AF Reeves – @afreeves23

VEGGIE DREAM: Between the cauliflower and this broccolini, what more could you ask for?

This month’s piece comes by way of recommendation from Rich McDonough, AKA The Mood Therapist, and Hong Kong-based chef Logan Hester. Rich, the mastermind behind the concoctions at Hà Nội’s award-winning Workshop14, has taken to writing trendy Facebook reviews, while Logan, head chef at the Kimpton in Tsim Sha Tsui, sent me artsy snaps and waxed lyrical about their little ‘mate date’ (not jealous, honest!). Either way, nomnom kitchen + wine bar became an easy choice.

A new project by Katie Taylor and Phan Như Long of Bao Wow fame, nomnom is more than just a fresh spot in town. It made me pause mid-meal and reflect. I was not just enjoying dinner; it was my first indulgence at a small cultural marker in Hà Nội’s ever-changing F&B scene.

Through the experience itself, a relaxed chat with Long at the bar, and a few exchanges with Katie, it shone a light on how drinking and dining in Hà Nội has developed over my time here.

TO SHARE: All main courses on offer weigh in at a size fit for sharing.

Bao Wow opened around eight years ago, just after I’d arrived, during a time when La Badiane and The Press Club were the pinnacle of Hà Nội dining, and there was a vacuum yet to be filled for less formal affairs.

Then there was Bao Wow. An open kitchen, modern bao buns, a cool crowd, and the sense that if you had not been, you were not quite keeping up. It became a lively meet-up spot, a go-to choice for almost every occasion, where you were practically guaranteed to bump into somebody.

HOLY PECORINO: A sprinkling would be an understatement.

Fast forward and the city has shifted. With large sections of Tây Hồ being bulldozed for new housing developments, there’s a distinct feeling that a chapter is closing. They always do, but still, the times, they really are a-changin’.

That same crowd who backed Bao Wow in its early days are eight years older. Their tastes have sharpened, their idea of a good time refined. Long and Katie have changed too, and nomnom feels like their contribution to what could be emerging.

The space is decidedly purposeful, with Katie telling me, “The concept has been living in our heads for about two years. Very selfishly, it’s designed around everything Long and I wanted, but felt was missing here.”

I also concur with Long in his view that nomnom is something that just wouldn’t have worked back then. It’s chic, modern, and manages to combine a cool, almost cold aesthetic that is immediately cut through by the warmth of the staff and the honest nature of the cooking. On a light spring evening, the dining room glows, and the chatter has that contented hum of people who have found a place that fits them.

ATMOSPHERIC: Hitting up nomnom after dark and it’s clear from outside that there’s a vibe.

The food is true to the concept. Encouraging ingredients with the occasional flourish, but nothing wildly experimental enough to make you wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into, or to distract you from the conversation you’re having over a glass or three.

Wine is chosen from a one-page paper menu, designed to change regularly with the seasons. Thankfully for me, it’s a list that doesn’t assume you know regions or grapes. But, for what my palate is worth, the Zenato Lugana, the Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali, and the Marcobarba Bianco Garganega were enough to convince me once again that I really do love wine.

FLAVOUR TOWN: The chicken skewers were absolutely packed with flavour.

It is rare that I find myself labouring over how to describe bread. It’s locally baked Andersen Nordic sourdough, which is all well and good. Lather it with an unbridled helping of the house-made bone marrow butter, crush the smoked Maldon salt liberally, and it becomes the crown jewel of simple pleasures.

Mushroom kebabs follow, glossed in pesto with a spice mix that keeps things lively, then cooled by a soft avocado cream: light, sumptuous, and quietly persuasive. If vegetarian food always tasted like this, the conversion rate would be notable.

CROWN JEWEL: Sourdough, bone marrow butter, smoked Maldon salt. Perfection.

The charred broccolini is a plate of lively green from the generous coating of furikake. The florets are soft, but maintain a satisfying crunch, layered on top of a miso mayo and tahini combo, with pickled vegetables cutting in like a well-timed interruption. There’s a lot going on, but it is all heading in the same direction.

Grilled cauliflower comes heavily laden with pecorino. Scoop with a rice cracker and the cheese loosens, melts, and folds into the smoked cashew purée beneath. It is as rich as it is moreish, leaving me absent-mindedly running a finger through the last streaks of sauce because I don’t wish for it to end.

Chicken tsukune skewers are thick and tender, lacquered with teriyaki and sharpened with slaw, pickled mustard seeds and perilla. Each bite releases a little internal burst of flavour, as though the skewers have been engineered rather than merely cooked. Torched tuna in a Matsuhisa-style dressing hides under salad and crunch, with taro, sesame crumb and chilli oil. It is clean, slick, and slightly addictive. With every passing dish like this, tuna rises further still as my pick of the ocean’s bounty.

A GLASS OR THREE?: The wine selection more than matches up to the terrific food menu. — Photos courtesy of AF Reeves

The bone-in pork loin is all tenderness, with charred baby corn bringing bite and the bone offering up those satisfying scraps worth tugging at. Jeow som does a toned-down nod to the Laotian national condiment, enough heat to wake you up, not enough to punish you.

Dessert is a Cu Đơ baklava with citrus chantilly: cinnamon, sweetness, and all the yes, though a little tough to cut cleanly.

This spot reflects a change in both expat and local tastes. Where once it might have seemed pretentious, it’s now terribly welcome. A kitchen and wine bar which doesn’t feel stuffy or dated. It’s fresh, and the young Vietnamese who grew up with Instagram algorithms showing sleek bars across the continent, and the increasingly professional class of ‘expats’ who view Việt Nam as more than a gap-year experiment, converge here.

nomnom is not trying to be the future. It is simply behaving as if the future has already arrived, and if Bao Wow helped define a moment, nomnom feels like the next one. — VNS

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nomnom kitchen + wine bar

Address: 107/56 Tứ Liên Street, Tứ Liên, Hồng Hà, Hà Nội

Tel: 0968 746 188

Price: Varies, VNĐ2 million (US$75) covers wine, small plates and a main for a couple

Dining companions: Your date will not be disappointed.

Notes: I literally dreamt about the bread and butter last night.