Izakaya by Koki

Is Izakaya by Koki worth booking in Hanoi?

Yes; and if you are looking for Japanese dining that has earned external validation in a city better known for pho than yakitori, Izakaya by Koki is the clearest answer. It has held a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, which in Hanoi's still-developing fine-dining scene is a meaningful signal. At ₫₫₫ pricing it sits in the mid-to-upper tier for the city, but below the ₫₫₫₫ bracket occupied by its sibling venue Hibana by Koki and the Vietnamese contemporary restaurant Gia. For a food-focused traveller who wants to eat well without committing to a full tasting-menu price point, it competes seriously.

What kind of place is this?

Izakaya by Koki sits at 11 Lê Phụng Hiểu in the French Quarter of Hoàn Kiếm; a central address that makes it easy to combine with an evening in the Old Quarter or a pre-dinner drink nearby. The izakaya format means the menu is built around shareable dishes and drinks rather than a fixed progression, which gives you flexibility that a tasting menu does not. That format also makes it better for groups with different appetites or anyone who wants to graze across several dishes rather than commit to a set sequence.

For context on what a Michelin Plate means: it denotes a restaurant that uses quality ingredients and prepares dishes to a good standard, without reaching the one-star threshold. In a city where Michelin only arrived recently, holding the Plate across two consecutive years suggests consistency rather than a one-off performance. If you are comparing this to Japanese dining in Tokyo, calibrate accordingly, Myojaku or Azabu Kadowaki operate in a different tier. But within Hanoi, Izakaya by Koki is among the more credentialled options for Japanese cuisine.

How to approach it across multiple visits

The izakaya structure rewards repeat visits more than a tasting menu does. On a first visit, use it to orient yourself: order broadly across the menu to understand the kitchen's range. Izakaya menus typically span grilled skewers, cold appetisers, rice and noodle dishes, a drinks list designed to sit alongside food rather than bookend it. If the format follows standard izakaya logic, dishes arrive as they are ready rather than in a prescribed order, so arrive with time to spare rather than a hard finish time.

On a second visit, you have enough information to go deeper on what worked, whether that is a particular section of the menu, a specific pairing, or dishes that need more attention than a first pass allows. The ₫₫₫ price point makes returning feasible without the commitment that a ₫₫₫₫ venue requires each time. For a food-focused traveller spending several nights in Hanoi, this is a venue worth slotting in more than once rather than treating as a single-visit obligation.

A third visit, if your schedule allows, is the point at which you can ask staff for recommendations you have not tried, the dishes that do not surface immediately on a menu but that regulars tend to order. Whether that kind of guidance is available depends on staffing and language overlap, but at a venue with two consecutive Michelin Plates, the kitchen is consistent enough that exploring further is low-risk.

For wider context on eating well across Vietnam, CieL in Ho Chi Minh City, La Maison 1888 in Da Nang, and Saffron in Hue City are worth knowing if your itinerary extends beyond Hanoi.

Booking advice

Booking difficulty here is rated easy relative to Hanoi's most sought-after tables. That said, with Michelin recognition in place, weekend evenings will fill faster than weekday slots. If your Hanoi itinerary is fixed and this is a priority, book 3 to 5 days out for weekdays and at least a week ahead for Friday or Saturday. The venue does not appear to have a public online booking link in the current data, so contacting them directly or checking a reservations platform is the practical route. For reference, Azabu in Hanoi operates at a comparable tier and can serve as a fallback if dates are unavailable.

For more on where to eat, stay, drink in the city, see our full Hanoi restaurants guide, our Hanoi hotels guide, and our Hanoi bars guide.