your eyes with the beautiful detail and color they apply to their food.

Yet, if you’re in Vietnam, you’ll have the opportunity to sample some French favorites and more. That’s because after decades of occupation by the French… they have been a strong influence on the Vietnamese cuisine. Therefore brining in techniques and flavors we adore today.

So some of the common foods you’ll see influenced by the French is… the crème caramel and Vietnamese baguettes, “banh mi.”

And on a trip to Hanoi, it would be wrong of me to not check out some places that served French pastries!

So here’s a guide on places to visit in Hanoi Vietnam for French pastries.

C’est Bon

5 Tây Hồ, Quảng An, Tây Hồ

Immediately after I walked into C’est Bon, I was a little surprised at how small the range of pastries was in the display cabinet…

But I guess the main thing was they had traditional croissants. So I tried a plain one which was big and looked appetizing…

The price for this croissant was 25,000 VND (about USD $1.10), and on the higher end of the price scale, compared to other places I’ve been.

I was told that C’est Bon Café is owned by a Frenchman. And at C’est Bon, they not only have French pastries… they have teas and chocolates with ingredients imported from France.

Plus inside, they have a separate room for showcasing the chocolates and teas. And my goodness, the chocolates looks elegant! The chocolates start from 18,000 VND per piece.

Plus, they offer chocolate making sessions too that you can buy and take part in.

O’Douceurs

90 Tô Ngọc Vân, Quảng An, Tây Hồ

From the outside of the building… on the signage for O’Douceurs it had French Pastry, Bakery and Coffee House, as well as many other small signs!

Then once I walked inside, one of the first things I noticed was a big wooden table… and on it was a small plastic display cabinet with a range of French pastries…

Woo hoo! And they had croissants, which I was eager to try. So without hesitation I ordered one of those.

Plus, I was in the mood for a Café Nua, Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk. So I added that to my order too.

I liked the decor of O’Douceurs, with the sleek wooden floor boards and dominant maroon color of the interior. To me, it was a place where it’d be great to get together with a group of friends over a wine or two.

And moments later my Vietnamese coffee and plain croissant was presented to me…

The croissant was a decent size at 22,000 VND, and the Café Nua was delicious. The coffee was 30,000 VND, which is slightly more expensive than other places…

Yet, by gosh, it was a great coffee and a BIG size. It definitely was worth the price tag.

Tous les Jours

Tous les Jours has several locations in Vietnam, and after having been there I can understand why.

So feast your eyes on some of these treats…

What I’ve found going into Tous les Jours, is that timing is key to get the freshest goods. For example, I went in about 9am I think one time, and there wasn’t much of a choice of pastries.

Yet, another time I went in about 11am… they were bringing out trays of freshly baked goods and putting them out for sale. And damn, it smelt so good!

Then the second time I went in they had croissants, so while they were fresh I quickly grabbed one. And I decided to sit in rather than take away. Yet the strange thing was the croissant wasn’t transferred from the tray I put it on, onto a plate.

A little strange, but that didn’t bother me a great deal. But it saves on the washing up for them I guess!

The croissant was a decent size and cost 22,000 VND. So for the size and quality it was a big thumbs up from me. And what was a big plus, was that it claims to be fresh baked, EVERY DAY!

Saint Honore

Saint Honore has many stores in Vietnam, with most of them in Hanoi. I first went to the one in West Lake (Tay Ho).

It wasn’t a big café, yet the range they had was one of the best I’ve seen for such a smaller place.

You can find out more about Saint Honore in my blog post HERE.

With such a big range it was difficult to choose what to get. Yet I had to stick with my traditional croissant tasting, plus I got a cinnamon roll too. The plain croissant was 20,000 VND and the cinnamon roll was 22,000 VND.

It was super busy when I was there, but service was polite and efficient. Definitely a place to visit in Vietnam for French pastries.

La Salsa

OK, wait… Before you think I’ve gone a little crazy mentioning a Spanish restaurant, keep reading…

As I was walking past and took a closer look through the windows, and I knew I had to make a pit stop here.

So when I opened the door to go in… a big display cabinet of sweet treats, breads, even deli items and more greeted me.

And yes, they had croissants too… big and small sizes. So I thought, it was a case of go BIG or go home! Ha ha ha. Plus, I got a chocolate éclair on top of the big croissant.

So the plain croissant cost me only 15,000 VND, and the chocolate éclair was a measly 25,000 VND.

You can find La Salsa Restaurant at 53 Xuân Diệu, Quảng An, Tây Hồ.

There are plenty more places in Hanoi to get French pastries and sweet treats. Yet, this will give you a taste of what’s on offer. So on my travels, it was a successful trip of France meets Vietnam in the world of French pastries.

So do you have a favorite place to get pastries, cakes or sweet treats in Vietnam?

Let us know!

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Note: All of our reviews and comments are our opinions and no-one else’s. Even if we receive complimentary goods or services we share our opinions honestly.