Polite & Co

Polite & Co is one of the longest-running bars in central Hanoi, and its history explains its character. It opened in 1995 as the Polite Pub, a simple beer bar, and in 2013 the owner's nephew transformed it into a whisky and cigar lounge. Cocktails came later, and today it appears on lists of the city's best cocktail bars, including a May 2026 Esquire guide. A 2019 profile in The Dot Magazine described it as a pioneer of the pub model in Hanoi and a nostalgia trip, with a romantic, European-style look and bartenders in white shirts and black ties.

The cocktail menu changes every six months, so there is usually something new to try. The best-known is The Street Vendor, made with a chrysanthemum gin, and other drinks on recent menus have included Lan Kwai Fong, Dim Sum and Jackie Chan, which give an idea of the bar's playful approach to naming. For those who prefer something straight, its years as a whisky lounge show in a back bar that the same profile put at more than 500 types of alcohol, with a strong Scotch whisky selection.

Prices are higher than in the beer bars of the Old Quarter, putting it at the upper end of the city's cocktail scene, but in line with other dedicated cocktail bars. It is a good place for a slow drink rather than a big night out, and telling the bartender which flavours you enjoy is a sensible way to choose from a menu that changes so often.

The bar is open daily from 5pm to midnight. Walk-ins are welcome on most nights, but it is worth reserving ahead for the weekend live jazz nights, which are popular. The bar suits couples, small groups of friends and solo travellers who enjoy sitting at a bar.

Bao Khanh is in Hoan Kiem, so the bar is easy to reach from hotels in the centre. It makes a natural first or last stop on an evening that might include dinner in the Old Quarter, a set at Binh Minh Jazz Club or a drink at Ne Cocktailbar on Tong Duy Tan Street.