I FEEL LIKE CHICKEN TONIGHT: Hanoi Cider House does chicken a dozen different ways. Photos courtesy of the restaurant

 By Carlos Ottery

It’s a warm spring Friday night in the capital's Tây Hồ District, and the Hanoi Cider House is abuzz. Young parents drink craft beers to see in the weekend while their children frolic downstairs in the restaurant’s play area. Balding expats with bad teeth take pretty Vietnamese women out on dates to impress. And an extensive domestic and international crowd throngs to the vibrant and expansive mood set by the restaurant.

Among the hubbub, avuncular Englishman and founder of Hanoi Cider House, Guy Dickson methodically presses the flesh and works the room, checking on patrons, regular and new, making sure everyone is happy and his team of young staff are hitting their marks.

Dickson has a glint in his eye and, though he looks tired too, perhaps the mark of running a busy restaurant and having a vivacious six-year-old daughter.

“You guys enjoy your meal, and let me know if you need anything. I just have to go and check on something in the kitchen,” he says. And in a flash, he is gone.

We’re not sure what to order initially, so plump for a bowl of olives (VNĐ75,000), a plate of asparagus (VNĐ95,000), and half a dozen chicken wings (VNĐ125,000), with a gin and tonic (VNĐ80,000), and an exotically titled Tiramisu Pastry Stout (VNĐ100,000), as boozy refreshment.

Ten minutes later, our entrees arrive, the olives juicy, asparagus grilled to perfection accompanied with fresh lemon and tangy piri piri mayo, and the chicken wings exceptional. We opted for classic buffalo-style wings with a blue cheese dip, though there were several other options.

Semi-sated, we take in our surroundings. The venue is a large beautifully designed open-plan restaurant, with ever-so-slight industrial vibes, focusing on flavoured ciders (their own brand), chicken a-dozen-different ways, craft beer and cocktails. A large graffiti-style rooster adorns one of the walls as a nod to the menu and gives a fun, playful feel. While the food is a draw here, it’s a casual affair, the sort of place you could easily visit for just a few drinks, and many do.

MEATY MESS: The smash burger is not for the faint-hearted

Before we order our main courses, Dickson shuttles by to check everything is up to scratch.

“We’re particularly pleased with the chargrilled chicken,” he says. “There was a lack of western-style BBQ chicken, especially with sauces which weren’t Asian inspired, so that’s where we started. We wanted to put some real effort into the chicken and in the preparation, and it’s still one of our best sellers to this day. We spent a long time sourcing chicken that was up to standard and tried many different types.”

For the main course, we go for a classic smash burger served with french fries and coleslaw (VNĐ190,000)  and a quarter chargrilled chicken (wing, breast and thigh) with mash and chicken gravy (VNĐ175,000).

Still thirsty, we try a couple of cocktails too, including a ‘Porn Star Martini with Prosecco Sidecar’ (VNĐ195,000) and a ‘Plantation Cooler.’

Considering the restaurant is mostly famed for its chicken (think of a posh Nandos), the smash burger is nevertheless a joyous meaty, cheesy mess, the kind to give vegetarians palpitations. It’s positively overflowing with black Angus and Wagyu beef and American cheese, dill pickles and burger sauce made in house, surely among the finer burgers in the capital.

This chicken -- it feels like we have every part on one plate -- is joyous, imbued with a rich charcoal flavour taste, heightened by our choice of a yoghurt, jalapeno and coriander sauce, simultaneously cooling and slightly spicy at the same time. The in-house sauces are a particular standout here, and you can pick from more than half a dozen (lemon and herb, BBQ, Alabama white gold, Carolina gold mustard, harissa, Jamaican jerk, and piri-piri). Those keen can buy them in a 200ml bottle to take home.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: Porn Star Martini with Prosecco sidecar

 Though popular for its food and cocktails, Dickson initially started the company to brew cider (he playfully calls himself an apple-juicer), though he says the concept of ‘apple beer’ took a little explaining customers.

“As a Brit, you can forget that other cultures, particularly Asia, don’t have this tradition of cider drinking, so you have to introduce them to it slowly,” he says.

Despite it being a traditional UK drink, his ciders are not the cloudy, often flat, type might find made in the west of England, but bubblier, sweeter modern variations coming in a range of flavours such as mango, Japanese lemon, strawberry gin fizz, or lemongrass and ginger, a perfect antidote to those heathens who claim to be bored of beer.

“Some people hadn’t heard of cider here or were not familiar with it, so we wanted to give people options, That’s why we put so much work into the food and the cocktail menu,” he says.

“Duc, who helps design our cocktails, was just a young kid who was really into making them, so we encouraged him to do that, and now he is doing well in cocktail competitions all over the city,” he says.

“It’s one of the things I love about this place. We have a team of young Vietnamese in their early twenties. It is their first job for many of them, so it’s really great to see them go from strength to strength.”

The cocktails are certainly a highlight, clearly a notch or two from what you might expect from a mid-range casual restaurant.

The porn star martini is a particular delight, a fusion of vanilla vodka, passion fruit liqueur and puree, with vanilla syrup. It’s also served with a shot glass of prosecco on the side for reasons we are not quite sure, but, hey, whoever turned down two drinks for one.

Whether it’s for a plate of sizzling chicken, a refreshing cider or two, or even a fancy cocktail, Hanoi Cider House is a laid-back bar-come-restaurant that’s sure to be a hit with friends and family alike. VNS

Hanoi Cider House

Address: 278 Nghi Tàm, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Việt Nam

Tel: 0374 871 750

FB: facebook.com/hanoiciderhouse

Opening hours: 11am to midnight

Comment: A family-friendly casual international dining affair with an emphasis on cider, chicken, cocktails and craft beer